personal story, anecdotal case report, evidence level below Cochrane V
Would love if it worked. Tried it. Had it. Couldn’t return it (software sale over NI). Sold it after a few days with a loss only to get rid of ownership. So much anger for 400 EUR (IIRC).
Seems like I am more the type of hardware addict. But no hard stuff like Buchla modular.
(That somehow and strangely excludes Arturia, had the drumbrutes and the minifreak, was able to return them - something is off with the sound, for my taste. But must be something personal, I believe others love these machines for a reason).
I got a bunch of gear during covid, when prices of everything were raising and I thought unless I get it, it will become expensive. So I jumped on discounts and got a bunch of stuff that I thought I need, but it was just FOMO.
Only pieces of gear that actually became significantly more expensive were DT and DN (and Subsequent37, which I didn’t get in time). Of all the things I bought in that period I only actually use DT, everything else is mostly just gathering dust and occupying space.
Hmm hard to say anything general here. It’s a bit personal to be honest. But there have been tons of revelations like removing the ego from the creative process and focusing on “channeling the creation” instead. I’ve done some work on this topic outside the book as well so it’s hard to say what was the biggest influence. But I believe this book is a good starting point for folks who are stuck with their creativity.
What was hard to implement? Morning pages or the artist date?
In my opinion difficulty of letting go has to do with resistance, which has to do with not accepting the way things are…
This is the best way I’ve found to actively fight GAS.
I love gear videos, but to keep myself sane I’ve started looking at them more as prompts—“what do I actually like about this and how could I do something similar with my setup?”
Then instead of losing hours bargain hunting like I used to, I sit down with a beer and try to figure out if I can get a similar sound.
I might not end up with a decent sound or song, but it’s a few hours that I don’t feel like I wasted, which is always a win.
This, too.
Mr Spock said that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true. I always try to remember that, musically and otherwise.
There’s also that thing Thich Nhat Hanh said about oranges, something like…
…when most people eat an orange slice by slice, they’re so caught up thinking about the slice they’re about to eat that they don’t even notice the one they’re chewing. Then next thing you know, the orange is gone, like it was never even there.
So I try to think of my gear as orange slices to be enjoyed, not speedrun through. The best instrument is almost always the one in front of you.
What I am going to say should not be taken at face value or anything like that, but in my case I realized that these problems linked to “GAS” generally come from spaces where musical activity (in this case) has not become professional and runs through hobby or amateur spaces. Once you enter the professional territory, I think all this disappears and pragmatism prevails.
I say this because years ago, when I started photography and video as an amateur, I kept comparing and buying cameras compulsively. When my activity began to become professional, I stopped doing it. The video camera I currently have has been with me for 8 years, and in the photographic territory I only have a couple of analog cameras. When they call me for specific photo sessions for architecture or similar, I rent the equipment for the work. In the generative audiovisual territory it is similar. I bought a fairly powerful computer and I haven’t done any hardware upgrades in 4 years. I use Touchdesigner and Unreal, so except for the initial cost of equipment and licenses, I have spent practically no money in this territory in several years.
When I played the violin I bought a pretty good instrument for just over €25,000. From that moment on I didn’t make any more investments, beyond strings and sheet music.
However, with synthesizers and sound devices everything changed. I became a compulsive buyer and seller. It was recently when I started doing work for live visuals and performances where everything started to change. For example, if I have to travel from Madrid to Barcelona for a performance, I cannot take 4,000 devices with me. I have to go as light as possible. Gradually I notice that I don’t give a shit about new synths that come on the market. I can do everything with Max Msp, Ableton and my Push 3 (along with some more friends like OP-1… :).
This is my experience. It doesn’t have to coincide with that of others, but in my case it has been a liberation.
Yes, I know a couple of photographers that apart from their daily work cameras they still collect cameras. I guess it depends on each person and each situation, but usually focusing on the work you must do helps to get rid of GAS in a more natural way.
So I want to contribute to this thread with my personal experience. I started my synth journey 4 years ago and, as soon as I discovered the pletora of gear that was available through FB groups, 2nd hand sites, SynthTube and SynthForums I started a purchasing/selling spree that is still ongoing.
I don’t think that, in the beginning, it was a problem, since I had to try as many things as possible to understand what I really needed. Also, I mainly sold evenly and even got a few bargains that made me more than a couple hundred euros. However, as time passed, I found myself always in the same circle of “buy the gear-learn the gear-sell the gear as soon as I understood how it worked”. Luckily I always kept a few foundational instrument that let me develop the ability to consciously play them and advance in my skills.
Now, in the last month alone I found myself two times making big purchases (1.500 euros+) only to realize the day after that I didn’t really need what I bought and cancel the order. So I am starting to have the feeling that I have a problem and I am starting to really ask myself what triggers my compulsive behaviour. What I realized is what you describe in the first post. The desire from the instrument which comes from looking at other people using the instrument and making up in your mind how that instrument will solve any lack perceived or real in your setup. What we call GAS.
But I also realize that, if I leave myself the time to think about it in cold mind, I am able to recognize what I need from what I don’t really need.
