Why do we obsess over the next guitar?

[blueruins]

I’m at work dreaming of gear…I ask myself why?

Is it boredom? Is it a way to connect with our instruments when we’re not able to play? Is it to keep practice interesting?

Maybe a bit of all that and more?

Why do we spend so much energy obsessing over the next acquisition?

 

[Bertotti]

I’m at work dreaming of gear…I ask myself why?

Is it boredom? Is it a way to connect with our instruments when we’re not able to play? Is it to keep practice interesting?

Maybe a bit of all that and more?

Why do we spend so much energy obsessing over the next acquisition?

For me it is a little boredom and the what am I missing feeling. Kind of like the modding bug. you don’t need the mod but maybe it is better even slightly incrementally than what I have now. I beat the mod bug and the mandolin and mostly guitar gas but as has been witnessed I have not over come the amp gas. I don’t even have the Duat Devil yet and I’m dreaming of the MarkV90 and I don’t gig so why would I want that beast! Although you guys and your guitar has have passed ona. But if a desire for the White Penguin! Just a slight desire.

 

[ombudsman]

It's pretty hard to let go of that whole hunter-gatherer thing, even long after the essentials have been acquired.

 

[G5422T]

It's pretty hard to let go of that whole hunter-gatherer thing, even long after the essentials have been acquired.

It's not easy, but it can be done.

Ask me how I know.

 

[loudnlousy]

It`s search for the grail.

 

[Emergence]

It’s a quest for perfection. Will a guitar do it? Maybe an amp. Maybe all you need is that pedal that gives you an unimaginable tone. I’m waiting on pickups from TVJ that will bring my SG to life.

Maybe we’re wasting our time. Maybe we already have everything we need. Perfection is an impossible goal. The Persian weaver tells his tale about leaving a tiny, almost unnoticeable flaw in his rug because only Allah can be perfect.

So we can’t be perfect. But we can be better. And new gear won’t make us better. We all know the secret. It’s practice.

So rather than pick up a guitar we already own, we obsess over the next one.

 

[BCRatRod73]

It’s part of the human condition. Anticipation can often be better than acquisition. The mind believes there’s a void that only a possession can fill then it sets itself on convincing you that possession will fill the void and make you happy. So you acquire the new possession and you’re on Cloud 9…for a short period of time. The feeling soon wears off and the mind once again sets itself on the task of convincing you to acquire a new possession that will fill the void and make you happy. The trick is to be content with what you already have. Happiness doesn’t last very long but being content does.

 

[Bertotti]

It’s part of the human condition. Anticipation can often be better than acquisition. The mind believes there’s a void that only a possession can fill then it sets itself on convincing you that possession will fill the void and make you happy. So you acquire the new possession and you’re on Cloud 9…for a short period of time. The feeling soon wears off and the mind once again sets itself on the task of convincing you to acquire a new possession that will fill the void and make you happy. The trick is to be content with what you already have. Happiness doesn’t last very long but being content does.

The less frisky the wife the more I tend to spend. That can’t be to abnormal. Right?

 

[CBHScott]

It’s part of the human condition. Anticipation can often be better than acquisition. The mind believes there’s a void that only a possession can fill then it sets itself on convincing you that possession will fill the void and make you happy. So you acquire the new possession and you’re on Cloud 9…for a short period of time. The feeling soon wears off and the mind once again sets itself on the task of convincing you to acquire a new possession that will fill the void and make you happy. The trick is to be content with what you already have. Happiness doesn’t last very long but being content does.

My wife always tells me that it’s the hunt that gets (and keeps) me going.

She’s not wrong. Over the last 20 years I must have gone through about 80 guitars, and I have kept none of them more than three years for various reasons (one of them is a MIJ Strat that I still have). In one way, it’s kind of sad, but in another, it’s been a cool hobby - the only real hobby that I have stuck with since I was a teenager - plus, I have been able to “own” just about every kind of guitar that I have ever wanted, but without losing a ton of money in the process overall.

I must admit, though, that lately there are no guitars that I haven’t tried that excite me, so in my advancing age, the “churn” has slowed considerably…well, never mind the two I have for sale right now

 

[capnhiho]

To paraphrase the cliché about mountain climbing:
Because we can…

 

[AZBrahma]

 

[ombudsman]

It’s part of the human condition. Anticipation can often be better than acquisition.

My line about that is, wanting things has little to do with having things.

 

[Ric12String]

Is it maybe that we perhaps have more disposable income than we did when we were younger? We can afford to buy another guitar so our mind works to fill that void.

 

[Horse Nation]

It’s a quest for perfection.

Believe it or not, some of the gear we have we do view as absolutely perfect. My Stratocaster is absolutely perfect in every way.

So, I don't know if it a quest for perfection. I have perfect, yet, I still buy other guitars. Why?

Some of us like to collect. My goal in life about twenty years ago was to own on DVD every single movie ever made (except a movie called CONGO about a talking gorilla and Sly Stallone's COBRA. Oh, are those movies bad.) Own every movie ever made on DVD (except CONGO and COBRA)...and I was getting there. Then BluRay came around and my quest to own every movie ever made on DVD ended.

Some of us enjoy the art of collecting.

 

[Bertotti]

Believe it or not, some of the gear we have we do view as absolutely perfect. My Stratocaster is absolutely perfect in every way.

So, I don't know if it a quest for perfection. I have perfect, yet, I still buy other guitars. Why?

Some of us like to collect. My goal in life about twenty years ago was to own on DVD every single movie ever made (except a movie called CONGO about a talking gorilla and Sly Stallone's COBRA. Oh, are those movies bad.) Own every movie ever made on DVD (except CONGO and COBRA)...and I was getting there. Then BluRay came around and my quest to own every movie ever made on DVD ended.

Some of us enjoy the art of collecting.

Don’t forget prizzi’s honor terrible.

 

[J Bird]

Somehow, my quest for more and better gear has been quelled right along with my lack of discretionary finances.

I consider myself lucky on two accounts.

One is that I'm not going into debt unnecessarily.

The second is that I've got great gear and can't be upset that maybe one amp has a bit too much headroom, or another amp is a bit too mids focused.

With all that is going on in my life (one month until the wedding) I can't bother even thinking about trivial things like amps and guitars.

 

[Bertotti]

Somehow, my quest for more and better gear has been quelled right along with my lack of discretionary finances.

I consider myself lucky on two accounts.

One is that I'm not going into debt unnecessarily.

The second is that I've got great gear and can't be upset that maybe one amp has a bit too much headroom, or another amp is a bit too mids focused.

With all that is going on in my life (one month until the wedding) I can't bother even thinking about trivial things like amps and guitars.

Congratulations don't let nerves get to you!

 

[wabash slim]

GAS, like rust, never sleeps.
As my Dad would say, "Is that money burning a hole in your pocket?"

 

[Pops]

As my Dad would say, "Is that money burning a hole in your pocket?"

My dad said the same thing. Never stopped him from buying whatever he wanted when some money came along.

He would trade stuff, too.

 

[emitex]

I stopped trying to figure that out years ago. It's useless.