GASaholics anonymous

nightlight said:
Oh, I’m sorry. You own a Dumble?

If not, man up bucko.
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nightlight said:
Amps are just so much more fun than digital, Nicky. That's the reason I bought and sold the Kemper four times.

I would rather get rid of the QC than the amps I have right now. Plug in and it brings a smile to your face.
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Time for Synergy 😀 Small and analog.
 
I always have this weird issue where I am more of a minimalist in all areas of life, except gear. I like to have variety so I can switch it up and compare. Sometimes I consider selling a ton, because I easily could.
 
nightlight said:
I had a serious discussion with my wife about my problem with spending too much money on gear. And it is a problem. This is going to be a long winded post, so if you want to know what my strategy to end my GAS once and for all is, scroll to the bold bit at the bottom. And then let me know how you're doing with GAS and whether you have a strategy to end it.

It's not even like we have the space in our small house, I've completely run out and now I have trouble plugging in and out of stuff that is sitting at the top of my amp pile when I added one more over the weekend.

It's not even a huge collection, I just have four guitar amps, one bass amp, two preamps and two power amps. I have one 2x12 and one 4x12. The guitar collection is currently seven guitars and a bass, with two of the guitars in storage. There's also an electronic drum kit and a rack full of interfaces and my digital modellers.

It's way too much for one man to logically use to its fullest extent, I have been thinking. I'm not Slash or Bonamassa that I can afford to keep around valuable instruments and gear without playing them a lot more.

The amp pile towers over me and I'm seriously scared it's going to topple one of these days and defenestrate some part of my body. Or worse, crush a few guitars on the way down.

I'm not a professional musician, and there are some days I look at my guitars and amps and worry that I only play them in rotation to the extent that each of them really sees only a few days of cumulative playtime in a year.

The cabs just sit around lying useless most of the time, because I really cannot mic them up to save my life, and perhaps more importantly have noise concerns in my neighbourhood.

I think the electronic drum kit was a very wise decision, as I can play even till late at night with headphones. But I t recently somewhat foolishly agreed to buy a new module and a digital snare to improve it, with plans for more toms and more cymbals so that I can have a "monster kit".

Why?

The biggest concern for me, I guess, is that I really should be thinking about putting money into more lucrative assets like stocks and property. Another couple of decades till retirement, and my wife will depend on me to keep her comfortable in her golden years.

The GAS is real though. I keep looking at guitars like Music Mans, PRSes and Mayoneses. I keep drooling over amps like Bogners and Mesas. And the urge to just pull out my credit card to pay is strong, with feelings of guilt and anxiety coming later as I worry about how I'm going to have to curb spending on more rational things just so that I could play on something for a few hours every month.

So I put together a list of what I owned and have begun to downsize.

I got off to a good start when I sold a guitar (Jeff Hanneman JH-600EC) and a Czarcie Kopyto drum pedal (which I replaced with a cheaper pedal). Currently selling a bass amp, a modeller, a drum module and a bass (which I will have to replace with something else unfortunately).

After the sales that I have already made, I am a couple of grand in the green, and this is after I bought the pedals and a VHT Sig:X. Hoping that the other stuff I have listed will sell soon so that I can put some money away.

And in some good news, I will be done paying off one of my home loans by the end of this year, so I can look at taking out a new mortgage on it and using the funds to buy an investment property.

Can't bring myself to part with any more of my guitars and amps though. And my dinky-little amp collection is my pride and joy, I have sold a lot of amps over the years and have always regretted it. So they'll have to stay.

But I took a decision to just buy one or two more amps and then stop altogether. None this year, I've already bought a tonne of stuff. But next year, maybe $5k all in, and then I'm going to try to quit cold turkey.

The amps I am looking at are a Diezel VHX (got to have a Diezel, if I hadn't sold my VH4 this wouldn't be necessary) and either a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Multiwatt or a Rectifier Recording preamp that I could pair with my Rectifier Stereo 2:100.

That's my "big decision" haha. GAS always gets the better of me. But I think of it as two baby steps and then just resisting temptation.

I've done this before, and maintained my decision for a long time. But then GAS got the better of me and I caved in.

