3000€ is about $4400 Canadian dollars. I’m struggling to think of many things that cost that much outside of the most expensive analog polysynths! Unless you’re talking about the value of your entire studio.
Haha, I’m sorry, that wasn’t clearly formulated.
I meant, of course, 3000€ in total. So, for example, a DN + OT + DT (new) would amount to approximately 3000€. If I buy used, it would probably be around 2000€, and then I can add a syntakt on top of that.
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100%. It was ingrained in me growing up to avoid whatever debt possible. If there’s some emergency where you need to dip into credit, that’s understandable, but for hobbies you’re then fooling yourself about the actual cost if you end up paying interest on the purchase.
I have middling GAS for the upcoming Buchla Easel 50th birthday edition. It would definitely be an “investment”. I can cover the cost from my “don’t touch it” savings, but I can’t really afford it unless synths are fungible with money (which, as several of you here have suggested, isn’t a foregone conclusion). My coparent would kill me. And they don’t play synths so it would be a waste all around.
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For me that is gear in the 4-digit-zone (>1000 euros) which is my pain barrier.
All those analog polysynth behemoths (Sequential, Oberheim and the like) in the price range of a used car…they are beautiful and sound great but I’d never pay 3-4k for the desktop module 
its filthy rich money in the like of ferrari buyers if you ask me
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Thanks folks. Interesting answers.
I definitely like the anchor of another hobby. Stuff like bikes and photography can be quite easy to spend big on, even as non-pro pursuits. And to be fair, the well known hobby of “shopping” can be just as taxing on the wallet.
I base it off the price of a laptop personally, which I tend to judge on the price of a well-specced MacBook Pro. This (by pure coincidence) is also roughly the sort of money I’ve seen many guitarists put into getting their rig together - which is of course a much closer relative to electronic music.
For me; these are the anchors I tend to use as I find those are often investments that can last for decades if not more, which electronic music should be in that same ballpark. And as others have said, I’d tend to agree to spending only when you have the capital and not on credit; or via selling other gear to get new stuff in.
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hard limit? I think anything 5k or over is something that would REALLY be difficult to pull the trigger on. less than that I’ve done before, so it’s easier to do it again (either case is rare though). so hopefully I never break that limit! and I mean that for one single item. you can look at a couple of my modular system and they’re over that limit, but the individual modules weren’t.
this is all assuming I have the funding at the time, of course. which is based on the rule of “it has to be paid off by the time it’s due on the CC” (which I always use CC for music purchases, for safety and to get cash back). i.e. don’t pay interest on it. this typically gives me between a month and two months to come up with the cash; which may involve selling stuff, may not.
and of course, I very rarely buy something that I can’t resell for the same price. I almost always buy stuff used. I rarely lose money on selling gear (overall; maybe an item or two does, but usually others make up for that).
also don’t keep spreadsheets. try not to think about how much it all costs, put together.
My partner and I each have a set “fun budget” every month, which we can use for any purchases we like no questions asked. It’s fairly generous, but also allows us to keep saving for a house. If something is expensive I just save for a few months and buy it then. We do not go into debt for fun stuff. My other main hobbies are games and reading, neither of which is particularly expensive.
I have a mental limit of a couple thousand dollars on a single piece of gear - I’m itching for a NINA and a Monomachine, but I think that even after saving for it I might feel weird buying either one. It would be worth more than my car!
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I set aside money for gear so it never comes out of the household budget. I have a savings account for gear. With money in it that just sits there. I am anti-debt though I did take out a loan for a 5-string bass in grad school, no regrets.
I think my pain point for a single purchase has shifted up. My reference for big purchases is also Apple computers. I’m also willing to pay more if I’m supporting an independent luthier or small company.
But I have not found any correlation between price and satisfaction.
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For me, I truly truly need to know that I need it, not just want it or desire it. That usually means that a product is going to do something that would not be possible to do with the current tools I have. So a new take on FM synthesis, a synth that claims to be a very close clone of something else, a tracker in a hardware box, etc., is just not enough for me.
I also need to know if that unique thing that it does is actually going to inspire me, make my music better, that I will actually use it and not collect dust in a corner or in a hard drive, that I can imagine before hand what new, different, weird, exciting things I could do with it.
Additionally I ask myself, “sure, I can buy it, but do I need to buy it?” “Am I just being indulgent?”
