Epiphany: gear buying/ flipping= waste of time.

[HanJolo]

All that making music activity gets in the way of my gear flipping

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Ok, so the title speaks for itself. And this obviously doesn't apply to everyone, but definitely to me.

It definitely can if you end up playing less and spend the majority of your time buying/selling/flipping. Some purposely choose that path, and make the buying/selling the main hobby and playing secondary.

It's good when you can recognize it and reign yourself in appropriate to your situation/goals.

The buying/flipping can be useful when you are realigning/reassessing your gear needs due to changing life/playing situations or changing style/genre of music imo.

i didn't flip so much as i built up my collection. one of the things about having an amp collection is that you have to maintain it as well. there are hidden costs involved with that. same thing applies to guitars etc. as well.

Very true. If you start collecting and the collection grows past the point of being able to play through all the gear at least occasionally you may run into maintenance issues.

For me if I'm not using a piece of gear at least semi-regularly I usually don't want it around.

I do enjoy looking at large collections though.

 

[Anonymous]

i flipped my share of gear too, a lot of it "pre-internet" and some of it in the early 2000's.

a bunch of years ago, i bought an amp i loved, it shit the bed, so i learned to fix it, and modded it. then i bought an amp from a friend i always wanted to try, and ended up modding the shit out of it.

i love both amps..and while the gear lust is still there (i still at some point want to get a NMV vintage marshall and a mesa mark V and a few other odds n ends including a kemper), i find that i'm fairly happy with my tone. i've also been doing a bunch of tone tests with different mic positions with the same mic. eventually i plan to get a few more mics and continue my experiments with different mics in the same positions.

ugh..it never ends!

 

[voodooradio1]

Gear flipping can definitely cut into playing time, but I don't consider it a waste of time if it is being done for the right purpose. I have seen some excellent players that know zip about how to get good tone out of the simplest of amps, and that lack of knowledge is evident when you hear them in a live setting. Amps are tools of the trade, so knowing how to get the goods out of many different models will serve you well in the long run. Nothing worse than showing up to a provided back line and not having a clue about the amp you are going to be playing through.
If you feel that you are investing too much time on gear, then you are. Doesn't mean that you have to stop altogether. Just adjust the balance a bit by playing more than you shop or tweak. For me, flipping gear was the path that led to my holy grail amp and guitar. It took a while, but I learned a lot about what I do and don't want along the way.

 

[glip22]

Way easier said than done. If your thread and outing yourself helps I'm in I have been doing pretty good with enjoying what I have. It' still very difficult not to start looking and obsessing. This is what it is, an obsession

 

[nigelpkay]

I've been through all that too, and have calmed down the past few months.. sort of...
It's just like anything, you want to try new things, guitars, amps, pedals, strings, picks, the grass is always greener.. the list goes on. But when it gets to the point when you are micromanaging your tone, checking classified ads/Ebay every day, and generally just wasting time and money when you should be playing, yeah its time to stop. I hit that wall.

I think it's true that a gigging musician and/or one that writes music for a living doesn't have a lot time to try out and play new gear. They just need something that's reliable and works. I don't think I've ever seen any major musician with a lot of boutique gear. When they are on the road, they just want something that feels comfortable, sounds good, and most importantly *reliable*. I've seen so many big-name guitarists come through where I live, and most on here would be shocked at what they use. Guitars are usually the standards, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez... Usually standard backline amps like Marshall DSLs, Dual Rec's, a bunch of Boss pedals, and probably the cheapest cables you've ever seen in your life that probably came from the nearest Radio Shack. Why.... because they just work and they are easy to obtain.

Then there's the hobbiest who just loves music, amps and guitars, and always wants to try new gear. Nothing wrong with that. I've learned so much from those guys that get new gear all the time and post reviews on Youtube and boards like this. It's what they love to do.