Trying to do better, but it's a real problem.
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Being involved with any gear forum doesn't help. That's why a break is necessary sometimes. You subconsciously seek validation not only from yourself but from other strange people who have "collections" online. You should instead master the art of letting go and downsize your stuff to something manageable.

In the end, it's ego. I love gear tubes and electronics. I used to keep alot of amps. But in reality I only need a couple to be happy now. I'm redirecting it elsewhere toward less expensive aspects again. Aka, pickups/speakers.. revisiting these things and in doing so taking a break from the endless amount of tweaked castrated marshall circuits being churned out by everyone and their mother. I always have an amp in my sights though. But I've learned to realize if the time isn't right it's just not right and I don't need a wall of gear to have validation anymore.
 
Managed not to buy any new amps these past 12 months - but I’ve really wanted to. What stopped me was looking around my house and noting all the ways I could improve it. It’s an old house (126 years and counting) so there’s plenty I can do - it’s endless. The thought of buying another amp that I’ll just end up dialling in to sound pretty close to my others, and then knowing there’s a bunch of stuff that I now can’t do to actually improve my living conditions, has put the brakes on the GAS (for now). Buying an old Boss GE10 EQ helped too - endless tone chasing options for not very much money.
 
rottingcorpse said:
Keep the gear. Dump the wife. Then you have more room for gear.
This is the way. This is rigtalk.
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Erm, no. I believe that a healthy balance can be achieved between the two.

Like say 8 amps and 8 guitars one side and the wife on the other.

Honestly, I bet the next thing I'll hear is "Let's play D&D in my mom's basement” :geek:

"I'M A GROWN MAN, AND I CAN TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS" hah
 
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I took a break from RT, having gear that was working well for me; first year back I had several new tube amps, guitars, cabs, etc.., and it hasn't stopped yet, but it's slowing down finally, as I have most of what I want for gear.

I go through buying and selling phases, which have finally slowed down. I have more gear than room, so I rent a small climate controlled storage room for the extras; and if I want something from the storage room, I bring something from home to storage, to try to manage the space.

Finally got to the point where I have 2 or more of my favorite guitars; then 1 each of guitars that are different (e.g., a Backlund 400, Strat, Ric, archtop,...); I have mostly Marshall amps, Engl, and Fender amps that cover everything I want; Helix for modeler (Helix Floor, Helix Native, HX-Effects),...and other guitar gear.

In addition to guitar gear, the real money/space issue is mostly keyboards and modular synths. I also have some bass gear.

then there are my other hobbies...

I have been buying lots of gear the last few years in preparation for my early retirement; I want to have all the gear I want while I'm still working. Once I retire, I plan to sell gear before buying new gear as much as possible.

The real issue for me is lack of space; I'm surrounded by gear, it's in every room of the house except the bathroom and kitchen.

I'm either going to sell some gear in the coming months, or get a bigger storage room; probably the latter since I don't have much that I want to sell.

TL;DR; decide what gear you like best for each category, e.g., guitars, amps, pedals, etc. put each category in a numbered list from most favorite to least favorite, and for each write a short description for why you own it. set the lists aside, come back to them 2-4 weeks later, and review.

For each list sell the bottom item; wait another few weeks then repeat until you get down to the gear you won't sell. Once you're there, sell something to get something; want a new guitar, sell one first; want a new OD pedal, sell an OD pedal first,...

IMO
 
I retired a couple of years back and basically like what I have. I still work part time and love my job!
I sold off 6 guitars over the past year. I also moved a couple of amps and a couple of modelling units that I wanted to try out before I retired. Because I work in the industry, I get a lot of deals on some very nice gear and I have no problem selling things when I need to.

LIke RSM....if I want to buy something, I usually will sell something. I don't need more stuff but there are times that I like to change up an item or two.

Last piece of the puzzle for me was a nice FX unit for my amp and the new VP4 is showing up today. I have been waiting for something like this to come out from Fractal for a while. This should give me the sounds I want with my amp in the setup that I like. I sold my H90 and Digitech Drop yesterday and that paid for the VP4, so all good.

I'm down to 4 guitars total including my acoustic and they all get played live and at rehearsals. Since I am a certified tech, I can fix and repair them as needed. In a nice, happy place with gear at this point.
 
