Is it materialistic to buy or churn lots of music gear?

[Orvillain]

I've never been the type to go hog wild about clothes, or shoes, or comic books, or getting my hair done, or anything superficial like that.

But I do love music gear, and I do go through quite a lot of it. Always have, ever since I was 20. I've spent probably over £40,000 in my lifetime on gear. Often selling something and rebuying it a year later.

I've always felt I was chasing a higher purpose, or a higher power, through music. And that the gear was just to facilitate it. But when I was younger I didn't have the money to buy everything I wanted to try, so I would have to sell something to buy something else. Then invariably I'd end up going back to the thing I sold, because I missed it.

I've never entirely believed the idea that these things are just tools. My guitar for example, I bought in 2008 and I have a very strong connection and love for it. It is just an Orville By Gibson Les Paul Custom. The Black Beauty type. When I play it, it feels like it is an extension of me. Whereas when I play my Tokai, even though I like it, I'm not as connected to it. There isn't as good a vibe between me and the instrument.

But does someone really need 12 delay pedals? Maybe. It depends. I've always felt like each bit of kit opens a new door into a sound-world that you might not have experienced otherwise.

At what point does all of this just turn into rampant consumerism and a life lived in the shadows of consumption?

(I don't even smoke weed anymore!!)

 

[Mikael Dez]

I think if you’re self aware enough to know you don’t need more gear but that you want it purely to play around with it, then it’s fine. It can get pretty toxic when people are chasing tones thinking that some other pedal or modeler will finally give them that sound, and it’s probably linked to ADHD (I know I’ve been guilty of that thought process in the past, particularly in the early years)

I also just love buying shit and getting to learn the ins and outs of it, it’s part of the hobby for me!

 

[Sascha Franck]

At what point does all of this just turn into rampant consumerism and a life lived in the shadows of consumption?

I think that's something that can only be answered by whomever for him/herself.

For me, even without money being an objection (which it, unfortunately, always is), my personal goal is to produce as little excess waste as possible. It's also a general thing I try to live by, but just as true for musical equipment.
Hence, for example, I try not to buy cheap stuff because it's cheap but only in case I actually plan to use it. I also try to not buy stuff that becomes obsolete quickly.
And I also try to make some use of stuff that isn't working well anymore for the purposes I originally bought it for. Just as some examples: I used my old GT-10 for a number of shows last year (sound wasn't that important and much better than I thought anyway, plus it needed to stay on the equipment truck for some weeks). My Zoom G3 is used as a looper only (it's the best simple looper ever, sound quality is astonishingly good, too). My Zoom MS-50 serves as a backup for acoustic guitar treatments, sometimes paired with an otherwise obsolete AMT Pangaea.
Also, the computer I used until spring '24 is from 2010.
Etc. IOW: I try to not go for the latest and greatest, even if I could afford it, simply because I think it's a good thing to do so (you can happily call me illusionistic, but that won't change anything for me). In addition, I do in fact get some kinda satisfaction out of making older things work well. And add to this that when you're doing so, you know that stuff inside out.

Anyhow, I can perfectly understand music gear flipping - and I actually don't think it does much harm, as long as things don't get trashed instantly. It's nothing I could even think about, though, for better or worse (I'd actually love being able to buy much more guitars).

 

[DrewJD82]

Eye of the beholder.

I think I slip in and out of materialistic aspects of it at times. FOMO doesn’t really get to me, so I don’t participate in the Keeping up with the Joneses stuff but I DO love buying gear. I love a LOT of tones and the more I can obtain the more I feel like I’m ready for whatever musical venture comes my way. Once I’m at the point where I’m buying pedals and it’s taking me weeks to even plug them in, that’s when it starts getting into the materialistic area. Most the time I have a box show up at home I can’t wait to rip it open and see what it offers, but I’ve definitely had a few points where I ordered some Lovepedals just because they weren’t crazy expensive and I didn’t really have a desire for the specific pedals.

I’m absolutely emotionally attached to my guitars, not the number of them but the guitars themselves, much like I am my friends who ‘get me’ because that’s how it feels playing a guitar that just reacts the exact way you want/need it to, even better if they toss you surprises with some overtones popping out or maybe the sweet spots are fall right in the keys you play in normally and they just provide so much comfort and enjoyment. I love my Strat more and more every time I play it, shit pops out of that thing I’d never expect, tonally.

