Has your GAS ever gone for good? (😙)

[Ibarch]

My GAS was in remission for 15 years but I've been suffering regular flare ups for a while now. 

 

Tempted to head down to GearFest in London next weekend. If I do, there is a reasonable chance I will end up buying a synth. Its all perfectly logical. I have been slowly building up my synth knowledge with soft synths and using presets on my stage piano. The next step is a hardware synth with lots of knobs and flashing lights for that proper hands on feel. 

 

There is no known cure for GAS. It can return at any time no matter how long you have been seemingly free. 

[Stokely]

I picked up a Nord Stage 3 compact from fellow forumite cphollis, and I can honestly say I'm as close to "out of gas" as I've ever been.  The NS3 just scratches about every itch and I've now done 3 gigs with it as the only keyboard (Modx in the car as emergency backup).  It's just such an easy setup and minimal stage room needed, I can make one trip from my car without a cart for most gigs, and that's with the heavy Omego Pro stand.   I'm especially impressed with the synth sounds, which are the "new" thing that my Electro 6 didn't have.   I find the limitations on programming it welcome, oddly...I don't need all the flexibility of a Kronos or Forte (which I own)--I tend to hate "multi mode"--I can whip up new patches very quickly and they are complex enough for my needs.
 

 

[LarsHarner2]

18 hours ago, scoopicman said:

 

Does that mean you don't like to just sit and play by yourself?  That's all I've done, since buying a DX7 40 years ago.  It's in my bones to make sound.   I don't have the talent to play at a performance level, but when I walk by a synth or piano, I have that strong urge to press a key...  

I am doing that mostly, I remember playing a DX7 at a party in '85 and then a friend had the DX7IIFD in '88. Because I didn't have a DX7 back then, I loaded up Arturia's today and played it for a few hours. I am actually going back in time and playing some of the sounds (i.e. Casio CZ that I would have loved to have access to)

In terms of GAS, it was gone during the pandemic but as therapy in a way, I got a Naulitus and once I got the Arturia mkii I added a lot of VSTS. 

[niacin]

My primary need has long been a clonewheel with a few extra sounds, so Hammond SK2 and now SKXpro, and it should be another 10 years before a replacement model hits the shelves so I'm pretty safe on that front.  For gigs where I need a wider palette the Korg Vox Continental has turned out to be brilliant, and frankly irreplaceable, and it looks like there's no version 2 on the horizon.  But occasionally the combination of the SKpro solo synth and the Kronos-derived VA in the Vox comes up short and I go looking at genuine synths.  After some horsetrading on gumtree and ebay I think I've got a good handle on what will work for me and ponied up for a Nord Wave 2.  Hopefully that'll set me right for some years to come.  Not expecting to be cured for life or anything though.  Last week had a first rehearsal with a new organ/guitar/drums trio playing classic soul jazz so that should focus my attention back on sorting my playing rather than buying stuff.

 

 

[bill5]

I've never had much in the way of GAS because I didn't need much and I wasn't into spending a lot of money on something which wasn't really going to get me anything extra.

 

PAS (Plugin Acquisiton Syndrome) on the other hand

[Dave Bryce]

I admit it - I bought too much gear during COVID. 

It was the whole getting into guitars thing that was at the center of it.  In my quest to understand what makes players reach for a Tele over a Strat, or a Strat over a Les Paul, or an SG over a Gretsch, or what makes hollow body guitars so cool, or why single coil pickups are better for something’s than humbuckers, I  bought eight - yes, eight - electric guitars. 😵‍💫

 

…and four amps (love my Princeton and my AC15!).  And don’t even get me started on the pedal thing.   It’s kinda like the modular synth thing, but with a waaaay different sound source than an oscillator.

 

Bottom line - for the first time in my life, I feel like I have enough gear to keep me busy.  I have no idea how long it’s gonna last, but my wallet is definitely appreciating the break.

 

dB

 

 

 

 

[Motif88]

19 hours ago, scoopicman said:

 

Does that mean you don't like to just sit and play by yourself?  That's all I've done, since buying a DX7 40 years ago.  It's in my bones to make sound.   I don't have the talent to play at a performance level, but when I walk by a synth or piano, I have that strong urge to press a key...  

