How do stop yourself buying guitars/basses/amps.....

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  • antonyivantonyiv Frets: 300

    The first step is to realize what you want to achieve. Is your goal to become a better guitar player or a guy that has a lot of gear? Unless you are 15 and you have all the time in the world, eventually you will have to choose from one of these two options. Let me explain why.

    During the past 3 years I spent a lot of time researching, buying and selling instruments. As a result now I have 8 but I'm planning to downsize to 3 or maximum 4. 

    Here are the reasons:

    1. Maintenance  - I take care of my guitars, which means:

    - Polishing
    - Set ups
    - String changing 

    That takes a lot of time that you could spend actually playing.

    2. Distraction - having variety is not always a good thing. I tend to mess around more than actually learning new things. "That sounded cool, let's try it with a telecaster! Hmmm, maybe a PRS will suit that riff better. You know what, this song is for a strat, let's grab it and play. Shit, the strat needs set up, let me do it".  Yes, I'm having fun, but it's not productive. And honestly speaking, I'm becoming more and more bored of messing around and comparing incomparable things (guitars, amps, pedals). 

    Distraction takes a lot of time that you could spend actually learning something new.

    3.  Re-learning - I tend to play one guitar for a couple of days and then switch to another one. Maybe it's just  me, but I need time to adjust to the new neck and therefore I have to practice the same things again. 

    Re-learning takes some time that you could spend learning something new. 

    4. Buying the gear. That's not as easy as it sounds. Usually you spend time:

    - Researching and reading specifications, reviews and forum posts
    - Listening to youtube demos
    - Browsing the classifieds here, on Reverb and ebay
    - Talking to the seller
    - Sometimes meeting the seller and trying out whatever that you are buying

    Guess what you can do instead of all the activities, mentioned above? That's right, playing. 

    5. The silver bullet. I always thought that there is one magical instrument that will play itself when I grab it and I will instantly become a better guitar player. Well, that thing doesn't exist. Yes, I do play a bit better on my Power Jet and Stripped 58.  But I have a feeling that I could have been much better if I have focused during all those years and practiced more. Even with a Squire. 
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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    Resistance is Futile, just buy the damned thing :)
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  • DaevidJDaevidJ Frets: 414
    Go through a period of buying and selling guitars etc until I end up with a set that I am happy with... Years later do it all over again ;)
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  • GoldenEraGuitarsGoldenEraGuitars Frets: 8820
    tFB Trader
    I look at my children and house. When you realise that you the difference between you being homeless is the price of a new Gibson LP standard (that’s about 3-4 months of mortgage payments, utilities and insurance) you soon wind your neck in.

    I bought a used tuner on Saturday night because I need one for my workshop. I felt bad for spending £50 tbh, even though it’s the first tuner I’ve owned in over a year (I sold everything to fund the business). 

    I still look at gear daily and it’s a healthy thing to do. Good for the soul and mind to stay stimulated. But would i “invest” (I hate that word in relation to gear)? No, I wouldn’t invest in gear. I buy it if I need it. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to buy something because I want it and not feel guilty in the process.
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  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    @lonestar that's my view as well. If I have to pick between guitar stuff or being able to comfortably pay for everything my family needs then it'll always be the latter! I just feel lucky that we have lots of good cheap gear available to us now.
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  • NeillNeill Frets: 941
    This might work in reverse for some folk, but when I was gigging I found I was never looking idly at guitars or even effects, any spare cash we had went on stage equipment, far better to invest money in a better PA, or even visual effects than more instruments.  I had my much loved flying V and a Variax, that was all, and I'd still give away all my guitars if I could play in a band again.

    I think there must be thousands of bedroom guitarists who don't realise they would be much happier spending their time and money getting a band together than obsessing about guitars and pedals.   

       
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  • carloscarlos Frets: 3426
    Brize said:
    carlos said:
    Most if not all of my favourite musicians use the same or a limited number of instruments for their whole career. GAS is what collectors have, not musicians (the ones I like at least).
    You obviously don't like Joe Bonamassa.
    Not at all, although it's not because he has or hasn't got a big guitar collection. My man Ben Monder is 55 years old and he's playing the same guitar he bought while he was at uni. That's over 30+ years, several albums as a leader, 50+ as a sideman including Bowie's Black Star, countless gigs.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    I just remind myself of every time I see a musician with multiple guitars at a tiny gig, or at a big gig and they have a different one for every song, or on TV where they're being interviewed and there's a rack of dozens of them behind him.

    It's become a disease among (mostly, but not exclusively) guitarists. Obsession over largely irrelevant differences in tone for no reason other than because it's somehow become accepted that you "need" different guitars for different sounds...

