Just keep telling yourself, "I'm a musician, not a collector. I'm a musician, not a collector."
Which is hopefully actually true.
Which is hopefully actually true.
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Serious question: is there a cure for a gas?
- Thread starter Matthew_84
- Start date
...I was telling this myself! Somebody HAD to write it!
Cave Puppy
"Humph Bo, he's wond!" - John Lennon
Cure GAS? Get off Talkbass.
Last edited:
you in the wrong place to ask that question
sure i'd love a bass from ever manufacturer, even from private luthiers, i like design, colors, wood variants, Many basses offer different switches and features, but in the end i will dime my tone in to sound like i've always loved unless the band called for something different which my P and J has no problem acquiring, but at least i'll have lots of pretty examples of "my tone", and no room or money left, for you know, mortgage/taxes/party favors and the like.......Sooooo...No cure for gas but restraint, or possibly bound and gagged.
sure i'd love a bass from ever manufacturer, even from private luthiers, i like design, colors, wood variants, Many basses offer different switches and features, but in the end i will dime my tone in to sound like i've always loved unless the band called for something different which my P and J has no problem acquiring, but at least i'll have lots of pretty examples of "my tone", and no room or money left, for you know, mortgage/taxes/party favors and the like.......Sooooo...No cure for gas but restraint, or possibly bound and gagged.
For me cutting down on bran flakes and prune juice helped a lot.
G.A.S. has waned for me. I own quite a few basses and as long as I try keeping them in rotation to play the G.A.S. has definitely subsided. I won’t say it’s totally gone as there’s always one or two of something that spark’s my interest.
Don’t surf eBay, Reverb, CL, MGR, GC, MF, Sam Ash, Buya and anything else…
Just don’t Google ‘Bass’ unless you like to fish.
Curing GAS is easy. If you really want something, buy it. Rinse repeat. Works every time.
My anti-GAS strategy:
1. There is an essay titled “Spectral Objects: On the Fetish Character of Music Technologies," by Jonathan Sterne. In a nutshell, it says that:
- musicians tend to believe that gear has magic power, and by owning it we can possess that power. (Marketing contributes a lot to this belief or at least takes advantage of it.)
- instead, we should believe that we are the ones with power. Gear is just tools. We need tools, but they are inert objects.
2. Don't fix what ain't broke -- if you love the gear you have, you don't really need to add to/replace it.
3. Remember that GAS can be healthy! It might be curiosity, an urge to learn or experience something new. It's only a problem if you experience it as a problem. (Obsession, dissatisfaction with already good gear, an endless cycle of chasing stuff and never really appreciating it once you have it, spending beyond your means.)
So maybe ask yourself why you're wanting a new piece of gear -- is it just for the sake of owning stuff, or is there a better reason?
4. The internet does tend to encourage GAS. It's 100x easier to talk about gear than it is to talk about technique, creativity, emotion etc. -- so that's what we do online. It also makes it easy to gawk at a wide variety of sexy gear photos and specs and reviews.
1. There is an essay titled “Spectral Objects: On the Fetish Character of Music Technologies," by Jonathan Sterne. In a nutshell, it says that:
- musicians tend to believe that gear has magic power, and by owning it we can possess that power. (Marketing contributes a lot to this belief or at least takes advantage of it.)
- instead, we should believe that we are the ones with power. Gear is just tools. We need tools, but they are inert objects.
2. Don't fix what ain't broke -- if you love the gear you have, you don't really need to add to/replace it.
3. Remember that GAS can be healthy! It might be curiosity, an urge to learn or experience something new. It's only a problem if you experience it as a problem. (Obsession, dissatisfaction with already good gear, an endless cycle of chasing stuff and never really appreciating it once you have it, spending beyond your means.)
So maybe ask yourself why you're wanting a new piece of gear -- is it just for the sake of owning stuff, or is there a better reason?
4. The internet does tend to encourage GAS. It's 100x easier to talk about gear than it is to talk about technique, creativity, emotion etc. -- so that's what we do online. It also makes it easy to gawk at a wide variety of sexy gear photos and specs and reviews.
I've definitely struggled with GAS.. I just finished a comic and touched on the topic in there.
There are a few things I am telling myself right now, as I'm dealing with a bit of an extended episode.
-There's a ton of cool gear out there that you know, and have researched, and haven't found yet.. You won't have it all. can't have it all. You don't need it all.
-Looking for things is a distraction. You need to use time making music, practicing music, listening to music.. not worrying about finding the perfect.. whatever.
-You need to learn your instrument. Learn every way to make it sound differently. Invest time in thoroughly learning the gear you have.. then if there is some huge deficit or thing you know it can't do or won't do, you'll have a sound reason to look for something else, but often times, there is no problem.
-You are not a serious musician, this is a hobby.
-Most of the greatest players weren't huge gear heads. They played the instruments they had. They spent time on learning their instruments and making music. (I've really come to this conclusion recently as I kept searching for tone). Make your own sound, no need to try to copy someone else.
