Gear Acquisition and How to manage?
Every instrument has their niche obsessions based around them, But one that I have noticed that is specifically related to guitar is what I call “Gear Acquisition Syndrome” .
Here is the google definition of GAS
"Gear Acquisition Syndrome, also known as GAS, is commonly understood as the musicians' unrelenting urge to buy and own instruments and equipment as an anticipated catalyst of creative energy and bringer of happiness.
We have all been there, you see the big shiney Les Paul locked away in a big glass case, and their is no way you would ever sound like Jimmy Page without it. You know what that Les Paul needs, a Stratocaster to accompany it, how will you ever be able to play like John Mayer without it? It is a never ending cycle that many musicians find themselves in, but the question I ask is how much gear do you really need?
There isn’t a simple answer to this question, some of the greatest records ever made were done with minimal setups. I’ll start with my first example, the blues master himself, B.B King. B.B is the definition of “tone in the hands” he would plug straight into his amp (Fender Twin Style) and get after it. He is what I would call a minimalist, focusing more on the playing, than the actual sonics of the guitars. On the other side of the spectrum I will use Tom Morello, as an example. Tom’s style was defined by his gear, one of the first guys to bring the Telecaster to metal, introduced new ways to use the digitech whammy pedal, and creative uses of the Wah Wah to create the sonics that Tom was famous for in bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. A funny extreme example of GAS is my favorite songwriter Jason Isbell. I will leave a link at the bottom to his Premier Guitar: Rig Rundown, its absurd the amount of gear that man possesses, I mean sets the standard for GAS at the highest level.
I myself have had a brief point of struggle with this topic, traded 15+ guitars, pedals, amps, name it I have had my hands on it. I look at my pedalboard some nights with my 500 dollar plus delay and overdrive pedals and think to myself, how did I let it get this bad? The truth is, it was my favorite form of procrastination, its like looking at new cars knowing well in advance you will not purchase it. I used the gear tinkering, as a replacement for practice, using the excuse that I was in fact working on guitar in a way.
How do you avoid these downfalls you might ask, I would like to refer back to my previous examples of BB and Tom. Any high level guitar player has always had a sound in his head, Tom had a vision for his sound, just as much as BB had his. Due to this they found gear that helped them achieve that sound and once they found it they never look back. I could name 20 very popular guitar players that haven’t changed their rigs in 30 years, because it works and it gets the sound in there head out. If you’re searching for gear to fill this purpose there is nothing wrong with scrolling around or maybe trying a few things in pursuit of this. I feel though this day and age a lot of beginners jump the gun a little by acquiring more gear than they know what to do with. Which in turn slows your progress as a player. It’s like buying a Nascar level race car, but having no prior knowledge of how to drive it at the highest level. I see a lot of fellow musicians falling into the trap of the price game , having the nicest most expensive gear, never resulted in any ones success. The only thing that leads to success in music from my experience, is diligent practice, and a confidence in what you are playing
Watch out for GAS - Ryne Rogers