Yes! This kind of watching would actually be inspiring and could give me better insight into the stuff I already have. Good advice:)
I had the same kind of thoughts before I purchased a bigger MIDI keyboard - that I would learn music theory stuff daily and that programming sequences would become much easier. Of course I didn’t do any of that:D
I guess, if, deep down, you know that you don’t need one - don’t do it. You’ve already come to the logical conclusion. Also, think of the amount of time that a traditional instrument needs to be truly mastered - it’s the nuances and subtlety that matter and I suppose Linnstrument isn’t much different in this regard. The two may share a couple of similarities but probably there’s more that differs between them than what is comparable:) And finally - you can do all the music theory stuff that you’ve mentioned on your guitar that you already have:) And, let’s be honest - practicing the damn thing is the best way to get better at it, practicing on any other instrument won’t be anything as effective.
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Anyone still on for that? Like for real / no cheat?
My new year no gear has translated to no more new stuff in general. I still buy music (for my radio show), but I haven’t bought a new ‘thing’ since Jan 1st. By ‘thing’ I mean something new that wasn’t needed but that I wanted. Just grocery, vacation, and few restaurant… It just feels really good to not get new gear all the time!
Thanks again to have started this! It’s powerful!
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I’ve been fighting my unreasonable GAS for a 0-CTRL lately. This thread helps a lot, especially on the moment when I’m on the fence. Makes the decision shift the good side.
Well, this and the fact that I don’t really have much money to spend….
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Absolutely! 
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A thing to add: the attitude pushed by this thread made me realize where the GAS is coming from, what triggers it.
In my case, I have several alerts on second hand gear on Audiofanzine, and it’s a torture to keep them: I cancel them one by one. ^^
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Yeah there is definitely a behavior change needed - like watching all these youtube video about new gear. If I watch enough of them, I’ll most likely want to have that piece of gear. So I switched toward watching video about the gear I already have to see/listen to other ways to use my gear. It has a similar excitation effect actually.
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I’m still living the no new gear life, but think I will need a mixer and maybe an Zoom multitrack recorder soon. I’m trying to start a regular gathering of people doing noise and other transgressive approaches to sound and simply dont have the means to record it. This is still a gear purchase that’s incoming in the next few weeks or months, but I’m trying to focus on my needs as an artist and how I can not just buy the newest shit for my own momentary enjoyment, but rather what can be used to help hold a scene and be afforded to be lended out to creative community members that don’t have as much access to gear but still want to participate and make recordings. For me it is about destroying the consumerist mindset but not limiting my needs. I don’t really GAS for stuff these days and feel very content with my simple little set up.
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My first report since the New Year (I think).
All good here…in fact I’m finding that even with my modest collection of boxes, I want to streamline further.
We have an impending visit back to the UK (from Poland) in the summer and I’m considering the possibility of taking a few items over to reside in the synth library (my mates studio where I periodically swap items in and out).
Thing is, they’re currently looking after my MD and MnM and the temptation might be to bring those back over, but one thing I’m trying to avoid is amassing too much gear in one place, in case we ever have to move countries (again)…
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Even though my goal for joining this wasn’t really to not buy anything, I’ve officially sinned this week by jumping on a good deal on a second hand octatrack mk2.
My main goal for this year was and is to minimize my setup and find the perfect workflow which is both inspiring and productive. I’ve spent the first 3 months of this year selling stuff and reorganizing, which was really inspiring to do. I’ve found that I like making music most when I have a single synth and a single sampler/sequencer to work with.
I’ve been using the AR mk2 as my main sampler, but the octatrack was a machine which I was wondering about for years, and kinda feared because of its reputation. In my search for a perfect minimal setup I finally made the decision to give it a try to find out whether its really the one sampler to rule them all. I’ve put away the AR mk2 for now, so my setup is still one synth and one sampler.
To me it doesn’t really feel like a failure though: I’ll keep on selling stuff I don’t use/need, and I’ve kept my setup minimal. I”ll keep going in that spirit and I believe I wont buy anything else this year. If the OT doesn’t work for me I’ll sell it again.
I did however fall for the temptation of trying something new, instead of sticking to my guns. For that, I do feel bad a little bit…
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Still on it. Probably the longest I’ve not bought/obsessed about gear since the first piece was bought.
I also found the advice in the ‘core gear’ thread quite helpful, that totally clicks with me. OT & Rytm plus rotating 1-2 synths is plenty
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I’ve noted the sin. Let us know, how you get on with the Octatrack. I’m curious to hear about the stuff being bought. I really don’t think we should shy away from talking about it, for fear of inducing gas. It’s a really interesting part of this exercise - what happens when you do buy new gear, and how does it affect your work and/or your commitment?
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My boyfriend said something pretty insightful to me the other day. I’ve been selling gear I do like but feel like I underutilize. Paraphrasing here:
“When I buy something the money I spent is gone and I don’t think about it anymore. You seem to meticulously keep track of how much everything you own is worth”
It’s definitely part of what makes me buy new gear. I have a bunch of old gear I can easily sell to fund it with.
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I think there are many people like you, I’m definitely one of them. Before synths I never really had a hobby that was as expensive. Maybe buying/collecting records came close but I rarely thought about records in terms of how much I’d be able to sell them for. (I also didn’t buy them as collectibles… but I did sell some of them when I got into synths and used the money to buy synths! 
)
One thing I wanted to do with NGNY was definitely to feel less guilty/conscious of the things I’m not using at the moment. Approach a synth more like I would a record - if I like it, I’ll eventually come back to it time and time again.
Or kinda like someone would (probably) approach a motorcycle, boat or a vintage car - they’re not gonna be used every day of the year but it still doesn’t mean the money is going to waste.
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I only need one coffee mug. I can use the same mug every day, washing it when it gets dirty. Only one coffee mug. One perfect coffee mug. How do I find the perfect coffee mug? I will buy every coffee mug that exists. If any of those coffee mugs don’t jive with my coffee drinking workflow, I will sell them. I am a master of simplicity!
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Any coffee mug will do, if you truly learn how to drink from it. The coffee doesn’t drink itself.
upate: 0 gas
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The coffee doesn’t drink itself
Hmm that makes me wonder how to improve the quality of the coffee. Should I use beans? Which beans? What roast method tastes best? Or just filter coffee? Let’s go find out and browse some coffee machine online webshops…
“Walks into coffee machine GAS wormhole 
”
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We ARE talking about the cup and the use of. Not what goes into it. It’s function is the same whether it be filled with coffee or tea…or orange juice for that matter. 
Hate to play devil’s advocate, but if this is a metaphor for gear the mug is the rack and the coffee beans are the modules (where all the money goes) 
Also, looks like my name isn’t on the list (thought it was), but still gear-free in 2022!
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One mug, one cup and one glass is all you need.
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