Actually, for me it’s the opposite. I miss playing with others players, the interaction and energy. Playing to my own tracks cannot recreate that energy…

[Bill H.]

19 hours ago, scoopicman said:

 

Does that mean you don't like to just sit and play by yourself?  That's all I've done, since buying a DX7 40 years ago.  It's in my bones to make sound.   I don't have the talent to play at a performance level, but when I walk by a synth or piano, I have that strong urge to press a key...  

Nah for me it's always been about showing off  Rehearsing... yeah always, but it was that was to be a better keyboard player in front of people. 

 

OK true story... For the first time I went to Japan last spring to visit my youngest son and his family. They know that for years I've gigged playing piano, but when I sat down and played a little for them I was so... RUSTY! 

 

I'm going back in October, and I'm playing at home in prep. That's what it takes to get me back on keys. 

 

Going OT... Tokyo is absolutely amazing! I thought I'd hate it - but I love that city for it's energy, it's awesome train system which makes getting around a snap, and how safe everything feels over there.

[scoopicman]

19 minutes ago, Motif88 said:

Actually, for me it’s the opposite. I miss playing with others players, the interaction and energy. Playing to my own tracks cannot recreate that energy…

 

That makes sense.  That is similar to acting, where one performer can feed off the intensity of the other, and vice versa.

 

I'm insecure to play with others, so I'm a recluse player.   My motivation comes from wanting to hear sounds, then record and present them.  As for interaction, I can't tell you how many times I've made a demo video or piece of music in response to a forum post.  I make music by myself in a way that I couldn't with others watching.

[scoopicman]

29 minutes ago, Bill H. said:

Nah for me it's always been about showing off  Rehearsing... yeah always, but it was that was to be a better keyboard player in front of people. 

 

 

And that's awesome, because that is strong motivation, with the talent to respond.  I show off.  It's just not in a live setting. 😁

[David Emm]

When we say "gear," I always think "keyboard," but no, its everything. I buy new patch sets from time to time and I'm enjoying my first few uses of Music Hack's Master Plan. Its well-described in the new gear section. Its a mastering engineer in a box, SORT OF, with the genuine merit of being designed by such engineers. Its just a make-do dusting for those of us who could never employ one anyway, but its still good at pressing the last few wrinkles out of a finished composition's suit.

 

Its less a matter of GAS and more one of buying a case of Turtle Wax for my existing rig. Shiny!

[David Emm]

22 hours ago, Bill H. said:

OK true story... For the first time I went to Japan last spring to visit my youngest son and his family. They know that for years I've gigged playing piano, but when I sat down and played a little for them I was so... RUSTY!

 

Hmm... Was it Horowitz or Andre Previn who said "If I don't practice for a day, I can hear it. If I don't practice for three days, my manager can hear it. If I don't practice for a week, the audience can hear it"? 🤔 

[eric]

My GAS is in remission. I’m very satisfied with my live rig and have been playing a few less gigs. The last bit of keyboard gear I bought was a Roland Boutique JX-08 in late 2021. I played with it a few hours and haven’t touched it since then. 
 

I have a mild desire to get a Nord Stage 4, though my sense of urgency is nowhere near what it has been in the past to acquire new gear. 
 

I am still interested in optimizing my various rehearsal and live rigs, which is mostly about fiddling with cables and pedals and racks, oh my. 

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

On 7/9/2023 at 7:21 PM, Dave Bryce said:

It was the whole getting into guitars thing that was at the center of it.  In my quest to understand what makes players reach for a Tele over a Strat, or a Strat over a Les Paul, or an SG over a Gretsch, or what makes hollow body guitars so cool, or why single coil pickups are better for something’s than humbuckers, I  bought eight - yes, eight - electric guitars. 😵‍💫

 

 

 

 

 

I'm probably fortunate I didn't go down the Guitar road; I'd be in the same boat as you most likely!  But I do admit they would look cool hanging there on the wall....   Hmmmm.

 

I'm still thrilled to be finally using an 88-key KB after moving up from my 61.  But the GAS thing rears its head in other ways - I probably have 30 cameras, for example.  And four bicycles.  And four cars, which is probably about three too many for someone who is single and lives alone.  Having two keyboards seems quite reasonable in comparison.

