Are we guitarists the absolute worst about buying stuff for our stuff? Who is worse than we are?

[Flat6Driver]

As high vis beacons I think they’re pretty effective because I noticed all those alabaster shoes first thing , as I was in my car. The desired effect? I’m sure , But since so many of those dudes wear pro team jerseys * while they’re riding, I don’t give them much benefit of the doubt as to their dorkiness.

* imagine a rec softball league and most of the guys are wearing authentic Yankees or Red Sox uniforms…

Eric Clapton, etc signature guitar? Same thing.

 

[Flat6Driver]

True. That said, there are a lot of folks (I'm guilty as charged) whose GAS has been fueled by the advent of large online markets for used goods like eBay, Craigslist, etc. . . I buy mostly used stuff for my hobbies, but probably spend more buying more used stuff than I would if buying new.

I bought more guitar gear since joining this site than the prior 20 years combined. I didn't know I *needed* all this stuff I didn't know existed.

 

[Killing Floor]

There is more than one kind of GAS.

 

[Lou Tencodpees]

It's not stuff! It's a necessity!

 

[ChicknPickn]

Check out competitive cyclists. OMG. The threads on chain lube . . . . endless and fierce. Cheap vs. Crazy Expensive, and on and on.

 

[willietheweirdo]

Lots of good ones here... here's one that's popular with the ladies in my area: Equestrianism.

Also, lots of overlap but an honorable mention to our aviation geeks.

 

[DougM]

No mention of audiophiles? Pucks to place on top of you speakers to "tune out" the cabinet resonances (I knew a guy who owned a high end audio salon who strategically placed pennies on top of his multi-kilobuck speakers in his showroom), $2,000 power cables, $20,000 speaker cables, $10,000 phono cartridges, special platter mats, record clamps, multiple adjustment devices for your phono cartridge, power conditioners that cost more than a car, feet for your equipment's feet, cable lifters (because if they touch the floor they lose their mojo), "audiophile" fuses for their amps and other gear with solid silver wire and endcaps, multiple room treatments of every possible shape and size, and on and on and on, etc.

 

[sax4blues]

… since so many of those dudes wear pro team jerseys * while they’re riding, I don’t give them much benefit of the doubt as to their dorkiness.

* imagine a rec softball league and most of the guys are wearing authentic Yankees or Red Sox uniforms…

Here we agree. I tried to have this discussion with my son, but he just goes to the Sharks hockey wearing $200+ pro jersey like they’re gonna call him out of stands. I might have seen a couple monkeys in the stands last weekend football games.

 

[Robert Alger]

Fly fishing can be nuts. A bit like tying your own guitar strings when your not out playing.

 

[bholder]

As a bassist first, I can say we've got it just as bad...

 

[johnnylaw]

Ask your drummer and report back here.

 

[StrangerNY]

One of my best friends owns a boat. A BIG boat. He spends more on filling his fuel tanks for a weekend of cruising around Long Island Sound than I spent on my last guitar.

I think a lot of older players eventually get over buying stuff for the sake of it. I know I have. I have a few amps in good working condition that I've accrued over the years. I've got a modeling board that takes away the temptation of buying different amps to get 'that' sound, and it works with all of the amps that I gig with. I've got a bunch of guitars that let me pick and choose the tones I'm after, so I'm not really looking for another guitar.

My last guitar-related purchase was a few guitar straps because I've had a few for so long they got unreliable as far as keeping my guitars from crashing to the floor goes. I've got jars full of picks, and I buy strings as I need them.

Am I the exception to the rule here? I kinda doubt it.

- D

 

[chris m.]

Great examples. Take a dose of good old modern consumerism, combine it with the mostly male gene for collecting, throw on a big dollop of "upgrade" urges, stir it with Keeping-Up-With-the-Jones-on-the-Internet, and you end up with a full-blown, metastasized, terminal case of recurring GAS. Spice with a little post facto rationalization...."I always sell it for the same or more than I paid"; "I'm buying used and getting great deals"; "this stuff is going to be really valuable one day"....

Some of it is probably also driven by trying to fill an emotional hole with stuff, which never works, whether it be binging on Ben & Jerry's or effects pedals.

When I see someone like Jay Leno collecting hundreds of really expensive cars, or Jeff Bezos with his rockets, or Arabian sultans with their hawks and Arabian race horses, I just think, "rich people will always find creative ways to spend their money."

 

[noname_dragon]

model railroads

 

[jumpnblues]

No mention of audiophiles? Pucks to place on top of you speakers to "tune out" the cabinet resonances (I knew a guy who owned a high end audio salon who strategically placed pennies on top of his multi-kilobuck speakers in his showroom), $2,000 power cables, $20,000 speaker cables, $10,000 phono cartridges, special platter mats, record clamps, multiple adjustment devices for your phono cartridge, power conditioners that cost more than a car, feet for your equipment's feet, cable lifters (because if they touch the floor they lose their mojo), "audiophile" fuses for their amps and other gear with solid silver wire and endcaps, multiple room treatments of every possible shape and size, and on and on and on, etc.

Ya beat me to it...audiophiles. I are one!

 

[Mike Eskimo]

Stuff for your stuff ?

An opposite example is this guy Jason Sinay, who is in the dirty knobs band with Mike Campbell. Really good player and, an heir to a pretty large fortune. Actually, a really large fortune.

Has a crazy good vintage guitar collection and yet when he posts stuff on Instagram from home , which is most of his clips, he’s playing through a boss katana 50 !

So like a real 1958 Les Paul or a bunch of 335/345/355 thin lines, or his number one Guitar which is a 1967 custom colored Strat ? all through the Katana.

He has probably helped sell a lot of them because he always gets a great tone out of that thing

 

[dsutton24]

My stuff's stuff has stuff.

 

[chris m.]

My stuff's stuff has stuff.

Remember George Carlin's routine about stuff? You also need suitcases, shelves, storage bins, etc., for your stuff. Even rented storage units!

 

[Buckaroo65]

Anybody ever sneak a look inside of a purse? We‘re nothing but rank amateurs…

 

[marc2211]

My wife's passion is horses, we have 5. She rides in dressage competions, hacks out in the countryside and also enjoys carriage riding.

The stuff she needs and buys for the horses dwarfs my guitar collection and related pedals, amps and all. The horses are probably more to buy, and you also have the ongoing cost of feeding them, vets bills, tack, saddles, kit... you name it!