Why does GAS (gear addiction syndrome) seem to go in cycles?
That is, there are periods where I genuinely believe that I need certain piece of gear in order to make music. Then there are periods when I discover that I can make totally ok music using the stuff that I had before purchasing all the new stuff.
:|
Makes GAS seem like a pretty stupid thing as well as buying stuff beyond basic plug-ins and samples nonsense. I mean, the differences will be somewhat subtle in the end product, even if one used very expensive OTB compared to plug-ins.
For example, rather than purchase a hardware SSL G compressor, I find the Duende version does what I need.
It's mainly just reverbs and modulation (chorus) etc. that I find worthwhile to have as good quality OTB. E.g. the Alesis Quadraverb is often wider and warmer than what I find in plug-ins.
Last edited by soundmodel; 10-12-2017 at 10:26 PM..
what patterns are there to your cash flow?
what other stuff is in your life that may correlate with these cycles?
i wouldn't call GAS a stupid thing. Also I think the term GAS is wildly reductive -- to different people it means different things. One's lust after an SSL-G and another's of an RNC, is it the same GAS?
p.s. a real answer might call for too intimate a conversation
Why does GAS (gear addiction syndrome) seem to go in cycles?
That is, there are periods where I genuinely believe that I need certain piece of gear in order to make music. Then there are periods when I discover that I can make totally ok music using the stuff that I had before purchasing all the new stuff.
:|
Makes GAS seem like a pretty stupid thing as well as buying stuff beyond basic plug-ins and samples nonsense. I mean, the differences will be somewhat subtle in the end product, even if one used very expensive OTB compared to plug-ins.
For example, rather than purchase a hardware SSL G compressor, I find the Duende version does what I need.
It's mainly just reverbs and modulation (chorus) etc. that I find worthwhile to have as good quality OTB. E.g. the Alesis Quadraverb is often wider and warmer than what I find in plug-ins.
You just described Compulsive Buying Disorder.
A person is emotionally compelled to buy in cycles, where the purchase generates a neurochemical stimulation which is followed by a benign period, which is then followed by a low period of some kind of "guilt" (some form of viewing of the purchase as negative or not needed), and then eventually the desire to buy again and where the refrain from doing so eventually leads to regret over missing great deals or opportunities for the idea of some object - usyally wrapped up in what things can happen or be done with the object, and then rinse/repeat.
Electronics of all kinds are a common target choice for this behavior, and EDM gear probably takes the cake on facilitating the behavior pattern.
So it's cyclical because that's how the human brain works.
Sex drive works the same way, in regards to cycles - not the parts like guilt...guilt is a reaction to a cycle imprented through self-judgement by perception of some ideal in comparison to the self.
However even base functions like food and sex work in satisfaction and loss cycles, compelling people to the action, then satisfying the impulse, followed by a loss sensation and want for it again in some caliber.
It's only a problem if it's not needed, damages the ability of the person to do other things they wish to do, and is a behavior for which they cannot refrain from.
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You, or anyone else, are free to do anything with the music that I make. I consider all of my productions to be public domain. If someone asks, I will give them the source files and any related sample files if they are needed. Music is a dialogue, not a speech. Any listener must be free to become the speaker at any time for the life of the dialogue to be retained. Let us, then, discuss in tone.
Also, the cycle probably occurs in some sort of phase with another cycle -- that of your level of musical passion and productivity. E.g. gas hits hardest when you're struggling the most to be productive, not when you're actually getting a lot of work done. Which makes sense, because acquisition of new shit is usually rationalized as "once I have fancy new thing X, then I'll burst into activity and get so much done..."
You get a new toy once in a while to have fun with. Blessed are those that can objectively assess need vs utility and base all their purchasing decisions on that. However, behavioral economics has taught us that homo economicus is a mere fiction. None of our purchases are completely rational. And more recently evolutionary psychology has given us better insights into why that is. Emotional utility plays a big role, more so even than objective utility. How we perceive ourselves, how we are perceived by others matters more than anything else and our brains then provide a convincing narrative that is consistent with what we would like either perception to be. Emotions drive our decisions more than rational thinking. You already know you’re going to buy it, but you haven’t found a good enough excuse that would convincingly rationalize the purchase, and once that happens, you buy.
Then all those wonderful biases play into assessing the purchase. It’s amazing what goes on when we made a poor decision and realize it. That can lead to cognitive dissonance, when reality doesn’t conform to the carefully constructed picture we have created of ourselves. Guilt, buyers remorse, and above all, we post about the devices’s attributes, a picture of it, a track etc. We seek validation to resolve the conflict.
And that’s what places like Gearslutz or Elektronauts are for. Validation and venting.
And so the cycle continues.
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Techno starts with a capital 'T', as in TB-303 and TR-808.
But seriously I usually get thr worst GAS when I have ideas for projects but cant get in the studio or around NAMM... therefore I am ignoring NAMM this year...
The trollface meant "It is just a bit of fun". Fool.
We all know you are very well educated. It shows in how articulate, well measured you sound in writing. Pardon me for trying to poke fun at it when it looks a bit deliberate.
The trollface meant "It is just a bit of fun". Fool.
We all know you are very well educated. It shows in how articulate, well measured you sound in writing. Pardon me for trying to poke fun at it when it looks a bit deliberate.
I didn’t like to be called a snowflake. It’s just a very loaded term.
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Techno starts with a capital 'T', as in TB-303 and TR-808.
I personally always want new gear, and sometimes make horrible finical choices to get it, but recently I have limited myself to what I have because I realized something.
I realized when I lust after gear I get less music done, and this defeats the point of gear unless I am some sort of collector. I can tell you currently I want a digitakt, rytm mk2, rev 2, pro 2, moog voyager, make noise modules, drumbrute, analog heat, kontrol mk2, and I could go on.
However if I find myself buying a lot of gear I have not made as much music, and I have not mastered that gear. It is not until I chose to stop the lust and master what I have that I am now starting to make music with more character. Once I chose to look at gear like my guitar where I am the one making the sounds and to see that with each piece I am the shiftier and mover my gear lust diminished. I created a rule where I have to space my synth purchases out for at least 6 months before buying a new piece which goes for analog, digital, or vst.
When you learn your synth you become powered up. I've owned many synths as you can see hints of on these forums from the prophet 8 to the sub 37, and mastered only the sub 37 and maschine. Even then I'd say I was only 80 - 70% full capacity on those.
Now with the complex maschines I have such as the matrixbrute I devote more time to it. On my EP coming out this Wednesday people will se change, and I see it by how they respond to my music. I feel changed, and better. I would consider myself an intermediate to lightly advanced synth user.
My advice is to find the bare minimum you need and stick with it. For me it was a very powerful mono, a simple poly that can be complex, but doesn't have to be that complex, and a drum machine or sampler. I say earn your synths through music. No one will know nor will they care what synth you use unless they are into synths and are musicians. Even then a lot of musicians are not synth guys so they don't care.
Create your sound and don't buy it. Remember anyone who owns the same synth as you has the same presets, but it is up to you to use it a different way.
Here is a short list of synths I have owned and am experinced with:
Prophet 8 , prophet 12, ob-6, prophet 6, sub 37, mother 32, blofeld module, minibrute, korg microkorg, minilogue, monologue, ms-20 mini, ms-20 module, electron analog rytm, and the deep mind 12. There are more that could go on that list hardware and vst, but because this post is long and I think you get the point I'll leave it alone.
