Anthony when in Doubt just change strings!! Rinse and Repeat!! It what has help me curb my appetite for something new at least for a little while
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Taking Stock And Just Playing What I Have
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
Perhaps, but the Martin certain fits right in.Sounds like a fantastic interior deco but your Rics might stick out a bit?
I have spent more time talking about motorcycles in Off Topic than I have talked about basses. I think life has burned me out on bass GAS. There have simply been a bunch of things this summer that have sucked up money, so working towards any sort of boutique purchase has ground to a halt. The funny thing is that I could have my Carvin SB5000 or my Sire V7 and my Pedulla Pentabuzz and be happy just playing in the choir and home alone.
The funny thing is that I have some other things that I love to collect, and I have sort of burned out on that too (no specifics because of TB rules.) I think the idea of always wanting the new thing has just gotten old for me. I want to enjoy what I have, and not worry about what else I can buy. This may just be a phase, but playing music, instead of worrying about buying another bass is a nice change of pace for me.
I can get onboard with you. I am not what I would call a driven consumerist. I am quite content with the tools I have. They work well
if you add talkbass.com as one of your banned sites, GAS guilt, tone chasing will be greatly reduced.
I had been registered since 2002 here but had a 10 year reading and posting hiatus from 2008 to 2018. No GAS and I played more. Since I am working in another city, talkbass kept me some "musical" company but also made me spend more money on things that did not contribute to music making at all. When I go bck home and play with the different groups and projects I am involved with, gear is hardly discussed and the inadequacy I feel are my chops not my gear. Here I have to buy different versions of HPFs when all I have to do is cut the bass on the amp and the bass tone controls on the bass.
When I was younger and gigging more, I did read bass player magazine . but in a couple of days after you got it, you had to wait another month and you played or practiced instead. There is a reason it is called talk bass no disrespect to the founders and owners and members, You talk and read about bass not necessarily play it.
I had been registered since 2002 here but had a 10 year reading and posting hiatus from 2008 to 2018. No GAS and I played more. Since I am working in another city, talkbass kept me some "musical" company but also made me spend more money on things that did not contribute to music making at all. When I go bck home and play with the different groups and projects I am involved with, gear is hardly discussed and the inadequacy I feel are my chops not my gear. Here I have to buy different versions of HPFs when all I have to do is cut the bass on the amp and the bass tone controls on the bass.
When I was younger and gigging more, I did read bass player magazine . but in a couple of days after you got it, you had to wait another month and you played or practiced instead. There is a reason it is called talk bass no disrespect to the founders and owners and members, You talk and read about bass not necessarily play it.
The secret to true happiness is to be content with what one has. Society tends to encourage us to want more and to be dissatisfied with what we have, in an endless cycle of consumerism, so it's almost like an act of rebellion to be content....
I decided that, if I'm thinking about new gear, I'm not thinking about music. Way back I learned to do the best with what I have, after seeing this old blues guy laying it down hard on an ancient Silvertone acoustic. And remembering that Charlie Parker did a gig on a plastic alto sax...
When I gig more I desire less.
Thankfully I have accumulated every bass and amp for all of my playing situations.
With a full time career and three gigs this week, gas is in check.
Now I think I have one extra cab.
Thankfully I have accumulated every bass and amp for all of my playing situations.
With a full time career and three gigs this week, gas is in check.
Now I think I have one extra cab.
It took me four J basses over thirteen years to realize I needed one in my life, which inspired the recent AJ tribute build. Last night, I took it out for its first dinner jazz gig and was reassured of how perfectly it suited the gig. I think you'll end up with another J at some point. Seller's remorse gets us all.
I'm trying to tweak what I already have, different strings, using different combination of a few things, and even retuned the ports my little 112 cabs for a little more low end.. making adjustments to my liking and not buying.
