Haha, I had the worst gas one time after I ate a Pocket Operator.
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Itās just a name; weāve yet to come up with a better one that took off. The origins of the term and initial description are pretty spot on, too - itās just that the term was coined by a guitarist. Oh well.
For me itās like a reward, when I buy new or used gear. Often after a longer period of hard work. Then Iām more happy than just with moneyā¦
But now Iām in a state, where I donāt need anything more (at least for the moment).
I just want time and to be alone and focussed with the machines.
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I mean yeah, giving a shit is definitely correlated!
(Non)-engagement with locals as well.
I doubt most people prepping for a live set are repeatedly shoehorning anything new/unvetted into the process.
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Great point. Stopping reading this forum is probably in the category of stopping visiting the pub if youāre fond of a drink.
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Can certainly relate. I got 4 Elektron synths since I joined this forum!
Sometimes you have to explore a lot of gear to find what you like. Thatās what I was doing.
Pretty happy now and have at least an idea to help with purchases rather than, letās see if this does what I want.
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There may be something in this. Getting back into this scene, I specifically took a course that pitched itself as talking about the process of developing a song from a creative perspective. It did use and talk about software, but this was always in the background and therefore the technical side came as a bonus. In my experience in life in general - if you learn the basics of doing a creative thing; you can express yourself (which is a must) and your technical skills will develop alongside that.
Most creative disciplines are the same under the hood, with a similar progression flow. You have to learn the loose ārulesā and parameters of what youāre doing. Initially, youāll probably have to stretch just to copy those around you. But once you can āride the bikeā then you can start to do your own thing a lot more. Youāll want to break structures, rules and whatnot - but youāll be doing it in the knowledge of why the rule was there and how it could be broken in a fun/interesting way.
Then itās often about giving yourself arbitrary parameters because youāre shopping for ideas. Itās more about which idea to make rather than how to have one. For example, some folks set a timer and they have to work with what they made in that 20 minutes. Others aim to make a musical section a day or whatever. Others limit the number of tracks or only use one thing to make a track. All this is good, but itās most useful when youāve been through the process above a bit. And the secret (if you can call it that) is that making stuff is the route through the process.
Me too.
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" Why are we more interested in buying gear than using it?"
Short answer: The question includes/is the answer
Long answer: Not being able to make a reasonable compromise with ourselves (and the gear we have) because of ā¦
-Lack of patience or patience in general which leads to
-abundance of slow movement lifestyle caused by internet addiction which leads to
-FOMO as a result leads to
-The-gras-is-always-greener syndrome which leads to
-Dopamine addiction which leads to
-Low self-awareness which leads to
-Commitment issues which leads to
-COPIUM which started with and leads to
-Lack of patience or patience in general
ā¦ (*hint) here I am assuming that the questioner actually wants to make music instead of wasting his/her time on the interwebz but failed like an effin pepega
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Yes, this is exactly it.
Itās caused by Dopamine.
Iāve just finished reading āThe Molecule of Moreā which explains the exact brain chemistry process behind it.
Essentially the Dopamine mechanism makes you want more of something, but itās completely future focussed and has no interest in what you have which is why you lose interest the moment you lay hands on the thing. The circuits and chemicals related to appreciating what you have are totally unconnected.
One of the conclusions of the book is that attaining mastery is one of the solutions to the unrelenting unsatisfactory hedonic treadmill.
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Sheet One reissue, but the blotter is soaked in dopamine instead of LSD-25.
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Having no job and being part of NGNY has made me GAS free on all counts.
But Iāve been thinking about consumerism in a different way as well. Iām trying to buy a LOT less, so I have less to cart around when I move. And I have less shit to throw away. Iām just trying to generate less waste and use what I do need till it is unusable.