Then there's some of us in between who feel like we haven't found "our" sound, and end up flipping a lot of gear to find it. It sucks, and always seem to end up back where I started. Once I hit that circle too many times, I knew it was time to stop.
So for me, it's now Fender/Gibson > Overdrive > Marshall > Done (and I don't sweat about which guitar/amp/overdrive is in between

 

[fappen]

I have been through hell of a lot of gear over the last few years, culminating in owning around three amps in a three month period, all of which were traded or sold to fund a European holiday. Totally worth it, but now with a VH100R and the burning desire and lust over Kemper, Axe FX or an Engl Savage.

But you're all right, play, get on with it, and don't let the gear become the obsession. If the gear holds you back, go hog wild. It's a very fun hobby though, and easy to get caught up in the internet hivemind hype machine.

It's easier to give advice than to take your own though, haha.

 

[C1-ocaster]

So much of what everyone is saying is true.
For the longest time when I was playing with a band and friends I just enjoyed playing.
I had 2 amps and 2 guitars, a wah pedal, and that's it.
The main amp I was using was a tube works 1x12 combo, a hybrid tube pre and SS 100 watt.
Then I got an inexpensive B52 AT100 half stack.
Say what you will, it ROCKED!
But I just wanted to play and full tube amp and my Strat and my wah were enough.

A number of years back I kinda stopped playing just picked up my Taylor acoustic from time to time.
It wasn't a good period, I missed playing just for fun.
Last summer I decided to get back into playing for me and my sanity.

I've bought too much stuff and it's not even been a full year.
Not as bad as some of you, but for the short period, too much.
Been through a big number of lower and mid cost amps. 2 new electrics.
10 new pedals. Simple recording gear. Just got another amp too, and I'm itching to get an Albion combo cause I found
a VERY sweet deal.

In all it's a fun hobby this gear thing. I really do need to spend more time playing cause I am rusty as an old nail.
Still, trying out the new gear gives me playing time.
But, I notice that my playing creativity has slackened cause I'm so into all the different ways to set up the new stuff and flicking switches and hitting buttons to hear what they do that I find I'm playing the same crap over and over.

Hi, my name is Tome (toe-may) and I've got a "gottahavemorestuffism" problem.
Please help me.
.
.
.
.
.

POST more cool things that I can oogle and give me more ideas to buy MORE stuff!
Muhahahaha!

 

[Zachman]

Re: Epiphany: gear buying/ flipping= waste of time.

________

Perhaps... (My solution)-- I ended up owning a music store.

I tend to seek out gear to accomplish a goal, to accomplish something 'other' than what my existing gear does, as opposed to looking for something that does the same thing, in a different shade of grey. There are of course exceptions like feature sets ex. (Multichannel amp) allowing for a variety of sounds on the fly, as opposed to a preferred one channel amp.

Most of my personal collection, is older discontinued gear (now), but I've been using the same amps for several years. ex. one of my amps (Boogie MKIII Coliseum), I bought new in '86, because it does exactly what I want it to do. For me, it wasn't the only thing I wanted from an amp, so hence the reason for other amps too.

I find that most guys who tend to flip through gear like you described, aren't sure what they're after, and are hoping to find a magic solution to their deficits, and so-- often frustration is the result, because success is then relegated to nothing more than sheer luck (Not great odds).

All gear are mere tools to accomplish a goal (s) (Assuming it's owned by a player, and not a collector).



My personal sonic palette is rather diverse, hence my gear selection:

 

[ke2]

Re: Epiphany: gear buying/ flipping= waste of time.

________

Perhaps... (My solution)-- I ended up owning a music store.

I tend to seek out gear to accomplish a goal, to accomplish something 'other' than what my existing gear does, as opposed to looking for something that does the same thing, in a different shade of grey. There are of course exceptions like feature sets ex. (Multichannel amp) allowing for a variety of sounds on the fly, as opposed to a preferred one channel amp.

Most of my personal collection, is older discontinued gear (now), but I've been using the same amps for several years. ex. one of my amps (Boogie MKIII Coliseum), I bought new in '86, because it does exactly what I want it to do. For me, it wasn't the only thing I wanted from an amp, so hence the reason for other amps too.

