lockdown-induced GAS

tommy p

tommy p

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I've been allowed to telework up to 4 days a week for a few years and now with COVID concerns they have waived the requirement for to report to the office even one day a week.  Coupled with not being able to go out anywhere, I now find myself thinking of all the "stuff" I would like to have owned at one point or another.  Some of the things that have crossed my mind have been:

  • korina Vector
  • cherryburst Les Paul
  • Marshall 50-watt head for my AC/DC tribute (TBH I was already looking for one of these)
  • a smaller footprint delay pedal to replace my Line 6 DL4
  • new pedalboard build (one complete, one in progress)
I also have a few things to sell, but listing things to sell is harder than shopping for things to buy so I haven't done it yet.

Anybody else experiencing lockdown GAS?

 
Yes, but mine is not for musical gear so much.  I've had a desire for a car project that is ramping up with the removal of other distractions, and in response I am starting to order some of the tools that I would need and do not have.  It's easy to say to myself, "this order is under $100", and so is that one, and another one, and... I had better keep a close count on these.

I will gladly enable musical GAS, though, for the HFC brotherhood.  Marshall, you say?

 
Yes, I think it's the mutated monster cousin of "Haven't been gigging, getting bored, let's buy stuff." But I'm so darned happy with my meager little collection, I really can't think of anything I want!

 
Yup. Have been eye-balling a few pretties but I feel guilty AF allowing it to take hold. Boredom is my biggest enemy and I've been having to really grit my teeth & withstand the Siren's call of GAS.

Fortunately, I've also been getting pics from Shane and Stike showing progress on various guitar projects and it staves off the impulse to buy another guitar that will likely get flipped in a few weeks anyway.

 
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I am still working, so thankfully not able to spend too much time surfing Reverb. Otherwise it could get expensive.

In the last six weeks I have sold four guitars and bought one that just arrived yesterday.

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Put in an offer, that was gladly refused, on an 24.75" scaled acoustic bass guitar.  And its cheap new!  Its still kinda bugging me though, I really want to try one of these guitar scaled ABGs and this one is especially curious to me, even being a branded Michael Kelly instrument.

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Not a guitar, but I have been gassing for the MODX since they came out (Fall of 2018).  

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It's the internals of their top-of-the line Montage in a lighter and way cheaper package.  The Roland JD-Xi I bought a couple of years back only greased the GAS for the MODX.  The JD-Xi is great, but the mini-keys are awkward for someone who doesn't really know what they're doing.  The only thing I've been considering otherwise is going with a good MIDI controller and virtual synths - much cheaper, but the MODX is really, really attractive.

I'm still full-time (and then some), but I (obviously) have time for the occasional visit to the HFC, which leads to diversions on Reverb, which leads back to the HFC, which...  oh, wait!  Wasn't I paying A/P?  Crap!  Gotta go!

 
Oddly enough, I have not had any bad gas. I have been thinking of killing the Tele Project (even though I have everything) just out of redundancy. Selling my R8 that I barely touch and my Princeton and searching out a well loved Custom Shop SG. I've come to grips with my demons one by one. Its aloooong list. 

 
bubs_42 said:
Oddly enough, I have not had any bad gas. I have been thinking of killing the Tele Project (even though I have everything) just out of redundancy. Selling my R8 that I barely touch and my Princeton and searching out a well loved Custom Shop SG. I've come to grips with my demons one by one. Its aloooong list. 
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See, now the prospect of an R8 and I'm immediately back in GAS mode...

55 years old and I've never owned a Les Paul.  I find the typical R9's too fancy (topped), not to mention waaaay too expensive.

Gee, thanks Bubs. 

 
@velorush isn't that what i'm here for? It took me a bit to get it to sound the way I was hearing it in my head, that is not the issue. It is a guitar that I gravitate to when I want that sound, but it still plays me more than I play it. If you want Beano, Allman Bros, Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Bloomfield, and Free it does all that in spades. :)  

 
If you're trying to avoid a sudden attack of GAS, just keep reminding yourself that shipping and taxes for a $1000 guitar on Reverb or Ebay can easily exceed $100, probably more like $125.  Of course, YMMV, depending on location and the individual seller.  

 
And that's why you "Buy from Bubs". ;)   Or at least here on the HFC with one of your brothers. 

 
bubs_42 said:
...and searching out a well loved Custom Shop SG.
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Atta boy!  I bought my very first SG from Ernie @santellavision several years ago and now have a few.  Very light weight and thin bodied, and while some may knock the neck joint (and I've heard some can feel downright floppy), I absolutely love how responsive the entire guitar is to manipulation.  Oh, and the custom buckers in that first one I got are a better fit for me (60's/70's rock of all forms) than anything else I've heard.

 
GAS?  No, just the opposite.  I've been playing what I have and really bonding with it.  Most notably,  my Slammer Series Sunburst and my EHX Grand Canyon. 

I'm ordinarily a Tele guy, but the not-quite-a-band "project" I'm practicing for want to do a couple No Doubt songs.  I figured I have to play the Sunburst for those, and I've really stared to bond with it.  It used to sound kind of dull and muffled to me, and I attributed that to the basic mahogany+humbuckers design.  I'm used to the snap of a longer scale and a maple neck.  However, the last time a re-strung the Sunburst, I put them through the tailpiece the normal way.  The previous owner had it top-wrapped and I never saw fit to change it.  That slight difference in break angle made a big difference in tone; so now me & the Sunburst are best buds.  I love the pickups Josh wound for it, and the bridge HB sounds great split, too.

I've had the Grand Canyon for a couple of years, but only programmed two simple presets, and basic echo and slapback.  Now, I'm digging into the other sounds it has and making some presets for specific songs in the almost-a-band's repertoire.  It's like discovering 8 new pedals without spending any $$$ at all.  I built an expression pedal for it out of an old Cry Baby shell so I can do volume swells, etc.  (The expression pedal -> Grand Canyon "Shimmer" mode gives me acceptable synth-ish chords for "It's My Life".)  I also dove into my pedalboard to seek & destroy an annoying buzz, and ended up making some general improvements in wiring and reliability.

I am considering buying a simple looper (probably an EHX 360) to provide backing tracks to practice over, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. In general, the COVID downtime is all about improving my chops and learning to get the most out of the gear I already have.

 
Camstone said:
Reverb. Guy from Nashville. It's a new old stock 2005 out of a collection. Never played.

I've wanted one of these for a while and this one is sweet.
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@SteveC and I were at the Robin factory in 2004 and bought matching Slabtop Supremes; his a Ranger and mine a (then called) Wrangler.
Each of us wanted to buy both and is still waiting for the other to blink.  I won't.  It's a perfect guitar.

brothers2.jpg


 
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