Haha
That would be new to me. It works just like one. Open to discuss. Have papers to link?
I agree but your just putting off the inevitable and dealing with the issue that will resurface later on which it will.
Maybe. But I donāt have ~$2k right now. So itās pointless for me to look at deals. It just makes me confusedā¦ Other than 1-2 semi-modulars that i can afford, I know what I want to buy, and it costs $2k. I will wait until i find the money.
When you have the money what then? Theres the next thing. What you want is the ability to look at any gear article picture and be unaffected but still have an enquiring mind. Be content at any stage of your journey wherever you are or whatever you have. Thats the ideal anyway.
I am weak 
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Your much stronger than you think 
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There are some stark differences between substance dependence and gambling. Overconsumption is yet further removed from gambling.
Other than triggering dopamine, the processes that lead to it (and, importantly, the stage of the process the dopamine is released as well as the reliability of that dopamine hit) are markedly different with overconsumption and either gambling or substance dependence.
In fact, I think any papers that try to argue the processes are the same are quite likely full of shit.
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Now, that makes it at least 3 topics. (addiction, substance abuse/dependence, gambling) 
However, the question was (or until today for me this was no question) that/if GAS is some kind of addiction. To me it just seems so. Strong desire, no control over begin and/or stop (onset, termination, level of use), continuation despite better knowledge and objective negative effects, feelings of guilt, craving, highs etc., progressive neglect of other activities, increased amount of time etc.
This! I love to learn new stuff, but try to recreate those with the gear I already have. I downsized my gear since last year and learned the ins and out on the 3 boxes I have. Building muscle memory etc, I feel like I am on a ninja level with my current setup, hitting buttons, dialing encoders, diving menuās without thinking too much.
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Sometimes we have to ask ourselves if we like music, rythm and melodies, or we like audio equipment more.
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Compulsive Buying Disorder is already an understood and defined concept, though it was not included in the DSM-V as a criteria for addiction (nor was sex or stealing).
So, a great many experts sat down and had a think and chose not to include it as a symptom/criteria for addiction.
You might quibble about definitions one way or another, but not being included in the DSM after a major revision is the losing side, for the time being.
The DSM has not historically been perfect, but if you reject the whole thing you reject clinical definitions of addiction, too, and youāre back to zero.
Unless of course you work outside the US, and then words can mean whatever you want them to mean.
Anyway, these things tend to be better defined as symptoms of some other disorder rather than the disorder itself. GAS, when rampant, is most probably related to identity problems, and identity is quite likely what they trying to purchase. Those that put themselves in true distressed states as a result of GAS purchases, anyway.
Occasionally buying something you donāt need is just normal.
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I moved my focus from thinking about buying stuff to making and releasing music. Thatās my enjoyment, creating.
I then stuck with a productive setup which is mainly Ableton
With hardware itās for live and jamming. Anything new something not being used has to go.
No more debt or saving but does mean Iām constantly rotating my hardware. Donāt mind though because my production setup stays the same and Iām regularly finishing stuff.
Next step is a live setup wit two other guys for a new project. Sold and bought few things and hopefully maschine plus is the one
Hopefully 
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For me, a compulsive buyer of equipment for years, salvation has come from the hand of Ableton Push 3 SA. I bought it with doubts, and in these 8 months with it I have gone from buying equipment to creating M4L devices that help me in my creative process, to play and create some live and improvised recordings every day in a park while my dog āāplays with his friends and to sell a lot of equipment. In these months I have sold a Syntrx, a Prophet 6, an MS-20, a Pulsar-23, several Eurorack Verbos modules, an ER-301, a Sherman 2 filter, Moogs and other devices. In the coming months the list will continue with my Monomes, a complete Serge Eurorack case and several other pieces of gear until I get rid of almost everything. It is a liberation to know that what I create can do solely and exclusively with what I can fit in a backpack.
However, I continue to look every day at what is published in electronic instrument forums, and sometimes I am tempted to buy something. But then I think ācan I do this with the p3?ā. The answer until now has always been āyes.ā
Iām very happy.
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Two things that have helped me.
1: Ask myself āwhat does this give me that I donāt already have?ā
2. Instead of buying XXXX, would I be better off spending 10 percent of that money on education?
Iāve bought a couple of courses for Digitakt II and Syntakt. I need a more structured learning environment than most free YouTube courses provide. I like digesting knowledge in small doses. Really getting to know my devices has helped me wash away the desire for a Digitone, A4, and a few other devices.
itā just a silly thing i do, but i make a youtube playlist with videos i love only from gear i have. Remembering the gas i had when i bought them and trying to live in a paused world, a world where this is the perfect gear.
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To be fair a lot of the gear coming out is straight up banging.
Feel like there was a real dry spell due to covid like 2020 - 2022 (3 years) but the last few years its like the good old days, or even better.
Very little gear that comes out is genuinely bad, every week or every month there is literally a new shiny thing that potentially could become genre defining or spawn entire new types of music.
it is not unreasonable to be excited about it and want to get your hands on it.
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You didnāt win. You bought something.
If we pick and choice whatās reality than thereās always an excuse.
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Well thatās pretty cool, thanks for that! Gratifying that some people can find something to get them moving from what Iāve done. Like Iāve said before, this whole community does that for me all the time.
Focus! Not just in music but in turning the damn phone off, itās a distraction based world now. Dreaming of a studio out in the desert with no internet, sigh
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My GAS cure is always the same: make muslc.
Currently I have anti-GAS instead in that I feel a sense of guilt for all the hardware I recently acquired that is only collecting dust at the moment. Iāve committed to selling at least three pieces of gear before buying anything new.
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