Let's talk about: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

[Smedberg]

I have serious GAS.
And a well paid work, thankfully..

[trimph1]

Nope. I have no need for Corona. Uh uh....

[IrionDaRonin]

Hi, my name's Jon.....and I have GAS

It's 24hrs since my last purchase

I swore the one before would be my last. I even sold a couple of synths a few months back when I thought I had it beat....I managed 3 months abstinence at the start of the year with a New Year's Resolution....but then someone always puts a soundset/synth on the Marketplace for a bargain price that's too tempting, or some damn company does a 50% off summer special

I need help and thanks to this group I think I can control it, if you want me you can find me here:
Jon's Place

Jon

LMAO

When I have GAS, I just take a GasX it works.. you can get it over the counter

LOL

You guys are going to kill me, haha.

Have a good day

[Nielzie]

Nope. I have no need for Corona. Uh uh....

Need? GAS is not about need, it's WANT!

[Jace-BeOS]

I can't see the amusing side of GAS through the deeply troubling side of my experience with it.

A combo of extreme stress, toxic sleep, Effexor XR's "act on all impulses" side-effect (or primary effect) & loneliness in 2006 through late 2008 turned me into a raging gear acquisition demon. This demon destroyed my credit. I've since come off the drugs (late 2009-mid 2010) and sanity has come back. Disabity and bankruptcy. In the end, I have great gear but no motivation to use it (the brain damage from years of Effexor, and my living situation in a noisy rowhouse, in a noisy town, while I am naturally noise sensitive). Looking back, it was a pathology of unfulfilled needs, inability to escape, and a severe chemical modification to brain function.

Now in mid/late 2012, I find my interest in gear back to what it originally was (mostly healthy curiosity), with no money to spend on it, careful handling of nearly non-existent finances, and a creepy feeling of possession and insanity when I look back at the last 7 years of my life. I find it marginally creepy, too, how many people I find through forums that seem to be one step away from a similar experience, or who have had the same experience. It's good not to be the only one but it demonstrates extreme sociological problems.

[hibidy]

I'd never pretend to know what that is like. I can however feel the lack of control at times.

I mean, I just bought ANOTHER guitar Yeah, I can send it back but ffs! I don't need another guitar

I still have a bunch of stuff I need to sell I toned it down a bit but I went on a selling spree and a spending stop (other than mux) and I'm in a far more comfy position.

[VitaminD]

Good for you, Hibs!

Last week I never made it to the grocery store.. I discovered good foods in my freezer and cabinets that I did not know I had. A whole weeks worth (and then some) of food. It can be hard to see what one has if they are always looking for more.

[IncarnateX]

Some years I go I thought that my yearly 1000$ gear aquiring equalled GAS, but then I started this thread for the fun of it.

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=256689

I tell you that compared to some of these guys (no names, you know who you are) my GAS rather looks like a broken nail than a serious disease. I am an amateur, thank God

You had to bring that up didn't you?

I am sorry GAS-Master. Forgive me. I am not worthy

[trimph1]

I'm pretty sure that some of us are somewhere in the middle when it comes to GAS. Myself, I'm pretty much over the huge pile of acquisitions that I done over the past little while

One has to remember that this is a hobby for a lot of us. Hobbies are not essential to life itself, but it does help us in ways that some, who do not have hobbies, tend to have issues with.

[trimph1]

Some years I go I thought that my yearly 1000$ gear aquiring equalled GAS, but then I started this thread for the fun of it.

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=256689

I tell you that compared to some of these guys (no names, you know who you are) my GAS rather looks like a broken nail than a serious disease. I am an amateur, thank God

You had to bring that up didn't you?

I am sorry GAS-Master. Forgive me. I am not worthy

[audiosabre]

I only spent ~£20 on gear in the last 2 months.

For me, that's like going from smoking 40-a-day to a single cigarette

I confess, I was going to buy B2 last night but the coupon didn't work. Omen?

[evertonfan]

The worst part about GAS is that I will try to abstain for a few weeks or a month or two at a time, but its pointless. If I try to abstain when an offer comes up, an upgrade that I MUST take advantage of before a certain time then I am kidding myself that I can resist. Instead I will write a list of what offers have come along & when the closing dates are approaching I buy the whole bloody lot in one go!!! Case in point last weekend I bought TAL-U-NO-LX, Sonnox Plugins 64-bit upgrade, Alloy 2 upgrade, 2CAudio Perfect Storm B2 upgrade, Arturia V3 Collection upgrade, jBridgeM & finally Synth Magic ZED just under the wire before it went up in price. Because I purchased all of these one after the other, I felt completely dirty & slutty afterwards............like you know you shouldn't eat anymore chocolate, but that big bar of Cadbury's has been nicely chilled in the fridge & it would just be rude to put put the remaining pieces back for another time. One thing I have stopped doing after having GAS for over 4 years now is that I have stopped buying soundsets.....I counted about 75+ that I have bought over the years.....

The nice thing about this thread is that its good to know that others have serious GAS when its just a hobby for them.....I would love to make some money out of music, but in the end I will keep my day job & I will just enjoy making music for the fun of it........

[Jace-BeOS]

Last week I never made it to the grocery store.. I discovered good foods in my freezer and cabinets that I did not know I had. A whole weeks worth (and then some) of food. It can be hard to see what one has if they are always looking for more.

Awesome! I wish I could find weeks worth of food in my place, but I eat it up pretty much as I buy it Eating vegetarian, all natural, low carb, healthy AND interesting is, well, rather difficult on my allowance.

[Jace-BeOS]

Addendum to my GAS horror story is this nugget: what really started my buying spree was the desire to get legit on a couple pieces of software (as I had realized I wouldn't want people to copy my music without compensating me). It made me feel good. Then I was just buying things to support developers and never using them (because I was buying the next thing, because, hey, good deal). Crazy times. My intentions were honorable, but going legit was kind of a gateway drug. That's not to say being legit is bad. It's good. It's just that something horrible came from something fundamentally good.

[lfm]

GAS hasn't received any major medical attention yet GAS is not a clinical condition. It can be the result of a psychological lack of personality (trying to give an impression of being the best by imitating a famous icon or celebrity), but this wouldn't explain why musicians "affected" by GAS tend to accumulate cheap gear, not linked to famous brands or music icons.

Hoarding cheap gear, yes I must admit to doing that

It's possibly to do with that musicians still want to perform and do something with what they buy.

The shopoholics has no aim or purpose whatsoever than shop.

p.s. Language police comment - acquisition is the spelling.