Got a dog…
It’s mono though so now looking for a colliephonic.
7 Likes
I saw a great point about treating GAS in the SuperBooth thread this year:
Try playing the device or devices in real life. Actually working with the gear can help to manage the obsession. Gear is just material—plastic, rubber, metal; it requires understanding, time, and dedication to create those magical sounds you’ve heard on a record or seen on YouTube.
If this doesn’t help, that’s another question for which I don’t have an answer yet 
(By the way, my GAS was triggered by fatigue from using the computer and slight eye problems, as well by a general fascination with specific music and artists. Oh, artist X used this device—I don’t fully understand how it works or what it does, but I must have it. Endless search for a silver bullet)
5 Likes
Height of GAS for me was probably 3-4 years ago- at the height of covid and also compounded by long hours spent working and unable to make music but plenty of time to read forums and such. Was utterly convinced I needed absolutely every bloody shiny box that I’d read about here. My little studio space was a constant revolving door of gear, I was constantly buying and then re-selling and it was fucking tiresome. Crucially for me, the whole point to all of this was always to get some finished music done, some solid lasting artefacts to show for all my efforts. And did I get anything finished using all of those shiny machines that I was so convinced I needed for my ‘workflow’? Did I fuck. Its a lot easier now to not get caught up in the GAS mindset when I simply remind myself of this, and when I look at threads like ‘your setups’ and ‘your latest purchase’ a lot of it now just looks like unhealthy fetishisation and im glad im out of it
8 Likes
write and release a track with every piece of gear that you own before buying a new piece of gear
i’m releasing one live performance a week with octatrack mkii and analog heat +fx so I can really learn them!
9 Likes
I bought all I could and then my music room was full. Now I‘m happy with all the stuff and I‘m not interested more in buying.
So maybe one possible way is to go all in and enjoy it while buying and owning stuff. Gas is not for everyone something bad, I think.
2 Likes
Set entire “other gear” category here to muted.
Set up a different account for youtube, to rebuild your algorithm. Also, use other social media accounts for browsing instead of posting (again, rebuilding an algorithm).
Resist clicking on anything music related. Worked for me. Can’t remember the last time I bought new gear. Maybe 2 years now?
All I get now are letters from Sweetwater which go to the trash.
13 Likes
This works for me and others I’ve spoken to about the topic:
Get off the forums / synth social sites.
The old saying “out of sight out of mind” does actually work in this case.
It’s the looking that drives desire.
4 Likes
This might sound really stupid, but hear me out… Exercise.
If you feel like you’re about to do something over which you don’t have control, try to exercise. Whether it’s alcohol, drugs, buying synthesizers, hiring a hitman, whatever… If you go for a run, a vigorous bike ride, or whatever your exercise of choice may be, it will likely put things in perspective.
Personally, I like running. It helps me break out of the darkness of my soul, and I’m not even joking.
24 Likes
That’s a good one. Getting into a regular fitness program actually got me away from drinking as well, and it ended up naturally reworking the algorithm on YouTube so it no longer serves me up gear videos.
The other one I highly recommend is in-person music lessons. It can not only be humbling (which has anti-gear effects), but it keeps you busy working on pieces of music and makes you realize you don’t have time to add more gear to your setup. Also, the progress you make with music can make you feel less guilty about having the gear you own, and slowly does away with the imposter syndrome many bedroom musicians suffer from.
4 Likes
I don’t know if it has been mentioned yet…or if it is too obvious, but ADBLOCK.
Once in a while, when I have to turn ADBLOCK off for some reason, I am bombarded with stuff and think to myself, how people can browse the internet without adblockers.
2 Likes
A couple of things that have worked for me to slow down the beast:
-
make a roadmap of gear you think you want to add to your setup over the next couple of years. Assess any bargains that pop up against this.
-
if something takes your fancy, give yourself permission to buy it, but with the caveat you will do it one month in the future. Given how abstract online ordering can be, this can feel similar and in a month you’ll probably have lost interest but you will still have your money.
-
create a credit system for new gear. Put a dollar value on your learning/writing/jam sessions with your existing gear. $20 for a noodle, $50 for a deep dive, $100 for a finished track or whatever. This will slow down your purchases and create a direct link between acquiring gear and actually using gear.
-
do an audit of your existing gear and make a list of the key reasons you bought them. I wanted to explore X, or I wanted to run Y through Z etc. Have you done those things? If not, feed it into the credit system.
7 Likes
Resisting buying new stuff is hard. For me, it’s about the unknown. Will this gear do x,y,z?
I’ve learned over the years, everything does x,y,z just differently. It all does the same stuff. No magic. Nothing special.
That’s why almost all (not quite all, but a good chunk) of my stuff is up for sale now and I’m not feeling like buying anything new or special.
Plus I’ve got a good thing going with what I’m using, so there’s that too
5 Likes
The best cure for GAS for me is getting away from socials/forums and making something with the stuff I have. even if its just a bit of noodling that will never go anywhere.
