What do you think of GAS?

The Lounge General Discussion
#108

On a very basic level GAS means striving for optimization. Thus the foundation of GAS is deeply programmed into our systems - as a matter of fact through evolution: Those who focussed on optimizing their immediate environment and their means created a better foundation to find a mate and lateron for their offspring to survive. Thus through countless generations “optimizers” had more and healthier offspring, who learned, through passive education, to become optimizers too.
The same goes for the root of materialism btw.

While optimization generally is a good thing (unless you breach obsession), GAS is always connotated negatively. It’s a lust for more, while “more” does not equal better. Nevertheless you try to convince yourself that that new investment will improve your life for sure.
In a perfect world there wouldn’t be any GAS, just people buying stuff they need to evolve as artists, or simply have real fun using.
So stay strong and be wise about your new purchases!

That being said I’m GASing almost every day. :-/
Now that I have sufficient synths to be able to learn more and become better at using them for an indefinite amount of time, I’m cured on that front. Alas upgrading my recording/mixing equipment has become the new frontier.
Oh well…

2 Likes
#109

I think it depends on how deep the instrument is. The Analog 4 or a Prophet 12 has so many options to play with it, its really something you can have fun with still after years of exploring. I have the A4 now since 3 years or so, and i still find it very interesting to play.

I still have some GAS for the Digitone, because i think it could be a cool Pad machine, or an ambience provider. (And a lot of other things.) With the P12 i probably dont need it, but still, i would like to play with it. I hope they make a larger machine with sampling and digitone internals. That would be cool. Its not actually a new concept, the MC909 had sampels, resampling a synth engine that could be layerd etc. External sequencing. I hope they do somehting similar, but cooler.

#110

Actually the rytm is sort of build on that concept to, so it wouldn’t be so crazy, actually it would be great

#111

Facebook is for the brainwashed, wake up man, you are better than that!

1 Like
#112

Here here, I hate Facebook!

1 Like
#113

GAS results from two major things: first you have GAS because you have decision problems and lack of experience. you simply dont know what you actually need - just yet. so … almost everything which has good marketing behind it is something you instantly want.

once you gained experience over the years and found out what works for you, you have GAS because you see something that looks promising and might fit into your workflow. and if you GAS really hard for it you suddenly find yourself feeling incomplete without this very piece of kit. its interesting because you dont even know the machine yet, you just saw it, you heard it - but without having it in your hands you already think: you need this. it sounds awesome (although its often edited), i must have it.

i think that GAS is just a natural thing. we are kids in our hearts and every new toy is always exciting. but we have to learn to control it. if we sold enough gear to get new gear we one day realize that its never the gear that makes us a better musician, its us. nothing else! to counter the GAS i therefore always have a look at what i’ve done and with what i have done it. if its comfortable to work with what i have, if it helps me getting the job done, fast - i know from experience that adding new gear not only means that i get new possibilities - it also means more work and headache getting into it and adding it to the established workflow in a meaningful way. since i experienced this several times already i know what might wait for me if i let the GAS take control over my decision making process :wink: this helps a lot making the right decision in the end.

3 Likes
Obsession: what 2 devices to plug into Digitone L and R?
Stop justifying your purchases
#114

I’ve always had G.A.S for one thing or another. When I was young and in school, I wanted all the game consoles others had, the clothes, the lifestyles etc. But it wasn’t until last year where I landed a manager position at my Job where it really kicked off. I was spending all my extra money on software, then on a Push 1, then a Maschine MK3, then trading my Push 1 for a 2, returning the 2 to get a Digitakt and a Keystep to go with it, then getting the Push 2 again, etc. Then I realized that I wasn’t getting this stuff because I needed it, it was because I was unhappy with my position and unhappy with the lack of time I had to actually work on music. I have since quit that position and gone back to part time, and the G.A.S. has been cured. I have amazing gear, different mediums to work with, and plenty of time to play around. It also gave me time to make more tutorials/reviews/for YouTube which has been my goal for a while. I personally do believe that for most people that the less gear you own the more creative you will be. Even though I love all the mediums I have to work with, it sometimes hard picking which environment I want to work with. But id much rather have to pick from gear I already own then always be hunting for something new I don’t need.

7 Likes
#115

I very much tend to agree, I guess that inside my desire that Our Music be the most active part of the forum that would inherently create a greater success rate of listenable music. But it just just shift the wankery from one sub forum to another…

#116

It’s easy to get excited reading specs on new gear coming out. It’s a little harder to pick a few pieces of gear that work together to suit your needs/wants and commit to them.

1 Like
#117

Indeed. Die facebook die.

1 Like
#118

As far as GAS goes, I’ve streamlined my equipment to what will immediately inspire me with a simple mixer and effects pedals. No more hooking up a computer and launching applications when I’m feeling creative. This was killing me, software is so powerful now but computers are so multipurposed and annoying to deal with. There’s always some update and organizing samples, plugins, etc is THE WORST. The best solution to avoiding too much GAS is to borrow/trade instruments for a week or buy from a local place with a generous return policy. Sometimes this is all you need, sample the hell out of some synths and then return it.

#119

Sorry, there was a problem with the quote in this post. Re-posted below.