 

[AlbertA]

 

[Whizzinby]

Not today Mr. Accountant

 

[Chocol8]

A lot of great music was made with far less gear and far lower quality/less capable gear.

Most of what we have are wants not needs.

 

[sleewell]

 

[Dimiguitar]

I think a new instrument, pedal or preset can inspire me to write or play something new, to some extent, and have some extra fun.

But to be frank, what makes the biggest difference is almost always my mental health, living situation and most directly and importantly the ability to live in the present moment.

If such aspects are suffering, musical ideas and "flow" tends be more so out of reach. And that's when my mind usually tells me to check out new gear with the intent of buying.

In my ideal state, I would say there's still some interest. But it's more so about what engineers achieve and less about buying stuff.

What I actually need gear-wise to achieve my ends, is a couple of guitars I bond with, and perhaps a good, tweak-able modeller for recording.

 

[Sleezy E]

(I don't even smoke weed anymore!!)

 

[itchyfingers]

For me, its kinda been 3 phases of GAS.

When I started out, I didn't have much money and was a newb player. So I had entry level gear, I didn't know much about guitar, or what gear I needed to hear the tones I wanted. So at that point, buying and selling gear was trial and error: buy to try, sell what didn't work, and hang on to the keepers.

Fast forward a few years and my keeper gear was starting to trend in certain directions. So at that point, the purchasing came as a means to improve on the gear I knew I liked and the selling was to fund better gear. For every piece that came in, it would knock out something I'd ranked lower, or maybe I'd keep both. I would say this was the busiest phase of the GAS for me, lots of gear coming in and out.

Fast forward to now and all my gear has leveled up to where I don't think it could get much better. So now I like to think of my music room as more of a music store, where I can allow friends to check out gear they wouldn't otherwise have access to, I can change up my rigs as often as I like, I have every option available at my fingertips to mix combinations of random guitars/pedals/amps,cabs, build famous people's rigs, build crazy noisemaker rigs, whatever I feel like. The buying has definitely slowed and most purchases fill specific needs for my band, but I still like to try the latest hype pedal, test out the latest modeling tech, or grab something unique that would be cool for the collection.

 

[hunga]

 

[laxu]

I think you need to be realistic what is the driving force for buying new gear. If you have a constant revolving door of gear, you probably suffer from shopping addiction. Often the chase is more exciting than the catch - figuring out what to buy from all the options available, finding the best deals etc. It can be fun!

The shopping can turn into a hobby in its own right. Buy cheap, sell for what you paid or a bit of profit, then buy another thing that is a bit nicer than the last. Try a lot of stuff and keep the ones they truly love. This is probably harder to do today than it was in the past as there's not a lot of "this guy doesn't know what they have" deals to be had.

The worst is if you are always chasing the latest hype. Do you even remember what was last month's most hyped amp or pedal? Because I've lost count. There's companies pushing new guitar gear to the market all the time and only few are interesting enough to make me take notice.

I have more guitars than I really need, yet I am thinking of buying a V style guitar despite knowing I don't truly need it - it's a pure "I want one, and can afford it" thing. I already know the gear I have is at "about as good as it gets" level for every category of guitar gear. Yet I'm still excited for a Line6 HX Stadium etc.

But I still try to be sensible about it. Unless it's a "that thing is available used right now, for the right price, and it's close by" situation (like that Bluetone 2x12 I bought), it can take me months to make the decision to buy something. This usually leads to higher satisfaction where I actually keep that product for at least a year or more.

Whenever I start missing a piece of gear I sold, I start thinking of the reasons why I sold it in the first place. Usually that helps me avoid buying it again.

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The other thing I like to spend some money on is clothes and shoes. I don't buy any designer stuff because most of it is aesthetically horrible, super expensive and/or poorly made. I'm mostly into classic men's fashion from leather shoes/boots, to blazers, leather jackets and so on. I have a pretty extensive wardrobe, but still end up buying something every now and then.

I love to occasionally go through my local vintage/thrift shops. It's always fun to hit that treasure hunting jackpot when you find something unique for very little money. I recently found a nice pair of python cowboy boots that were in almost brand new condition and just my size. Just too "out there" for most people to buy and wear, but I love that kind of stuff.