I think of myself as resistant to the pull of advertising and gear acquisition, but I've developed a related problem.<p>When I find something that I like, I want to buy multiples of it, even if there is a very low chance that I'll wear the item out or lose it, and it may become unusable in that time. I've had many objects in my life that I thought were great, and then they become unavailable and I spend an inordinate amount of time searching for them, even though what I have still works fine. Because my brain says "What happens when it breaks?" and then I have to settle for something new and inferior.<p>I bought a travel backpack ten years ago. It was an unusual design, but I understood its benefits and liked it immensely. Most people did not, so after the first year it was redesigned and then discontinued. I do not know if I can get anything similar to it again, and I doubt the company will repair it. When I now see other bags that are similar but still not as good, they are significantly more expensive (because of inflation) and I regret not buying several at the time. Even though mine still works great.
It's funny to see it framed in the context of music when it's a pretty universal behavior, essentially limited only by how many cool upgrades exist for a particular hobby.<p>It's a particularly common affliction for photographers (better cameras, better lens, studio lighting, etc), but the same happens in lo-tech fields - say, woodworking (check out my premium chisels!) or even lawn care.<p>In most hobbies, it's just a money sink. It is uniquely destructive in photography because if you have too much gear, you can't carry it around and you end up missing out on shots.
I’ve fallen victim to this, though perhaps fortunately with digital synth plugins that take up no physical space.<p>This is related to another problem of mine: ignoring things I’m naturally good at, and fixating on things I’m naturally bad at. In this case, I have no real musical talent, can’t play instruments in rhythm, can’t arrange a song, and I’ve nevertheless been pursuing this in my spare time for a decade with no results. Sometimes I buy new gear thinking it will help, but people with musical talent can do much more with much less.<p>On the other hand, I showed promise for visual arts but never pursued it. My frustration with being bad at something seems to overpower my desire to be really good at something.
It's a big problem for photographers too. Especially with the rapid progress of mirrorless cameras there is always the next camera or lens you need to get. I have bought lenses and never used them. I have also spent more time on looking for accessories for my 3D printer than actually using it.<p>Not sure how to combat GAS. I feel for people with a full time job it somehow compensates for the lack of time working on one's hobbies
This sounds like another guise of fear of missing out. You can't do X without gear Y. However, your brain doesn't realize there are other constraints on realistically doing X; free time, energy, creative spark, etc. But at least buying Y feels like a concrete step towards doing X and modern society has made it VERY easy to buy things. So, you buy Y and promise yourself you'll do X...someday.
From another angle, I think it's understandable that people like to have premium "signifiers" of their skill. A carpenter with a full set of well maintained chisels seems on first glance more likely to be a good carpenter than one who carves uses with a box cutter.<p>So there may be a natural drive to collect and display things that indicate skill in our chosen areas of interest.<p>Now, to twist this around a bit: is this "gear acquisition syndrome" a contributor to the constant churn of tools and frameworks in our field? Especially in programming, collecting and using new "gear" (libraries, frameworks, administrative tools) is essentially free - often the only cost is time.
A flip side of GAS is that the market optimises for gear acquirers. A decent square taper bottom bracket is perfectly good for 99% of cyclists, and maintenance free for a decade or more. But gear acquirers are only interested in the latest and greatest ultra-stiff super-light external bearing BBs, so now square taper is dead except at the cheapest, shittiest grades. Which means that i, as someone who just wants my cranks to go round, am forced to enter their world.
Me being a guitarist, I probably spent a solid 10 years buying and selling guitars. Thousands, literally. Some weeks I'd get a guitar in the mail, check it out for an hour, then list it, and sell it the same day. I have a friend that goes through the same deal with pedals.<p>Luckily I started experiencing some serious "burnout" - where I could no longer feel any dopamine rush from getting new gear. In the end I had two good guitars that I played on for 5 years, and nothing else - I had little desire to buy something else, but it might also have been due to me becoming more interested in other things.<p>Now that I'm building a small home recording studio, I'm starting to feel the burn again. And I guess I've had some small relapse with the guitars, as I currently have 20 excellent guitars in my house...I could, and should, sell everything but a few.<p>The worst thing is that you stop progressing as a musician, because all the buying and selling steals your time and focus.