I used to buy stuff to have new stuff or latest. And had multiples. Had three sets of golf clubs, 4 surfboards, 4 skateboards, 2 snowboards, 500 assorted skate/snow/surf tās etc etc.
rather than toss shit, I went to locals skate/snow shops and donated gear. Gave clubs away to my local driving range. Havenāt bought cloths in years. Down to 20 tās. Live light and lean. Buy less. [ramble]
Youād be surprised how long shit can actually last.
I NEED a fucking job ASAFP
adding after thought: another perspective came from when my parents died [too early], my siblings and I had to go deal with their house. And they had ALL THIS STUFFā¦most of which no one wanted or needed. Myself I didnāt want any, cuz I saw all this stuff they carted around, and for what. It was just tossed or we donated as much as people would take. I felt bad for all that waste.
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Just dont sell the Octatrack, so you cant rebuy it again. Its a good gas killer to know its there if you wanted it again. For me the new isnt that shiney any longer. Before i buy i ask myself if a sample pack would also do it for me, or if the UI is really improving the workflow so it would give a different approach to making tunes ( Squarp etc) Or if the MK2 version would really change my usage of the device.
Well i had GAS for sure, but once you realize the pattern it gets better over time.
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Not all think/feel this way. It also depends on timing of question. To answer directly and GAS aside, less work/effort for similar amounts of therapeutic sensation (read: not sense of achievement).
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Because the first step in self sabotage requires one to find scapegoats so to lessen the shame and regret associated with not truly trying and help turn the internal narrative into one of overcoming some external obstacle which is actually self constructed.
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I got myself a Playstation 5 for last christmas. I havenāt bought any new gear eversince.
(also didnāt visit the studio)
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Much worse than GAS is the forum navel-gazing, which is really just first-world problems meets humble-brag: āHelp, Iām too busy shopping for expensive synthesizers to use the expensive synthesizers Iāve already bought! What does it all mean??ā
In the grand scheme of āTo buy it not to buy?ā none of it matters, so just try not to bankrupt yourself.
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Thereās really nothing wrong with people trying to get past creative blocks in their lives, existential crises and reorient themselves towards better patterns.
Obviously the gear is not itself the issue, the structure of society, āproductivityā focus and the attention economy set to drain everyone daily rise until collapse.
I could live without the sinner/saint dichotomy but āget over your mental problems, I donāt have these problems thus you shouldnāt eitherā¦ā is yet another form of humblebrag 
āProblems with GASā are obviously not with the gear itself. But it can be useful to talk out why a person may compulsively buy things they donāt explicitly need.
If it was easier to engage with others IRL, if there was an excess of decent mentors and coaches in creative fields, there would absolutely be less hand-wringing about GAS. In the absence of more 1:1 support, I donāt think these questions or seeking external perspectives in general is useless.
I could live without the performative confessional tones and need for absolution/penitence, but one does occasionally need some amount of self-awareness and talking problems out with others in a similar space.
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An element of GAS and shifting around that hasnāt been adressed in the thread is the practicalities and physicalities of things.
You buy a fantastic sounding guitar-ampā¦ but it is freaking huge, so you find a smaller oneā¦ and perhaps a battery powered oneā¦ but that one sounds like crapā¦ āhey here is a battery powered one that ticks all boxesāā¦
I have it with Daw/dawless setups as well. Connectivity has to be super fluid, tactility has to be good, i need to be able to jam around on things, sound has to be decent, workflow fast, and portability highā¦ that has led me through a wast array of setups trying to find something that is easy and works.
Especially in a hectic work/family life i dont feel like i have time to search for why i have midi latency or why this synth wont change banks as planned. Combined with a decent income it leads me to buy shit that might solve my problems, it sometime does, sometime doesnt. We should not underestimate how practicalities like Size connectivity, knobs/faders, etc etc, fuel desire.
Where this thread hits me is that i should try things i have before going after new shit. I have a line6 amp modeller, but almost bought a UA apollo soundcard to play guitar through. Sure enough the UA is bus powered and more sleek, but the Line6 is fine and i could just tape a powerbank under itā¦ so yeah you guys saved me from a GAS purchase 
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