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Gear Acquisition Syndrome

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Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#21

Post by JoelMcCracken »

rqtwteye wrote: post #2

It's a big problem for photographers too. Especially with the rapid progress of mirrorless cameras there is always the next camera or lens you need to get. I have bought lenses and never used them. I have also spent more time on looking for accessories for my 3D printer than actually using it. Not sure how to combat GAS. I feel for people with a full time job it somehow compensates for the lack of time working on one…

I feel this quite a bit. When I was young, I had a ton of time and no money to acquire the needed equipment. Now, I finally have the money to get basically whatever I need within reason, but no time to use it.

I am typically able to resist the urge to succumb to GAS, but I don't always. I still have an incomplete atreus (http://atreus.technomancy.us/) in my basement; I set it aside when I bought a house, and haven't had time to revisit it since.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#22

Post by drblastoff »

I’ve fallen victim to this, though perhaps fortunately with digital synth plugins that take up no physical space.

This is related to another problem of mine: ignoring things I’m naturally good at, and fixating on things I’m naturally bad at. In this case, I have no real musical talent, can’t play instruments in rhythm, can’t arrange a song, and I’ve nevertheless been pursuing this in my spare time for a decade with no results. Sometimes I buy new gear thinking it will help, but people with musical talent can do much more with much less.

On the other hand, I showed promise for visual arts but never pursued it. My frustration with being bad at something seems to overpower my desire to be really good at something.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#23

Post by nlnn »

Whenever I've had this for a hobby, it's always been when I've had more time to think about the hobby than do the hobby.

So this happened more when I had long commutes, so plenty of time to read about new gear, discuss gear on forums, think about gear, etc.

When my commuting ended, I had more time to do things, and the lack of engagement with new things coming out mostly put a stop to it.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#24

Post by qup »

drblastoff wrote: post #22

I’ve fallen victim to this, though perhaps fortunately with digital synth plugins that take up no physical space. This is related to another problem of mine: ignoring things I’m naturally good at, and fixating on things I’m naturally bad at. In this case, I have no real musical talent, can’t play instruments in rhythm, can’t arrange a song, and I’ve nevertheless been pursuing this in my spare time for a decade with n…

I do a similar thing. I like learning new things so much, I spend most of my time on new skills that I perform poorly, instead of using & continuing to hone my expert-level skills.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#25

Post by jimmyjazz14 »

drblastoff wrote: post #22

I’ve fallen victim to this, though perhaps fortunately with digital synth plugins that take up no physical space. This is related to another problem of mine: ignoring things I’m naturally good at, and fixating on things I’m naturally bad at. In this case, I have no real musical talent, can’t play instruments in rhythm, can’t arrange a song, and I’ve nevertheless been pursuing this in my spare time for a decade with n…

Honestly most of the time the second I get good at something is when it stops being fun, I think this is pretty normal.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#26

Post by qup »

kimbernator wrote: post #20

I think every hobby that involves equipment has some version of this. I feel like we've been conditioned to believe that consumption of a product is equivalent to participation in that hobby, mostly because the biggest "reward" we get from it is often the appearance of having varied interests and appearing to the layman like you know what you're doing because you have the "nice" stuff. Broad strokes, if you don't enj…

I have a lot of hobbies, and I would say several of them are not fun with shitty gear.

Sometimes quality gear makes the entry process far, far less painful.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#27

Post by alsetmusic »

Haha. I called a friend and told him I'd been diagnosed with G.A.S. 20 years ago. He sounded really serious when he said he was sorry to hear that. I told him the acronym and said I'm headed to the music shop to buy a synthesizer and would he like to join.

I'm glad computers have become so powerful because now I can emulate that same synth in software (Korg MS20) and much more.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#28

Post by n3storm »

Same happens to me on so differentes areas like: arts, drawing, painting and sculpting. And reptile and insect raising: ants and geckos.

I have more stuff and tools for future projects that will ever be able to use in 10 years.

Realising this thanks to an HN post a year ago I stopped completely acquiring new gear and started finishing projects.

Sometimes a get a cheap sketchbook though I had several ones unused :P

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#29

Post by vunderba »

Since I don't possess the necessary self discipline, the next best thing to minimizing GAS is to put your money in a place where it's not very liquid - for me that's immediately moving any disposable income into index funds.

It's the fiscal equivalent of not stocking your larder with junk food.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#30

Post by SonOfLilit »

kimbernator wrote: post #20

I think every hobby that involves equipment has some version of this. I feel like we've been conditioned to believe that consumption of a product is equivalent to participation in that hobby, mostly because the biggest "reward" we get from it is often the appearance of having varied interests and appearing to the layman like you know what you're doing because you have the "nice" stuff. Broad strokes, if you don't enj…

I don't tend to care about appearances and still suffer from GAS. I think it's about telling myself a story that it's not that I'm lazy, the reason I'm not producing amazing music is that my setup isn't perfect yet. Dreaming about gear is always easier than practicing.

After seeing how my team at my first job all participated in the hobby of camera-purchasing, in every new hobby I take up I buy the cheapest gear possible, wait a while to see whether I'm actually using it, then allow myself to get the good stuff. Not because I care about the money, because I care about building the habit of doing the actual hobby, not the habit of shopping.

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