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Gear Acquisition Syndrome

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Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#41

Post by javier123454321 »

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'm skeptical of the claim for musical talent. Especially the case that you lack any 'real' one. Rhythm, interval recognition, composing are all skills that require practice and dedication. The lack of results point to a bad method, not lack of talent. Have you considered getting instruction?

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#42

Post by recursive »

And after acquiring a specific piece of music gear to produce every conceivable sound, I'm actually less productive than I was before, because of the paradox of choice. Constraints breed creativity.

I think I've basically cured my musical GAS.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#43

Post by atoav »

I am a musician. Among most musicians I know know I am also one of those with the least obsession with gear.

Gear is just that. Gear. Much of the sound in musical gear doesn't correlate with price. Sure when it comes to recording gear and studio equipment price tends to correlate with reliability, but we are living in truly magical times.

I gifted my brother a 160 Euro Harley Benton (Thomann's budget brand for guitars etc) Telecaster clone. That guitar in sound and playability easily could be the last guitar I would have bought. Amplifiers are similar.

Now I am playing the electrical guitar for 20 years and I online one electrial guitar. A heavily modded US strat that I bought 15 years ago.

Now the main difference between me and my peers is that I am a sound nerd and electronics afficionado — that means if I want to get towards a sound I know how to get there. And this is the crux. Many people (especially guitar players) chase some sort of sound that they never achieve, because they can't tell which part of the physical world maps to which part of the sound they get.

Depending on the style of music a lot of it in the end is in the fingers. But you can't buy enter fingers, you can just train. But that doesn't give you a dopamine boost.

For all people with GAS I recommend that less is more. Get to know ow your shit. It is capable of great sounds. You just need to put in the work.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#44

Post by ip26 »

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…

The only joy I have found in riding an extremely shitty bicycle is cackling with disbelief at how unbelievably shitty it is.

Your maxim is probably more broadly applicable if you specify "serviceable gear".

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#45

Post by khazhoux »

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 can relate to this. I have 8TB of orchestral libraries and other virtual instruments (many, many, many thousands of dollars), but after a decade I still haven't been able to crank out 8 bars of convincing symphonic composition. On the other hand, I can crank out a convincing and interesting rock song on guitar in real time... but I don't invest in that because it's "easy."

Sounds similar to what you describe: we shun the things we're naturally good at because they feel trivial and don't provide a sense of accomplishment, meanwhile we bash our head against a wall for years because the accomplishment of breaking through would be so amazing.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#46

Post by flanbiscuit »

flanbiscuit wrote: post #39

Site wasn't loading for me (front page of HN DDOS effect) so here's wayback machine snapshot from today: http://web.archive.org/web/20240807161556/https://library.oa... I lightly "suffer" from this in both music and non-music hobbies. I bought the Analogue Pocket with the base that connects to a TV but I've played one game on it and that's it. I've bought gameboy mod carts to make Chiptunes music but I've never perfo…

Speaking of G.A.S., I just noticed that post about the new Teenage Engineering device: "Medieval". It's US$ 300 and very tempting. But I know I won't do anything with it so I won't buy it.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41176831

https://teenage.engineering/store/ep-1320/

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#47

Post by hannibalekta »

I reached out to someone to buy a second hand saxophone mouthpiece today that one of my favourite players uses. I already own 4, 2 of them masterfully refaced. I play for 26 years and know that only practicing makes me better, not gear. I’m on vacation and don’t even have an instrument. It’s pure GAS for no good reason. Shame on me.

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#48

Post by create-account »

TrackerFF wrote: post #13

Me being a guitarist, I probably spent a solid 10 years buying and selling guitars. Thousands, literally. Some weeks I'd get a guitar in the mail, check it out for an hour, then list it, and sell it the same day. I have a friend that goes through the same deal with pedals. Luckily I started experiencing some serious "burnout" - where I could no longer feel any dopamine rush from getting new gear. In the end I had two…

Yeah that’s the beauty of consumerism. No matter what your hobby is, there are hundreds of different leisure products for you to acquire and stockpile on top of those of your previous hobby (whose accessories you had acquired)

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#49

Post by ip26 »

Filligree wrote: post #38
SonOfLilit wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One exception is rock climbing. I've been pressuring everyone around me to get off of rental shoes already, it makes the experience so much less painful and more pleasant...

Rock-climbing with shitty gear sounds less like a matter of enjoyment, and more like one of survival.

The difference between nice and average gear in rock climbing is pretty slim. A few grams, smooth action on the moving parts... it's also primarily a failsafe, so it's inherently obvious that it won't help you climb dramatically better, any more than a nicer parachute will help you fly a plane better.

There's also a long tradition of the strongest climbers you know climbing on mank (i.e. safety gear so ragged it is terrifying to behold)

Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

#50

Post by jerlam »

I think of myself as resistant to the pull of advertising and gear acquisition, but I've developed a related problem.

When I find something that I like, I want to buy multiples of it, even if there is a very low chance that I'll wear the item out or lose it, and it may become unusable in that time. I've had many objects in my life that I thought were great, and then they become unavailable and I spend an inordinate amount of time searching for them, even though what I have still works fine. Because my brain says "What happens when it breaks?" and then I have to settle for something new and inferior.

I bought a travel backpack ten years ago. It was an unusual design, but I understood its benefits and liked it immensely. Most people did not, so after the first year it was redesigned and then discontinued. I do not know if I can get anything similar to it again, and I doubt the company will repair it. When I now see other bags that are similar but still not as good, they are significantly more expensive (because of inflation) and I regret not buying several at the time. Even though mine still works great.

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