Gear Acquisition Syndrome - What is GAS and how to defeat it - (Photography, Music, Film, Guitar)
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- Опубліковано 19 тра 2020
- Plenty of people from all creative disciplines, whether photographers, musicians, synth heads, guitarists, producers, mastering engineers and more, suffer from GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome.
We are clever at justifying pointless purchases, but often they're simply a way of avoiding doing hard work, or a way of not facing the shortcomings in our own creativity.
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TAGGING - #Gearacquisitionsyndrome, #GAS, #photography, #cameras, #lenses, #guitars, #guitar #pedals, #studioequipment, #gearaddiction, #G.A.S. #gaspsychology and #curegas, - Наука та технологія
Comedian Marc Maron first introduced me to the concept of what I later came to know as Gear Acquisition Syndrome in an old bit of his where he talks about needing a pair of "magic running shoes" that would make him leave the house and actually exercise, all by themselves, without him having to do anything.
Shopping addiction exists in all areas, and like you said, it's always an excuse, a displacement strategy like any other addictive behavior. Just listen to Gabor Mate talk openly about his addiction to shopping for classical music.
In contrast to "normal" shopping addiction, G.A.S. is particularly sad though because it turns creative activity and/or self-therapy into paralysis and self-harm.
Yes totally, and also the marketing itself is deeply rooted in manipulative psychology and is designed to enable those weaker parts of us that are looking for an excuse not to work.
I think even the forefather of "Public Relations", Edward Bernaise-who was Freud's own nephew-would likely be amazed at how efficient the machine is now at pleasing the vices of the customer's Id!
@ Oh yes it totally is. Not sure about other industries, but camera manufacturers excel at (and indeed thrive excusively on) deliberately stoking FOMO and GAS in their customer base. It gets so bad that there are people who feel obliged to deliver their pound of flesh to keep "their" favorite corporation alive, buying things which they know they don't need and are not worth the money because otherwise the system will fail. (Nikon in particular is a fascinating example of this imho.)
For me it was synths. I bought my very first drum machine and cheap synth to experiment with sound, put out some music for myself and have fun. Although I’ve acquired a lot, I’ve stopped and when I feel that urge to acquire I go back to the first two devices I bought that one fateful day and just play. Just the two of them, on the floor, just like I did the first time I plugged them in to remind myself why I’m in this ❤
That's a good story, and a smart way to keep reminding yourself of why you do something in the first place!
Thank you. Concise.
Long term musician (>20y) and photography/videography enthusiast, although I only do all of this as a hobby. Therefore I was always in the mindset of only buy what you (desperatly) need. My drum teacher once said to me after asking him on what snare to buy, rather spend it on a nice diner and a good wine with your girlfriend. That was good advice! I have played over thousands of gigs with my first entry level drumkit. But never be cheap with any kind of stands, they will break, and your lovely cymbal/camera/slide will break too. Aaand good technique will save you money, I never break sticks, drumheads or cymbals. That is a huge moneysaver for me. Sorry about the rant, but this topic is really important. I also like to call it the hobby-trap. Also having a wife, two kids and a huge mortage keeps me from anything new in the first place ;)
Yeah spennding is easier thann practicing so the hobby trap is definitely real. You're right on spending on the stuff that sits between you and expression though, the sticks etc, don't make yourself buy twice...
You are so right. Thank you for the video.
Spot on. All creative people could do with hearing this from time to time. Procrastination is an enemy that takes many forms!
Good vid. Thanks. Im definitely in that ‘looking for the perfect set up’.
Great video! Thanks!
The biggest CURE for GAS that hasn’t been highlighted enough is to simply
use what you have. That’s it.
You will start to love the work most and not the tool, and if you really need a different tool for the job it’ll be appearant in your work.
Yes that's very true!
