Is GAS really undefeatable?

[ThomBassmonkey]

I just saw a comment in another thread that GAS is never gone and disagreed in my head, then thought about it and thought there's still some stuff I'd like to try out, nothing I'm desperate for though.

I can hand on heart say that if I ended up using Stingrays into GKs for the rest of my life, I'd be fine with that. Since I got my second GK rig, the only amp I've even been interested in is an MB200 just so I could stick it in a pocket in my gig bag and forget about it unless I ever needed it. It's only basically a smaller version of my MB Fusion (without the valves) so it's not like it's even something different.

Same thing with my ray, I've had various offers on my bongo since trying to move it on and in the end I traded it today for another ray. Since having my first ray there's been no basses that have really sparked GAS in me. There's a couple I wouldn't mind having (a Kala electric u bass and Lightwave VL5) but I doubt I'd use either much and they're more curiosity than a desire to own them and I definitely don't think they'd improve my sound (since my band calls for a fretted for starters), they'd just be something a bit different so I'm not beating myself up that they're pretty rare.

Anyone else in the same position or am I in a lonely GAS free world?

[heminder]

well, i'm currently amp-less so that's the source of my bass GAS but i also play guitar and have no GAS for any more guitar gear. i've 2 six-string guitars (one for each tuning) and they're all i need. i intend to make a bass-amp purchase and be done with GAS for good.

[Lozz196]

It is undefeatable, as I think we all wonder "now if I was to put x with y, how that would sound". I`m very happy with my set-up - Precision, into GK MB Fusion/Schroeder.

But, when I heard OBBMs Musicman (dunno which model it was) into GK MB Fusion/Schroeder, I did wonder how that would work with my band, as it sounded great.

And that to me is the cursed GAS.

[oggiesnr]

It's totally defeatable. You merely have to hand your significant other all you cheque books, debit and credit cards, your wage cheque and ensure you never have any cash on you.

Steve

[skej21]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1337580675' post='1662134']
It is undefeatable, as I think we all wonder "now if I was to put x with y, how that would sound". I`m very happy with my set-up - Precision, into GK MB Fusion/Schroeder.

But, when I heard OBBMs Musicman (dunno which model it was) into GK MB Fusion/Schroeder, I did wonder how that would work with my band, as it sounded great.

And that to me is the cursed GAS.
[/quote]

+ 1 to this with the addition of the dreaded newsletter that always follows NAMM, informing us that something awesome has just come out! To be honest, this again is more of a 'I wonder' kinda GAS than 'must have it now!', but it's still there, niggling away!

[BB3000S]

I find that the more busy I am playing the more I appreciate my current gear. Do however think there is a point in having access to more than one sound/feel - not so much for the people listening as for my own personal inspiration (which on a good day may even translate into something the audience may hear/feel).

Bottom line for me: the more busy the less GAS and vice versa.

[Kiwi]

I have everything I need. Doesn't stop me aspiring to own stuff I'd like but I don't GAS for it.

[martin8708]

I agree with BB3000, the more you play , the more you use the " tools of the trade " and the less you think of changing them .
The more free time I have , the more I drift towards the For Sale sections ( just out of curiousity , of course ) and the next thing you know, a new bass or amp arrives on your doorstep .
Its definately true that the Devil finds work for idle hands .

[LeftyBiskit]

[quote name='martin8708' timestamp='1337585715' post='1662188']
I agree with BB3000, the more you play , the more you use the " tools of the trade " and the less you think of changing them .
The more free time I have , the more I drift towards the For Sale sections ( just out of curiousity , of course ) and the next thing you know, a new bass or amp arrives on your doorstep .
Its definately true that the Devil finds work for idle hands .
[/quote]
+1-no gigs this year due to losing our drummer,
his replacement is now being fast-tracked to learning the set,so what to do while i wait???
I went to one of the music shops and played a few basses,next thing you know -gas attack,so i'm selling off all my unused gear to feed it.