[Floyd Tatum]

My GAS is pretty much gone.   Used to have a pretty bad case of it.   I'm still interested in gear, but manage to keep it to the 'reading articles on the internet' and 'looking at ads and youtube vids' level most of the time now.    When I think of the money I burned through, it kinda makes me weep a little.

[ProfD]

48 minutes ago, Floyd Tatum said:

When I think of the money I burned through, it kinda makes me weep a little.

Don't do it.  Better to think about the blast of exploring the gear during that journey. 😁

 

Hindsight is always 20/10 even under the worst driving conditions.

 

Imagine the buyer's remorse a gambler has from losing a small fortune and not having a pleasant memory or anything else to show for it.🤣😎

[Bill H.]

19 hours ago, David Emm said:

 

Hmm... Was it Horowitz or Andre Previn who said "If I don't practice for a day, I can hear it. If I don't practice for three days, my manager can hear it. If I don't practice for a week, the audience can hear it"? 🤔 

I'm sure he was way more motivated then me! And infinitely more talented...

 

But the main thing I get out of that quote is the last part. He was practicing for an audience. In my case, once the there were no more audiences the practicing dropped off, and once the practicing and playing dropped off the GAS disappeared. 

[GovernorSilver]

On 7/9/2023 at 8:21 PM, Dave Bryce said:

I admit it - I bought too much gear during COVID. 

It was the whole getting into guitars thing that was at the center of it.  In my quest to understand what makes players reach for a Tele over a Strat, or a Strat over a Les Paul, or an SG over a Gretsch, or what makes hollow body guitars so cool, or why single coil pickups are better for something’s than humbuckers, I  bought eight - yes, eight - electric guitars. 😵‍💫

 

…and four amps (love my Princeton and my AC15!).  And don’t even get me started on the pedal thing.   It’s kinda like the modular synth thing, but with a waaaay different sound source than an oscillator.

 

Bottom line - for the first time in my life, I feel like I have enough gear to keep me busy.  I have no idea how long it’s gonna last, but my wallet is definitely appreciating the break.

 

dB

 

 

 

 

 

I remember when you proudly posted about that first guitar you bought - the American Pro Strat.  Now you have 8!   I think you can call yourself a real guitarist now.  

 

I got the Line 6 HX Stomp XL so I could just bring that to band rehearsal instead of lugging my increasingly weighty Pedaltrain pedalboard.  It's had some beneficial side effects for me - killed GAS for more amps, as the amp modeling is good enough for my modest needs - and most effects pedals too.

 

I'm set in terms of hardware synths, samplers, and drum machines.  

 

Remaining GAS is for a Jaspers rolling stand to replace my rickety Monoprice studio desk.

[Dave Bryce]

12 minutes ago, GovernorSilver said:

 

I remember when you proudly posted about that first guitar you bought - the American Pro Strat. 

 

Close.  The black Tele was first….and is still arguably my fave.  I do absolutely love the Strat as well, though…that and the Gretsch probably get played as much as the Tele.

 

 

12 minutes ago, GovernorSilver said:

 

I got the Line 6 HX Stomp XL so I could just bring that to band rehearsal instead of lugging my increasingly weighty Pedaltrain pedalboard. 

 

I have one of those as well.  Great little box. 🥰

 

dB

[BluMunk]

Mine has mellowed out for the following reasons:

• I have come to realize that from a practical standpoint my list of "must haves" are few and finite
• The ability to quickly navigate my gear to accomplish a number of mostly predictable things is much more important than incremental "improvements" that require me to use a new interface
• Realizing I just don't have the space
• Realizing how many things I get, try out, and then they sit unused

 

... that said, it's nice to play with new toys . I just have to be honest with myself when a purchase is coming out of my "music equipment" fund and when it's coming out of my "personal entertainment" fund.

[cphollis]

Strange, I was hot and heavy on all sorts of gear for the longest time, and then -- I was sort of done.  I realized that I had just about everything I could want (and then some).   New gear just looks like more work at this point.