#120

That is definitely GAS. I don’t think like that. I have bought a lot of gear in the last 18 months but for me it’s more about trying it out and seeing if it will fit into our workflow, more than “hoping” it will do anything. Most of it gets resold, I keep very little. In the last year I’ve sold two Roland Boutique synths (with keyboards), a Minilogue and a Monologue. I’ll probably sell my Waldorf Pulse 2 now that I have the AK, as well as a pair of monitors, one or two USB audio devices and at least one of my three MIDI controllers, maybe two. That means the only thing I’ll have kept is a Waldorf Rocket, because it is way too much fun to be without. Some of the stuff is new, some is used but most of it was being sold at a good price so I usually don’t lose a lot of money if/when I resell things. If I’ve spent $3000, then I’ve probably only lost $500 on resale, which is OK given that I’ve had 6-12 months use out of all of it.

In all of that, though, there was one purchase that was pure, unadulterated gear lust, a Roli Seaboard Rise 25. I’ve hardly used it, I don’t know if it has a place in our set-up now that I’ve bought an AK but there is no way in hell I am getting rid of it. It’s just a wondrous thing to feel and play with.

I think getting some new gear is often a great way to get your creative juices flowing. I’ve been doing this since the 1980s and every time I’ve made a big purchase, it is has spawned a creative streak where I’ve got stuff done. Without it, you get into a rut of working the same way all the time and it can get very stale. New gear changes things up and sparks ideas.

#121

It depends what you’re trying to do. Personally, the deeper something is, the less I tend to use it, mostly because I hate the process. If someone could sell me a device with one button on it, so that when I pressed the button it would spit out the finished song I’ve got stuck in my head, I’d be the happiest performer on the planet. 95% of the music production process is hard, unrewarding work. e.g. I’ve had my AK for two weeks now and I still don’t know how the hell I am going to use it in my set-up, despite having read the manuals from cover to cover and spending countless hours with the thing itself. All of that feels like wasted time to me, time I could have been working on actual songs. Hopefully there will be a payoff but right now I don’t feel like getting the AK was quite as good an idea as I first thought. OTOH, I bought Korg’s ARP Odyssey VST a few weeks ago and I had it working in our newest song the same day I downloaded it. That feels like the best $69 I’ve spent in a log time.

#122

The digitakt has really helped me conquer this. As soon as i start lusting after something my mind reminds me that its going to mean less time on the dt and i then start to weigh it up logically. also when i see something new and exciting i find myself looking for solutions in my own set up and this inevitably means i get inspired by kit i’ve had sitting and gathering dust… just programmed a 303 patch on the BS2 rather than buy a new box…

in spite of the above i’m still in love with gear. i’m presently wrestling with octatrack lust, but not because i see it as the “answer” this time, i’m just fascinated. not sure im even that fussed about being productive with it… i just want to get lost…

3 Likes
#123

It sucks. I was most productive back when all I had was a crappy electric guitar and an ancient pc and I would play and record. Then I got into gear, mixers, rack units, too many guitar pedals, drum kits, drum machines, synths, vst plug-ins, different daws and software, microphones, learning about eq, compression, mixing, reconfiguring my studio, buying/selling countless gear, gear reviews and keeping up on what is new, countless trips to music stores, reading reddit and gearslutz, buying cables, reconfiguring and buying more cables, complicated midi setups, troubleshooting gear and connections, thinking about routing all this crap. It goes on and on but my basic point here is each additional thing you try to integrate into a setup compounds complexity and point of failure and need to learn to use it. I’ve spent 20 years learning all this crap instead of making music. I hope to rectify it but who knows. I might be more of a technician than a musician.

5 Likes
#124

I limited myself to only watching video of gear I already own.
If I stray and see a great demo of a cool new box (hey nobody’s perfect), go to work trying to make that sound with what you already own:

#125

Paralysis by Gasitis :smile:

3 Likes
#126

Good video this.
I started No Gear New Year and have been ‘clean’ since January.

I packed up nearly everything, sold things I obviously didn’t need, and put the rest away. Now just 3 boxes on the desk, OT & Rytm plus whatever synth/s I fancy at the time - Virus Ti just now. Only what I can fit through the OT though.

No more MIDI hassle, cabling nightmares, routing decisions, fx pedals, decision anxiety etc. Not a whole lot more musical progress either, but I’m not putting pressure on myself there.

6 Likes
#127

I think the net, like high fructose corn syrup or heroin is an over exaggeration of a natural desire for someone to acquire what’s right and best for them in a very deep world of selection, and being creatures of habit we can become affixed on the wrong concept of a good thing.

I surfed through a number of synths after I first acquired an analog mono synth not wanting to really rely on a computer and wanting a dedicated switch it on and do it instrument.

But I got stuck in a circle for a few years, though I was dreaming of an ultimate instrument/set up and when I came to the use of a sampler as a source of making songs and knew I really just wanted an analog poly from the start I got to the octatrack after going through a few samplers and got for me a great 80’s-ish vibe analog poly in the minilogue xd, and I couldn’t be more set with a tube based pre-amp my pop’s lended me and a mic, and a tape deck to put it all on, and it’s more than what I was dreaming of.

So it does take people their time to get there, and some are pro’s and use all they have, but I just love messing with sound and making my expression of music and so GAS can become that fiending consumption, but I didn’t have money to blow all the time, so I had a goal, and it’s tricky.

5 Likes