[Doctor J]

I enjoy playing and I enjoy bass as a design form too, you know what I mean? I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm a collector. I'm an enthusiast of the instrument as well a player of one. The first thing I do with any new instrument is strip it down, see how all the parts work together. I'm not the kind of person who'd have ten Jazz basses or ten Stingrays, multiples of the same thing, I just don't see the point, but I do see the logic in a variety of different basses which follow different design philosophies. I enjoy the differences, the nuances which make one bass different from the next. There is a lot of variety and creativity in the world of bass which I find fascinating and, as long as the bills get paid, I don't see a problem in pursuing that interest. As vices go, I think it's a pretty minor one. That being said, if a bass doesn't move me or falls too much under the shadow of another I move it on.

As a result, I don't see an end to GAS, but I just don't see the harm in it either. I don't eat the same thing for dinner every day, I don't wear the same style of clothes every day, so why would I stick to just one bass for the rest of my life either? Why would you restrict yourself, for what purpose? I don't want to beat GAS, I see GAS as a sign that the world hasn't broken me down just yet, there's still a spark in me, a continuing fascination in the instrument I first loved as a fourteen year old boy. Long may it continue!

Edited May 21, 2012 by Doctor J

[steve-bbb]

see my current thread

i can suppress the bass GAS but please spare a thought for those of us with GGAS .... 'General' GAS

anyone who is a graphic designer will appreciate the allure of all things cute and shiny - shelf after shelf of gorgeous books that only ever get looked at (mind you a fair number of them are pics/design only so nothing to read - win/win!!)

there is no cure!

[chris_b]

Gas is just about owning toys. These are not toys, they’re tools. You have to know when you sound good enough and when to stop looking.

I only have one piece left in the jigsaw, a good electric acoustic bass.

I played the same bass for over 25 years and most of my main rigs last on average 10 years. The one thing I do think about every day though, is how do I improve my playing?

[ZMech]

I think the cure is to only own/use one bass. Having excess choice is counter-productive as it'll just lead you to wonder whether you've made the right one for a gig.

I can make my spector work perfectly fine for most genres, and whilst I've played nicer basses, none of them would actually make a significant difference to how I sound to the audience. Once you accept this truth, it becomes much easier to move on to focus your attention on important things e.g. actually practising.

[neepheid]

[quote name='ZMech' timestamp='1337590465' post='1662255']
I think the cure is to only own/use one bass. Having excess choice is counter-productive as it'll just lead you to wonder whether you've made the right one for a gig.

I can make my spector work perfectly fine for most genres, and whilst I've played nicer basses, none of them would actually make a significant difference to how I sound to the audience. Once you accept this truth, it becomes much easier to move on to focus your attention on important things e.g. actually practising.
[/quote]

Turning this argument on its head - all basses project the same level of mediocrity when I play them, so I can have as many as I like and take whichever I like to the gig, no-one's going to notice, and no-one (apart from the small subset of society that is bass players) is going to care as long as they can hear/feel it. Making a choice of which bass to play steals maybe 30 seconds from my day. I don't sit there for hours pondering it

[ZMech]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1337590936' post='1662266']
Turning this argument on its head - all basses project the same level of mediocrity when I play them, so I can have as many as I like and take whichever I like to the gig, no-one's going to notice, and no-one (apart from the small subset of society that is bass players) is going to care as long as they can hear/feel it. Making a choice of which bass to play steals maybe 30 seconds from my day. I don't sit there for hours pondering it
[/quote]

Lol, yup, that's kinda what I had in mind with my ending of 'e.g. actually practising'. I wonder what would happen if you compared the amount of hours salary you spent on a bass to the amount you would improve if you spent the equivalent hours on focused methodical practice sessions and maybe a couple of lessons. I know it's not a fair comparison since you would have spent the time at work anyway, but still.