3 Likes
home ownership helps as I always have to fix something around the place that costs money. Forces me to master my gear.
4 Likes
I started running at the beginning of the pandemic and it’s been a gift. I love it. I’ve even won first in a few 5k’s in my age group.
I will say, I still struggle with GAS, but I’m slowly getting better.
2 Likes
GAS is really something… but it is mostly a lack of focus IMO.
TL;DR: stick to a system/workflow, Get rid of everything else, go deep and commit to master it.
Boring story:
Once I almost buy a second guitar… and not even a nice one, just a “different” guitar. Totally nonsense. A guitar is just a guitar. And having 2 of them is just a distraction from actually playing the guitar.
Every piece of gear adds friction to the creative process.
Fast forward several years: I still have my same old guitar today, I just try to get better at it, focusing my GAS toward technique and musical knowledge of the guitar instead of additional guitars/things.
I will state the obvious being in this forum, but my choice of workflow/ecosystem of hardware is Elektron’s. I just feel it is (very) well designed. You can jump from one machine to another, use just one or three together effortlessly, keep it shallow or mathematically deep, etc… but most important for this thread: reduce friction when creating music and reduce need and lust for additional things.
In an alternative universe I could’ve land on Roland’s, Akai’s or Ableton + some VST’s… which I guess are also pretty well designed systems and will work toward the same objective.
2 Likes
I learned to control it by treating myself like a 10 year old. I am not kidding. One day I was like, “fuck this”. From that point on, whenever I felt the urge, I pull myself aside and have a talk or a scolding, and force myself to be logical and rational about the whole thing. Go over the least of why I want X and Y and whether I need them. If the scales tilts towards the side of wanting and not needing, then the chance of not succumbing to GAS at least 90%. I really have to justify getting something before getting it.
I was really serious about that and for some reason I used this method every single time I had the urge. With practice, I’ve learned to do it way more holistically and naturally.
The second thing I did that helped me is to stop worshiping gear and brands. I did that by putting faith heavily in my creative process and less in the gear itself.
Thirdly, I reduced my consumption of gear and music production Youtube to the point that I now shudder at the thought of it, similar to how I used to drink tons and tons of soda but then I cut it out of my diet and now the thought of soda is painful.
Fourthly, I made an effort to stop being a “collector”. There was a time when I would have one or two things from a company, and I liked them moderately enough to then strangely be consumed with the desire to have every single thing that company made so I could have the full collection. How fucking stupid!
All this things can be done. I am not special or unique. I am pretty average. If I can do, so can a shit load of people. It takes effort, consistency, and being willing to reframe your mind in a holistic and mindful way, always being kind to yourself.
9 Likes
Work on it from several angles.
Financial:
Deny yourself permission to use credit to finance gear. Set aside a fixed amount of money as a gear fund. If the fund is empty, you can’t buy gear. Debt is cedeing control of (part of) your life to an institution which doesn’t care for you and it enriches that institution at your expense, so don’t care for it.
Emotional:
Engage with the part of you thay is hoarding gear. Get to know it. Does it want to be a gear librarian? Does it want to make every sound imaginable? Try actively to find what the drive is about and accept it, and then find ways to do it more heathily.
Musical:
Make some music and see it through. Like… decide what your music is for, and push it to the end point. Are you making music for fame and glory? Do you have fame and glory yet? Or… maybe you’re making music to chill out… try doing a “gong bath” (with synths) performance for a few other people. Do you see yourself as the catalyst for a dance party? Assemble a set and promote it… find how many gigs a year you can manage before it negatively affects the rest of your life.
Time:
Time linit your exposure to sources of GAS. 1hour of elektronauts & synth-youtube a week. Or 2hrs… anything less than you currently do. Spend two months watching how your drive for those goes up and down. Engage with or acknowledge the need but bring yourself back to the lime linit.
7 Likes
For me helped:
No youtube, no synth news, no elektronauts.
Basically all thats internet and gear.
You need to stop feed your brain with exciting new shiny options.
Then, and thats important: You need to fill the void. If you don’t do that you’re gonna miss something.
For me it was sports. It feeds your brain with excitement, archivements.
Now im back to electronauts, to read sometimes. But i don’t have the urge to fill my brain with wrong happiness.
So basically if you’re a gas victim you need to change habits.
5 Likes
Take some time to figure out what you really want to do, and then do that.
Write out a plan for what you want to do. It should have steps like:
- Organize my gear so that it is easy to work with
- Develop a coherent theme for an album
- Make 2-5x as many tracks as I think I’ll need for that album
- Pick the best tracks, make the album
- Pay an artist for some album art
- Release album
Then, when you realize that you are doomscrolling for gear, ask yourself whether or not you are moving your plan forward. Maybe your album really does call for a 303 clone. Maybe you need a mic. But those purchases need to directly support your plan.
6 Likes