You’re wrong. I’ve tried, hard. It’s just that my drinking depletes my funds, and therefore I can’t afford a Vermona, which would most definitely help me finish tracks.
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Alcohol isn’t just an imbiber enabler it’s the chief hijacker of discretionary pay and is able to produce more excuses for financial abuses than a swiss army knife has uses.
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I certainly hope no one is bringing existential crises here. This is (ostensibly) a music forum, isn’t it? I know that it’s fun to play-act as tortured artists and pretend that the real solution here is more complicated than “stop buying stuff, just make music.” But that’s kinda it.
I went through a period of buying and selling, lost a good bit of cash doing it. Eventually, my wife called me out on it. She pointed out (correctly) that I was doing it because we’d moved to a new city and I didn’t have many friends, and I was trying to fill that void. So I stopped, and focused on actually making music and meeting people. And surprise, I felt better.
So, I get it, people are using buying gear as a replacement for something missing in their life, whatever that may be. But, like any other habitual self-destructive behavior, the first step is to recognize that you have a problem and then stop.
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The problem with your analysis here is that the “then stop” is not actually that simple for most people. We’re complicated beings with many reasons for behaviors we often don’t or can’t recognize.
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How do you interpret then men or women buying too much clothes or shoes ?
Same ?
I fully agree that for some this analysis match completely !
And sure, doing a completely different thing like hiking or other sport or just drinking in a pub remove lots of thing from your mind.
But for me doing those other thing hide some passion by putting another one in front, which is not bad by the way.
Life is cluttered with simple things that aren’t.
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i realised i stopped wanting to collect new gear once i finally gathered what hardware is about. i mean, playing guitar and using ableton live, you see all these new synths and you have no idea about — how it compares to anything in your laptop. it’s like extraterrestrial world you. buying first hardware unit feels like opening new world. fast forward several years of acquiring/selling some stuff, watching reviews etc., now, when you have a good grasp of what’s what, seeing new shiny synth being released you can quickly imagine how this is going to work for you — and most of the time it’s nohow. that’s the moment when you realise you had all you needed before you even started thinking about that. this puts a great perspective on why you’re doing it in the first place.
answer to that question at least makes GAS or whatever a conscious choice
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This reminded me of an old bit. 
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This thread pre-supposes that there aren’t just as many people that know how to use their gear, know exactly what they want and why, and actually make music with it.
It also pre-supposes that it’s somehow bad to acquire and talk about things you enjoy, use, or collect.
It also pre-supposes that nobody is capable of self control, and whether that’s even important to anyone or everyone in the first place.
Everyone is different. Never assume so many things about a person or people.
Also, the very purpose for a forum like this, is like minded enthusiasts from any aspect of the subject matter to get together and…
…get this…
Talk about their hobby, profession, tools, and subject matter of all of this as relates to them and other people.
It’s quite literally a gathering place for people with some aspect of “a thing” to talk about the thing.
If course everyone is going to talk about getting their instruments, using their instruments, techniques regarding their instruments, show pictures of their instruments, post music or sounds made on their instruments, and ask others their opinions on any of the above.
To assume it’s all just marketing driving a bunch of idiots to buy shit they don’t need is more short-sighted than to think a guy collecting it all because it makes him happy is wrong. What is wrong with ANYTHING to do with any aspect of art, toys, chatter among friends?
People who design instruments generally get into it because of a love and excitement for it. Sure they make money, but they SHOULD.
We are fortunate to have choice, excess, decadence, and fun people to share it all with.
Some people don’t even get the chance. That’s the only thing that I view as bad.
There should be no shame in buying gear, as long as it isn’t taking food out your family’s mouths, or causing your utter financial ruin I guess.
This doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s worthwhile to learn an instrument inside and out, or that sometimes less is more. These concepts are solid. But everyone has their own reasons to get into this, and that should be respected. Plus, there are plenty of people who talk about gear all day that can still churn out a nice piece of music in a few hours on the gear of their choice.
I talk about gear nonstop, but mostly because when I’m at work, I can’t actually play it. 
Also with family time requirements, and other obligations, I can whip out a post, but couldn’t sit down at my gear for a few hours.
Actual meaningful music or sound making for me comes in random bursts when I actually manage a few hours of truly free time.
Stop feeling bad for wanting something new and cool. It doesn’t mean you have to stop loving what you have. You just have to prioritize, unless you are in the position to not have to, and then good for you! You won!! 
All of that said, I have a huge amount of respect for someone that can produce a nice album on a single piece of gear. Or lock themselves in a studio with a 303, 808, some LSD, and make a landmark album.
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Sounds FUN!
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Elektron workflow might be easier in that state though
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For sure they are!
Well said!