I've realized things I've bought recently haven't really worked out anyways, ie. new SVT 210av not really doing it for me. I've been selling off equipment to help limit changing gear from show to show as well. Learning to work with what you have eventually leads to less thinking in my opinion
I've realized things I've bought recently haven't really worked out anyways, ie. new SVT 210av not really doing it for me. I've been selling off equipment to help limit changing gear from show to show as well. Learning to work with what you have eventually leads to less thinking in my opinion
I'm there too. I just started a new job last week. My daughter is going off to college this Fall. The bands I'm in have both slowed down for a bit due to members going on vacation. Haven't spent much time on TB or even playing at all over the last few weeks. Between those factors and having a dozen perfectly good basses already I think I'm just going to keep my powder dry for a while. I am ready to get back to playing more regularly, but it will be with what I already have.
Very cool, I've been thinking along these lines for a few years.
Five years ago I did a major housecleaning of gear. I put everything up for sale, and sold stuff until I was down to one bass, a couple amps, and a pedal or two. It was liberating. I recouped tons of cash and felt like a weight was lifted. I feel like I'm ready to stage another purge.
A couple new basses crept in, somehow I'm back up to three. (GAS is always lurking) The amps are mostly just sitting. Either one could go and I'd never miss it
One of the new basses I bought is a minty Cirrus. I'd been playing Dingwalls for years. I've still got two, and as much as I love them, truth is the Cirrus gets as much or more play time. The Cirrus was less than eight hundred bucks. Maybe I finally found the one. Certainly, it's plenty good enough to be a one and only.
Might have to put a few ads up and continue the quest for less.
I still have two Jazzes and another I would already have if I did not have to be a responsible adult.
That is why I am not about replacing the DJ5.
I've indefinitely stipulated a rule for myself, if one comes in (bass or amp), another goes out. That makes me think longer and harder during GAS, do I really need/want a new one enough to part with an old one?
I have always had a "collector" personality, from Pepsi bottles that are over 100 years old to stereo receivers and speakers, die-cast airplanes,etc... I am down to nine basses and out of those only 3 get taken to gigs or practices. When it comes down to it the bass I bought first, 1968 model 4000, is the one that gets gigged with 99% of the time. So i have been asking myself - 'Do I really need to hang on to all of these?' I have traded gear for something else only to turn around and trade that towards another before I even used it.
I guess that's just what some of us suffer from, seeking that holy grail when it's been sitting in the corner the whole time. We have two Music-Go-Round stores in Columbus which makes it easy to spot that bass or amp or cab that "I always wanted". Then I run home, pick out a sacrificial lamb to go trade it in. Time to step away.
The grass may be greener on the other side, but you still have to mow it.
I guess that's just what some of us suffer from, seeking that holy grail when it's been sitting in the corner the whole time. We have two Music-Go-Round stores in Columbus which makes it easy to spot that bass or amp or cab that "I always wanted". Then I run home, pick out a sacrificial lamb to go trade it in. Time to step away.
The grass may be greener on the other side, but you still have to mow it.
You never know...the G.A.S. monster has a funny way of sneaking up on you even after the fat lady has sung...I thought I was done until yesterday when I impulsively made a low offer on something I was sure I wouldn't get and wouldn't ya know it.....bam! another bass coming my wayI have spent more time talking about motorcycles in Off Topic than I have talked about basses. I think life has burned me out on bass GAS. There have simply been a bunch of things this summer that have sucked up money, so working towards any sort of boutique purchase has ground to a halt. The funny thing is that I could have my Carvin SB5000 or my Sire V7 and my Pedulla Pentabuzz and be happy just playing in the choir and home alone.
The funny thing is that I have some other things that I love to collect, and I have sort of burned out on that too (no specifics because of TB rules.) I think the idea of always wanting the new thing has just gotten old for me. I want to enjoy what I have, and not worry about what else I can buy. This may just be a phase, but playing music, instead of worrying about buying another bass is a nice change of pace for me.
I am not even worried about beating GAS. I just don't want to be under the control of GAS all of the time. Even more important, appreciating what You have instead of always thinking about what you want just makes for a much better quality of life.
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