I used to have this issue and what helped me out the most was just the mindset. At one point, I had like 3 $2000 guitars, a $2000 amp w/ a $1000 cab, a $1000 pedalboard, it was ridiculous lol. So I told myself what is it that I absolutely need for myself to have no excuses at all to not be able to create? So I kept one guitar, sold the amp and got something else, got a different cab, sold some pedals off the board and now I have absolutely no excuses to not be able to create! And moreover, buying used has been the best approach for me because I was able to "try out" for a bit and see how I like something and eventually get my money back or more if I was doing alright.
Yeah that is a decent approach I think I've done it too. Just buy stuff, get the bee out of your bonnet and move on. The only downside is losing money in eBay and Reverb fees, I find...
I did that as well, got tired of tripping on guitar cases and random cables. I thought to myself why do I need all these guitars? I don’t even play all of them. Had a Kazuo Yairi I sold as well as a G 45 and a couple other guitars. I kept one Yamaha AC5R and got a Taylor 324CE to cover all my bases. Reibuilt a simpler pedal board with a preamp/DI, and got a Fishman Loudbox mini. Everything I need to practice and be inspired to create.
All I can say is me too. I'm seventy now but in my younger years I spent close to $100,000 on guitars and amps with the proceeds of some real estate that I sold. Probably more if I were to be honest. Every guitar I own now I purchased with money I worked hard for. Today I find myself suffering with GAS again as I have been paid some extra pension money. This site has pulled me up.
Guitarist and singer: Pedals. Amps. Audio interfaces. Mixers. Microphones. Wireless pickup systems. Vocal processo... *head explodes*
Thanks so much for posting this. I actually don't need anything anymore. I am just a brainwashed consumer.
lovely video!
Thanks Mario! 💪
Hit a few nails on a few heads here! I’m a hobbyist and been blessed to be able to afford a FF camera & lenses a lot of people who make a living as a photo/videographer may not be able to afford. Yet still I can’t help but wonder if I should swap or buy the newest release to add to my existing set up just because it’s a smaller form factor but the near enough with the EXACT same capabilities.
Like you mentioned it’s definitely got in the way of actually creating and learning.
So thanks for the vid. I will definitely be coming back to it every time I need to give my head a wobble and focus on what’s actually important😅
Thanks, I'm glad it's helpful! Yes I return to this occasionally to get a lecture from myself, remind myself to get a haricut once in a while, take better care of the plants, trim my beard and stop buying shit i don't need 🤣
so true! Had a guitar and a few pedals, during look downs thought I need something new and discovered synthesizers. Bought 1,2,3, than a big eurorack. With every piece I had, just the opposite I tried to achieve ( what you said: "I need THIS to finish that song" happened. I was blocked by all the gear surrounding me. Now I am in the ( sometimes painfull ;-)) process of selling everything and getting back to my guitars (well, had a few on offer as well but couldn't let go for emotional reasons. ) So, my advice: Think twice, than think again - if you really need that next piece of gear. Take care!
yeah it' always the way. All of this has happened to me multiple times, I sort of made this so I can come back and watch and prevent me from doing it again 😂
When I was younger I wrote more songs on my cheap gear but it was definitely limiting. Now I have amazing gear but I don't have the same momentum with songwriting.
I was watching a Beatles documentary and realised they started with some pretty crappy instruments...but by Sergeant Peppers they had the best gear and musicians at their disposal and the sound was definitely better. They didn't need to own everything because the Abbey Road studio had so much great stuff.
Hunger and drive matters the most...but it is pretty cool to be able to have gear that helps rather than hinders your overall sound. I think what helped me when I was younger is that I had more community supporting me.
The more hours and years you put into something I feel it earns as well the credibility and need for better gear.
Yo-yo ma has the right to buy an $100,000 cello if he wants because he's made millions.
A lot of it actually having something to say, too, that feels honest and original. That's way easier when you're younger I think. So often people will try to fill that gap with stuff...
But remember that the Beatles were never really "gearheads", even by the time of Sgt. Pepper, and they were happy just to use what they had, or was given to them. In a 1965 (?) interview, for example, John Lennon was asked "Which amplifier do you prefer?", to which he replied "one that works" 😂
Even the recording equipment at EMI during Sgt. Pepper was antiquated (4 track recorders), but it worked well for them.
