great video about GAS and urge of buying new gear

dendy

Jeremy really nailed it.

Plus it can be applied same also to apps GAS .. strongly suggesting to watch it !

raabje

Yes I watched that video, someone linked it in the Gaslist topic.

Comments section is also very insightful. Off course it is all common sense, but nevertheless good to hear this message again.

My own problem with GAS is that I don´t actually buy stuff, but I always think about little stuff I could use, like a new Zoom handheld recorder, or a pre amp, or a AB switching guitar pedal, that kind of peripherals. So I always have this thoughts in the back of my mind. This video is a good reality check. In the end for me it is about writing music, and all I need is a guitar, and a pen and paper to get it done.

MatthewKay

I, too, watched this video on the GAS list thread. My GAS is compounded by the fact I am also an avid backpacker/hiker/camper. That is a whole different set of gear, but the advice in the video is still relevant. So little time, so much cool gear. Oh, and the money, never enough.

god

Great vid, spot on!

zilld2017

@dendy said:

Plus it can be applied same also to apps GAS .. strongly suggesting to watch it !

GAS….Gear_?_Syndrome.

steve99

@raabje said:

In the end for me it is about writing music, and all I need is a guitar, and a pen and paper to get it done.

+1... Any particular pen recommendations?

DMfan

@zilld2017 said:

@dendy said:

Plus it can be applied same also to apps GAS .. strongly suggesting to watch it !

GAS….Gear_?_Syndrome.

Gear Aquisition Syndrome

/DMfan🇸🇪

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

NoncompliantBryant

@mambonassau said:
I’ve started blocking/ignoring folks on the AB forum that regularly shill for new HW - or, beyond that, just seem overly susceptible to YT’s Shiny New Toy contingent. I’m all for rallying around new apps, but the “let’s all sell things to each other” aspect of online music spaces can get pretty gross & tiresome (& weirdly anti-art). This vid does a good job of painting modern GAS as the late capitalist, consumer-vs-citizen fever dream it is.

Anti-art. Nailed it.

Gavinski

Yeah I enjoyed this video. Getting access to the number of apps I do for review, I can tell you hundred percent that too much new gear / too many new apps is a disaster if you actually want to focus on making finished pieces. If you're happy to play and dabble, it can be fun. But if you're just buying apps and not learning them, you're really just an addict and need to reassess whether that's the road you want to go down. I am now a lot more picky in what I actually decide to invest my time in. If I get given an app that I don't resonate with fairly quickly I just don't waste my time with it unless there is almost zero learning curve or unless I have seen definitively from The video or manual that despite the initial impression, I will likely grow to love this. UI / UX too bad? Not gonna waste my time. Too similar to what I've already got? Not gonna bother. Could fairly painlessly do the same thing combining a few other apps? Just make a chain in aum, save it and import it. Only spend time learning the interesting and innovative things. I'll happily spend hours or weeks learning something that's worth it and truly resonates with me. Very few things end up being used very regularly. You really don't need tons of different apps. Better to use that time perfecting skills and honing your taste.

dendy

@mambonassau said:
late capitalist, consumer-vs-citizen fever dream it is.

please, we should not start mess this with politics and ideology.. it has really nothingh to do with it, leave politics and ideology for policians scum ..

Wyvern

A short time ago I wrote a post here about taking a minimalist approach to music creation and this video resonated with me so thanks for posting it. With so many apps and HW around these days, it's tempting to spend vast amounts of cash then spend a lot of time learning about them, or not using them, rather than actually creating music. That's why my current project (a four track EP) has so far only used NS2 and its stock patches and IAPs, along with my Minilab MK III. I know there's a lot of great apps out there and some desirable gear, but I've got enough apps and HW to be going along with for some time. I'll work with what I have.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

dendy

@mambonassau
Let's be honest: to create things, we primarily need time and space, not new stuff

We are different.. i have multiple pieces of hw and i don’t use everything always.. i took some of them, i keep myself inspired by possibilities of that gear (which are different foe each obe, different feature set, different overall sound, etc)..

or i combine some of them together .. next time i pick other one .. it may happen that i don’t touch some piece of hw or app for half of year and then “snap” and for next month it is main source of my creativity.. so buying new stuff is for me like adding to pool of possible inspirational tools .. if some tool fails to inspire me for longer time i just sell it and buy other one ..

So i don’t think “GAS” is inevitably bad thing .. for years huge amount of gear went through my hands and i made some music with almost every piece ..

