Oh this darned GAS!

[moosedog]

I primarily blame it on boredom but there are other factors at play as well. Things like Taylor magazines with their high def pictures of everything new and exciting, featuring an unending array of new technology to make our visceral experience better and better. Or even in the “pages” of our beloved AGF where we can get lost for hours on end in a cyberspace full of insightful information, or peruse and salivate over some of the worlds most incredible guitars up for sale.

I have 4 incredible guitars of my very own that has taken me 45 years of buying, selling and trading to accumulate. I am very happy with these guitars in every way. I do not want more than 4 guitars. As such, I would have to sell one to acquire something else, which I don’t want to do. And yet.........and yet, this past week I found myself offering up one of them to sell or trade??? Not once but twice??? Neither deal worked out and I am breathing a big sigh of relief.

So I escaped this time but what about the next time. It could be next month, next year or tomorrow. Maybe we need to start a Guitar Acquisition Syndrome Of Forum Followers (GAS-OFF) to combat this sickness. Maybe we can have cyber meetings where we all proclaim “I am a GAS-aholic” and tell stories of how much money we’ve spent or how many great guitars we have lost trying to satisfy this primal urge. And we can get special picks for going predetermined amounts of time being GAS free......

I will start: “I am a GASaholic and I am almost one year GAS free, but I almost slipped”..................

[Brucebubs]

I have just 2 words for you ..... Gibson Historic.

p.s. nice collection there too.

[Rockysdad]

Simple solution,.......... just relic your guitars to a point, where any potential buyer, or trader wouldn't even consider them.

[Spyvito]

My brother almost always falls for the Taylor technology/environmental marketing. Over the past year this has led to 2 new Taylor’s then resold at a loss.
He may have finally learned that the Collings instruments he has are enough but.....

[caperrob]

Martin 000-18 cured my GAS. I suffered from it for 5 years.

[Dru Edwards]

I agree with your "bored" sentiment. I too am looking for something even though I don't need anything. If a good deal comes along ...

[llew]

Lets face it...this is a GAS inducing place! We almost all get it from time to time. It's how we deal with it. Sometimes GAS wins...sometimes I win? (usually GAS wins!)

[rmp]

it's a horrible thing, you just never know. Yesterday there was a thread on tuners,,...

I've got like 4 or 5 snarks, and a few D'Addario's. Suffice to say, I don't really NEED a tuner.

The next I know, and it's the darndest thing.. I got an order confirmation email for the Peterson Strobo clip.. I've honestly no idea how this happened.....

[DownUpDave]

I love what you did there with the acronym GAS-OFF, very clever. You really do have a great group of 4 amazing guitars and it would be foolish to sell one unless you no longer like it. I am guessing that’s not the case. You could make it a 5 guitar rule with the caveat of having to save up for one year before purchasing something. When the money is there then you can spend it.

Only way to get rid of GAS is to stay off the internet, stay out of music stores and stop looking at those glossy publications. Good luck with all that

[mawmow]

Well, my GAS began on my 50th birthday when I got a dream guitar, a solid wood : Taylor 510.
I though sky could be the limit, but the ceiling fell on my head when I saw the price !!!
It would help me lean toward the used market...
Thereafter, I turned to fingerstyle and Delta Blues and Country Blues wandering on quests for guitars associated with these styles.

Finally discovered the notion of comfort and refined the type of guitars I needed.

Meanwhile, as my technical skills and my ears improved, I looked for better sounding and generally more expensive guitars.

My hate of the bling preserves me from bankruptcy friendly purchases !

Now, I sometimes lurk toward something new, and then sell some one forgotten in the closet...

[Scolaguitar]

I blame boredom which leads me to peruse this and other similar forums. It's been over a year since a new guitar came in the house.

I think I tell myself sometimes that I'm still looking for that ultimate D18 style dread.

I have a standard 2016 D18 and I made the mistake of trying out some custom D18s that sent me on a frenzy of thinking I wanted to trade in the standard. Then I go home and play the standard and decide I don't want to trade it away. Now I've had it 2 years, found the right strings for it and I do think it's just sounding better and better as time goes by. Certainly back in the prewar days, they bought the guitar and that was it. They didn't go on some tone chasing frenzy. So it makes me think that I don't need to do that either and then I move on, stay off the forum and focus on other things. Then boredom sets in again. Rinse and repeat.

[brencat]

I have a self imposed 5 guitar limit. 3 are keepers, 1 might be a keeper (still TBD), and 1 will be offered shortly to pay for something inbound next week.

The trick is to fill all the slots with keepers. I'm almost there...

(And I realize I didn't help the OP one bit with this statement)

[moosedog]

I do feel (at this moment in time) that all my slots are filled with keepers. It’s funny that when I bought the Martin Custom OM (maple/spruce), that it could be disposable if necessary as I’ve never been a Martin guy. But I immediately fell in love with it and it is my main stage guitar. Great tone, no feedback issues, very easy to play and great looks. It quickly filled a keeper spot.

As suggested here, I do try to not spend so much time on my various devices on guitar sites that inherently cause GAS or reading those glossy guitar rags (honest I just read the articles and don’t even look at the pictures [emoji849]).

As far as “relic-ing” my guitars, they all get played both in the house and on stage - but a couple of them leave the house much more often and are prone to more bumps and bruises. So no problem there.

[msb100712]

So many guitars, so little money......

[Naboz]

THIS PLACE! (The elephant in the room that whispers sweet notes in the ears!)
As friendly and knowledgeable as the AGF is, there are just too many temptations when being on here.
I am not a new member, but by the amount of posts I have you wouldn't know it.
I try to limit my "browsing time" and read for knowledge and curiosity. I don't have the expendable income to acquire those "dream guitars", so going to the Custom Shop is fairly safe --it's those mid-priced ($1500 and down) that can cause havoc. When I do start that "thinking about..." I go change strings on one (or more) of my guitars, and play. And then while playing a guitar that sounds so good to me, I look at what I have and am appreciative I've been able to acquire these (yes, I have 5--all of them totaled together wouldn't buy a Collings or Lowden).
Let's just say I've finished the GAS 12 step program and try not to taste the forbidden fruit--but Elderly is just 45 mins. away, and I do steal a taste now and then.