GAS-free...or not...

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by 6 Strings MI

Based solely off my experiences, it it true to a degree. I have a collection of die-cast cars. When I stay off forums related to die-cast, I also don't look for new models as much. Lately I have been contemplating selling off all of them in the interest of de-cluttering. Guitars are a somewhat different matter, as I can only properly store one (and I don't foresee that changing anytime soon).

I never really understood collecting things that you can't really DO anything with such as model cars or matchbooks or whatever folks collect. But with guitars, they can be played and actively enjoyed for a lifetime of music making. They have the advantage over similar portable instruments of being polyphonic so that you can explore harmony, moving lines and a wealth of musical worlds to explore.

There are reasons to own more than one guitar without having to write that off as an addiction. There are many musical styles for which one type of guitar is better suited than another. There are many different ways to tune the guitar, and having different guitars in different tunings can make sense to those engaged in that pursuit. Our musical interests can change, and then change back again over time, and so we have the different guitars appropriate to those styles.

Tony

[rgregg48]

It's possible to stay "gas free"
But you can't do it alone.
With consuling, medication, and a support group
It is achievable, try not to backslide!
The re-addiction percentage is high.

[VJP5]

I have found that GAS, my practice time, and (lack of) progress have an inverse relationship, regardless of how much time I spend on the AGF. When I am practicing often, and showing even just a little progress, I can look all day at other guitars and have very little urge to buy.

However, when practice time dwindles over a long period of time, progress naturally comes to a screeching halt. Of course, the cure for that is a new guitar.....the magic elixir for any stalled improvement in playing. By it's very nature, a new (or new to me) guitar has an instant affect on my playing. You HAVE to sound better, right?

This of course is purely non-sensical, but it has attacked me on several occasions in the past until I identified it during a time when I really wanted to buy, but financial constraints literally prevented me.

True of any addiction, acknowledgment and recognition are the keys. Now when I find myself spending too much time in the classifieds, I instinctively think about my current practice routine. I will change things up - try to learn a song from a new genre or try a known song but played finger style vs strummed (or vice versa). This has allowed me to downsize to just 2 guitars, and curb my desire to return to adding.

I may someday add another guitar because I miss having a dread from time to time. But it will be when the right one pops up, at the right price, with the right features. Otherwise, I am content to simply play the 2 I have, ogle at the nice ones offered in the classifieds, and change my practice habits so as to prevent unnecessary buying.

As always, YMMV

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Shades of Blue

I struggle with GAS constantly, and it is for two reasons I feel:



1) I am an incredibly visual person, and guitars look better to me online than they do sitting in a case in my house. I’ve even gone as far as to leave my two main players in hanging stands. This has helped to make them super available for a grab and play standpoint, but it also allows me to see the guitars every day. The guitar online always looks more enticing than the one in the closet.



2) I like to try new things. Part of the hobby for me is the rush you get from opening the case for the first time. In these times, that has all but stopped for me. For years it has been worth it to me to buy a guitar, play it for a few months, and flip it. This is getting more and more difficult to do without losing my tail. People want things for nothing these days. I’ve got to stop and just enjoy what I have. Which leads me back to number 1....I need to stop shopping.

Amen Brother.

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by RP

For those who experience GAS on a regular basis, it's an addiction, pure & simple despite the rationalizations that we need a guitar from this or that manufacturer, this or that size and/or this or that kind of wood. The reality is that being shut-in due to COVID19 is a real test of our willpower, and we often use the word "need" to put a new guitar on the same list as hand sanitizer, nitrile gloves and of course the illusive toilet paper...

Excellent point! Agree totally. Before the current situation, the addiction could fool the self into thinking a guitar was a need. Not so much now. Of course, the addiction is just lying in wait.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

Excellent point! Agree totally. Before the current situation, the addiction could fool the self into thinking a guitar was a need. Not so much now. Of course, the addiction is just lying in wait.

A guitar is not a "need" unless it is a tool from which you make your living. For the rest of us, it is a fun thing to do. Food, clothing, shelter, these are "needs".

So, putting things into perspective, whether, as a hobbyist or at least supporting yourself with a "day job" you own one or ten guitars, you own something that you don't really "need".

Whether one considers that an addiction or not is not my call. Each individual would decide that for him or herself.

Tony

[Birchtop]

GAS??

Sorry, I can’t help you with that. I have my own demons to battle, and yes, they usually win.

[birdsong]

Originally Posted by RP

......and of course the illusive toilet paper...

That is excellent (italics added). I suppose I shouldn't laugh so loud but .....I did........ Just before we went on lockdown, I went to the grocery store for food..... as I was walking down the aisle where the TP used to be (there's a song in that somewhere), I saw a young man enter, and put a 4-pack on the shelf. I thought "WHAT just happened!?" I stood there and waited - 2 people walked right on by. I thought it must be a mirage, an illusion! But no, it was the real deal.

J

[blindboyjimi]

Originally Posted by capefisherman

...So why the HECK does the little man on my shoulder keep telling me I need a good mahogany bodied dread for strumming and a nylon crossover for my jazz/bossa stuff??!....

I would just change the “need” to “want” and reward yourself. If you are a professional fisherman on the Cape, you have an incredibly hard job. The New England fisheries are so depleted. Reward yourself if you can. Especially with this Covid19 stuff, folks will realize that they need to save more for a rainy day, but also that life is short.

We have a family home just north of Woods Hole. I only get there about a week a year to visit family and my high school buddies, but my mom and sister summer there. Go Pats!