New gear, new app - for me almost always means new music.

So i don’t feel urge to fight with “GAS”, i don’t see it really as something wrong .. i embraced selling / buyinh stuff as integral process of my creative cycles …

audiblevideo

@mambonassau spot on and well articulated

Gavinski

@mambonassau said:
"Late capitalism" isn't a political term, but rather a concept used in critical/media theory discourse to distinguish the current era of capitalism from its descendants (e.g. the industrial and agricultural eras), the idea being that the post-WWII rise of mass media and its proliferation of images, as well as the decline of certain major socialist/communist powers (like the U.S.S.R.), has changed how citizens both conceive of and interact with capital. It also considers how the late 20th/early 21st century movement into a globalized economy, the West's love affair with tech, and what Reagan termed "post-industrialism" - that is, a large-scale shift in focus from producing physical goods to providing software/services/branding - have changed the way many people and nations operate on a day-to-day basis. While the term includes the political trends of this era, it is essentially neutral, as it means only to provide a broad, overarching name for a group of interrelated cultural circumstances.

I teach college classes that discuss this subject, and I assure you they are not anti- (or pro-, for that matter) capitalist. Instead, our main purpose is to deconstruct what Roland Barthes calls mythologies - that is, the stories cultures tell themselves about themselves. These stories, whether we notice them or not, undergird everyday interactions with both human beings and media. As Dick Hebdige might put it, there is a clear throughline between culture and hegemony:

Culture (lived social reality) is based on mythology (stories a society tells itself about itself), which is based on ideology (the hidden mores and assumptions expressed by those stories) - which itself expresses the desires of hegemony (the forces that hold the most power in a society)

For the purposes of this convo, the point is that most of us live in a capitalist society/culture. Whatever hegemonic forces may be at the "top" of our society, capitalism remains a guiding aspect of our story about ourselves, and I don't think it's controversial to suggest that our behavior as citizens tends to be circumscribed by that reality. The idea that the culture trains us to be consumers rather than citizens was taught to me by a dyed-in-the-wool conservative Civics teacher in high school; it is not innately partisan. Acknowledging our relationship with capitalism doesn't mean it's terrible, nor that we'd be better off without it. Instead, it just lets us in on an open secret: that we're all taught to be high-level consumers from a young age. Heck, I literally took a class in consumer economics in that very same high school! To me, this is (again) a neutral idea, meant more to encourage a kind of mindfulness than anything. Consumption keeps the economy going, sure, but we're allowed to be and do other things; our social, economic, and political power is not solely bound up in our ability to purchase products.

Complicating things is that there is, in fact, pleasure to be found in consumption. In a society that valorizes accumulation and purchase power - that is, one where amassing new capital is newsworthy and spending money is considered a kind of speech - buying new things can provide as reliable a dopamine hit as food or sex, as can be seen in countless YT unboxing videos. (You can also see this pleasure taught and enforced by commercials, which exist entirely to dangle that potential dopamine hit in your face.) Again, this is not a problem in itself... unless it becomes compulsive or "mindless" desire masquerading as a need. GAS, like sex addiction or an eating disorder, is insidious because it takes a normal, healthy requirement of being a musician (the gathering of specific tools) and turns it into an aching, self-torturing preoccupation. Insofar as being a member of modern society demands an equilibrium between the yin/yang of our citizen and consumer roles, it upsets that balance in favor of the anxious, not-so-cheap thrill of instant - but fleeting - gratification. The Internet is nothing if not a relentless advertising platform that traces your search histories and site visits, so what used to be a mild craving whetted by a good review in SOS, Computer Music, Recording, or Tape Op has become a deathless whim-to-obsession pipeline. Any tech sector goon could tell you this is intentional, FOMO by design. And we should be wary of how our behavior is being shaped by its algorithmic force - both as consumers and as people interacting with each other on a forum. There's a thin-but-important line between talking about an instrument/app and giving it free, over-the-top advertising.

Let's be honest: to create things, we primarily need time and space, not new stuff. J Dilla learned his MPC backwards and forwards, Robert Pollard/Tobin Sprout and Bruce Springsteen spent years with their 4-tracks, and Kevin Shields took months off from recording Loveless to figure out an AKAI S1000 sampler. Gang of Four used solid state amps and DnB's superstars used cheap software trackers. Jack White played a cheap plastic guitar for most live gigs, while Ian MacKaye from Fugazi famously used no pedals of any kind with his Gibson SG and Marshall JCM800. If I have a specific beef with any aspect of late capitalism, it's that an ideology of convenience has become a huge part of the Western consciousness. There is a tendency to say we haven't "bonded" with a piece of gear or software well before we've attempted to go deep with it. As the vid suggests, the greatest cure for GAS is to learn the gear you have. Again, this doesn't mean avoiding consumption of gear or participation in capitalism - just that buying tools shouldn't feel compulsory or cause psychic torment/weird yearnings. And if it does, it shouldn't be controversial to interrogate why.

