I wonder if it is this article Happy NoGear New Year! - #30 by Martebar ?
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i totally forgot about jamuary. last year, it proved to be a great learning opportunity. the month started with mostly single box jams, then maybe DT + a synth, then DT + synth + ableton, then finally all in the box with ableton. some of the tracks were interesting; some weren’t, but i learned a lot more about production techniques along the way. we’ll see about this year. i haven’t decided if that goal makes sense just yet.
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Here’s the actual article.
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Sorry, yes that’s it.
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Thanks for posting that. This para sums things up nicely:
Among many other possessions, I have a set of watercolors, a guitar and amp, and a bunch of “Learn French” books. If I were stuck in a prison cell with these items I would almost inevitably become the accomplished guitarist, painter and polyglot I wanted to be when I purchased each of those things. But new options seem to enter my life all the time, and so I drift from old ones.
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The problem with this reasoning is you can always arguee “well, if I was to get stuck in prison with 3 objects, I would really like to test as many fields and gear as possible to get the right ones with me”.
If there are or not ideal or right objects / gear / etc… that’s another topic, but maybe choices are a not-so-neccesary luxury to get happy and accomplished, who know!
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Kinda lines up with “less is more”
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The link works but on lines you have to be a trusted member to access the “Open” category of threads. People get pretty personal in some of those threads so it’s to stop people from joining just to troll etc. IMO that makes sense for those super sensitive threads but then something like the depth year thread also ends up being locked for new users which is too bad.
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The point to “harm reduction” is to be kind to oneself and aware of bullshit patterns. Trying to develop a “perfect” reply to the addict brain ruleslawyer in us is beyond scope. Yes, a person could literally argue with any point of logic and rationality in this year 2021 and beyond.
But you don’t argue with that side ever to “win”, you get into dumb arguments to lose. So let’s not focus on the irrational sides of ourselves or engage them when we know the outcome.
We don’t need to pre-emptively give in when we can muse longer on the gulf of difference we observe every single time between the “wanting” and the “having”!
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Don’t worry, essentially I think the prison example makes a good point. I just wanted to exemplify how one can trick himself with this kind of reasonings, as a sort of self-warning exercise 
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Right.
So I’ve not made enough money to buy a Digitone, so I’m done. What I’ve got is what I’ve got.
No more purchases until 2023.
Edit:
And no more purchases of fucking Eurorack ever.
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I’m paying firm attention to your experience.
Learning by proxy.
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Anyone up for extending this project of no new gear allowed to 10 years ? 
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Thankfully, I avoided modular, but plugins/VSTs became the equivalent for me. In some ways worse because you can buy immediately, and it’s a never ending cycle of “sales”. Anyway, I can relate.
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I suggest to extend it with -2 weeks so everyone stops looking for that “last fantastic deal before…” right now 
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The smart man learns not just from his own mistakes, but by witnessing the mistakes of others.
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I did the no new gear for a year thing last year.
It definitely broke the endless chain of buying/selling shit I didnt really need.
This year I made a couple of very worthy purchases. Cant see myself adding anything to my studio except maybe that wee JX 08, for smooth cheesy pad sounds.
I’m just really happy with my collection, and am having a grand time making music with it.
I would throughly reccomend the no new gear for a year thing. It curbs that GAS tendancy, and gets you focused on what really counts.
New shiny sexy stuff is still new and shiny and sexy, but I dont feel any pull toward it.
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How much you betting? 
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Just curious, does everyone here extend “gear” to software and apps? This has been more of an addiction for me. I need to break this cycle in 2022.
I basically got my hardware buying under control (until the last couple of months), but transferred this pattern to software, which is in many ways worse because lots of software don’t allow you to sell your license, so it’s a sunk cost.
Just be careful not to fall into this trap when not buying hardware.
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Sounds like you answered your own question. No software purchases for you in 2022 (poet).
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