Again, these are the things I tell myself.. the conclusions I repeatedly come to. I'm sure there's more, but I'm a bit of a minimalist and only ever really need one bass and one guitar. I've just whittled down my most recent splurge of 4 basses and 3 guitars down to one and one (well, still have to sell a Rumblekat and a Wildkat), but then I'll have two super cheap Squiers.. an Affinity Bronco (with a cheap BiSonic) and a Bullet Mustang (with cheap P90's).
I often think of the time spent "researching" and it makes me sick. I could have created so much music or art, or read something cool.. or anything really. Gas really gets me nowhere. I've got to learn to appreciate and use what I've got.
There are a few things I am telling myself right now, as I'm dealing with a bit of an extended episode.
-There's a ton of cool gear out there that you know, and have researched, and haven't found yet.. You won't have it all. can't have it all. You don't need it all.
-Looking for things is a distraction. You need to use time making music, practicing music, listening to music.. not worrying about finding the perfect.. whatever.
-You need to learn your instrument. Learn every way to make it sound differently. Invest time in thoroughly learning the gear you have.. then if there is some huge deficit or thing you know it can't do or won't do, you'll have a sound reason to look for something else, but often times, there is no problem.
-You are not a serious musician, this is a hobby.
-Most of the greatest players weren't huge gear heads. They played the instruments they had. They spent time on learning their instruments and making music. (I've really come to this conclusion recently as I kept searching for tone). Make your own sound, no need to try to copy someone else.
Again, these are the things I tell myself.. the conclusions I repeatedly come to. I'm sure there's more, but I'm a bit of a minimalist and only ever really need one bass and one guitar. I've just whittled down my most recent splurge of 4 basses and 3 guitars down to one and one (well, still have to sell a Rumblekat and a Wildkat), but then I'll have two super cheap Squiers.. an Affinity Bronco (with a cheap BiSonic) and a Bullet Mustang (with cheap P90's).
I often think of the time spent "researching" and it makes me sick. I could have created so much music or art, or read something cool.. or anything really. Gas really gets me nowhere. I've got to learn to appreciate and use what I've got.
Simple - all you have to do is buy stuff. Eventually, it will go away. Or not. Chase the dragon.
I'm pretty happy with my gear setup now. I've been on a tear of late but it's been stuff focused on getting my home setup streamlined for practice and self review.
Having unfinished projects laying around is a good reminder that it ain't the gear. So is video. I've been putting together a very low budget "YouTube" setup, with little intentions of every putting it on YouTube. It's for self review. Some of the nice to haves are about making it easy to just roll up and play. But it's basically a camera, two lights, and instead of stands I'm hanging out from a rod attached to the ceiling.
And let me assure you, I suck. That's what it's for. I could have possibly saved a few hundred bucks to just let someone else tell me that. But it's an investment towards not sucking. It can certainly turn into its own side quest. I have just one more item I want - a backdrop to hide the cluttered bonus room. But this is my practice/lesson/rehearsal/collaboration space.
I basically have one working electric guitar, two acoustics, one working bass, a 90's synth module, a 49 key controller, a Multipad based electronic drum kit (and a real snare/candymbals), and a couple a projects in various states. And I'm pretty much done. Everything here out is focused on getting things to 'press go'
Having unfinished projects laying around is a good reminder that it ain't the gear. So is video. I've been putting together a very low budget "YouTube" setup, with little intentions of every putting it on YouTube. It's for self review. Some of the nice to haves are about making it easy to just roll up and play. But it's basically a camera, two lights, and instead of stands I'm hanging out from a rod attached to the ceiling.
And let me assure you, I suck. That's what it's for. I could have possibly saved a few hundred bucks to just let someone else tell me that. But it's an investment towards not sucking. It can certainly turn into its own side quest. I have just one more item I want - a backdrop to hide the cluttered bonus room. But this is my practice/lesson/rehearsal/collaboration space.
I basically have one working electric guitar, two acoustics, one working bass, a 90's synth module, a 49 key controller, a Multipad based electronic drum kit (and a real snare/candymbals), and a couple a projects in various states. And I'm pretty much done. Everything here out is focused on getting things to 'press go'
Well, I’m not a collector… I’ll let you know when I become a musician though!Just keep telling yourself, "I'm a musician, not a collector. I'm a musician, not a collector."
Which is hopefully actually true.
bassalien
Commercial User
YES!!! THERE IS A CURE! Acquire the Gear, and the Syndrome goes away!
That way you no longer have GAS, just GA...
That way you no longer have GAS, just GA...
I like this but a lot, and definitely feel that that’s true, and part of my issue.
My main self-argument is “do I get an upright or a fretless P bass?”
I know they won’t sound the same, but they both create this feeling in me that they will give me something special that I don’t have.
In case of the upright, that is definitely true, but the P Bass is a bit different. The P Bass is more of a nostalgia feeling, a sense of some magic in a bottle that I can tap into it. It also, feels like “home” to me, and there’s a sense comfort in it. The upright sounds great and I have a feeling we’ll get along very well, but that’s a stranger I haven’t met yet and not sure how we’ll actually get along.
I mentioned earlier in a reply a few pages ago that I need to rent an upright first to really answer this question. But a lot of that pull is coming from the comfort of a nice P Bass, and the feeling I get, only from P’s.
