G.A.S. has been studied and is a real thing - Article

So this thread has gotten pretty serious, so I'm going to explain why I've given into my GAS more over the past year and a half than the previous many decades.

As I was growing up, I watched my parents scrimp and save. My dad's in his late 80s, and still, the only new car he's ever owned was the one he bought as a 23 year old when he first got out of the army in the late 50s. His favorite beer is Miller (which I cannot stand, in part because I really prefer IPAs but also in part due to some...unfortunately excessive experiences with the likes of Miller and Busch back in high school and college), but until I was out of my teens, he'd only buy it a few times a year...because it was too expensive. Yes, Miller was too expensive. But their frugal ways paid off, eventually, and they were able to retire with a comfortable nest egg and stop worrying about money. Until the 2008 crash, when they suddenly lost a third of their life savings. Now, they eventually recouped those losses, but it was a stressful few years until they did, and they spent a fair amount of time wondering why the hell they had sacrificed so long and so hard, and lamenting some of their choices. And just about the time they did recoup, my mom was gone.

The economic, political and environmental turmoil our world is going through makes me think no one really knows what the next 25 years is going to be like (even less than they normally do, of course). So while I'm not going to be an idiot about spending my family's grocery money on equipment, I've also decided I'm also not necessarily going to wait for "someday" to buy a cymbal I really want. Because, as has been pointed out here, when you buy the kind of stuff I do (quality mainstream stuff in used but good condition at good to great prices), it's likely I'll be able to get at least 70% and often 150% of what I paid back should I want or need to sell it. And because, as John Fogerty said and I don't entirely agree with but then again don't entirely disagree with either, someday never comes. So carpe damn diem.
 
Long before public forums we’ve had collectors of coins, cars, stamps , musical instruments, guns, etc. . One fella bought an old women’s college and filled it with his personal car collection. I saw some of the cars but most no one but him. I think some people collect as a hobby but plenty it’s a competition so just reflects that nature. Competition can evoke envy in others. I think it’s crazy other people habits drive other people crazy- it’s so circular. I think some people like looking at gear but my impetuous youth taught me to put the brakes on jumping too fast- but to the point I’ve dragged my heels and missed an opportunity. So the pendulum can swing either extreme. I’m glad people find happiness even if it’s
things that make them happy or feel significant- yeah some people call it shallow but I think that in itself is shallow.
 
I had it bad for a while. So much that I was buying used drum kits & parts by the pallet from a local second hand shop.
Once seeing stacked up drums literally filling up my studio room, I had the epiphany: Time to thin the herd.

No more G.A.S.. ;)
 
Strange that I overlooked this thread. It might have been launched during one of my forum breaks.

I don't presume to dictate how others spend their time and money. If you want five kits and ten snares, do it. Gear acquisition is a problem only when you can't afford it, when it's deterring you from devoting adequate energy to drumming itself, or when it becomes an obsession rather than a purpose-driven pursuit. Short of those predicaments, buy whatever you want. No one can define your ideal gear spectrum but you.

I like to possess as little gear as possible, but that's a function of my personality and my approach toward music, not a model I strive to impose upon other drummers. I know a very good local player, for whom I have utter respect, who brings four snares to every recording session, guided by a just-in-case philosophy. That's great because it works for him, giving him the feeling that he's ready for anything. I've never brought more than two snares to a given session, and my norm is to bring only one. I've never even owned more than two snares at once. Most engineers thank me for not complicating things and for being as efficient as possible throughout the process. There's no right or wrong about it either way. Our brains, styles, and preferences are unique. Get the gear that allows you to do what you think needs to be done. That formula will be different for everyone.
 
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