If I had infinite money, I would still adhere to these personal rules - I really don’t like hoarding.
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This has been interesting reading! I’m realizing my frame of reference has to do with not wanting to worry about a piece of gear as frivolous (as an amateur/hobbyist).
The limitations I realize I’ve set myself have to do with functional equivalents, I think:
Digital gear/fx: can’t cost more than ~$500, Ableton Suite education pricing (or omnisphere, Arturia V collection, a lifetime of iPad apps)
Sequencer/daw-in-box can’t cost more than a decent laptop, ~$1000,
And analog synths are limited by space/ergonomics.
And the whole setup can’t look like it costs more than an equivalent respectable midlife hobby like a motorcycle or whatever …
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Do you know how much Harleys cost?
(Or Goldwings or BMWs or other non-teenager bikes?)
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That can get pretty expensive. A nice enough touring bike could easily run you $20-25k.
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I paid $1k for a good helmet and Cordura pants and jacket 20 years ago. You should replace your helmet every few years.
Leathers - which are safer - are much more expensive.
And then the medical bills if you find a gravel patch in a curve. Statistically 100% of riders crash. I didn’t before I got out, so someone crashed twice.
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Me too!
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Yeah, my old man had a BMW bike in his late 40s and thinking of it now his Cordura suit probably costs more than any clothes I’ve owned.
I’m tracking just fine against his hobbies and my wife’s recreational interest in shoes, and having a world of fun, and meanwhile researching what makes the most interesting sounds…
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This is something I’ve thought about a TON lately. I’ve gone as far as to make literal rules and a contract with my SO on the matter.
My rules are not just monetary, but tied to my music goals in general. I don’t want to waste too much time on churning and burning through a lot of gear. I’ve certainly done it before, and will do it again, but I want to make sure I’m putting the thought into a purchase before I make it ( or before I sell an item that might be worth keeping around. ) I also just want to get even more familiar with the pieces I do love.
I do make some sporadic income from music, enough to be net positive on all of my current gear at least. I factor this into an actual gear budget that I track via a spreadsheet.
I take half of my music earnings straight to my gear budget. Aside from that, I get a portion of work bonuses/xmass gifts/random money that me and the SO usually agree to on a case by case.
I can’t operate at a negative on the gear budget (I have in extreme circumstances that we both agree on, like a reeeeallly good deal.)
If I sell a piece of gear, it goes back to the fund. I track things very strictly like cables, tax, and cardboard boxes for shipping gear.
The idea here is also to be more realistic with how much is lost on flipping. Sometimes its negligible, sometimes not. But I’ve already realized I can spend a lot on a potential setup, just to not like that setup, and be stuck with a bunch of un-needed cables and extras. This (ideally) will feed into my process and make me consider the next purchase even more.
The other component of this is that I keep a Gear Journal. I have a page made on every single “core” piece of gear I have with some of its pros/cons and some general thoughts for myself.
If I want to buy something, I make a page on it with these same subjects. The goal here is to start seeing some macro patterns and trends in what I like, and what I wasted time on.
You don’t have to view gear flipping as wasted time, I only choose to because it’s been at odds with actual specific goals I am working towards. In fact, I’m planning a break from these goals and giving myself 6 months to completely fuck around as soon as I finish my current project, so it’s always an ebb and flow thing.
(Mind the doodle 
)
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A while back I was trying to figure out a live rig.
Cycled through a lot of gear at first.
Over time I dialed it in and have all I need.
At this point if I am considering something new it needs to fit on my desk, which is almost full.
I’ll only buy something that I’m going to use thoroughly and it needs to fit into my rig, not off to the side.
I haven’t bought anything substantial in years.
Now I just worry about repairs if needed.
At 49yrs old I can imagine using my current rig to make music for 20 more years hopefully more.
I’ve always had a hard time spending over 2k on a single piece of gear.
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In Australian dollars my on a whim purchase limit is around $500.
Anything between that and $1000 gets some pretty serious thought. Above that are once a year level purchases.
I keep a separate savings account for my hobbies that’s left over from a weekly discretionary spending allowance I give myself. I have capacity to go a bit nuts with it but I don’t, even when I give myself permission to buy a rational brain kicks in and says no space no time no real creative output.
One thing I try and don’t stick to very well is to pay myself “purchase credits” for each music session. Time spent = dollars allowed for gear.
I love your journal. Makes me wish I could draw.
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