[neepheid]

[quote name='ZMech' timestamp='1337592217' post='1662290']
Lol, yup, that's kinda what I had in mind with my ending of 'e.g. actually practising'. I wonder what would happen if you compared the amount of hours salary you spent on a bass to the amount you would improve if you spent the equivalent hours on focused methodical practice sessions and maybe a couple of lessons. I know it's not a fair comparison since you would have spent the time at work anyway, but still.
[/quote]

Well, what can I say? I practice at work in my lunch hour as well as at home, I take fortnightly lessons AND I like having multiple basses. I'm still a tadpole of a wannabe bass player, I buy basses because I like having them and that's about all there is to it. Bass monogamy doesn't (in my opinion) make a person a superior bass player, call me paranoid if you will but that's what this thread is starting to smell like. It just means they have less basses than me. Oh well. Yay, you play bass too

[ZMech]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1337593209' post='1662315']Bass monogamy doesn't (in my opinion) make a person a superior bass player, call me paranoid if you will but that's what this thread is starting to smell like.
[/quote]

I was thinking the opposite way, that your ability as a bassist is completely independent of the amount of basses you own/play, so why have more than necessary? I guess you might enjoy owning them and playing lots, but having a sonically motivated reason possibly is counter productive.

[musophilr]

The correct number of instruments to own is [i]n[/i]+1 where [i]n[/i] is the number of instruments currently owned. This may also apply to amplifiers and bits of recording equipment.

[TheGreek]

I'm not sure why people have a problem with GAS..

I have multiple basses and they all have different "personalities" - some get played more than others but I try to rotate their use - it's a pleasant surprise when I get a bass out that hasn't been used for a while and I'm reminded why I bought it in the first place. Though I've got a couple up for sale at the moment it's not because they're not good basses - quite the contrary - I've got some great basses that deserve to be played more often than I actually do and I feel that they should be used. I'm just giving other people the opportunity to use them for what they were intended for - playing!! I can be a bit precious about them - if others aren't so precious, all the better.

For me, GAS is an acknowledgement that the grass is greener - "different" isn't the same as "better" - when anybody posts a "[i]what's the best[/i].." thread you can guarantee that there's a broad range of opinions - all are valid, only mine is right. But variety being the spice of life I may end up disagreeing with myself ten minutes later..

If you are satisfied with what you've got..fair play..I like change and though I aspire to being GAS free (..do I really??) I don't actually see this happening when there is such a selection of great equipment out there to try/own.

[BB3000S]

Just thought of a comparison, GAS is a bit like a Hydra - when you give in to it (chopping a head off) it feels good for a while, but eventually one is often times worse off (two heads grows out) GAS wise than before succumbing. "Shut up and play" might sound old, but it actually works the best to me for reducing GAS.

Just had a baby, and in the gigless weeks before/after I came to realize I just *had* to realign my bass collection towards 34" single coil jazz fivestrings. Now that that is done I'm sure as heck not GAS free, even if the jazz fivers still are the dogs balls. GAS just takes on new forms...

[ThomBassmonkey]

Agreeing with most of the points people have made. I think what ZMech's trying to say is that if someone spends a lot of time looking at basses and a lot of money buying them, that time and money would be better spent practicing and getting lessons which makes sense. I certainly know in the past I've put a lot of effort into buying new basses that I didn't really [b]need[/b].

I also agree that GAS isn't about finding something better, it's about finding something different. I just feel like I have two basses and two amps now that are great tools and sound brilliant. It's not the first time I've said it (my Sandbergs!) so I'm definitely not saying "never again", but for the moment I'm quite happy, I don't even really look at the for sale section out of curiosity regularly now. I think maybe I'm quite lucky in that I only want something functional, I like the look of fancy basses but I can't say I'd ever want to own one. I don't think anything would improve my sound now and with me not having a lot of money, I'd have to give up one of my rays to get a new bass and that would only be detrimental to my sound.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1337589282' post='1662236']
I enjoy playing and I enjoy bass as a design form too, you know what I mean? I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm a collector. I'm an enthusiast of the instrument as well a player of one. The first thing I do with any new instrument is strip it down, see how all the parts work together. I'm not the kind of person who'd have ten Jazz basses or ten Stingrays, multiples of the same thing, I just don't see the point, but I do see the logic in a variety of different basses which follow different design philosophies. I enjoy the differences, the nuances which make one bass different from the next. There is a lot of variety and creativity in the world of bass which I find fascinating and, as long as the bills get paid, I don't see a problem in pursuing that interest. As vices go, I think it's a pretty minor one. That being said, if a bass doesn't move me or falls too much under the shadow of another I move it on.

