CURE for Gear Acquisition Syndrome?

V

vejichan

Inspired
How do you stop yourself from buying more gear? Since i started playing guitar...i was a tone chaser. More focused on gear and guitar than actually improving my playing. Its been back and forth with my love for gear. Boughts tons of tube amps, preamps, racks, guitars and custom guitars. My GAS got better when i settled down and had kids but every now and then it does come back. For anyone who has this problem and is not fully cured meaning you dont have any urge to buy any more guitars or amps and seeing a new amp or guitar doesnt make you want to buy it...what helped you or what did you do to overcome this issue? Any advice?

For me i have tried quiting any guitar or gear related groups on the internet and even stop listening to music or playing guitar...but after 4 or 5 months of absense from that I eventually came back. Also this video helped

 
Ride it out — or if money is no object: get it all! :D
When I got the II, I had it cured for about 10 years.
Watching too many pedal demos recently, I almost wanted to get a board, until I saw today's prices for pedals :eek: So put my thoughts on an FM9 cure instead.
Other danger is to visit actual shops. That can make me go, "WTH was I thinking?? I need an amp in the room!" :D I do have some small ones, but the ones in the shop of course sound better... ;)
I love just researching it, making notes and lists, until it eventually dissipates — often because my interests change. I cannot be passionate about the same thing all the time; I switch between passions.
ATM, it should be more important to find a guitar that really fits me. One to five is enough.
 
Unfortunately they haven’t discovered yet…🤣🤣
First I had GAS for amp and fx then comes my first FAS unit in 2008 and I’m fine since then.
Then I had GaS for studio outboards but then come ITB mixing…
Now I have guitar GAS and I think I’ll never find a cure 🤣🤣🤣🤣
 
I got myself a beautiful (used) Collings City Limits for my 70th birthday, and I love it, but tbh it kinda just makes me appreciate how good really good guitars are, so I should have more of course :)

Between the CL, an EJ strat, and a partly broken homemade thing, I'm enormously appreciative of what I have. But no tele, HSS "strat", or Gretsch, etc, not to mention Aristides etc.

That said, I'm good.
 
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For me the big money pit was Eurorack, but eventually the hassle of managing it all forced me to scale back. i have no regrets.
 
I find going back to the gear I have and re-discovering it helps. If I'm thinking of buying a certain type of pedal or whatever and I have a similar one lying around, or a modelled one, I dive into it that one again and see if I can get out of it what I'm gassing for. WRT pickups I have found that spending time with a pickup I don't like has helped as I tend to often gradually find a tone in it that works for me. Different guitars are tough - I wanted to have all the basic types (classic humbucker, shred, semi-hollow, strat, tele, ...) and still gassing for a few of these, but I've gotten over buying duplicates of a given type - no need for 3 strats - I just find my peace with one.
 
I introduced a new rule for myself: if I want something new at least two similiar other things have to go.

So far I sold a lot of pedals, power amps, power supplies and various stuff. I haven't gotten anything new. But as soon as my FRFR monitor is also gone I'll get another one.

This rule really make you think about what you really need and what can go. And also reduces unnecessary things in the long run...
 
crdark said:
I introduced a new rule for myself: if I want something new at least two similiar other things have to go.

So far I sold a lot of pedals, power amps, power supplies and various stuff. I haven't gotten anything new. But as soon as my FRFR monitor is also gone I'll get another one.

This rule really make you think about what you really need and what can go. And also reduces unnecessary things in the long run...
Click to expand...
Ditto! This has helped me enormously.
 
crdark said:
I introduced a new rule for myself: if I want something new at least two similiar other things have to go.

So far I sold a lot of pedals, power amps, power supplies and various stuff. I haven't gotten anything new. But as soon as my FRFR monitor is also gone I'll get another one.

This rule really make you think about what you really need and what can go. And also reduces unnecessary things in the long run...
Click to expand...
I've always had this rule also, but for financial reasons.
 
I get it for specific things from time to time.

I'm honestly kind of GASing for an amp. I don't know why. Every time I actually think about it, I realize that it's at least going to be less flexible than what I have. So, I try to find something similar-ish in the FM3....play with it for a while, realize I don't like it as much as what I'm already using, and go back to doing things that matter. That's worked so far.

There are a couple guitars I'm GASing for as well. One of them...I've played a bunch of and not bonded with. One, I used to own. So...I keep telling myself I'd just sell it again. There are a couple that I just can't find. So...no biggie there. I'm kind of planning to "save up" completely discretionary cash so that if I do find the one, I can just buy it with money that I've treated as already gone.

I want to upgrade to a better Fractal, just so I can use 2 amps. That'll probably happen eventually.

Honestly....I don't actually get it that bad. I almost want GAS back. Very little gear is really exciting to me right now. Other than guitars I can't find.
 
Diego said:
Unfortunately they haven’t discovered yet…🤣🤣
First I had GAS for amp and fx then comes my first FAS unit in 2008 and I’m fine since then.
Then I had GaS for studio outboards but then come ITB mixing…
Now I have guitar GAS and I think I’ll never find a cure 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Click to expand...
Yes and you also got a nice guitar, that blue EVH Wolfgang.... now I want one of those. There is something wrong with me, because I rarely see a photo of a guitar that I don't lust after, and at least appreciate, or even am interested in holding it at least. I said I was fine with what I have and I can't do it. I don't want to sell anything, ever, I wish I had my FM3 back too. Selfish, aren't I?
 
Larry Ball said:
Yes and you also got a nice guitar, that blue EVH Wolfgang.... now I want one of those. There is something wrong with me, because I rarely see a photo of a guitar that I don't lust after, and at least appreciate, or even am interested in holding it at least. I said I was fine with what I have and I can't do it. I don't want to sell anything, ever, I wish I had my FM3 back too. Selfish, aren't I?
Click to expand...
I had some thought time not so long ago and I decided that I want to live while I'm alive and I'll have all the time to regret when I'm dead... Obviously family comes first but then... 🤣🤣🤣🤣.

By the way.... I'm looking for a blue PRS McCarty 10Top (semi hollow if possible) 😊😊😊😇😇😇
 
Diego said:
I had some thought time not so long ago and I decided that I want to live while I'm alive and I'll have all the time to regret when I'm dead... Obviously family comes first but then... 🤣🤣🤣🤣.

By the way.... I'm looking for a blue PRS McCarty 10Top (semi hollow if possible) 😊😊😊😇😇😇
Click to expand...
I like wine/maroon like you prefer blue. I haven't seen a darker burgundy color Wolfgang. Yes, family comes first, we only joke. Like you said, might as well enjoy it while you can!
 
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