I appreciate that making things is challenging, and people can fall back to endlessly chasing gear instead of making music. I also appreciate that discussion helps.
I have also made a few things. Some things are much harder and move involved than others. What is common to most creative endeavors is that you need a plan that involves preparation, execution, evaluation and completion.
If you have high competence in your discipline, it is possible to wing it and declare completion when done. But that narrative hides the many years needed to gain that competency. Execution is repeatedly doing the next thing that you know needs to be done. Evaluation is constant, but subconscious. When it’s ready, you are done.
On the way to mastery, plenty of crutches can be beneficial. Borrow a plan from someone else: read up on the history of the music you like and do what they did. Or take a track that you like and slice the audio up into chunks and annotate it. Both Logic and Ableton are great for that, but it should be possible in Audacity and the iOS DAWs as well.
Once you get comfortable with the process of doing and the process of planning, make a plan to create a track. Or a music video. Or a 30 second clip. Or whatever it is that you want to accomplish. Follow your plan. Evaluate the results.
The tricky part is making good music. I don’t know how to do that.
One of the cool things about Chicago is that they have public signs showing you where the find LSD. However, every time I follow them I end up on the beach or next to Lake Shore Drive. 
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I just like to learn new things.
I bought a Digitakt and a Syntakt about a week ago (8 days).
Never having used a piece of Elektron gear. I have already created a 30 minute set and have had a blast doing so. I just finished recording an album in Ableton. I usually use Studio One, but I wanted to learn a new DAW. I own an Akai Force and will work up a live set on it soon.
Making and finishing music is how I get my unconscious mind out into the world so it doesn’t manifest in non-productive ways (it’s therapeutic and cathartic for me). It is also how I entertain myself.
It’s not about the gear. It’s about having another color for my creative palette.
YMMV
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you have to buy gear to use it. in my case, i have to buy gear to try it and see if it works for me
i wouldnt know nearly as much as i know now about my workflow and sound design if i hadnt been through all of this
this is what i didnt like about another similar forum that i willll not name
i love discussing worflow and patching/sound design more than anything but that also comes with “man, imagine what you could do with this (piece of gear)” or “would this make this possible” or “what tool is best for achieving this?”
but every time someone would mention anything approaching the topic of “gear acquisition” or “lust”, it was met with this smug “why dont you just work with what you have” attitude. which we all understand. its not a new concept. and im sure we have all sat down for hours with our elektron boxes and pushed them to their limits but i dont think that discussing different tools or possibilities is a bad thing, especially in a place where ideas help new tools and processes form
i get the idea of not wanting to focus on gear but i think that extreme anti-“GAS” attitude is as potentially stunting as the pro-gear attitude
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I think more specific places for anti-GAS would be good. There was a minimal setups thread here that I enjoyed reading (even if it rapidly diverged to “what is minimalism” and a discussion of minimal music).
We are living in an ere when you need nothing but a DAW, but you can have a room full of hardware (and associated maintenance and connections headaches). And for some of us either extreme is financially possible, so a question about optimizing the gear for the task(s) is an interesting one, and some times “you don’t need that, X, Y, or Z you already have will do it for you” is the right thing to say. I mean, people can disregard that quite easily and buy the thing anyway, but a place to have that sort of conversation is good, even if it is only one or two threads.
There are certainly enough “buy it” cheerleading discussions already, so some counterbalance is good, and I don’t think the NGNY thread is it for everyone, in the same way someone thinking they ought to cut back on their drinking a little bit would probably not be well served by a twelve step meeting.
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I absolutely love talking about minimal setups, getting more out of less, and all that. I just don’t think feeling any shame over talking about new gear, or acquiring new gear, or even just collecting gear because that is one’s interest is at all necesary or appropriate.
As far as the needing nothing but a DAW, I would put it a different way. I would say something more along the lines of one could get by with only a DAW. Reason being, a DAW isn’t necessarily a part of anyone’s approach. Some people record to reels of tape. Some record to a device like a Bluebox. Some don’t record at all, and only jam for their own enrichment or enjoyment. In those cases, a DAW would not take the place of gear. I know what you were getting at, but I also think there are many clear distinctions, and a DAW doesn’t even come into those conversations, setups, or desired gear or approach.
My dad plays guitars for his own enjoyment. He has a few pedals, he has several guitar (electric, acoustic, etc.) He does have a DAW (because nudged him that direction) in case he wants to overdub something or maybe record a fun session with a friend. (he’s not into loopers though… ) Anyway, the DAW is there, but he’d never be able to do what he does with that without his varied guitars, and a core set of pedals.