RaceU4her said:
yeah see im the total opposite, gear inspires me and i would get bored with just one rig, usually every day i pick a different guitar, amp, boost and speaker and just see what happens, its the noodling trying different setups where 95% of my riffs come from.
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I think that is cool! There was a time where I was like that for sure, and perhaps will be there again. I find if I have a good amp setup, with a small assortment of effects and a handful of guitars I can cover the range I care to, which is sort of like CCR to Slayer.

I would like to have a couple more cab options, even if fairly pedestrian things, like a 1960 with T75s and perhaps an EVH 212 with G12H30s. But I'm not in a panic to do that today.

And I agree about the responsible spending. Pretty much everything I have cost me hardly anything, and the one thing that did cost me perhaps a notable amount of money, is worth more than what I paid.
 
nightlight said:
Erm, no. I believe that a healthy balance can be achieved between the two.

Like say 8 amps and 8 guitars one side and the wife on the other.

Honestly, I bet the next thing I'll hear is "Let's play D&D in my mom's basement” :geek:

"I'M A GROWN MAN, AND I CAN TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS" hah
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8 guitars/ 8 amps / one whore
 
I think the important thing in life is to be happy. For me, that has meant a lot of gear acquisitions in the past decade.

But things change, and therefore I think it’s an optimal time to check my gear spending and look into other avenues to park my money.

I’d like to stress that this thread was not about getting rid of my gear (or as some suggested, getting rid of my wife).

More along the lines of reining in my passion and being happy with what I have.

And it’s a great list, I think anyone would be happy with the options I have to fool around with.

Just some math at work

GUITARS (6 guitars, 1 bass)
-ESP RZK-II Richard Z Kruspe signature
-Caparison Horus HGS
-Aristides 060
-OD Guitars Venus 6
-Strandberg Boden 8 Sweden Custom Shop
-ESP E-II MK-I Mille Petrozza signature
- Warwick Vampyre SN-5 Bass

6 AMPS/2 PREAMPS/2 POWER AMPS
-Engl Savage 120
-Marshall JVM410H
-VHT Sig:X
-Mesa Boogie Quad
-Engl Fireball 100
-VHT Valvulator GP3
-PRS Archon 25 combo
-Darkglass Microtubes 900 bass amp
-Mesa Boogie Rectifier Stereo 2:100
-Fryette PS-2

CABINETS (the saddest section, just 2)
-Emperor 4x12 with Eminence Governors and Tonkers
-Orange 2x12 with English V30s

MODELLERS (2)
-Axe FXIII
-Quad Cortex

Honestly, if I played one of those guitars every day of the week, through one of the amps, through either one of the cabinets, I literally have a new rig for 84 days of the year. And if I repeated all the combinations, I could only play them about 4-5 times a year.

And let’s not forget the modellers, or loading down the amps with my Suhr RL or PS-2.

Or heaven forbid, I should actually tweak the amp!

And don’t forget, it’s not like I’m a professional and I have dozens of hours every day to practice. Some days I’m lucky to get an hour.

As I mentioned, that still isn’t enough for me. I want a Diezel and I want some kind of Recto. Guitar wise, I’ve always wanted a Music Man.

But the list could go on and on! I check out some of the rigs at Rig-Talk, and there’s always something new to check out or research.

The math just tells me that I’m going to be underutilising even my current gear.

Is that wrong if it puts a smile on my face? Hell, no!

But sometimes you just have to take a step back, breathe in and introspect about wants versus needs and learn to be contented in life.

And for me, all I need right now is some kind of Recto, a Diezel and a Music Man. And I’ll be done, goddamnit!!! 😂😂😂
 
Funny reading all the opinions. All the times I was in bands back through the years and we were gigging and recording I had one maybe two amps and maybe 3-4 guitars.
Roll up to 2019 and I had plenty of time to watch YouTube and be on a few forums I started buying selling and trading gear. Now I have more amps and guitars than I ever had before.
Of course back then I was a poor musician 🤣
These days things are different. Home recording and YouTube drive GAS. I think the internet drives a lot of this. Including reverb and local FB and Craigslist.
As was said above as long as you’re not buying beyond your means who cares. I’ve got a buddy that probably has 45 amps. I love going to his place. I’m like a kid in a candy store. 😎
 
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