I think a lot of businesses kind of thrive on selling the dream.<p>Like how much gear bought at REI is really pushed to the limit for outdoor pursuits vs worn around town?<p>I love shopping there and looking around and daydreaming about being out in the woods.<p>It's not really an indictment of the businesses, it's just sort of human nature.
Haha. I called a friend and told him I'd been diagnosed with G.A.S. 20 years ago. He sounded really serious when he said he was sorry to hear that. I told him the acronym and said I'm headed to the music shop to buy a synthesizer and would he like to join.<p>I'm glad computers have become so powerful because now I can emulate that same synth in software (Korg MS20) and much more.
Hobbies I geek out on gear: fountain pens, coffee, backpacking, tools (especially fine woodworking or cabinet making).<p>Hobbies where my skills have reached a point of equilibrium with my gear: bikes, photography, electronics, knives, auto detailing, cars.<p>For me it has a lot to do with disparity between my current ability level and being able to recognize whatever a realistic upper end is to my potential (80th percentile). Basically, if there's a skill-gap, I'm more likely to fall prey to "better gear" rather than gear that solves a specific problem.<p>When I recognize my skills have reached ~80% of my potential, I lose interest in new gear and either work around specific gear limitations or understand what is possible within the limitations and embrace the constraint. Beyond that, I only acquire new gear to solve hyper-specific problems w/o reasonable workarounds, or if there's some super-specific niche/quirky/vintage thing that I have an emotional attachment to or otherwise identify with.<p>Conversely, if I have an unrealistic perception of my potential, then, well... there's probably lists of shiny things to show for it.
Whenever I've had this for a hobby, it's always been when I've had more time to think about the hobby than do the hobby.<p>So this happened more when I had long commutes, so plenty of time to read about new gear, discuss gear on forums, think about gear, etc.<p>When my commuting ended, I had more time to do things, and the lack of engagement with new things coming out mostly put a stop to it.
I think every hobby that involves equipment has some version of this. I feel like we've been conditioned to believe that consumption of a product is equivalent to participation in that hobby, mostly because the biggest "reward" we get from it is often the appearance of having varied interests and appearing to the layman like you know what you're doing because you have the "nice" stuff.<p>Broad strokes, if you don't enjoy doing something with shitty gear you probably won't enjoy it with nice gear, either. And if you do enjoy it with shitty gear, you should spend enough time with said shitty gear to understand why you would need something nicer and be thoughtful about your upgrades.
“I'm really not that fussy — I think it's more important to make the best use of what you have. I don't like to walk into a studio, lay down the law, and say, 'I must have this, otherwise I cannot continue with the session.' I'm not like that. I prefer to be more, 'What have you got? Let's see what we can do with that.' I hate spending inordinate amounts of time just playing with a sound, trying different pieces of equipment, and different mics and that stuff. Let's get the job done. Let's make a record. The whole process of recording is one big experiment in itself." - Alan Parsons
This isn't limited to music. When I worked in NYC and didn't have time to rock climb much, I bought a ton of rock climbing gear--much of it niche equipment that I've never used.<p>Eventually I realized that this was just a stand-in for actually climbing: I believed that my job was enabling me to rock climb by funding my trips and buying my gear, but the reality was that I was stagnating as a rock climber, because most of my climbing time was at the gym, and that was low-quality time because my job was sapping all my time and energy. On the rare times I could take a few days off, I wasn't in the shape I wanted to be and spent a lot of the trip figuring out how to climb on real rock again since I mostly climbed on plastic. Buying gear was a way to feel like I was making some progress as a climber, because I had the gear to do more things, but the reality was that I wasn't.<p>I wish I could say I took some agency and started my freelance business, but the reality is that I sort of stumbled into freelance work, and my business started itself. But I did move to a rock climbing area, and eventually moved into a van, and I'm lucky to be able to climb outdoors >3 days a week now (not full days most of the time, but still). In a way, the GAS period of my life set me up for this well, because now I pretty much never need to make any big purchases--I occasionally have to replace an item that wears out but for the most part I have everything I need.<p>I did also buy a lot of guitar-related gear when I was buying rock climbing gear. That I've mostly sold: all I have at this point is my acoustic guitar, a capo, and a few picks. Again this coincided with me actually playing a lot more guitar, and realizing that I'm really only doing it for myself and only want to do finger-picky acoustic stuff anyway.
