GASaholics (not-quite) Anonymous

Niallmo

My Name is Niall and I have a problem. I am completely unable to stop buying and selling guitars and their associated items. I had decided a few months ago that I would only buy a couple more "bargain" guitars, so in came the Pacifica and the OLP. That made about 17 guitars overall. Most I modded to stop me selling them and the majority were £50-£100 so not exactly hitting credit limits! I intended to stop there but the bargain hunting continued and the cheap RG turned up. At this point I realised I needed to get rid of at least one so out went the CV Tele. And I was done. Bugger, wanted another Tele. Bought two, Idiot! I may have to delete the eBay app and ban myself from 2nd hand shops. Anyway, I think it's either embrace it and realise it probably won't be any different and sell a few of the really cheap guitars to free up some space or shut it down completely. I do need to shift a few though...

Dave_Mc

)

Elx

Registering myself, too drunk to elaborate...

mike_l

I thought I was bad with 5 guitars. 2 amps. And 20 pedals........

grungebob

Some years back (2006) it got to the point
Where I had around 19 bargain to mid priced guitars 4 amps and loads of pedals. Not all got played and not all where great players. I sat down one day and realised in my music room I had around £7000 worth of gear and I was driving a real shitty car. Sold the lot bought a better car one nice guitar and an amp. Was very happy with the outcome as the guitar I bought was a real nice player and I used it daily.

sunshinewelly

I am seem to have this problem. Have bought 7 guitars and an axe fx 2 in the last 12 months. Each time I buy a guitar I say to myself that's the last. Said the same last week after taking delivery of an ibanez as103 however gas is back and hopefully a jem is on its way as we speak

JookyChap

I don't think I fit into the group as I find it hard to tell how many guitars I have, as there are usually a couple on the way in and a couple more on the way out at any given time. Oh, and a few more piles of parts waiting for me to put together. So more tidal than a lake. The worrying thing is I sold all my guitars and bought one 'keeper' last autumn, and then when that didn't work gave up buying any more in January, and I've alreadyy had 13 in and 9 out this year.

ThePrettyDamned

JookyChap;214539" said:

I don't think I fit into the group as I find it hard to tell how many guitars I have, as there are usually a couple on the way in and a couple more on the way out at any given time. Oh, and a few more piles of parts waiting for me to put together. So more tidal than a lake. The worrying thing is I sold all my guitars and bought one 'keeper' last autumn, and then when that didn't work gave up buying any more in January, and I've alreadyy had 13 in and 9 out this year.

Holy cow!

octatonic

JookyChap said:

I don't think I fit into the group as I find it hard to tell how many guitars I have, as there are usually a couple on the way in and a couple more on the way out at any given time. Oh, and a few more piles of parts waiting for me to put together. So more tidal than a lake. The worrying thing is I sold all my guitars and bought one 'keeper' last autumn, and then when that didn't work gave up buying any more in January, and I've alreadyy had 13 in and 9 out this year.

Why do you think you do it?

Is it a deliberate choice to get through a lot of guitars or does it just happen?

Genuine question.

I've had one out (LP) and one in (bought back a self-build) in the last 12 months.

The previous year was pretty much the same.

I don't really know how people get to know an instrument in a few weeks- it usually takes me a year or so to really get to grips with a new instrument.

I have 11 electrics, 2 acoustics, one bass, one mandola at the moment.

This excludes the builds I'm working on.

Bidley

I recently sold 3 of my cheaper guitars and bought one really nice one. Now I have 7 electrics, 6 of which are great guitars and the other is my first guitar, and I'm happy with that. I went through a massive phase of thinking I needed to have every base covered, yet all through that time I only really wanted to play one kind of guitar.

Not saying I won't buy or sell any more, but at the moment I'm pretty content with 7 electrics, 1 acoustic and 2 amps. I might get a really mandolin at some point, but that's as far as my gassing goes.

GIJoe

I have been pretty bad lately...2 guitars in, 1 out, 4 AMPS IN in the last month!

JookyChap

octatonic said:

Why do you think you do it?

Is it a deliberate choice to get through a lot of guitars or does it just happen?

Genuine question.

I think it is a mixture of things, but oddly not an In Search of the Rose Tone 'journey'.

I remember laughing at someone on MR (Nocaster?) saying they got thru lots of gear because it was the only way to try things out as there were no shops local to them, but in a way that is what I do, as I don't go into shops for various reasons. Lot easier to have things delivered home and try them there.