Brilliant post, and a very welcome relief to see someone who actually understands such things deeply commenting on them. There are far too many armchair philosophers / theorists / economists on social media today who don't have the first clue what they're talking about 😂

krassmann

A little honesty helps to see GAS more clearly. I know it’s maybe not helpful for my progress as a musician, but checking out new gear is great fun. It’s entertainment and there’s nothing bad about spending money for entertainment. If you fall into that GAS category then reduce the financial impact of GAS by selling gear that you don’t use anymore. That works well for hardware and desktop software but iOS is a „GAS trap“ because we can’t sell our apps. One more reason why I wouldn’t buy a 400 Euro software for the iPad.

Gavinski

Yeah there is a lot that can be learnt by 'just playing around', dabbling and experimenting. People with very fixed ideas of what they want and who specifically seek out the exact tools to achieve it, often make music - and by extension - think and live - in ways that lack creativity and don't bring much pleasure to them or to others. Like most things, it's about balance.

@krassmann said:
A little honesty helps to see GAS more clearly. I know it’s maybe not helpful for my progress as a musician, but checking out new gear is great fun. It’s entertainment and there’s nothing bad about spending money for entertainment. If you fall into that GAS category then reduce the financial impact of GAS by selling gear that you don’t use anymore. Tht works well for hardware and desktop software but iOS is a „GAS trap“ because we can’t sell our apps. One more reason why I wouldn’t buy a 400 Euro software for the iPad.

dendy

@Gavinski
Yeah there is a lot that can be learnt by 'just playing around', dabbling and experimenting. People with very fixed ideas of what they want and who specifically seek out the exact tools to achieve it, often make music - and by extension - think and live - in ways that lack creativity and don't bring much pleasure to them or to others. Like most things, it's about balance.

Just partially true.. If i have very specific idea of what music i want to make, what kind of sounds i want to use - i need tools (apps or hw) which are CAPABLE of doing that sounds or that workflow needed for music of my choice. If i need FM sounds, i need FM synth, if i want use samples, i need sampler - i can't grab guitar and do same ))

Exprimenting with various tools (app/hw) just to see what they area capable of is also integral part of creative process - no doubt. Often it leads to happy accidents and creates basis for new music.

But you can't force people use Nanostudio 2 if recording long audio or using timestretching for sample loops is crucial for musical style they want to do, or AUM if classic linear sequencer with timeline, tracks all at one place (one view) is what they need for creating full track.

Gavinski

@dendy said:

@Gavinski
Yeah there is a lot that can be learnt by 'just playing around', dabbling and experimenting. People with very fixed ideas of what they want and who specifically seek out the exact tools to achieve it, often make music - and by extension - think and live - in ways that lack creativity and don't bring much pleasure to them or to others. Like most things, it's about balance.

Just partially true.. If i have very specific idea of what music i want to make, what kind of sounds i want to use - i need tools (apps or hw) which are CAPABLE of doing that sounds or that workflow needed for music of my choice. If i need FM sounds, i need FM synth, if i want use samples, i need sampler - i can't grab guitar and do same ))

Exprimenting with various tools (app/hw) just to see what they area capable of is also integral part of creative process - no doubt. Often it leads to happy accidents and creates basis for new music.

But you can't force people use Nanostudio 2 if recording long audio or using timestretching for sample loops is crucial for musical style they want to do, or AUM if classic linear sequencer with timeline, tracks all at one place (one view) is what they need for creating full track.

True Dendy

ervin

Ironically, this "anti-consumerist" video fits perfectly into the wave of YouTube videos where influencers and other content creators renounce their earthly possessions, sell all their gear, get back to their roots, go acoustic etc. Pretty much everyone seems to do this at some point. And, remarkably, they never fail to make a video about it, so it can generate some numbers. 🙂 This way, anti-consumerism becomes a vehicle for capitalism as well, for those who prefer the philosophical approach.

The logical ultimate goal would be a YouTube video on why people should not make YouTube videos. I'm sure it already exists.