I do this for electronics; Parts, Materials and Kit. I don't buy PMK because I think it'll make me more skilled, I do it because I want to. I have noticed, however, that when I've got something physically, and can examine it and play with it, then it becomes like a new word in mental vocabulary that I can think with.
There are 3 hobbies:<p>1. Doing the thing<p>2. Talking about the thing<p>3. Nerding about the gear for the thing<p>Every activity has a mix of all 3 types of folk. It’s ok to be in it for the gear if that gets your juices flowing. Sellers love you.
As someone who's battled Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS), I've learned that fixating on the latest tech often hinders progress. Instead, I've found success by embracing effectuation principles:<p>1. Use what you have: Start with your existing tools and resources.<p>2. Take action: Begin immediately, rather than waiting for the "perfect" setup.<p>3. Adapt and learn: Iterate based on real-world feedback.<p>This mindset shift can lead to more meaningful progress and innovation. When you catch yourself obsessing over new gear, try this:<p>1. Pause and reflect: Is this acquisition essential for immediate progress?<p>2. Reevaluate: Can you achieve your current goals with what you already have?<p>3. Focus on action: Use your existing means to take concrete steps today.
The recent meme of the unequipped Turkish Olympic shooter comes to mind. The other competitors in the shooting event had expensive specialized gear. The Turkish guy had no gear and he got silver.<p>>Reflecting on his viral moment, [the shooter guy] said, "People sometimes say, 'It's so easy, you won a medal with your hands in your pockets.' But there's 24 years of work and effort behind that medal. I train six days a week for 4-5 hours a day. I wish it was gold, but we still achieved a lot."
I'm always seeking out new gear because I love finding new sounds. I also went to school for classical piano and can play pretty well. Does a chef that likes finding new spices have GAS? Def a joke in there but for real. There are certain sounds that can only be found in vintage analog synths for instance. Of course there are always samples but there are also samples of cellos and violins. But they will never compare to actually playing the real instrument so therefore I must buy them alllll.
I am a musician. Among most musicians I know know I am also one of those with the least obsession with gear.<p>Gear is just that. Gear. Much of the sound in musical gear doesn't correlate with price. Sure when it comes to recording gear and studio equipment price tends to correlate with reliability, but we are living in truly magical times.<p>I gifted my brother a 160 Euro Harley Benton (Thomann's budget brand for guitars etc) Telecaster clone. That guitar in sound and playability <i>easily</i> could be the last guitar I would have bought. Amplifiers are similar.<p>Now I am playing the electrical guitar for 20 years and I online <i>one</i> electrial guitar. A heavily modded US strat that I bought 15 years ago.<p>Now the main difference between me and my peers is that I am a sound nerd and electronics afficionado — that means if I want to get towards a sound I know how to get there. And this is the crux. Many people (especially guitar players) chase some sort of sound that they never achieve, because they can't tell which part of the physical world maps to which part of the sound they get.<p>Depending on the style of music a <i>lot</i> of it in the end is in the fingers. But you can't buy enter fingers, you can just train. But that doesn't give you a dopamine boost.<p>For all people with GAS I recommend that less is more. Get to know ow your shit. It is capable of great sounds. You just need to put in the work.
Seems to me GAS is nuanced by the type of musical instrument acquired. The syndrome may be less severe with piano and harp players than it is with guitar, and electric bass players. Although, it may extend to excessive acquisitions of sheet music and books on musical theory.<p>Single kit exceptions may include drummers and xylophone players.<p>This syndrome is very evident in high-performance vehicle markets where there seems to be no end to the modifications one can make to go faster, sound louder, or look cooler.
I am a photographer, drone pilot, and mountain bike rider, so it looks like hobbies with "gear acquisition syndrome" built-in are my opium.<p>What's funny is that most of the expensive gear I bought before the inflation spiral I have now sold for quite a profit.<p>There are also some pretty big youtube channels that talk up older digital camera models and I am 90% sure they are doing it to dump some excess inventory. You get cameras from around 2010 that are selling close to new camera prices...
I just discovered GAS therapy [0], as there was some controversy about the OP-1 pricing (also from Teenage Engineering).
