Do You Hold On To Stuff You're Not Using?

[Neal Pert]

Simple question: Do you hold on to gear if you're not using it?

I like to keep my gear list as short as possible. If I don't use something, it usually gets the boot. Exceptions are made for things I'm confident I'll need on certain gigs or things with serious sentimental value, but even then I sometimes move on.

I have two snares that I basically never use-- one matches my kit while the other is the same brand as my kit. They're both terrific drums, but I just have some things I like better and use more. Pretty sure I'm going to sell them both. Same with some cymbals. There's something in me that rebels against collecting and accumulating stuff.

 

[larryace]

I used to hold on to everything. Then in 2016 I decided that I should gift all my extra stuff away after seeing a Jamacain drummer
(in Jamaica) struggling with equipment. After I got home, I actually shipped him a bunch of stuff, a rolling hardware bag, a Roc & Soc throne, an 18" K Custom dark, a Pearl snare drum, a DW footpedal, sticks, keys and other stuff. That felt great and the drummer dude was pretty happy too.

I still have 4 kits, all sentimental, but I'm done giving away/wanting more.

I'd rather want what I have, than have what I want

 

[MrInsanePolack]

Yes and no. I have 2 kits, one has not been set up since September 2015. I do use the floor toms from it though. I have hardware pieces (stands only) stashed away for parts. I have 1 unplayed cymbal.

There are other instruments in my home that get no play. My wife has a violin she hasn't touched in like 2 years. I bought a clarinet for $10 I havent played. There is a damaged acoustic guitar with a good neck that will get repurposed.

So I do keep some things, but there is a reason for each. If I cant think of a reason to keep something, I usually dont. This applies to everything, not just musical instruments.

 

[someguy01]

I keep everything (much to the chagrin of my wife) because just about anything can be repurposed. I keep plastic bags from stores, melt them down into blocks and then use those blocks for things like making my own jam block, as an example. Old guitars and drums make, lamps, stools, ottomans, funky art pieces that the rich Boulder folks will pay me wayyy to much for. One man's trash, etc. etc.

 

[C.M. Jones]

Never! I own only one kit and one set of cymbals at a time. Also, I have only two snares at a time, a main one and a backup, with the backup rarely, if ever, making its way to a stand. The less I own, the less I need to maintain, and reduced maintenance always translates to increased happiness for me.

The question comes down to the principles of personality, nothing more. Some find intrigue in having an assortment of options, while others deem variety superfluous. I've always gotten by just fine with a minimal lineup of gear. It's never proven problematic in live or studio settings, but I can't speak on behalf of (nor can I judge) the ownership patterns of others. Those who want several kits should have several kits, while those who want only one kit should embrace that standard. Either way, the decision requires no defense.

 

[rebonn]

I keep everything. I should have sold things off before they became dated. I'm talking about things like a Nuendo ADAT/TDIF interface and Ramsa (Panasonic) DA7 board with a Frontier Designs Apache ADAT patch bay, all in perfect working order. I'm retiring in 2 weeks so I'll have time to get it done. It'll be hard to part with some of my 9 bass guitars but I'll have to go through the inventory and make a list.

 

[Darth Vater]

Haha. Funny question. I have a main kit and a snare that I hold on to. Then, I like to have a second kit for a change of pace but it might not necessarily be a keeper. If I see a SCORCHER of deal I may buy it on a flyer to see if I like it more than my current 2nd kit. I've been known to go out to 4 kits max but at least two of them will be for sale at any given time. I have two sets of hardware/cymbals that remain pretty constant. Snares come and go. Everything gets played. No dust collectors allowed at the castle.

 

[Dibalo Jonze]

I don’t have tons of gear and so I tend towards YES, I hold onto things in case I might ever need it again (I swear it’s not the hoarder mentality!). Held onto my old pearl export for years without touching it, then found use for it as a “beater kit” that got used at some ranch and dance gigs where dust and dirt dominated, and for when I had to leave a set in my car over a cold winters night. But after another 8 year hiatus I just recently donated them to the school where my friend teaches.

Actually I did use that kit once more when I moved a few years ago and I packed all my fancy fedoras in the floor tom for transport.

 

[DrumEatDrum]

Yes.

I bought it for a reason. Just because I'm not using it now doesn't mean I won't ever.

 

[TK-421]

If I'm not using something, it's for one of two reasons: A) it no longer has a purpose, or B) I own something else that I like noticeably better.

In either case, it gets the boot. In fact I just sold off some hi hat cymbals and a ride, all in nearly new condition. The hi hat cymbals fit into reason A, while the ride was for reason B.

