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

[Frankencat]

It depends on what you are going for a guess. If it's sheer numbers than yes it's probably more of a materialistic thing. I have gone through that and then realized I didn't need half that stuff and purged. I have also had times when I was looking for a specific piece for a specific need and I would go through maybe 4 or 5 examples of an item - guitars, amps, pedals, etc - until I hit on what I as looking for. That's more fun to me than just buying stuff to like it on. Of course you have to be blessed enough in the first place to have that problem.

 

[the swede]

Interesting, I love discussions like this.
I strongly believe that there’s a thing called materialism. It would be easy to just justify any kind of fascination for trinkets by saying, it’s in our nature, we are hunter gatherers and such. Our technical and industrialized world doesn’t cure that, it just replaces things. We tend to treat digital, non material objects, the same way. So it’s nature after all…

But I also strongly believe anyone has the ability to disconnect and be able to free themselves from being materialistic focused. I do think and believe that being able to divert and learn control over emotions for materialistic things we grow and mature philosophically and psychologically… get wiser… kinda… but only if there is a purpose and goal. If not, there’s no point in doing that. Then the objectification serves a purpose that also is empowering to one’s self.

Personally I’ve always had a “problem” owning stuff. I’m happiest when I own and have absolute minimal of things, any things. Family life was a hard lesson for me regarding that. I had to learn to accept my wife’s needs to “decorate” and make a “home”. I understand her frustration with me because if I was to decide, I would throw out almost everything. “We would have empty lifeless rooms if you could decide” she says to me.

Same with gear. Owning modelers became a problem for me that no one understood. For me it was like locking me inside a very small room inside a hoarders house. As if there only was an inch of floor visible and I am standing there not being able to move or look at anything without loosing control and myself.
Put me in an empty room with one little box that does one thing, and it’s like all the creativity in the world flows through me. Imagine sitting in a corner and slowly turning the lever on an old chime box…. That’s me. Dysfunctional… but… me.

I had to find that balance with gear to.

So yeah Orv… 12 delay pedals is to much from the other extreme end of the spectrum where I reside. I managed to persuade myself having two. One that does one thing, another that does another thing, and together they do a third thing. That’s were my sweet spot and limit is found. That’s where i can justify the “objects” purpose and existence in my empty world. A new one will have to replace something else.

But here’s the thing, and beauty of it all. We are different and no one can really judge or decide what is right or wrong materially for you. If you fucking must have 12 delay pedals, then you need to have that. Consumerism as an idea can be used wrongly to cause guilt. I believe we all have a responsibility towards the world in a philosophical sense, but i also think if someone made something with love and passion and we want to honor that by owning it. We should.

 

[laxu]

I have a bunch of guitars that I acquired over the course of around 20 years (I've been playing longer, but the longest I've had any of the ones I have now is around 20 years). A friend of mine drives a Porsche 718 Boxster S convertible that he bought brand new and cost three times what all those guitars cost combined. Another friend flies overseas multiple times a year, and buys and ships home multiple crates of wine from each trip. Another friend owns at least 5 thousand CDs and another 1-2 thousand LPs on a pretty humble income. Two of my closest friends each have a decent sized main house and a large recreational lake house (and no, they don't ever rent one of them out). An old colleague of mine lives in a small city condo, but spends very nearly as much on restaurants each month as she does on her mortgage. Another old colleague is an absolute stunner of a fashionista, and she spends a ton of her large income (she's also a top flight software engineer in a very lucrative sub-field) on it. This can go on all day, of course.

Meanwhile, I drive a Mazda 3 about 3K miles/year. I hate and avoid air travel except when my work requires it. My wife and I have one moderately sized house, and I shudder at the thought of owning two. I don't spend a lot on fancy meals, and I rarely eat red meat in the first place (which I mention from a cost perspective, not inviting a debate on dietary choices). My wardrobe is simple and small. But...who cares? I have my thing, and they have theirs.

It's always interesting to think how different people live. I have a friend who lives in a small rental apartment, and spends pretty much all his spare money on traveling the world every year. He's visited almost every country at this point.

It sometimes makes me think whether he is spending his money better than I am, because I find that the most memorable things tend to be e.g trips with friends/wife rather than what you might've bought.

But at least guitars are a relatively cheap hobby unless you get deep into vintage/boutique gear.

 

[AlbertA]

But at least guitars are a relatively cheap hobby unless you get deep into vintage/boutique gear.

And they have residual value.

 

[laxu]

That's what some people like. I would find that to be utterly miserable. Mind you, I have made friends on four continents. I just don't like traveling.

I don't like flying or driving. It's more of a necessary evil to get to interesting places. At least I'm not any taller than I am (184 cm / ~6 ft) because I would be miserable in already cramped plane seats.

 

[Jarick]

Yes it absolutely is. I'm extremely aware of how unproductive it is to spend as much time and money as I do chasing gear but I still do it. Bad habit I can't shake I suppose.