Controlling GAS?

[ronadair]

How do you do it?

I’m married, so one woman; guitars, however...

Guitars are soooo cool...

[Orfeas]

I dont know about you, but I've never been a guy that want lots of guitars. I changed some good ones, because I was searching for a pleasing to my ear sound. Once I found one that I really like, I do not want to own any more instruments. One only and follows me wherever I travel.

[DenverSteve]

Pretty simple. Play your guitar(s) and stay away from the classifieds, Ebay and Reverb. Issue solved. You can't buy while you're playing.

[flagstaffcharli]

I have done an awful lot of buying, selling, and trading. Over time, I have acquired a handful of instruments that demand almost all my playing time - and a bunch of stuff that looks nice but collects dust.

Right now I am selling all my mandolin family instruments, at least two guitars, and my banjo. With the money I plan to buy a custom classical guitar.

From here out my GAS management plan is to allow myself one temporary instrument at a time. (The current one is a cheap 60's folk guitar.) I like the hunt, but I need to let them go as well. So I'll find something fun, play it for a time, and then move it on to a new home so I can try something else. Kind of like dating with no expectation for a serious commitment.

Also, I hate spending so much time on maintenance and changing strings, and I hate keeping instruments as trophies. And despite this, I still have a lot of guitars.

[thegazza]

It takes great willpower to buy a new guitar when you know that you probably shouldn't. That's my take on it anyway!

Gazza

[Tico]

Gas can be controlled?
I had no idea.

It's a matter of personal responsibility and self control. There are limits on everyone, but recognizing those limits and respecting them is not often easy. Aside from strings and whatnot, I always involve my wife in instrument purchases. I don't ask often, but when I do she always says yes.

You're up to 7 that you admit to. It sounds like you're writing this because you have your eye on more and you're not sure it's healthy. Here's my advice: don't get so many that they become objects. If each and every one isn't special and doesn't draw you to play it often, you probably have too many. I find that my limit is four. More than that and all but three or four become furniture on my wall.

On other forums there are people with 300+ guitars. But they're either collectors or serious pros (as are quite a few dudes and ladies here) and it makes sense for professional players and collectors to have large numbers. For those people they are tools, or indeed in the case of collectors, objects: pieces of art, or some other kind of pop culture expression for them.

I guess the exception to my advice is if one or more of your guitars is special in some other way, like a birth-year guitar, or a gift from a loved one, or holds some other kind of sentiment. Then of course that doesn't really count toward your normal lineup. I don't have anything like that personally. I'm practical and don't really get emotionally attached to objects, even guitars. I love them, but I can let them go.

[Greg Ballantyne]

Controlling GAS? Not sure it's possible..... it's a force that perhaps can be guided, but controlled? I plan to guide mine with a few trips to some larger guitar shops...... and then perhaps a trip to Ireland that includes a visit to Lowden & McIlroy.......no, I don't think control is in the picture.......

[HHP]

Simple solution. Buy guitars that are much better than anything else you are likely to run across. Any guitars that might excite me more than what I already have are probably going to be so expensive that I wouldn't consider them anyway.

Don't get GAS, give GAS.

[Rosewood99]

Why would I want to?

[Pickcity]

Back in my earlier years of playing I had GAS to a degree, until one day I said, "why do I have all these guitars?" I wasn't playing all of them, and had no reason to keep them. Most were not collectors items. So I thinned them out, and every few years I thin the herd a bit more.

I understand looking at all the beauties out there and wishing to have more, especially when leaving a high end retailer empty handed.

The best thing for me is playing, not collecting. I can have a few nice players and be perfectly content.

From my perspective, I can't see how anyone could not be satisfied with 2-3 very high quality guitars. Ah but yes, I have more than that, but my point is I could be happy with 2-3.

Temptations are always there. Play the ones you have and exercise some discipline if you need to. It is a choice, after all.

[Steadfastly]

PLAY your guitars and find a better buying hobby, preferably an inexpensive one.

[Golffishny]

Only buy if you have the cash saved. If you charge it for rewards, immediately put the cash in your checking account to pay it off. I had 2 different guitars for over 20 years each, 1 at a time. I only started buying and trading to find a tone I wanted with playability to reduce my pain after injuries. Now I have 5. At least 2 will be going as I found the model that feels and sounds good. I would reduce it to 1 but am looking for a birth year guitar for my second grandson. I'll keep 2 to pass on to them. I also have a cheap "porch" guitar, but that may go to a neighbor kid soon. Find a way to coax the sounds out of what you have. You wont have every tone, but you can play anything.

[ChrisE]

I used to have one guitar. Then I started getting more serious and got a better guitar for church and gigs. Then I wanted an electric. Then I wanted a Taylor. Then I wanted a Martin. Then I wanted a "nice" Martin.

I'm pretty sure I'm done for a while. I used to spend hours scouring Craigslist, ebay, etc. for deals. I couldn't pass a pawn shop without going in and seeing what kind of "deals" I could find.

Then I got a D-18 about 6 months ago. Now I play it (and my others) and stay away from the CL, ebay, etc. I haven't stepped foot in a pawn shop since. I think I'm cured. I still spend too much time on the forums, but I've cut way back on that, too.

A cure is possible, but you have to want it.