@@dingalarm Yes doesn't McCartney still use his original Epiphone? As did Lennon all his life?
Arguably it was all the restrictions of equipment in the day that helped something like Sgt. Pepper into existence I'd say, competing with Brian Wilson to squeeze the most out of the available tech at the time etc.
We can all do that in our own way now too, place intentional limits and watch how more creative we become to break the boundaries. But it is really hard when everything ever is at your fingertips too, in software terms. Software overload is almost worse than hardware GAS in a way...
Thank you, I loved your video.
Thank you
It's rarely about need - it's about want. That's how they hook you 😊
Totally, so many shiny things to distract us
But don’t I NEED the unique rendering or focal length of that lens I don’t have? 😉
@@stefan33uk Yes, you absolutely do! 😄
Ha, we've all been there! I recently got my main guitar sorted and realised just how much better one really high quality instrument can be compared to a number of crummy ones!
yeah definitely, I recently did that with an Auden Bowman, once i got that I just offloaded other acoustics. You can save a lot of time just by getting what you really want!
When I was young, my older brother used to take me fishing. He told me that there were only about 4 fishing lures that actually catch fish. All of the thousands of fishing lure designs you see out there are a take on these original 4 and are designed to catch fishermen, not fish.
Girlfriend is a painter, I can attest she is indeed obsessed with (very expensive!) paints
Haha yeah, there's no getting away from it is there? We're all so conditioned by the market, since it's forcing its way into our heads from such a young age now, that whatever task we need doing, tool we require or even a mundane object becomes a protracted deliberation on pros and cons of different options... One pines for a possibly non-existent simpler time...
The other day i was reading hair-clipper reviews for half an hour. I can't imagine what that's like if you're a barber.
YES
To be fair, this applies to computers as well, especially these days when there's hardly a noticeable difference in performance between, say, a GTX1660 and a GTX3060. I still remember editing my first Canon 550D videos shot in 1080p on a 2006 laptop with a Core 2 Duo CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 256 MB GPU. And it worked, too! Whereas now I keep buying "better" gear and make far fewer videos than I did back when I had a barebones setup :)
That bit about the more stuff you buy the less art you make seems near universal, you end up building a monument to lost creativity out of gear boxes.
With computer stuff, I use it for income so upgrades help me by buying time or comfort. For example I had two RTX3090s which were fast but noisy and absolutely boiled the room. I replaced them with an RTX4090 and now it's way quieter and cooler to work with, and renders are a little faster. So I guess once you reach "fast enough" it become GAS with computers. The trouble is, there's never a "fast enough" cos time is the most valuable commodity 🤣. So I'm quite trapped in the GPU tax cycle 🤮
@ I know what you mean. With work these things do matter, but with art and hobby, yeah, most upgrades are overkill :)
Regarding the production of music I am glad that I dont have that much gear because I am doing things mostly out of the box. I guess its a general problem because nowadays you can get everything from everywhere. You are flooded with advertisings. "For this sound you need this. For that sound you must have this..." I think the point is that you can produce everything with everything if you just invest enough creative effort. Maybe its better to learn one tool and master that instead of heaving a toolbox with tools you never use. E.g. a pianist has only a piano and nothing more so he has to be creative to get the most out of the instrument. I know those words are easier said than done. When I think about buying additonal gear/software I try to ask myself "Do I really need this, does it really helps me to get that step further in creativity. Does it opens new creative worlds too me?". Well at least I try but I think its worth it unless you will sink in gear you will never use (that much). *blows the dust from his Microfreak*. Stay creative ;)
There's a big subject here I think too, which is just _how far_ towards only selling products the internet has gone. Everything from search engines to UA-cam is now massively biased towards selling new things, and a big part of that now is FOMO marketing, constant encouragement to *buy more* and *upgrade now* instead of using what you have.
It's hard to find just information now, that isn't tainted by the desire to sell things to you.
2:03
This right here, totally on point man. I am absolutely guilty as charged.
Gear Acquisition Syndrome is insidious because it’s an excuse to think about the work only in the abstract. What it could be, if only I had this... thing. It's a trap.