Kashi

@krassmann said:
A little honesty helps to see GAS more clearly. I know it’s maybe not helpful for my progress as a musician, but checking out new gear is great fun. It’s entertainment and there’s nothing bad about spending money for entertainment. If you fall into that GAS category then reduce the financial impact of GAS by selling gear that you don’t use anymore. That works well for hardware and desktop software but iOS is a „GAS trap“ because we can’t sell our apps. One more reason why I wouldn’t buy a 400 Euro software for the iPad.

Just to play devil's advocate a little bit. There IS something bad about spending money for entertainment if everyone is doing it without any moral consideration for the environmental impact of phones/hardware, and the ethical implications of how and where they're made. I'm not preaching, because I'm guilty too - but I don't think it's ok to say (as others have done, not you @krassman), that if you have unlimited funds then just do whatever the hell you want. Our actions have consequences.

Gavinski

@Kashi said:

@krassmann said:
A little honesty helps to see GAS more clearly. I know it’s maybe not helpful for my progress as a musician, but checking out new gear is great fun. It’s entertainment and there’s nothing bad about spending money for entertainment. If you fall into that GAS category then reduce the financial impact of GAS by selling gear that you don’t use anymore. That works well for hardware and desktop software but iOS is a „GAS trap“ because we can’t sell our apps. One more reason why I wouldn’t buy a 400 Euro software for the iPad.

Just to play devil's advocate a little bit. There IS something bad about spending money for entertainment if everyone is doing it without any moral consideration for the environmental impact of phones/hardware, and the ethical implications of how and where they're made. I'm not preaching, because I'm guilty too - but I don't think it's ok to say (as others have done, not you @krassman), that if you have unlimited funds then just do whatever the hell you want. Our actions have consequences.

Yes this is true and I thought about it also while posting but decided that would already be obvious to those who agree, but some would then hijack an interesting thread and make it about politics etc.

Kashi

@Gavinski said:

@Kashi said:

@krassmann said:
A little honesty helps to see GAS more clearly. I know it’s maybe not helpful for my progress as a musician, but checking out new gear is great fun. It’s entertainment and there’s nothing bad about spending money for entertainment. If you fall into that GAS category then reduce the financial impact of GAS by selling gear that you don’t use anymore. That works well for hardware and desktop software but iOS is a „GAS trap“ because we can’t sell our apps. One more reason why I wouldn’t buy a 400 Euro software for the iPad.

Just to play devil's advocate a little bit. There IS something bad about spending money for entertainment if everyone is doing it without any moral consideration for the environmental impact of phones/hardware, and the ethical implications of how and where they're made. I'm not preaching, because I'm guilty too - but I don't think it's ok to say (as others have done, not you @krassman), that if you have unlimited funds then just do whatever the hell you want. Our actions have consequences.

Yes this is true and I thought about it also while posting but decided that would already be obvious to those who agree, but some would then hijack an interesting thread and make it about politics etc.

I hear ya @Gavinski ....but I'm saying that everything is about politics, in the broader sense,... without referring to specific ideologies, and people's proclivities towards the usual left/right paradigm.

ervin

(silly comment, deleted)

krassmann

@Kashi said:

@krassmann said:
A little honesty helps to see GAS more clearly. I know it’s maybe not helpful for my progress as a musician, but checking out new gear is great fun. It’s entertainment and there’s nothing bad about spending money for entertainment. If you fall into that GAS category then reduce the financial impact of GAS by selling gear that you don’t use anymore. That works well for hardware and desktop software but iOS is a „GAS trap“ because we can’t sell our apps. One more reason why I wouldn’t buy a 400 Euro software for the iPad.

Just to play devil's advocate a little bit. There IS something bad about spending money for entertainment if everyone is doing it without any moral consideration for the environmental impact of phones/hardware, and the ethical implications of how and where they're made. I'm not preaching, because I'm guilty too - but I don't think it's ok to say (as others have done, not you @krassman), that if you have unlimited funds then just do whatever the hell you want. Our actions have consequences.

Absolutely agree. I actually watch my eco footprint. I don’t own a car but commute by bike or public transport, I’m living in an inner city apartment instead if a spacious house with long commutes, I’m buying organic and local food all the time, I rather repair instead replace, I buy second hand if possible. So I feel it’s okay to have this litte vice. Moreover most of my hardware and expensive software I bought second hand and I sell it when I don’t use it anymore. Call it mindful GAS if you like. Maybe it’s hypocrisy what I‘m doing but I try my best.

