Middle age is a funny thing.
When I was in my 20's, I wasn't terribly materialistic; however, I really did want to upgrade my instruments from the crummy gear I had. Now that I'm in my mid-40's, I feel like I'm going through a "been there, done that" phase with instruments. I just sold off my Taylor, which was the best guitar I've ever owned, and one of the best I've ever played (and I've gotten to play quite a few). I've sold off just about all of my drum sets (I play drums semi-professionally) except for two that I actually play (I have had up to 6 drum sets at one time). Over the years, I've sold two really nice dulcimers, a mandolin, and a number of guitars (I'm down to one now). I have a PA I'm getting ready to sell soon. I've used a lot of the money to pay down debt which really makes me feel better than owning "stuff" ever could. Between selling things and playing A LOT gigs this year (about 40 gigs so far), I've been able to pay off my car, two credit cards, a medical bill, and bought new tires for both vehicles. Also, I was able to pay down our house enough to where our PMI went away.
I guess I've reached a point where it takes a lot for me to be impressed by any instrument these days because I've been exposed to so much. A lot of the mystique of higher-end instruments is gone now even though I play more music now than I ever did whenever I was actually pursuing music full time.
I don't really regret selling anything which has led me to believe that maybe there's something to simplifying and getting rid of almost everything you don't need. I'm not really chasing any sort of tone or sound anymore. I don't really care about visiting music stores like I used to until it's time to buy sticks, drum heads, or any other "breakables." I'll poke around to "see what's new," but I'm really content with what I have.
It's a pretty good feeling.