To summarize both sides, software is pretty cheap and limitless.
Device are limited which can spark creativity by constraints, their tactile form factor feel great, and their portable nature can be a great advantage.<p>However, there are other arguments that typically revolve around how "software cannot replicate vintage sounds" where the holy wars really begin. Nobody has ever proven that, but the myth endures. Recently enough [1] showed all that basically with an eq, a compressor and a distortion you can reproduce any vintage amp sound, you just need to know how it deviates from a flat sound response.<p>How expensive the vintage or high-end hardware is might be a deterrent for some but a very attractive proposition for others.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU8alMWUmDI&pp=ygULZ2FzIHRoZXJhcHk%3D" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU8alMWUmDI&pp=ygULZ2FzIHRoZ...</a><p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcBEOcPtlYk" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcBEOcPtlYk</a>
I expect this can be abstracted and include other fields, too. My particular affliction has included electronic lab equipment. Like, did I really need that specialized tool to measure and verify the performance of my oscilloscope? Did I really need the second oscilloscope on my bench? I'm rarely involved in RF, but I have a spectrum analyzer collecting dust now. Etc...
I reached out to someone to buy a second hand saxophone mouthpiece today that one of my favourite players uses. I already own 4, 2 of them masterfully refaced. I play for 26 years and know that only practicing makes me better, not gear. I’m on vacation and don’t even have an instrument. It’s pure GAS for no good reason. Shame on me.
Since I don't possess the necessary self discipline, the next best thing to minimizing GAS is to put your money in a place where it's not very liquid - for me that's immediately moving any disposable income into index funds.<p>It's the fiscal equivalent of not stocking your larder with junk food.
For photography (Canon DSLR, photojournalism and studio), there was a pursuit of the right gear, but I was usually as much as I was buying.<p>For example, the ordinary reasonable thought, <i>I could make such great images with that 50mm f/0.9 prime, I might use it for everything</i>, is usually a fantasy. Try it, then sell it before its resale value drops, then find a better use for the money and the space and weight in your backpack.)<p>A bit similar for homelab servers&networking gear. I've sold many times more rack units' worth of stuff than I currently own. (And currently there's a silent K3s server that's nearing the chopping block, since I haven't been using it.)
I seem to have anti-GAS.<p>I've got a 5-year old phone (thanks Apple for maintaining OS security support for my model for so long!), a 3-year old laptop I'm not planning on replacing any time soon, and the non-computer based hobbies I've managed to stick with for any length of time are running and bouldering, where the only gear you really need for both are appropriate shoes. And I only have one pair of shoes for each.<p>Yeah, I've got some light, breathable, non-chafing clothing that makes both less unpleasant to do, but I couldn't tell you with 100% certainty what brand they are, or exactly what they're made of. And I have a bottle of liquid chalk, whatever they were selling in the gym the last time I needed to get some more. But I'm not on Strava or whatever, and I don't track my per-km splits or my heart rate/zone or elevation gained or cadence. I'll time a whole run with a $20 Casio wrist/stopwatch, and sometimes calculate an average pace, but that's about it.<p>Not that I'm particularly good at running or bouldering, but I'm enjoying doing both at the level I'm currently at, so that's fine.<p>Anyway, any hobby that requires a bunch of gear is just a turn-off for me. The more gear I'd need, the more I want to give it a wide berth.<p>Computer software I love to nerd out on. But everything else? Hardware? That's a break from the nerdery for me.
Was doing this with food storage containers.<p>I looked above my fridge one day and saw about 40 tupperware lids that I had never used and would likely never use. I went through them, saving the large containers for large meals (think Thanksgiving leftovers) and some moderate sized containers for eating for the week. Everything else got tossed and I instead purchased two sets of food service containers. They accomplish the same goal, they're all the same size, and they don't take up nearly as much space.
Same happens to me on so differentes areas like: arts, drawing, painting and sculpting.
And reptile and insect raising: ants and geckos.<p>I have more stuff and tools for future projects that will ever be able to use in 10 years.<p>Realising this thanks to an HN post a year ago I stopped completely acquiring new gear and started finishing projects.<p>Sometimes a get a cheap sketchbook though I had several ones unused :P
If you have the money and the gear makes you happy then by all means go for it. I'm not buying a Rolex to read the time either. For that i have my phone. Sometimes it's just nice to enjoy the expensive gear you have and play it occasionally and there is no ambition to master the instrument on a competitive level.