Kashi

@krassmann said:

@Kashi said:

@krassmann said:
A little honesty helps to see GAS more clearly. I know it’s maybe not helpful for my progress as a musician, but checking out new gear is great fun. It’s entertainment and there’s nothing bad about spending money for entertainment. If you fall into that GAS category then reduce the financial impact of GAS by selling gear that you don’t use anymore. That works well for hardware and desktop software but iOS is a „GAS trap“ because we can’t sell our apps. One more reason why I wouldn’t buy a 400 Euro software for the iPad.

Just to play devil's advocate a little bit. There IS something bad about spending money for entertainment if everyone is doing it without any moral consideration for the environmental impact of phones/hardware, and the ethical implications of how and where they're made. I'm not preaching, because I'm guilty too - but I don't think it's ok to say (as others have done, not you @krassman), that if you have unlimited funds then just do whatever the hell you want. Our actions have consequences.

Absolutely agree. I actually watch my eco footprint. I don’t own a car but commute by bike or public transport, I’m living in an inner city apartment instead if a spacious house with long commutes, I’m buying organic food all the time, I rather repair instead replace, I buy second hand if possible. So I feel it’s okay to have this litte vice. Moreover most of my hardware and expensive software I bought second hand and I sell it when I don’t use it anymore. Call it mindful GAS if you like. Maybe it’s hypocrisy what I‘m doing but I try my best.

Cool.
I hope you don't think my comment was aimed directly at you man Was simply taking something you said as a way to then open up the conversation a little bit .
Impossible to avoid hypocrisy I think. But important not to beat ourselves up over it, and to all do what we can.
Peace.

krassmann

@Kashi said:

@krassmann said:

@Kashi said:

@krassmann said:
A little honesty helps to see GAS more clearly. I know it’s maybe not helpful for my progress as a musician, but checking out new gear is great fun. It’s entertainment and there’s nothing bad about spending money for entertainment. If you fall into that GAS category then reduce the financial impact of GAS by selling gear that you don’t use anymore. That works well for hardware and desktop software but iOS is a „GAS trap“ because we can’t sell our apps. One more reason why I wouldn’t buy a 400 Euro software for the iPad.

Just to play devil's advocate a little bit. There IS something bad about spending money for entertainment if everyone is doing it without any moral consideration for the environmental impact of phones/hardware, and the ethical implications of how and where they're made. I'm not preaching, because I'm guilty too - but I don't think it's ok to say (as others have done, not you @krassman), that if you have unlimited funds then just do whatever the hell you want. Our actions have consequences.

Absolutely agree. I actually watch my eco footprint. I don’t own a car but commute by bike or public transport, I’m living in an inner city apartment instead if a spacious house with long commutes, I’m buying organic food all the time, I rather repair instead replace, I buy second hand if possible. So I feel it’s okay to have this litte vice. Moreover most of my hardware and expensive software I bought second hand and I sell it when I don’t use it anymore. Call it mindful GAS if you like. Maybe it’s hypocrisy what I‘m doing but I try my best.

Cool.
I hope you don't think my comment was aimed directly at you man Was simply taking something you said as a way to then open up the conversation a little bit .
Impossible to avoid hypocrisy I think. But important not to beat ourselves up over it, and to all do what we can.
Peace.

Not at all. I did not take your comment as an attack on me. I think it's always good to remind about that aspect. Actually, I believe that regarding climate and ecology with our choices as consumers, we have far more power to change something than with our ballot vote.

Gavinski

Same. I don't have a car, I don't have kids and never plan to. Don't fly much. Not planning on buying a new ipad til my 2018 one seems on its last legs. Have had the same phone for 4 years. Gives me a bit of leeway I reckon

dendy

@ervin said:
Ironically, this "anti-consumerist" video fits perfectly into the wave of YouTube videos where influencers and other content creators renounce their earthly possessions, sell all their gear, get back to their roots, go acoustic etc.

Don't think this is case of Jeremy (Red Means Recording) .. i'm following his for pretty long time and he is one of few youtubers who are always honest ... he is really good guy, very fair. There is lot of truth on what he is saying there and i'm pretty sure it's his true honest opinion - yeah, he needs create content because obviously creating content is his main source of income .. but his content is honest. I simply believe him there is not cold calculation like "i make this one to get more views, even throught fuck it it's not my honest opinion".. that's just not him.

Tarekith

In his last video he seemed like he was having a bit of a mental breakdown. Maybe he needs to buy more synths not less….