Some people don’t want to set up extensive projects, templates, or look at a monitor for various reasons. Maybe they work on a screen all day. So while yes, an electronic musician COULD just use a DAW, he or she would be just as interested in picking up new software synths, effect plugins, mixing and mastering tools, etc. That’s no different than someone wanting more hardware gear. Or any combination thereof.
IMO it’s best not to think in these terms. I mean everyone is free to think however they like, but putting arbitrary lables, limits, acceptable ranges, etc. on especially topics of art and artistic tools and toys seems counterproductive. Everyone will do as he / she sees fit to achieve whatever the desired endgame is. Whether that’s a collection, production quality music, goofy sounds, rough jams just for the pure fun of it, squeezing music from minimal means, or allowing funny sounds to fall out of a vast wall of modular gear. There is nothing wrong with ANY of this. Just like there’s nothing wrong with encouraging each other to do more with less.
I actually don’t think twelve step cults are good for most situations. Yes, there may be someone that benefits from that sort of thing, but gear is not heroin, or a drinking problem so bad that your liver is tripled in size, and leaking blood internally. (sorry, but I’m trying to draw a distinction here)
Being overenthusiastic (if that term can even be used) is not harming anyone, unless maybe they’re buying more gear than their income provides, lost their house and car because of it, and lost their job as a byproduct of that, and are living on the streets begging for just one Volca. Having an affinity for new gear is not an unhealthy affliction. It is every person’s right to buy what they want with their money, and use it however they like, or even just look at it in a glass case. I’ve got a friend that has a ton of gear. He uses all of it, but it’s a mix of his collection of favorite vintage synths, and some newer ones that he occasionally swaps in or out. He also has an action figure collection under glass. I think both are healthy hobbies.
I agree though. If you think maybe you shouldn’t be buying new gear, and there are people that feel the same, then having a No New Gear thread is GREAT! I would never detract from that. I just think people all of a sudden feel some duty to encourage people not to buy gear, and to almost make them feel ashamed if that’s what they enjoy doing. That is what I view as wrong.
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i suspect that for some people… the excitement of getting something new and learning it is greater than the reward for the results of using that gear to make music. so, constant stream of new things masks the disappointing feeling of not making anything good with those bits of gear.
rather bleak maybe but such is life.
also, it’s just consumerism at some level for some people so it fills a hole that cannot be filled because of failed relationships or some other unhappy circumstance of life. but it’s “safe” consumerism… meaning it feels like it’s not wasted. .it’s justified because this is “my serious hobby. i’m an artist. this purchase is necessary. i’m not buying new sneakers or shopping at the mall.”
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Sure, those are also reasons. And then, what can one say though? It’s what I’d call a healthy outlet still at least in the case of filling a void. Better than drugs maybe, and possibly better than a sports car habit, but as someone that has a synth AND sports car habit, (within reason of course ) I don’t believe myself to be filling in gaps, bad relationships, holes in my inner psyche, or masking a lack of skills with either, so IMO it’s just fine.
I’d rather see someone buying synths than damaging themselves outright if that is indeed why they’re into them.
On the base consumerism thing, that’s also a valid point in some cases, and maybe some of us view that as sad. However, keep it up long enough, and you WILL develop broad skills, and have a decent chance of directing that into something that you ARE happy with.
In other cases, it takes a lot of gear buying, trading, etc. to actually become familiar with what really IS good for one, and what works, and how one’s process can be enhanced by having some synergy with the gear being used. Sure you could also just view them as tools, and if you force yourself to learn them, then maybe your output will be better. On the other hand, using tools that you don’t click with and enjoy may also ruin the whole experience for you.
How much gear did you buy before you felt you were competent to select the gear that was best for you? It takes a while to know that. One can always refine their studio to make music more fun, production easier, and for just plain variety.
It’s also kind of a rush or high to learn NEW gear, and become competent with it. You can always go back and rebuy something that you swapped out, but the learning process itself might be what drives a lot of gear purchases.
For me, the learning process became SO MUCH of the process that I started learning to build gear, and then eventually design gear.
Different paths for every traveler.
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absolutely. and time changes people. that thing someone bought years ago based on some personal rationalization could come around into the mix later and be a thing that is inspirational and all of sudden a bunch of tracks come out of it.
also, will add… there’s nothing wrong w/buying gear and learning it and never making an tunes or releasing any tunes. it’s absolutely fine to jam and never press record and just have that be it. have that jam be the thing… experienced only in the moment by the person creating it and no one else.
people should do whatever the fuck they want and asking “why” is often a sure way to ruin the experience.
but, speculating on the internet why people do things is its own thing right? can’t explain my own justifications or reasons… they just are. but throwing a dart at the wall might be some way of explanation and might provide a bit of clarity or reflection even if that dart totally misses its target
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