It’s asking the wrong questions about the work. Avoiding the difficult and uncomfortable questions. Avoiding the very environment that pushes us to create something new.
It's much easier to talk about gear than to make work. Gear is easy, because it's safe, it’s able to be researched and measured and quantified. Gear makes us feel comfortable, unlike art.
Once More Into the Void yeah for sure, man, most of us have been there. And talking from personal experience, I’ve done the same. Convinced myself I NEED this thing and therefore put off actual work. Obsessing over equipment contains no risk, it’s like a comfortable place to hide away from doing difficult things. Knowing your tools is your important as are practice and a discerning taste in tools, but if isn’t serving the greater goal it’s a trap.
Once More Into the Void I think he really hard part is saying “the gear is probably good enough, I am not”
@ Aye. And that's a profoundly difficult question to ask yourself as an artist. Am I good enough ? I definitely question that sometimes (and sometimes constantly). Transposing that question to the gear is perhaps just a coping mechanism, because we feel we don't really know the answer to the original question. I would say though - it's really a flawed question. Of course we are "good enough" - I think the only constructive point of comparison is our past selves - not other people, and not other work. We're all on our own different journeys. The question really is whether we're willing to put in the work and answer the difficult questions. Rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through. (and still know where our towels are)
It's not just Gear its Software DAW add on or upgrades. I have alot more stuff now but honestly My best music comes out of things I had 10 years ago.
yeah for sure, I think I do have some 500 plugins installed, but probably use about 20 or 30 regularly. I've now stopped buying new software enntirely, pretty much, it's quite distracting.
This is the most painful video ever produced……. You nailed like a pro, me and my 45 guitars thank you 🙏
Hah, damn! I thought having 6 was a bit much 😂
Most of the guitars were bought in places I’ve visited across Canada and the U.S.A, great memories.🎸
I have financial problem so I got a HP 12C financial calculator. I cannot afford food so I got Zeiss binoculars to watch the Nabors eating. Now I’m updating my camera equipment that I seldom use.
I tried to get rid of GAS.
Then I ordered an electric car. :/
😂
Help! Going through a terrible bout of it right now
“Nobs on” yes please! - wooheeyyyy.
Chelsea Dagger (Russian Donk Mix) plays distantly
What does 'Hardingmaal' mean?
It's my artist name, but it's also a dialect of Norwegian spoken by people who generally descend from the same place as me, it's a bit of double meaning in that way, it's basically "language of Harding" which is my surname.
George Carlin hated marketing as he said in one of his stand-up comedies
This hurt my feelings. Fine. I'll finish the record and look for a therapist. The worst is when you get your new toy and feel... nothing. Just nothing.
With guitars it's the worst. It's like they define you. Express your very identity. What sort of musician you are. If you're a real artist or just a hobbyist. Which is a lot to put on some wood.
Hah yeah, I did sort of make this for myself too. So I watch it if get into a manic kit obsession phase, which I think can be part of the creative malaise.
I think that feeling nothing upon the purchase of kit is the most common outcome, because part of GAS is displacing the responsibility for creative or personal satisfaction onto an inanimate object that simply _cannot_ satisfy it. It's a way of putting aside difficult, physically and emotionally challenging work by saying "this piece of kit will fix it", which of course it doesn't, because the problem remains when the kit arrives.
If it were like buying a screwdriver it wouldn't be so deep, it would be thought of before purchase as a tool, a conduit to a well-completed task. But as you say it is not like that with creative tools. These become tied up with identity, with desires and dreams and probably most importantly a sense of _self image_ and how self image affects general life satisfaction.
As you say, a piece of wood metal and plastic can harbour the lifelong dreams of a human being, making it tempting to just keep buying them, hoping that one day one of them just fixes everything. That's why I think GAS can become a serious problem, because as such it can lead to or disguise depression.
Scary to think how much weekly therapy I could have bought instead of all the stuff I bought that I didn’t need 😮
GUILTY as charged😂
hahah me too
Chrees