[David Emm]

47 minutes ago, cphollis said:

Strange, I was hot and heavy on all sorts of gear for the longest time, and then -- I was sort of done.  I realized that I had just about everything I could want (and then some).   New gear just looks like more work at this point.

 

Same here. Where I once leapt on new things readily, I now dig into my existing instruments more deeply. I have a refreshing jones for the ELKA-X; I took to it as an advanced form of my old JUNO-1. I have a fondness for digital oscillators running through analog filters. Its well-modeled, so the creamy aspects are intact. Its a Synthex booted to the next level. I enjoy new patch sets from time to time, but there's similar fun in learning the secondary roads on what you have.     

[KenElevenShadows]

I have everything I need, so no GAS for me. I am in the process of getting rid of stuff that I no longer need. If I find something that I can use, sure, I will purchase it. But I don't keep thinking about it or looking for things to purchase. I just want to get on with creating.

[Stokely]

Currently working on the most lacking part of my rig...

...me.

I need to get in shape.  Primarily for a medical concern but also because I hate being overweight.  I've already upped my game a bit attire-wise (re: the big thread about dressing for corporate gigs) although nothing too fancy, mostly basic black.  Which helps with the out of shape part just a bit.   

I need to practice both singing and playing more, and am currently planning to form a fun duo with a friend, two keyboards for better or worse.  I've been thinking of getting a cajon (stand-mounted for sure) to finally put all those decades of annoying hand/finger drumming to good use, and maybe finally work up the nerve to do some guitar in this duo.

I need to do a better job with patches and controlling the aspects of the sound that are there.  Now that I'm mostly using only one keyboard, this becomes a bit more important.

Compared to all that, looking at keyboard gear is easy   You might also say that looking at keyboard gear has distracted me from working on that stuff!

[Leroy C]

Mine tends to go away once I have what I really need and I'm genuinely happy with it.  Right now, I have the instruments I want, and don't see getting anything new unless one of them genuinely needs replacing.  Amplification, on the other hand, has me spending a lot of time on Sweetwater ...

[Tom Williams]

Mine's dormant, sort of like chicken pox waiting around to re-manifest as shingles.  I figure it will start up again after my PC4-7 is paid off.  At that point I'm sure the Osmose will raise me from artistic mediocrity to greatness as soon as I purchase it.

 

Seriously, I don't think I'm likely to buy another 'board unless / until the ones I currently have break down.  And that only if I don't break down first.

 

Exception to the rule: I hope to get myself small stuff, like a dumbek or an otamatone. 

[Sundown]

I would say that I’m pretty much GAS-free …

 

I’m lucky to have a well-rounded rig and home studio but the question I ask before any potential purchase is “Will it help me finish projects?” If the answer is no (and it almost always is), I don’t buy it. That stops me cold from most purchases. The gap to completing projects is time, expertise, and experience and you can’t buy that.

 

The music manufacturers are great at making you think their gear will be the missing puzzle piece, but it rarely is. I’m solely a home studio rat (no live playing here) and even the most basic DAW will provide a tremendous amount of capability. I’m fortunate to have more than the basic minimum.

 

Having a wife and family is also a good buffer, as it helps keep priorities in check. My wife is wonderfully supportive and would endorse me buying a Moog One or OB-X8 if I thought it was wise, but my inner sensibility knows that it won’t provide long-term happiness and it won’t speed along my compositions and mixes.

 

Todd

 

 

[Bobadohshe]

I almost have anti gas. I am so busy USING the tools that I have as a gigging musician that the idea of incorporating anything new sounds like a huge hassle I don't have time for. Everything I own gets the job done.

[Aidan]

Not bought anything since the YC88. Actually considering thinning the ranks, ditching the MODX and Tyros, neither of which get much use anymore. But then I would probably end up buying a good 88 controller as I increasingly rely on software.

[jazzpiano88]

GAS is never gone.    It comes and goes, ebbs and flows with the time available to devote music, which should be increasing.

 

Some of the future possibilities:

- Spectrasonics libraries - Omnisphere and Trillian

- Investigate newer piano slabs beyond the CP4/CP300

- Dual manual clonewheel.   Only have played organ superficially on cover tunes.  Would love to go deeper.

- Move up to a C7X piano (find a bargain used if possible).