This morning under the shower I remembered this comment and admittedly, this seems like an excuse. Fear to commit.
I made my best work with only a laptop and two speakers so my setup can hardly be barebones enough that I can’t make music.
So here goes:
“I, Alume, pledge to the brothers and sisters of the NGNY movement to buy no additional gear in the year 2022. And to support those in need when their path to GASlessness becomes blinded by temptation.”
A few additional statements:
When I get the itch this will be the first place to come for help/guidance. Inc music friends
I granted myself 1-3 days of “preparation time” as most of you had here.
To reward myself for seeing it through I’ll put aside a small amount of “(no) gear money” each month. Ideally I won’t even have the urge to spend it in 2023.
And last but not least, what are we working with this year?!
MDUW mkay2
Vermona Perfourmer
make noise 0coast
eventide space
eventide time factor
babyface pro
erm multiclock
iPad air
ableton push2 (to be purchased second hand in my prep time and bought from money selling my nd2)
And lastly, personal intentions:
enjoy what I have
end the mindset of “you need this to make that”
stop putting energy into my setup and start creating again
make at least one EP/album this year with the gear that’s on the table
I really like this thread and think the benefits from making it clear not to buy new stuff can potentially be huge in many ways. Also there is a nice momentum now that this is a collective effort.
It’s clear to me that I’ve had a problem getting lost in chasing new gear and feeling depressed about it. This challenge couldn’t have been timed better for me as I just sold tons of synths I wasn’t really feeling and got myself the Syntrx and Minikorg 700fs.
I will be taking most of my gear to my mothers place and only have 3-4 units in the setup at a time for hopefully increased ability to explore them more deeply and to lower the threshold to start making music.
I wish you all a happy and productive coming year!!
I really like this thread as well. I keep coming back here because I like the idea so much and I like how everybody is helping everybody.
I boxed up some gear and I just go with the minimal. If I want some new gear I gonna pull out a box that I allready have and explore that piece of kit and make some nice tunes… this whole pandemic made me think to minimize and be happy for once in a while. Sold some bits at the end of 2021.
Also I need to control myself so I am gonna say it…… put me on the list… there I said it. It’s hard but I think it will be better for myself.
Just had the first two hours with my new main setup, i.e. OT/MD/MnM/SubH/fx. Still needs time getting used to after having spent the vast majority of 2021 with single-machine setups. Will probably approach it from the POV of one machine at a time, at least for the most part. Last year I was starting to get accustomed to squeezing tracks out of just the MD so now that I have that AND the Mnm AND the OT, I quickly realized I get impatient making decent enough patterns on any given single machine. I get something going with the MnM, for example, and I immediately start thinking if I could mess that up with the OT somehow. And the MnM pattern isn’t necessarily any good to begin with. Option paralysis.
But I do like the idea of being able to route all three Elektrons into each other AND the outboard fx I have. So there’s definitely potential there and the setup feels inspiring to me.
I have no trouble with the Elektronauts forum inducing any gas, but it’s the second day and a dude I have not seen in ages messaged me for a recommendation on a guitar multi fx. What a timing. I recommended him the boxes I love, but that caused me to go into a rabbit hole and check a few things on Thomann etc. Didn’t buy anything, wasn’t even close, but I realize now that no matter how hard ever you might try to stay away from tempting websites etc, there’s always somebody (or something) who triggers those reactions.
Most definitely! Even threads like Current sounds, which I absolutely love, often makes me think ”what gear was that made on”.
However, there’s one even bigger GAS enabler for me, a certain Finnish 2nd hand gear site… I’m still looking at that one all the time! One baby step though: I’ve deleted all the stuff from my watch list!
I guess one approach might be to read about gear you don’t own and see if the techniques and ideas discussed could be translated to the gear you have somehow.
I used to start my day by checking three things:
My email,
my Facebook
and Muusikoiden.net.
Those three were always open. I’ve had long absences from Facebook and I’d leave it altogether if it wasn’t for promoting my business, but I’ve been addicted to Muusikoiden.net for sure. From the start of this thread I’ve tried to rehab myself and not open that site at all anymore. What could there be? What so amazing that I would break my vow? If there’s something that’s cheaper than it should be, somebody else beat me to it anyway. Let it be, sanos Beatles. At times I was so bad that I also checked the swedish equivalent very very often. I bought my Analog Keys from that site.
I go to fleamarkets a lot, always have, always will. Now that I’m running a second hand shop myself it kinda comes with the job to check them regularly. I’ve always thought that someday I’ll find a TB-303 for 5 euros and the price tag will read “Old answering machine 5€”. That’s the dream. I’ve come very close a few times but not yet. If that happens this year, I’ll surely fail the challenge. I don’t even care for acid, I’ve always thought that I’d sell the TB immediately for the market price and buy something sensible with that money.
Yes but that’s why you are in this thread - to change how you think. Imagine that you can come here without being tempted and reinforce that thought by returning again and again with that in mind and you are on your way to changing your habitual thinking.
It takes time so be kind to yourself. Be positive.
I know this dream… I go to fleamarkets and 2nd hand shops all the time as well, and for me it’s always been about a Teletronix La-2a in a dusty corner, the owner looking at it with shrug, and asking around 10 eur.
I muted everything that isn’t in the Octatrack, Our Music, and General Discussion categories. I also deleted the Reverb app. I got off social media more than a year ago too. Good luck!
It really is. It’s a forum based on music equipment. Which is fine, there is just a weird bug in my head, a byproduct of capitalism, which got things reversed.
So it used to be,
cool tune -> inspires me to make my own
Then,
Cool tune -> what gear is used
To,
Cool tune -> nice gear, I need that too
I often tell my clients who are ruminating or looping on thoughts (I am a family therapist by profession): you can’t eliminate a thought, or prevent it from happening, but you can replace it. I will not be able to not think about wanting gear this year, but I can put energy into different activities and thoughts intentionally when I am pondering gear.
For anyone interested, here’s what I did yesterday–I watched this video by Red Means Recording and then linked to a bunch of free stuff he references in his video for learning new synthesis techniques and music theory, most to which is free (and then added these to a growing collection of bookmarks in a folder (music learning 2022).:
yesterday, i browsed local craigslist used instruments and found a hammond m3 for $400.
i’ve kind of always wanted a hammond organ
this is not a b3 or c3
there is no space for it in my house
my keyboarding skills don’t justify owning anything like this
anyway, i didn’t buy it. threads here about new gear don’t tempt me. i don’t plan to mute anything. i’ll probably still browse new gear, just not buy any. i told my wife yesterday about plans not to buy new gear. she’s always supportive.
during the past couple of weeks off, i’ve devolved into old habits of staying up late and waking late, haven’t exercised, just kind of feel like crap. i hope to shake that off this coming week to form a more positive routine (and not buy any gear).
I’d leave Facebook completely too, but it’s still useful for finding new music and hearing about club nights. Plus I do actually use it for keeping in touch with friends I don’t see much
I don’t have any other social media though, and I don’t have the FB app on my phone.
WFH has definitely also been bad for GAS, it’s too easy to have other tabs open and videos running while “working” sometimes.
I go to fleamarkets and 2nd hand shops all the time as well, and for me it’s always been about a Teletronix La-2a in a dusty corner, the owner looking at it with shrug, and asking around 10 eur.