Out of everything I ever sold off, I only had one regret: a 21" K Custom Special Dry Ride (original issue). But I found another one a few months ago and bought it, which is why I sold off my 22" K Light ride.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

Depends on what it is.

 

[Ryan Culberson]

Nope. Save for the odd sentimental piece, if I don’t use it, it’s gone, as quickly as possible.

 

[wildbill]

I keep everything. I should have sold things off before they became dated. I'm talking about things like a Nuendo ADAT/TDIF interface and Ramsa (Panasonic) DA7 board with a Frontier Designs Apache ADAT patch bay, all in perfect working order. I'm retiring in 2 weeks so I'll have time to get it done. It'll be hard to part with some of my 9 bass guitars but I'll have to go through the inventory and make a list.

I've got a few interfaces in a box too, but I can't bring myself to toss them.
The companies are gone and the drivers don't work, but they were good quality hardware when I bought them.
Seems like there should be some kind of recycling program for stuff like that to repurpose it.

 

[Fred D]

I have always bought and sold. Usually it's to upgrade my gear. I might sell two snares to get one better one. Sometimes it doesn't live up to my expectations and I'll sell it. I rarely buy on impulse. I will listen to as many sound clips as possible and then ask myself if I really want it. Even then I don't always buy it. To me it's money in the bank. Sometime I make a profit and sometimes I lose a little. Either way I gain experience and an influx of cash to finance something else. I have fun doing it. That said, I bought another snare today. LOL

 

[MntnMan62]

I like to keep most things, whether I'm using them or not. If they fit in with my own plan for the future, I'm keeping it. If I don't like something and will never use it, then it goes. But I don't go on big acquisition binges. I only buy what I really need. So.....

 

[Icetech]

I am trying to sell my old stuff right now... anyone need a 5pc DW design with double tom stand..1k? 67' COB dynasonic.. as new..? umm got more crap..

 

[Frosticles]

I keep faaaaaaaar too many things I don't really need or never used. I kind of justify it with thinking I 'may' use it in the future.

 

[Ransan]

Oh hell yea!

In my case being a ‘small fish’ vintage collector, a lot of my extra gear would be that much harder to recover or find.

I’ve had the fortune of planetary bodies frequencies sync up for me to obtain what I’ve got and consider that.
For example - a prominent drum shop owner in Denver metro and a studio owner in Tennessee were opposing serious potential buyers for the Mardi Gras kit; and, I happen to strike at the right time. Seller didn’t want to ship to Tenn. and didn’t want to wait for drum store owner to come up with funds.

Some of my pieces are very rare and specifically limited in the market that active buyers would never run across in their lifetime.

I got them solely for this purpose to have and stewardship (the mod crew scares me)and not so much play - though I can anytime I want.

I know that’s weird, but again, my passion is drums and not being a working musician.
Don’t get it twisted I still play every single day I’m home.

I could part out (not easily, and don’t figure much into that), but I’m VERY proud of what I’ve got and don’t care to flip/upgrade.

 

[caddywumpus]

As a percussionist/pit musician, I have a LOT of instruments I have bought for just one gig, only to have it sit on a shelf or in a drawer, possibly never to be used again.

I learned my lesson early on about holding on to things. I played a musical where I needed a bell tree, so I bought one, and I didn’t need it for, like, 3 years, so I sold it. Shortly thereafter, I got hired for two musicals that were bell tree-heavy, and I couldn’t find one, locally, anywhere, for the life of me. I had to rent one, which ended up costing me much more in the long run than if I would have just kept mine. I’ve since bought another one, and have used it MANY times. Now, if only I ever had another gig requiring me to play caixa, caxixi, and pandeiro again…

 

[Ransan]

As a percussionist/pit musician, I have a LOT of instruments I have bought for just one gig, only to have it sit on a shelf or in a drawer, possibly never to be used again.

I learned my lesson early on about holding on to things. I played a musical where I needed a bell tree, so I bought one, and I didn’t need it for, like, 3 years, so I sold it. Shortly thereafter, I got hired for two musicals that were bell tree-heavy, and I couldn’t find one, locally, anywhere, for the life of me. I had to rent one, which ended up costing me much more in the long run than if I would have just kept mine. I’ve since bought another one, and have used it MANY times. Now, if only I ever had another gig requiring me to play caixa, caxixi, and pandeiro again…

Lol
That reminds me that I’ve got a bodhran and a Lp handheld tambo for a Saturday bagpipe trio at the music store I worked at that is somewhere at my parents house.

Look at my profile pic and imagine me bodrahn’ing in business casual with a trio of kilted pipers - one being a real Scot named Colin. The pipes are loud AF.

On that note, dad keeps asking me to this day if I still need my old Gibraltar boom base that he runs into from time to time 😐