How do you manage your GAS?

[Emperoff]

Quite easy for me: Buy only stuff I need for the bands I play. Done.

 

[budda]

Quite easy for me: Buy only stuff I need for the bands I play. Done.

This is how I roll except when Im not in a band. So be in bands, people!

 

[_MonSTeR_]

My advice which may or may not work for others is get a really, really good setup on your ‘best’ guitar.

Then everything you try with a standard setup will be inferior and you won’t want it as much.

 

[Stiman]

My advice which may or may not work for others is get a really, really good setup on your ‘best’ guitar.

Then everything you try with a standard setup will be inferior and you won’t want it as much.

This is good advice.
I recently took my generic Ibanez RGA42HP guitar and added locking tuners, replaced the shitty Fusion Edge pickups with an Evo + Liquifire and got the neck PLEK'd and wow, what a difference. It plays better than my Prestige now. (might get the Prestige PLEK'd soon).

 

[BurningRome]

A weord question I know, but recently I came to the conclusion I want way too many guitars than my budget allows for. How do you manage your GAS and prioritizing which guitars you get?

You have to consider why you want to buy so many guitars. I was really bad about it when I was in a band because I wanted to find the perfect assembly of equipment that gave me tone, minimalism, and uniqueness.

In my personal life, I'm a minimalist. I can't stand seeing a bunch of money laying around in stuff that doesn't get used.

What I do to safeguard myself is treat the stuff I buy as investments. I only buy used, sample, if I like it, I keep it, if not I sell it, but normally I make a little money and almost never lose money.

If you look at it from a fiscal approach it helps to keep the amount of stuff down.

BTW, Realization is you will not make as much money flipping used gear as you'd think, so don't do it as a money making thing, just flip gear to not lose money. If you want to make money, buy some oil stock or micro chip stock right now...just saying way more than what was asked.

Good luck address this personal issue, I can relate.

 

[budda]

My GAS has steadily climbed the financial ladder. Past a certain 4 figure point, im breaking even at worst. I cant say the same for a decade of buying and selling more affordable guitars (almost always a loss). I understand Im in a unique place to buy luxury guitars right now - which is part of why Im doing it. But if there is suddenly a reason I need to sell all or some of that collection, I can rest easy knowing I wont be losing any money. It’s way easier to drop 4k knowing I wont lose anything than drop $1500 knowing I might lose $500 when I decide I want something else.

 

[Blytheryn]

As @feraledge knows, my GAS literally controls me completely.

I succumb to it.

 

[ShredmasterD]

i feel it is my duty to keep music manufactures in business so i embrace GAS and take one for the team. plus, all those credit card company ceo's get to go on lovely vacations with their mistresses because i also support them with criminally high interest payments

 

[Thesius]

With high interest loans

 

[feraledge]

These days, it's fairly easy: I'm a pauper and guitar prices have been driven into the outer ranges. I'm refusing to sell my customs or my Black Metal M. So, here we stand....

But, as a chef... my knife lust is endless. And some of those are far more attainable.
That said, when the tides turn, or if, it will be a glorious day to bring another axe into the armory. Don't think I haven't been looking... lol

 

[TheBolivianSniper]

one in one out

I've fucked up my metal x so badly I can't ever sell it so that stays permanently and my stealth is so modded that only a crackhead would want it and it doesn't have any original parts

those 2 stay and I have a rotating 3rd spot that constantly changes, although I'd like to save the money

in spite of that, I have a guy giving me a shipping quote for an A7 FRS and I think the savings is eating a hit bc aside from the color and lack of SS frets (I'm spoiled by that ormsby) it's the most perfect guitar schecter ever made and I must have another for good this time

there's also a steinberger demon at guitar center that I might get if I have the money as well

mmmmm headless warlock

 

[marke]

My GAS has steadily climbed the financial ladder. Past a certain 4 figure point, im breaking even at worst. I cant say the same for a decade of buying and selling more affordable guitars (almost always a loss). I understand Im in a unique place to buy luxury guitars right now - which is part of why Im doing it. But if there is suddenly a reason I need to sell all or some of that collection, I can rest easy knowing I wont be losing any money. It’s way easier to drop 4k knowing I wont lose anything than drop $1500 knowing I might lose $500 when I decide I want something else.

Yep. Cheap guitars, as it turns out, are ultimately the most expensive.

 

[TheBolivianSniper]

Yep. Cheap guitars, as it turns out, are ultimately the most expensive.

counterpoint: obscure production guitars

cheap guitars can ultimately be recycled fairly easily if you don't mod them and take care/market them well

the ones I've gotten screwed on the hardest are these super rare production guitars like BC Rich Mockingbirds (ST7 lost me over 1k), Schecter A6/A7s (lost me more than that), and 2000s/2010s models that people know are rare and sit for a while. I've flipped a lot of cheap guitars, mostly Ibanez and Jackson stuff, for what I paid or more in a few days, but the Schecters and BCRs really killed me.

 

[Deadpool_25]

A weord question I know, but recently I came to the conclusion I want way too many guitars than my budget allows for. How do you manage your GAS and prioritizing which guitars you get?

I don’t. I just keep buying stuff.

 

[guitaardvark]

I've gotten backlash for saying stuff like this on this forum, but better gear does not correlate with better musicianship, although I understand that this is primarily a gear forum. Of course, you need equipment that's appropriate for your style, is reliable, is reasonably well set up, etc., but I think a lot of people convince themselves through the GAS demon sitting on their shoulders that X piece of gear will make them write better songs, fall back in love with playing, or whatever. In my personal experience and in the experience of many wonderful players who are close to me, that's almost never been the case.

I think modelers are great for deflecting GAS. For probably under $1000, you can get a really solid used guitar and a great modeler in the form of a POD Go or Helix Stomp. You have access to the same exact amp models and effects that a lot of truly amazing players use, and they're almost endlessly customizable. If you can't find a sound you're happy with in there, then I think some learning, practicing, or self-examination are in order.

In short, I think it's important to examine the difference between a want and a need, and why you want/need a certain piece of gear.