As a result, I don't see an end to GAS, but I just don't see the harm in it either. I don't eat the same thing for dinner every day, I don't wear the same style of clothes every day, so why would I stick to just one bass for the rest of my life either? Why would you restrict yourself, for what purpose? I don't want to beat GAS, I see GAS as a sign that the world hasn't broken me down just yet, there's still a spark in me, a continuing fascination in the instrument I first loved as a fourteen year old boy. Long may it continue!
[/quote]

Very much like myself by the sounds of things.
Everyone's got their "thing" that they like. For less money and aggro than a classic car or a flashy car (for example), I've got a nice selection of instruments to choose from. And yes, it's a mood thing. I'll play whichever I feel like playing.
I've got 10 or so bass guitars, and I've sold 3 to fund other things (and I can't remember what they were!)
I fancy diversifying slightly, so an EUB and perhaps an electric cello may be in the offing.

[LukeFRC]

-A good jazz bass- probably a old tokai or early JV squier one. Or go for an overwater (maybe PJ)
- A Warwick JD thumb bass
- A stingray (2 band)

there you go. that's my GAS list... but a list of what I would want to try at some point. I've had a fair few jazzes and the ones I've had have all been moved on. I would love a thumb- but it probably wouldn't get played much over the streamer (weight more than anything) and a stingray would be cool... but....

I wouldn't play them enough to warent buying them.
At the moment I have a great P bass, like JV have a fairly good reputation- and mine is a cracker. It's lightweight, fits my hand and is so responsive to touch- the amount of sounds out of a single pickup bass is astounding. Could I better it and what it does without spending megabucks... probably not.
My other bass is a warwick streamer- a early one- it's super light, and sounds so good. I didn't like the sound for so long but new pups and a forthcoming new preamp (U retro or ACG... I suppose that's GAS there of a kind) and ill be set. I used to get attracted to pretty pictures of nice and expensive basses- but then it's sounds great, is light and is good to play- could I better that? Probably not.

So no GAS, I won't buy the basses listed above unless I find them for silly money on gumtree or somewhere. I don't need them and am lucky to have the instruments I do.
I have the ultimate in rigs for me which I can't see needed changed in the next 10-20 years and guitar wise I have more 6 strings of high quality that I know what to do with (annoyingly this wasn't planned and I should prob move one on but aww they are both great instruments)
basses are great. Playing them is better


[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1337589394' post='1662238']
see my current thread

i can suppress the bass GAS but please spare a thought for those of us with GGAS .... 'General' GAS

anyone who is a graphic designer will appreciate the allure of all things cute and shiny - shelf after shelf of gorgeous books that only ever get looked at (mind you a fair number of them are pics/design only so nothing to read - win/win!!)

there is no cure!
[/quote] I'm just doing a masters in graphics but my background is in fine art originally- the magpie nature of graphics was shocking when I started. "oooh look pretty things"

[LiamPodmore]

The only cure for GAS is the lack of cash to fund said GAS.

Infact no, ignore that, i'm skint and have quite an adequate GAS list at the moment.

Liam

[BassTractor]

GAS is curable, and I'm pretty sure of this, but all the funds these days are going to what is considered more important medical research. So I think we must rather live _with_ it than against it.

That aside, for me GAS is about curiosity, and a feeling of needing to know how different pups, necks, strings, pup placements, etc.etc. are.
I feel I have to have experienced, thoroughly, some different necks dimensions, string spacings, materials used, etc. before settling for a tiny collection of gear I love more than the rest.
I think the core of my GAS is a lack of knowledge.

Also, for 300 quid, I can hang a print of an unknown artist on the wall, or a quite nice bass. A no-brainer.


best,
bert