Yeah....it definitely can be. There's a part of me that think GAS actually comes from something very much like Option Paralysis....you hear something cool, you wonder if you actually want it, you buy it, it doesn't solve all your problems, and you do it again. When you have all the options a click/turn/block away....it happens more often. At least it doesn't cost money.
Choosing to limit yourself can be a very good thing. And, I think that's why I came to my general revelation about GAS - the "better" I am at any given thing, the less I care about gear once it does what I need and is "good enough" (however high that bar is - it might need to be one of the best in the world, or it might just need to tick the box, or anything in-between).
I play with other amp models sometimes, and I've changed my cab a handful of times. But, The Fractals would still be worth it to me if they had exactly one amp model - as long as it was the right one. I might use 2-3% of what a Fractal can do. I just really love that 2-3%.
Mastering is kinda the same way. It's been almost a year since I've bought anything. There's literally one plugin I kinda want to try, but it's just a different interface on something I can already do. So...meh. I'm also still on RX 10. I think I'm going to wait and see what's new in 12. 11 isn't enough of an upgrade for me to care. Etc..
DJing....same thing. I've upgraded software, but my gear hasn't changed in over 10 years. It still does everything I want to do the way I want to do it. Heck, my mixer was discontinued in 2015, IIRC. There's literally one product in the entire DJ market that's been released in the last 10 years that I might think about at some point...other than a new computer when mine won't do what I need anymore, of course.
I mean....nothing is actually forcing you to do that. You're choosing to do it. Having options doesn't mean you have to use them.
I'm pretty sure that on my amp, I literally just use the first page and the output compressor (because I exclusively play through IEMs with no room sound).
100% this.
Set the Axe Fx to Authentic mode. Use the Tone page. Exactly the same as a real amp.
I think the whole discussion about modellers versus profilers comes into the picture here.
For example, I used to own a Kemper, and everyone was swearing that profiles were the best thing since sliced bread. I went down that route for almost 10 years and over the course of four Profilers.
In the end, I realised that I actually preferred to be able to create my own sounds rather than what was a "good sound" based on someone else's ears.
In that regard, I love the option of being able to tweak, tweak and tweak some more till I get the sound I'm looking for. That's why I'm getting an FXIII again after going the QC route for a while.
An example of how this could just be the power amp section, the speaker curves and negative feedback for an amp I'm dialling in. These are just three settings, but you can go deep, really deep into getting the right setting. It's not like infinite settings, but it's pretty damn close.
And then, the next day, you're like, "What was I thinking"?
The same goes with IRs, and I am now a big fan of DynIRs for making that process of selecting a good speaker much easier.
Sure, I could just stick to basic settings and get by. Heck, with the Axe FXIII, you don't even have to dial in anything. Just load the amp and play, this black box of sorts is designed that way.
But I love the idea of getting this sound in my head out into the real world. You could call it tone-chasing. I'm not forced into it, I just do it because I am always looking to squeeze out that 1 per cent that I want from the Axe.
