Ran out of GAS

Larry

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
Can anyone relate to the feeling of....I'm done buying drum stuff?

I'm there. No desire for anything else since I got a tom tree for my walnut set.

I mean where else is there to go? I'm in the promised land already. I worked so hard to get here, why would I want to leave and start over?

I got a great guitar amp, 2 Fender guitars, and I am done buying guitar stuff too.

It's a good feeling not being distracted by gear. One less distraction to stand between myself and my playing.

I never thought I would get to this place. Not sure how long it will last, but right now I feel like it's permanent. To illustrate this, I still have $1,000 of play money from what I got when my Mom passed on. It's my money to do with as I wish. I honestly can't think of anything to spend it on musically, and I've tried. That's how I know. The money is not burning a hole in my pocket. Weird.

It's all about practice now. I highly recommend taking the plunge, and just get what you want, your "dream" kit...and be done with it. With the goal of ending the GAS. After all it's the playing of the drums, not the buying of the drums, that is the main focus.
 
Yes, and I have far less stuff and not as nice as stuff as you.
I usually buy something (drum, hardware, cymbal...) monthly, for about the last 8 years. I re-sell a lot of the purchases and move up.
After about 8 years , I have not bought anything for 4 months now and have no desire to. I am finally completely happy with all my cymbals and drums, even paring down to essentials - 3 snares, 2 kits, 2 sets of cymbals.
I now try to read and focus more on the ' my playing/drumming/technique' threads, straying from gear threads. But damn those off-topics and c/list are still funny.
 
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I'll let you know after I finally get to buy real drum gear. Until then....nope! Sadly no gear will make me sound any better :(
 
This happened to me a few years ago. I was getting tired of the constant shuffling of gear coming through my house. After years of it, I finally said, "You know, I've got everything I need, and all of this extra stuff is just making life difficult." I'm feeling the same way about my house, too. We have a decent-sized house for raising kids and supporting my music business, but I am looking forward to the kids growing up and leaving ONLY for the idea that we will move and downsize our house. I have plans...small house, large detached garage (for music), and a large plot for growing an expansive vegetable garden.

Priorities change. At first, I was thinking, "What's wrong with me?" in regards to not wanting to hunt music gear anymore, but I've come to realize that I'm simply done with that phase, that mentality, and now I've moved on to the next stage, and all of the new fulfilling things that come with it...
 
I'm down to heads/sticks at this point. I like all three of my kits and try to keep at least two of them set up with one in the bags ready to venture out. I might be looking for some different tom mics for the studio. That's about it.
 
I'm running out of GAS too. I don't have the best of everything, but I like what I got, and there isn't a whole lot more that I need. I'm not rich enough to be a collector. I'm pretty content with what I have acquired. I've pretty much stopped buying stuff for drums. I don't even care if I get a Guru snare drum or not. I don't really need one, other than to say I have one. In the end though, who gives a crap what I have, or have not?
 
Must be nice reaching drum nirvana-least equipment wise. I'm happy for you. I, a lowly caterpillar, inch towards my goals-but I'll get there and one day turn into a beautiful butterfly. Like anyone believes that-who am I kidding I'm a maggot so I'll turn into a fly-but a fly who has his dream drum kit. Buzz, buzz, buzz
 
caddywumpus said:
This happened to me a few years ago. I was getting tired of the constant shuffling of gear coming through my house. After years of it, I finally said, "You know, I've got everything I need, and all of this extra stuff is just making life difficult." I'm feeling the same way about my house, too. We have a decent-sized house for raising kids and supporting my music business, but I am looking forward to the kids growing up and leaving ONLY for the idea that we will move and downsize our house. I have plans...small house, large detached garage (for music), and a large plot for growing an expansive vegetable garden.

Priorities change. At first, I was thinking, "What's wrong with me?" in regards to not wanting to hunt music gear anymore, but I've come to realize that I'm simply done with that phase, that mentality, and now I've moved on to the next stage, and all of the new fulfilling things that come with it...
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Very wise words indeed.

