Does GAS ever "mellow out"?

[kwakatak]

I'm convinced buying more acoustic guitar is good. Please don't confuse me with facts and other data. As long as my wife is letting me buy another one I am going to take it when I can get it. LOL

 

I'll second that - if you get the nod you gotta jump on it. Women are prone to changing their minds!

 

In my case, my wife made the offer but set a $300 limit. We looked but there was nothing around here in that price range that made me happy. Since I've been playing for most of my life $600 would have been more realistic IMO. I ended up spending $100 to get my old acoustic repaired because the >$300 selection was that bad! In my case, the GAS was not averted, only delayed. I chose to fix up my beater just to be able to play SOMETHING.

 

Each guitar brings out something in you that the last one could not. Some people buy Harleys, Boats, Big Screen TVs, I just buy guitars that really inspire me to play more ... Whatever works best for you. I see nothing wrong with it as long as your guitars are being played. Life is way too short. Enjoy all the guitars you can. It is one of the finer and cleaner ways to enjoy life without hurting anyone. IMO

 

Another good point, LB. I find that strumming tunes is okay for a dreadnaught, but fingerpicking? Forgetaboutit! You NEED something smaller like an OM or grand auditorium.

 

My point is that the longer you play, the more you pick up. Your musical tastes may change or you may change your technique so dramatically that it's physically HARD to play your old box that way or emotionally unappealing to hear the same old tone. In that case, I think that GAS is perfectly acceptable and even crucial to continue; sometimes you NEED to invest in order to keep going with it. It IS possible to outgrow what you're already playing, wouldn't you think?

 

For me, the alternative to growth in this manner has been to become completely apathetic to the point of putting the guitar away in frustration. I have to tell you that it sucks, and I'm back for now. But how long will it be?

[madog99]

resistance is futile ! The only thing holding me back is money !

[4sidedoctagon]

Hmm, No, the gas doesen't stop. When I was in 7th grade I went to brazil and drank coffe there all day. (its the main export) and man, that was some good {censored}! Starbucks is alright, I have this local coffee shop where I live I like to go too, They have so many diffrent types of coffee I usually can't make up my mind.

 

 

As for guitars, I like to own alot of guitars. I play all of them though. I mainly used to play electrics and do effects and stuff, but I have diffrent guitars for diffrent things, I have a beater that I'll take with me wherever I go. I have a nice martin dread that I use for recording and songwriting. I'm in the process of saving up for a nice acoustic/electric for some stagework. I have a 34 year old classical acoustic that I write fingerpicking stuff on for fun. But I use all my guitars for diffrent things, and I have many more i'd like to get within the next decade or so for various reasons.

 

I also started to collect and learn diffrent instruments, just so I can learn more about songwriting and to better understand the music in general.

 

I just baught 7 harmonica's in diffrent keys to replace the old one my grandmom gave me a few years back, I Just got some bongo's, I also have a keyboard, an organ (don't ask), a drum kit and a bass. I mainly focus on guitar though, but I can't stop myself from branching out, I like to try everything.

[telenate]

I've never stopped GASing for a Gibson Advanced Jumbo or Santa Cruz Vintage Jumbo, a nice parlour, a vintage L-OO, a uke, mandolin, drums, keyboards, ....

 

I want to go on a shopping spree here, when funds will allow.

 

For now I'm happy with my Gibson WM-45 and the Telecaster w/Fender tube amp. I have little choice at the moment. It's enough "guitar utility" to get me by.

[Unk]

I think GAS does mellow out, but won't ever stay that way. I think we all go through periods where there's a lull in our GAS, but it ramps back up overnight.

The more I play my #1 guitar the happier I am with it. But I know that if money were plentiful I would have more guitars than I could play. I can't say how many times I've seen guitars (always during on-line browsing, no really great guitar shops near me) and I KNOW that if I had the money I'd buy it. I see guitars like some people see an art piece. Aesthetically guitars made of wood are pieces of art to me. I can sit an look at my 000 and take great pleasure in how beautiful and well made it is. When you throw in how well it plays it even more pleasureable, the ultimate icing. But my point here is that I'm drawn to visual aspects of a guitar first (gotta be honest - I've been looking at and admiring guitars for much longer than I could play one and back then knew nothing about the intricacies of tone and such) and if I'm lucky enough to try it and it sounds as good or better than it looks then BAM! - it will reside in the large corner of my mind reserved for obsessions until I can add it to a one day growing collection of grails.

There are a few people I know of who appear to be dealers as they buy and sell guitars on a regular basis. I don't know if it's a merchant addiction, or a means of finding the primo guitars for them, or a combination. That's a whole new level of GAS.

If and when I'm in a position to buy practically as I like I know I'd have to have a dedicated guitar room complete with a humidifier and all the goodies. I agree that it's too easy to pass up a guitar in a case for one that's already on a stand. If GAS got the best of me I want them all out and ready.

[jerry_picker]

Your think GAS is bad, try TAS (tube amp acquisition syndrome)...

 

My GAS is still bad (I made an impulse buy on an acoustic at a yard sale just today), but overall, I am more selective, always on the lookout for a true sleeper.

[madog99]

 

Your think GAS is bad, try TAS (tube amp acquisition syndrome)...

 

 

Yeah , I'm sure you refer to guitar amp's but my other intrest is audio gear and it's even worse than GAS !! You don't have to have talent to own stereo gear . I guess it's true "boy's and their toys" . Lets not talk about cars, bikes , boats and all the other money sucking intrests.

[EvilTwin]

For me, it has mellowed out.

 

I used to walk into a music store and want to buy at least five of the guitars in there.

 

Then I started only finding one guitar I couldn't live without on every trip.

 

Now, it's very, very rare that I even pick up a guitar that truly excites me in a music store. And when I find the ones that do, I go home and play what I have to compare to what I just played.

 

Maybe I'm just weird, but I don't find much that really gives me GAS pains anymore. I'm very happy with the instruments I have, even if some of them aren't very expensive, and I have a big emotional attachment to some. There is no amount of cash you could give me to sell my Seagull S6+Folk. That thing is all scarred up on its top, and I put just about every mark on it (except for one that I can think of). It's been a companion to me when no one else was. That thing is priceless.

 

I went and played an Eric Clapton Signature Martin, and it was amazing. But I could easily live without it.

[JacoMon]

Orsino????