Mainly though, I'm curious, I don't tend to buy the same guitar over and over - I haven't had 14 flavours of Strat - and ultimately it doesn't cost me anything money-wise so it is no big deal. Same with making the Jookies - I wish I could do the luthier thing, but physically it isn't a runner, so they are as close as I can get, and they are all about curiosity/what-if too.

And then there is the bit where I was adopted by magpies as a child...

Jalapeno

Sign me up !

noisepolluter

I'm in recovery. Or denial.

frankus

octatonic said:

Why do you think you do it?

Is it a deliberate choice to get through a lot of guitars or does it just happen?

Genuine question.

I had an awesome teacher at Uni for guitar - I was in awe of him... so much so I took the guitar apart and tinkered with it lots and lots... and lots and couldn't have lessons till it was fixed

 get to know an instrument in a few weeks- it usually takes me a year or so to really get to grips with a new instrument.

I have 11 electrics, 2 acoustics, one bass, one mandola at the moment.

This excludes the builds I'm working on.

I've 4 electrics, 2 basses and one acoustic, 4 amps, 4 wah pedals (3 Jen), 4 compressor pedals, at least 3 chorus pedals, 3 delays, 3 multi-fx boxes, several fuzzes... 5 drive/fuzz pedals or more... 3 metronomes and 2 tuners.. aand several phasers and trems...

My kit gets punted on every time I play it on stage and I'm shit (not it.. me) - I didn't realise at first but I think I was trying to disassociate from it.:)

I remember reading a book about marketting and it said that the thrill of shopping is all in the hunt and final chase - once you've got nyeah f*ck it... knowing that (and the fact that most shopping is self-comforting - so better to find real comfort) makes most purchases a bit less sparkly.

stevenguitars

sign me up!

 i CANT STOP!

DrBob

Yeah, I'm definitely in on this particular self help group..
Haven't stepped on a stage for best part of 13 years now, much worse don't think I've actually turned an amp on in the last calendar month, and if I did all you'd hear is that I'd be hard pressed to play a whole song from start to finish..

And yet I've a rig that would probably more than satisfy the needs of a semi pro guitarist..

Hmmm

guitargeek62

I've been living vicariously through the forum for the past 4 years to be honest - saving for a wedding and then jumping onto a degree unplanned don't exactly mix well with large amounts of luxury expenditures! That said, the past 6 months have seen a slow ramping up back to my "normal" habits so I suspect I'll be back in Jooky & Rob's position in a year, if that.

I've been GASsing hard for a PRS DGT since playing my first one a couple of months before our wedding. It was beautiful - exactly what I look for in a guitar, my wife even said we could see about shifting dates etc so that I could get it, but that just confirmed even more that she was "the one". Thankfully I've played a couple more since then and they were equally as "right" for me so I really have to fill my Holy Grail slot on my rack before I go crazy with the Thomann B-Stock purchases again!

sunshinewelly

My amp and pedal gas was cured by a simple fix - I bought an axe fx. Quite an expensive fix but one that worked for me.

McToot

I'm very much in self-help group too.  Like @DrBob I don't gig.  I don't even that the patience/gumption to learn songs all the way through.  I just stumble on nice riffs and noodle away to myself.  For me the whole buying and selling obsession is probably more about the process itself.  It's like reading a really good book.  You get totally immersed in it; you invest a lot of time and energy in it and you get a huge amount of pleasure and knowledge out of it. 

Just like with a cracking book, it's almost a crushing sense of loss or anti-climax when you get to the end.  In the guitar-buying analogy, my 'book' is that certainty that I need a P90-equipped Junior.  Then I spend 3 months looking for one, chasing them and ultimately buying one.  By the time it turns up, I may well already be thinking about the Cabronita, that really should be with me... I have even gone as far as feeling cross when I have pulled the trigger on a guitar, knowing that this event will technically bar me from another 'project' until I have at least pretended to bond with it. 

Luckily my wife doesn't seem to care much.  Her late dad was a compulsive collector of railway memorabilia and so it's normal to her.  If anything I think she's confused as to why I feel the need to sell stuff (to justify more buying) and gets cross at me when I inevitably sell a 'keeper'. 

Neil

frankus said:

I remember reading a book about marketting and it said that the thrill of shopping is all in the hunt and final chase - once you've got nyeah f*ck it... knowing that (and the fact that most shopping is self-comforting - so better to find real comfort) makes most purchases a bit less sparkly.

This is true. The chase is definitely where the excitement lies.

Another hobby of mine is vintage wristwatches and I used to take ages to hunt around the world for the perfect example, buy it, and once I had it was on the look out for the next one.

The whole ownership thing is definitely an anti climax!