I speak as a completely guilty party here. The whole gear thing is a big circus. Fun and exciting and time consuming for sure, and fun...and time consuming...and exciting...but you can't live at the circus forever. The less time spent there, the better the playing will be. It's good to know that the real journey is after all that. GAS' mission is to not have GAS at some point.


Like I don't think plumbers go on forums and have micro focused discussions about their wrenches. It's supposed to be about what you do with the wrenches, right?

I'm not trying to impose any standards on anyone else, especially Bo. Life just would not be the same without Bo's excursions into gearland :)
 
We live in a culture of consumption where we are constantly being prodded to over-consume everything. Feels good to step out of that and into a space of fulfillment and contentment.
 
spleeeeen said:
We live in a culture of consumption where we are constantly being prodded to over-consume everything. Feels good to step out of that and into a space of fulfillment and contentment.
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That's about as boiled down simple as it gets right there.

Right up my alley :)

Prodded to over consume? Jason, how can you possibly say that? Just because I get advertised to when I:

Empty my bladder in a public place...
Sit at a stoplight and my GPS program asks me if I want to go to KFC for lunch, it would only add 1.4 miles and 7 minutes to the trip...
Go out anywhere in public...

How can you possibly say that we are prodded to overconsume?

:)
 
larryace said:
That's about as boiled down simple as it gets right there.

Right up my alley :)

Prodded to over consume? Jason, how can you possibly say that? Just because I get advertised to when I:

Empty my bladder in a public place...
Sit at a stoplight and my GPS program asks me if I want to go to KFC for lunch, it would only add 1.4 miles and 7 minutes to the trip...
Go out anywhere in public...

How can you possibly say that we are prodded to overconsume?

:)
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Took me a minute to respond, as I was distracted by the ads on the backs of magazines on my side table, television commercials in the background and the banner ads at the top and bottom of this page.

But to your point, yeah, absolutely no evidence that we are constantly encouraged to buy and consume more and more and more. Not sure what I was thinking. ;-)
 
spleeeeen said:
Took me a minute to respond, as I was distracted by the ads on the backs of magazines on my side table, television commercials in the background and the banner ads at the top and bottom of this page.
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It's OK.. It's April 20th. Many of us are distracted by trivial things today.

Have you ever really looked at your hand?
 
This is exactly why I don't want to buy a set of Guru drums.
Why would I want the quest for the perfect drum set to end?

Hey Larry, maybe you can pay me by the hour to practice for you. LOL


.
 
larryace said:
I'm not trying to impose any standards on anyone else, especially Bo. Life just would not be the same without Bo's excursions into gearland :)
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And life isn't the same. Sorry. When I start giving things away, then you know I'm serious.
 
KamaK said:
It's OK.. It's April 20th. Many of us are distracted by trivial things today.

Have you ever really looked at your hand?
Click to expand...

Aw man! I went to look at it and noticed I couldn't feel it, man!

Wait... what?

Never mind, I think.
 
Hollywood Jim said:
Why would I want the quest for the perfect drum set to end?
Click to expand...

You can't possibly imagine until you find your set...

How do explain a Rembrant to a blind person?

It's a strange, centered, calm feeling, knowing I'm off the treadmill.
 
Being po', I've learned to be pretty happy with what I have. Most of you guys wouldn't be happy with it at all. But it lets me play, and play with others. I'm happy with that.

Other than a couple of small percussion add-ons (cowbell, shakers), I really don't look at much anymore. The only thing I spend on are consumables like heads and sticks, and that's not very often.

PDP CX 5 piece in sky blue pearl
Zildjian A cymbals
Protechtor bags
Various sticks
Old mixture of single braced hardware.
Gibraltar throne

This will likely be the last set I ever own.
 
The GAS light on my drummer dashboard has just come on.

Not quite out of GAS, but very close.
 
About the GAS thing. I'm done - pretty sure - almost positive.

Haven't felt the itch to get something for a while, and looking back, the GAS frenzy I got caught up in seems a bit ridiculous.

Hindsight is always 20/20 though.
 
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