ilovefuzz.com

Hey buddies,


since I am in constant need of money in these last couple of months and nothing will change so soon I have been thinking about consumerism in general and GAS in particular. I wonder where does it come from? All of you guys know it probably, the feeling that you absolutely and imperatively NEED a particular pedal NOW! But actually no one does. It's a nice to have in 99 percent of the cases but still we think we need it. Why?


I can give you the answer for me, but I am sure that it's different for all of us. I was wondering where does your GAS come from?


My answer lies hidden here:

I started really early, with trading cards. Then it moved to video games. Then it moved to music for much of my high school years, records, CDs, tapes. Now it' gear. It's probably because I was an only child and when I was younger I was never really told I couldnt have anything. Kind of blows now because you ALL know how much shit I go through. My freshman year of college was also really rough and I tried to find happiness in buying shit. Now it's just a habit.

I like your answer Phantasmagoric. I can relate to big parts of that.
For me, I like trading, I am into the hunt. I like knowing I want something, knowing that someone has it, and making it happen. I find that fun.
It gives me a way to get out of myself and get a break from reality, that is okay in small bits, but dangerous if I neglect other parts of my life.
GAS is my hobby.
Comic Books, Star Wars toys, I get locked into collecting too.

it's a combination for me...gear is expensive enough that i can't indulge my magpie "OOH, SHINY!" impulse as much as i might, but having sold off a bunch of stuff i bought when i didn't really know what i wanted i'm not in a huge hurry to get more stuff. e.g. i have five fuzzes--six if we count the Phantom Ring--and a boost on my board, and i'm kind of covered in that regard for the moment. i'd like a Randy's Revenge, a two (or multi!) channel looper to replace my cobbled-together looping rig, and a twelve-stage phaser, but to me that's because those are tools i need to finish my sound-shaping toolbox. on the other hand, if i was rolling in dollars i'd buy three or four things i don't need at all because i just like them: a Wren & Cuff Tall Font Russian, one of those Red Llama analog delays, a couple of things from Ghost Effects. that's GAS. in the real world i'm fixing to sell guitars i don't much play or use in order to fund my potential relocation. in the land of GAS i want a Gretsch Country Gentleman, a six-string jumbo acoustic, a parlor guitar, a Precision Bass, and a semi-hollowbody bass even though the only things i can make a logical case for (i.e. would probably ever play) are the Gretsch and the P-Bass. why? because they're nice things that make me happy. if i could afford to fill an apartment with Tiffany lamps, i'd do that, too. i love musical instruments because they combine functionality and craftsmanship.

Compensating for lack of adequate sized junk

I am pretty sure that all the GAS I used to have results from my dire need to be perfect. In hunting for gear, you delay having to stare yourself and your instrument in the face and be what you are/are not. Hunting and trying and testing and hunting some more is seeking to fulfill the delusion that you are being held back by the lack of some tool rather than the lack of time/effort/energy/ability. When you don't have those things it's ok if something doesn't sound good or work out because it's not your fault. When you realize that this is all a grand fallacy you are forced to admit that the monster in your way is really your crippling fear of failure.

Since debunking this belief in myself I don't really GAS that much anymore. I just sit here and feel bad about myself for what I can't/don't do. The worst part about it is knowing that I could more than likely achieve things that would be extremely satisfying personally (as I have done fleetingly in the past on a few occasions) but instead I just waste away and lament.

I have an addiction to rare books
It tends to trump all GAS for anything else.
Most of my treasured books are in a fire safe in a storage unit. I cant let them go and I do not understand why.
I have lots of gas for music related things but that is a lot harder to hide from my wife than a book or two

I feel you. When I was very very depressed several years ago before I was married I would fill holes in my life with things. Just like sex, when I was a teen it was all what I wanted, the new game system, computer system, clothing or musical gear.

My parents who had nothing growing up have for my entire adult life spoiled my brother and I too extraordinary ends. I struggled to ask myself why they did this, because I never felt I was "good enough for them" but I realized that it was the one way that they could show affection and be satisfied knowing I was happy. Giving me the childhood that they never ever had.

My 20's and especially in the few years I started playing music again, all of my funds has been towards the short shots of happiness that buying something gives you. Even today, I still kind of spend to excess but that is only with the blessing of my wife and I have to check in with her on almost everything I do over 200.00

However, I am starting to learn the meaning of what "happy" is for me. I know that filling it with crap will never ever fix that but I have come to embrace all of the gifts I have had and continue to have and take enjoyment out of it. I may buy and flip music gear and spend hours on my computer but I have never been having a much fun as I am now if I had not gotten myself out of depression.

I have learned to "let go of all the money I wasted" and instead say "fuck man, that was a lot of fun"

Because you can't spend money when you're dead.

Plus things still hold value.. vs numbers on a computer in a banking system waiting to be hacked.

Because we're hunter gatherers not so deep below the skin.
Thank you EO Wilson for that fucking meme, but it's kinda true.
And dopamine....actually I'm pretty sure it's mostly just dopamine.

GAS cured by Pipe Amp. Fuzz I can take ANYWHERE. My only GAS now is for Magic the Gathering cards. And compared to a lot of guys that play, it's not severe at all.

http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/four ... tml#truth1
http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/four ... tml#truth2
http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/four ... tml#truth3
http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/four ... tml#truth4
All GAS is suffering

Because....shiny?

gold rangz nice thangz