I think the worst was when I had a date over for the first time and she said “hmm. This looks like a flea market”. And she wasn’t wrong.
9 Likes
Fleemarket…ouch, that is a little cruel 
3 Likes
Ahhhhh, she thought you were inviting her over for a boot sale, not a booty call.
5 Likes
You would have to define “people” better maybe? No one in my life is surprised by it at all. Sometimes they want to know what different pieces of gear do. I have a one friend who isn’t super into electronic music but always want me to turn on a synth for them to noodle on when they come to visit. Wish I had the money to surprise him with a little monosynth someday.
3 Likes
Definitely stuck with me. Since then I’ve been more concerned with how tidy it looks even though my setup is pretty tame. To different eyes, I can see how some of it looks like old vcr junk.
And to be fair she didn’t last long and my cat hated her.
4 Likes
“WOah”
2 Likes
lol same here…I actually had “friends” but realized my gears were more “reliable” than…
2 Likes
Me and a flatmate had a neat shared attic studio with a lot of gear. The place was being sold (boo!) and the real estate agent who came round was really impressed. He was a smarmy little guy, a real chump, but he really wanted to talk about how he makes beats in Reason…
6 Likes
Almost every time I tell someone I make electronic music the follow up question/statement is: oh, so you’re a DJ then?
They just get more confused when I tell them I’m not a DJ…
As for reactions to my gear, it’s mixed. Some people think it’s cool! Others are just confused by it.
My family prefers it when I play my ‘real instruments’ (that’s what they call it) like guitar or piano. If I perform on a groove box for them they look confused.
8 Likes
My brother came round with his kids (<10). Their reaction: ‘Your office is cooler than Daddy’s!”
They’re not wrong. His office is a laptop perched on a cardboard box in their living room.
10 Likes
seems to be a hard to grasp thing… had this conversation as well with a lot of people.
Besides that… learn a real instrument!!
2 Likes
I get a variation on an above theme: “How do you remember what all those knobs do?”
3 Likes
“But you only have 2 hands!”
3 Likes
haha, that’s what I say to others when I talk about my gear addiction in a bad way 
(now I’m working mainly ITB … so two hands are enough and I can buy lots of plugins which don’t take up too much space)
1 Like
I felt considerably less bad about music spending after we did this. Metres of polished quartz are not cheap!
6 Likes
Before a major renovation project: “oh no, one of my encoders is flaking out 
”
After a major renovation project: “One of my encoders is flaking out. Time to open the synth up, replace all the electrolytics, replace every encoder and blow canned air through all of the tact switches. Maybe also look around for an x0xb0x or TTSH kit”
1 Like
And a lot of LFO’s.
3 Likes
Your comment reminded me of this 
I think people mistakenly think I’m a talented musician when they see my gear. 
26 Likes
“What studio?”