Gear mood swings...do you suffer from them?

Philtre

So, one week the only thing I want to play is a Jazzmaster through a clean Fender amp. Humbuckers and Marshall amps suck. Yeah, baby, this is my tone..twang!

And then...later that same month...

Hmmm...this Les Paul is actually not that bad. Especially through the Marshall. Humbuckers! Yeah, baby, this is the sound. That single coil shit can do one.

Or...

10s. I gotta have 10 gauge strings on all my guitars. Good girth, solid tone. Love it. 9s are way too weedy.

Later that month...

Hmmm...these 9s are real slinky. They bend just great. How did I ever manage with 10s? Let's swap these suckers out.

Rinse and repeat.

Anyone else? Is there a name for this?

simonk

Philtre said:

...

Is there a name for this?

Expensive.

skunkwerx

Hybrid slinkys on a prs through a rift will sort all that nonsense. 

TTBZ

Yep I'm the exact same. Having only one guitar and one amp helps from acting upon it but I have the worst cases of GAS and do shitloads of research before realising I can't realistically afford what I was GAS'ing for anyway.

Philtre

It's not really GAS for new stuff but rather switching between what I've already got. For example, since I got a Marshall head I hate the sound of the Fender Deluxe Reverb. And I know that'll be reversed next month.

PC_Dave

Philtre said:

Anyone else? Is there a name for this?

Grounds for divorce 

Stevepage

I go through this near weekly.

One week I want a high gain monster like a 5150 with a 7 string tuned down 12000 octaves.

The next I want a Strat into a little Friedman set up with a Delay pedal.

We just have so much choice available to us now days that we get silly with these things.

stimpsonslostson

I did suffer from something similar, but a Variax through a multiFX means I have virtually limitless options... so naturally I only ever seem to play LP Special through a Marshall JCM800 or a Martin D28. 

Sassafras

Only in the early years before I settled on my particular set-up. I know what suits me best and what I would call my comfort zone.

fretmeister

Yup.

I really want a Marshall SC20 (Mini JCM800) to go with my EMG loaded LP...

2 weeks ago I really wanted a proper twangy Telecaster and a Princeton.

p90fool

It's perfectly normal, even musicians who are famous for earning their living in a narrow niche play all kinds of gear and styles when off duty. 

Saying a particular guitar/amp combination is your sound is silly, does that mean you can never pick up an acoustic or a bass? 

darthed1981

I want to buy about half the gear I see and hear.

What actually will improve my playing is practise, but looking at gear is much easier!!

Jalapeno

Sounds like classic GAS to me

57Deluxe

fickleism

Philtre

Jalapeno said:

Sounds like classic GAS to me

No, not GAS.

More like CATS. You give your cat a new tasty pack of Sheba Succulent Selection and they love it. They'll eat nothing else. So you stock up on a 3 months' supply. Next week they hate it and never want to see it again.

builttospill

Every few seconds

ICBM

My gear mood swing is that I see something, get very enthusiastic about it and buy it - then after about a week I think “why did I do that?” and get down about why I waste money on stuff I don't need. Luckily, working for a shop means that I often get the chance to try stuff out properly before actually buying it...

munckee

I have a physical limit of space which means any purchase means sacrificing something else.  It also means I don't have space for an item I'm not using.

I have a strat, tele and a 335 copy, a modelling amp, a small combo for home and a blues jr for taking to jams and one pedal board.  That covers all the bases and means if I get bored of fendery sounds I can play humbuckers through a marshall voiced modeller.

I will move guitars on and buy others (for the sake of it often) but no more than 3 electrics (boss's rules) but I don't often dislike anything I have.

stimpsonslostson

p90fool said:

It's perfectly normal, even musicians who are famous for earning their living in a narrow niche play all kinds of gear and styles when off duty. 

John5 springs to mind. Famous as rock/metal player, is a chicken picking genius. 
He is to telecasters what HarrySeven is to weird guitars.