So, maybe, my suggestion for curing GAS is just to give us the time to think. When you really are starving for that one piece of gear, make a rule that you have to think at least 24/48 hours, or seven days, or a month (heck, I know people that think about it for a year or two before making the purchase). Then, if you still really want it, you buy it. You will still buy gear that you don’t really need, but I think you (and I) will drastically reduce the compulsive syndrome.
Today I saw the “Chromaplane” kickstarter campaign. I’ve been following those guys (Passepartout Duo) with their live performances and I really like that instrument and what they do. The idea of that instrument is great and it has a very nice and organic sound. But I don’t want to sound like them. I want to sound like me. I want to follow my own way.
So no instant purchase. With this or whatever I see. It may be great for them (and it is). Not for me.
What if GAS is one response to the solitude of much electronic musicmaking? From this viewpoint, the instruments are friends that interact with us and keep us company … like bandmates, or pets.
In this context, searching for the right synth friends … or getting as many friends as possible … or wanting new friends every week … might feel important enough to keep buying.
In other genres of musicmaking that are often more social, the instruments matter (a good one adds to the ease and pleasure of playing, a bad one is a distraction) but unless there’s a malfunction, the object you’re playing is typically less in the front of your head than dealing with the other people in the room—other musicians, the audience, or any gatekeepers deciding if your performance will be rewarded.
(Not saying this is the whole story, or even a universal experience—but it feels like it might be partly true, sometimes.)
This could also explain why, in the “band” amateur music world, quite a lot of people keep switching bands, launching new projects, which they quickly grow frustrated with, etc. (in my experience, at least).
I think it’s actually good to have little periods where you sorta binge and change your gear up. I had DT/DN/ST for a few years, personally got bored of that format. So I sold all three and used the money to buy some different pieces. That satisfied my GAS, and now im enjoying the new setup. In a few years I might want to change things up again, but for now I am just being disciplined and not looking.
I think if you are too strict with yourself and say “no new gear ever”, its gonna build up inside you and you’re gonna break one day. It’s ok to have a period where you buy some stuff.
Except the level of stuff like knob per function 2000€ synths that I cannot afford, I find that most gear suck.
I have been 4 or 5 years that I ve been thinking in getting: a TR8s but seems a pain to setup, the Minilogue has ridiculous modulation, Refaces CS, DX lacks keys and store presets on an ipad. The Roland Stuff is ridiculous small and I don’t want to sound like everyone did in the 90s, Korg modules look amazing but they are super expensive for what they are… Same can be said for the Analog Rytm mk1.
From the big boxes, Akai Force, MPCs, I rather use a computer/ipad, Maschine I have and love, but is seriously underpowered, Octatrack I love it too, but has some ancient stuff on it. And I am really tired of switching pages and shift combos on everything.
That has cured a lot of gas to me. I still look for a syntakt and system 8 one day, and the erica synths bassline and I look ton of guitars, but honestly gear that exist now gives me the opposite of gas.
Like I am not the typical person “Oh I wish this would do that, and sampling, and 27 new effects” but please do no make flawed over expensive stuff.
I’m ITB but the GAS is real over there too (Software Acquisition Syndrome.)
At first I didn’t know what sort of music I was making so the gear I picked up was without knowing fully what it was for. I don’t think there’s any way of getting around that, since it’s just part of the process. I tried hardware, software the works. But if there’s no musical thread then it’s difficult to to buy with intent. The main trap I’ve found myself falling into though isn’t so much “this will solve my problems/this will turn me into a musical genius” but just “oh wow if I have X I can do Y.” I had a tendency to pick up tools because they were unique or interesting, rather than because they do a job I need them to - classic magpie syndrome. I think this is probably the biggest distraction I’ve had in my short time doing this.
To combat this, I reinstalled my DAW and what happened then really changed how I saw plugins. To go through and re-install it all would have taken an age so I just… didn’t. I now have around 30% of my previous install list (tbf, lot of it was freebies and the like but that’s a whole other form of GAS.) And now I’m wondering how many of them I can replace with stock devices, taking that whole cycle full circle. I do think you can make music without 3rd party plugins, but some of them are extremely useful so I don’t see myself ever leaving them behind completely. But I could see another cull to get this down even further.
Once you’ve got a bank of tunes, even in a couple of styles you can more easily decide if (for example) moving to Gear A from Gear B will force you into a specific workflow. I think the ultimate point though is you have to get back to the music. If you have GAS it’s also worth thinking how you would end it rather than just expecting yourself to deal with saying “no more” without a twinge of the wallet. I have 2 desert island buys I may move towards, but they are very much “as and when” rather than “must have.”
As I say, I’ve now started deleting, removing and selling off things I don’t need or use after the phase of accumulating and experimenting. I think it’s OK to not want to go cold turkey, and allow yourself certain strategic purchases based on the workflow you find the most useful. But at some point it’s about settling in with whatever random collection of stuff you have and not really changing too much while you settle into a process of making stuff.
i am a therapist and also have GAS - i sometimes think about it as a collection, other times a utility, and sometimes a representation of the losses of my band or my youth
Tried it. Had it. Couldn’t return it (software sale over NI). Sold it after a few days with a loss only to get rid of ownership. So much anger for 400 EUR (IIRC).