Site wasn't loading for me (front page of HN DDOS effect) so here's wayback machine snapshot from today: <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20240807161556/https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/48282" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20240807161556/https://library.oa...</a><p>I lightly "suffer" from this in both music and non-music hobbies. I bought the Analogue Pocket with the base that connects to a TV but I've played one game on it and that's it. I've bought gameboy mod carts to make Chiptunes music but I've never performed or even regularly sit down and try and make music, I just like the potential of it. I bought that Pocket CHIP a while back thinking I was going to use it for something (PICO-8 games maybe?), but now it just gathers dust. My current gear obsession is travel gear, thanks to Reddit's OneBag community. I'm going on a 16 day trip soon and I wanted to only have carry-on so I've spent hundreds of dollars on quality merino wool clothing and new travel backpack. Granted, this is probably the most practical of all my purchases because I will use it more often than the video game devices gathering dust. But I also could have just sucked it up and taken the clothing I already own and figured it out.<p><a href="https://www.analogue.co/pocket" rel="nofollow">https://www.analogue.co/pocket</a><p><a href="https://shop.pocketchip.co/collections/frontpage/products/pocket-c-h-i-p-new" rel="nofollow">https://shop.pocketchip.co/collections/frontpage/products/po...</a><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/onebag/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/onebag/</a>
And after acquiring a specific piece of music gear to produce every conceivable sound, I'm actually less productive than I was before, because of the paradox of choice. Constraints breed creativity.<p>I think I've basically cured my musical GAS.
I’ve been an amateur bass player since 2008. My GAS stopped when I took a year of lessons from professional player. I learned that most of the sound comes from good playing technique.
This is not too different from book/movies/music acquisition syndrome. In particular for books, you continue even if you know you’ll never read them all, or even a significant fraction.
I only learned of this phrase recently but now I see it mentioned everywhere. Isn’t there a word for this phenomenon? Or is it actually a new concept that is spreading virally or something?
Honestly my GAS subsided when I realized most of my favorite records were made with affordable or off the shelf gear. So many guitarists on the 80s used JCM800s because that was what Marshall was putting out. Eric Clapton’s Stratocaster wasn’t vintage when he bought it, it was just an off the shelf guitar! Same with most amps, instruments, keyboards, synths, drum machines, even samplers which are hailed as legendary because they have higher bass and a lower bitrate (an effect you can get with a one-knob EQ and a bit crusher, respectively). The artists were just using the tools available to them because… they were available.<p>I have simplified my recording and production setup to mainly just a computer, 10 channel audio interface, a 90s mackie mixer because it’s big and fun and sums neatly to the 10 channels (8 busses + master 2 buss), and whatever bits of quirky and <i>fun</i> gear I can find.<p>My GAS left when I realized I don’t <i>need</i> any of it. I could make music on just a laptop if I wanted to, I could just play my guitar and resample it for synth sounds if I wanted to. Plenty of iPhone producers out there who just make weird sounds with their mouth. It’s all relative. People will say you’ve Got to have at LEAST one analog mono, one poly, a digi, a sampler, and an endless supply of grooveboxes, but computers are truly more than capable. “Analog sound” is just an EQ away. Just focus on the creative aspect and the gear aspect diminishes and becomes yet another source of creativity - find quirky pawn shop stuff that makes you smile when you play it. Even if you don’t record it, you don’t feel like it’s GAS because it brings joy.
The GAS is real. I'm surrounded by music gadgets that I seldom have time (and these days, the proper state of mind) to enjoy, and I keep looking (and building) more.
i call this "gadget feever". Phones, computers, accesories etc. With age i recognise it within me better and better, but have spent lots of time and money for this.
Rock Climbing. Trad/aid climbing. Hundreds of pounds of gear. All manner of little twists of metal on loops of string or webbing. Ropes. Harnesses. Shoes. Bespoke ascender rigs. Bags of various belay devices. Some of it is expensive, costing hundred of dollars a piece. Other stuff is dirt cheap. Once you buy that second rurp, then you are an addict.