    You don't see a classical violinist with a dozen different violins. "But they all sound basically the same" - yes they do, to a non-violinist. So do electric guitars to a non-guitarist.

    Sorry, bit of a pet peeve I know :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • BloodEagleBloodEagle Frets: 5320
    edited January 2018
    I buy guitars because they look cool and play well, Im not bothered about 'covering different sounds' or tones or any of that stuff. People at tiny pubs gigs with a rack of guitars behind them like theyre The Edge or somethng look like total knobheads imo
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  • timbuk02timbuk02 Frets: 271
    When GAS hits (usually after browsing £FX) I re-watch good demo's of gear I already have. It's makes me realise I don't need more or new kit, just need to use what I have better. 

    Its also easy to confuse GAS with being inspired I think. Good players, their enthusiasm and tones are infectious, not just the new gear. For this reason I'm glad there are also bad demos of great kit, to show that having that new thing may not be the answer. 

    "Do more with less" 
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378

    What do you do to try stop yourself just getting more?

    I don't !
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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  • ESBlondeESBlonde Frets: 3576
    Buy a decent model of each of the classics you like, learn to use them to make the classic sounds. Play music.
    Everything else is just fluff or leading edge.
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  • CorvusCorvus Frets: 2924
    tFB Trader

    Amps - space and sound bases, having two does what I want.
    Pedals - only keep whats on the board and really only one slot that gets changed so thats limited.

    Guitars, it's covering different a few sounds & feels/responses to me. If there was room and money I'd have more but not more of the same things.

    Having different guitars isn't a hindrance to playing, totally the opposite for me. Different styles come out of the differences. I've done the one guitar plus backup thing while touring. Just very dull. Too much variety out there to be missing out on it all.

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  • Another option is to chop off your fingers
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  • in the past i have bought and sold quite a few guitars. I justified it in that i was exploring the different options, and tbh i always managed to sell them for more than i paid for them so it was a bit of pocket money. But what kills it for me is the time ive spent seeking out stuff and aquiring it. All good fun and im glad of the experience but time now i would rather spend playing, learning and doing something else completely different. Ive honed it down to a Gibson LP studio, a fender baja tele and an epiphone 339, i also have my first guitar i bought in 1979, which is great and il keep for sentimental reasons plus it probably wouldnt sell for much.   thats 4 (electric) guitars none of very high value. there are many bargains around at the moment but i want to spend time playing and not looking
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  • Neill said:

    I think there must be thousands of bedroom guitarists who don't realise they would be much stressed out spending their time and money getting a band together finding singers with a tolerable attitude and bass players that want to turn up for a band practice etc.  
    ftfy
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • Musicman20Musicman20 Frets: 2296
    edited January 2018

    It's worth me just adding that:

    1. I'm 36 and I don't have or want to have children. Personal choice.

    2. I have an ok car, and I don't desire to either have one on hire/whatever to upgrade for the extortionate amount it already costs to drive anyway. My friends spent thousands on Japanese imported cars to only have them become fairly worthless over a few years, unlike guitars.

    3. I will buy a house, and I'm saving, but I'm in no rush. My rented place is extremely nice! To be honest, part of me wants to sack it off and move abroad or travel for a few years.

    Hence, I'm lucky to be able to get guitars etc, but I want to stop now.

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  • GoldenEraGuitarsGoldenEraGuitars Frets: 8820
    tFB Trader
    TTBZ said:
    @lonestar that's my view as well. If I have to pick between guitar stuff or being able to comfortably pay for everything my family needs then it'll always be the latter! I just feel lucky that we have lots of good cheap gear available to us now.
    That’s quite true. Quality of gear has come a long way at lower price points so this helps people like me :)
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  • GarthyGarthy Frets: 2268
    ICBM said:
    I just remind myself of every time I see a musician with multiple guitars at a tiny gig, or at a big gig and they have a different one for every song, or on TV where they're being interviewed and there's a rack of dozens of them behind him.

    It's become a disease among (mostly, but not exclusively) guitarists. Obsession over largely irrelevant differences in tone for no reason other than because it's somehow become accepted that you "need" different guitars for different sounds...

    You don't see a classical violinist with a dozen different violins. "But they all sound basically the same" - yes they do, to a non-violinist. So do electric guitars to a non-guitarist.

    Sorry, bit of a pet peeve I know :).
    Where would the guitar industry be though if all those with 6 guitars decided they'd only have one guitar? If demand dropped by 80%  many in the industry would go to the wall.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    Garthy said:

    Where would the guitar industry be though if all those with 6 guitars decided they'd only have one guitar? If demand dropped by 80%  many in the industry would go to the wall.
    That's unfortunately true, and the industry has now trapped itself into a marketing model which is unsustainable in the long term. A finite number of players can't all go on buying more guitars indefinitely.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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