I find that most guys who tend to flip through gear like you described, aren't sure what they're after, and are hoping to find a magic solution to their deficits, and so-- often frustration is the result, because success is then relegated to nothing more than sheer luck (Not great odds).

All gear are mere tools to accomplish a goal (s) (Assuming it's owned by a player, and not a collector).



My personal sonic palette is rather diverse, hence my gear selection:

Zach, you "owned" a music store LOOONG before you bought one

 

[Gorehog]

Im with the OP.

Im doun way more research and only wanna buy but i think ill keep. I have a pretty nice setup as is.

I really miss my Ceriatone Chupa i once had. Seriouslly thinkin of gettin another or a Yeti.

 

[Zachman]

Re: Epiphany: gear buying/ flipping= waste of time.

________

Perhaps... (My solution)-- I ended up owning a music store.

I tend to seek out gear to accomplish a goal, to accomplish something 'other' than what my existing gear does, as opposed to looking for something that does the same thing, in a different shade of grey. There are of course exceptions like feature sets ex. (Multichannel amp) allowing for a variety of sounds on the fly, as opposed to a preferred one channel amp.

Most of my personal collection, is older discontinued gear (now), but I've been using the same amps for several years. ex. one of my amps (Boogie MKIII Coliseum), I bought new in '86, because it does exactly what I want it to do. For me, it wasn't the only thing I wanted from an amp, so hence the reason for other amps too.

I find that most guys who tend to flip through gear like you described, aren't sure what they're after, and are hoping to find a magic solution to their deficits, and so-- often frustration is the result, because success is then relegated to nothing more than sheer luck (Not great odds).

All gear are mere tools to accomplish a goal (s) (Assuming it's owned by a player, and not a collector).



My personal sonic palette is rather diverse, hence my gear selection:

Zach, you "owned" a music store LOOONG before you bought one

It was a natural progression. lol

 

[leib10]

I think it's a way for many of us to deal with boredom, either within the hobby/passion or with our lives in general. I flip a lot of gun and guitar stuff because it's something that occupies my mind while I'm waiting for law school to begin. Other than that, it's pretty meaningless and it ends up wasting a lot of coin, especially when I upgrade something with better parts and then don't take the cost of those parts into account when I sell it. I'm trying to be more content with what I have, especially as I won't have an income for at least a year and my disposable income will be next to nil.

I think it also has to do with us being on these forums, where we encourage and congratulate each other on new acquisitions.

 

[1big1]

Ok, so the title speaks for itself. And this obviously doesn't apply to everyone, but definitely to me.

It definitely can if you end up playing less and spend the majority of your time buying/selling/flipping. Some purposely choose that path, and make the buying/selling the main hobby and playing secondary.

It's good when you can recognize it and reign yourself in appropriate to your situation/goals.

The buying/flipping can be useful when you are realigning/reassessing your gear needs due to changing life/playing situations or changing style/genre of music imo.

i didn't flip so much as i built up my collection. one of the things about having an amp collection is that you have to maintain it as well. there are hidden costs involved with that. same thing applies to guitars etc. as well.

Very true. If you start collecting and the collection grows past the point of being able to play through all the gear at least occasionally you may run into maintenance issues.

For me if I'm not using a piece of gear at least semi-regularly I usually don't want it around.

I do enjoy looking at large collections though.

i've got a couple of small vintage amps.. a magnatone and a lectrolab.. that require certain tubes because the heaters are series. that means i have to source tubes.. like a 50c5.. that aren't in production anymore.
luckily i was able to do that.. but some tubes from sources like aes aren't exactly cheap.
i also have two amps that are in for repairs right now.

 

[fappen]

Sometimes it feels like reading about gear and buying gear is more fun than playing... that's a real bummer.

 

[ke2]

I love playing, but cramming a band between full-time work, two kids and a girlfriend is hard.
Oh well, maybe in a couple of years, when the kids are bigger.