I am into so many hobbies (music, motorcycling, model kits, woodworking and the list keeps going...) and I have found myself in GAS in several occasions and fortunately could recover myself from this bottomless hole. The main point about GAS (and that's the undenial indication that you ran into it) is when you realize that you're spending more time researching and buying products than using it. More than one time in my life when I was recovering from a GAS attack I caught myself selling tons of still sealed boxes of things I didn't even remembered to have bought! While GAS may be a hazard for your economic life don't doubt that it can be also a danger for your sanity, a big waste of precious time and a big source of frustration. Thanks for GAS I also felt sad several times for having a lot of stuff and not being able to master a small fraction of it.

I’m an painter and I too have GAS syndrome . However contrary to the music community, the art community never actually talk seriously about this problem, GAS is treated as the" quirky" habit rather than an unhealthy obsession, I took me a long time, and a lot of money to realize that it is a serious issue.In my case GAS has costed me hundreds of dollars (Granted a tube of paint is not too expensive( around 4 to 16 dollars), it is still a lot since I’ve bought hundreds of them.) .In the last few years, I’ve spent more time researching paints than actually using them, most of the paints I swore I couldn’t live without ended up collecting dust anyway because they’re colors that I don’t use but still buy because other artists use them. Worst of all, this obsession is detrimental to my art and my happiness. I can longer focus on making art ‘cause I feel like I can’t paint anything without a specific tube of paint. Right now I’m trying to limit my buying to a minimum and trying to "fall in love" again with my old paint tubes . Thank you for the inspirational video man, it keep me determined to end this addiction for good.

GAS is kept in check by having the studio in a small room. I have optimized racks to the point where I have to make decisions on what to keep and sell. I still end up with synths in the basement, garage, etc but it does help me "keep it real" i.e. sell something I don't really use much to fund something else. Reality is that we can't just run up paypal credit, and having a small room is a constant reminder/refocus and rewards me for careful deliberate decisions. I'm pretty happy, exited and it's because I have a really good space. It's not perfect, I've got wires, extra gear lying around, in the studio closet etc but I feel pretty happy nonetheless and a good computer DAW or outboard DAW is what I need, and my thinking is more around what I really care about, since I don't have all this extra stuff, and other people are getting enjoyment and care about the stuff I've sold, whereas I would have just tucked it away for safekeeping they are really happy, and great synths like the AN1x, JP8000 etc but I just think how they must be happy and I can focus more in the musical direction I want. This is my philosophy/perspective/working "procedure">, everyone has their own, whatever works for them. I dont regret gear purchases if i put a lot of thought into them. Sometimes I make mistakes but that just it, you can't know everything and that's just part of the journey. Have fun!

Used to see something I'd like and say "I'mma bite the bullet and just do it." Now, when I see something I'd like, I say "I'mma bite bullet and just wait." Most of the time, it even works ; D

I think GAS is overstated and a bunch of drama. There are two reasons you should buy gear : 1. If music is in any way your main occupation, source of income and each piece of gear helps your workflow, or improves your performance, activelly paying itself out - and I am talking money from clients and projects, releases or whatever. 2. People who want gear - and this is no GAS, its just like buying a 100 k car when you can - maybe they would never release a single track, or produce a single track or an artist, but they love playing their instruments. This whole GAS thing is kinda judgemental. Let the people do what they want. I can sit you down and realistically talk you out of buying 90% of the gear you do, but I don't want to do that.

Great video, a bit late for a comment but here is my take: I think what makes GAS so strong in the synth and drum machine world are two factors. You can hear the gear on KZfaq and think: „I want to make that sound“. Then you see somebody push some buttons and turn some knobs and you think (subconsciously): „Yeah, I can do that.“ When I see a cellist or harpist or drummer, I don’t get GAS, because I can’t play the instrument and know I never will. I admire, what they can do, but that’s it. I do play the piano, but never get GAS for an actual piano, because I already have one and it would sound considerably the same. Electronic music lures people into thinking, it is easy to make, when in fact, it is not that easy to sound good. Everybody can push a button, but which button at which time is something that takes practice, practice, practice. While many people don’t like to practice.

For drum machine, I chose Elektron Rytm since I was already familiar with Elektron workflow having an Octatrack and Analog 4. Plus it was less expensive than Perkons and Jomox Alphabase and did sound as good. Plus I already have modular drums and no need for any more drum synths. For poly analog, Oberheim OB X8 is my crown jewel. For all in one synth the Access Virus TI2 works amazing for me.

These are all very healthy and sound advice, and I love that you took the opportunity to address this to your community. I agree with just about everything you said, but I wanted to make a couple of comments: 1. "No new gear will make you a better musician." I understand and agree with this core message, it's really the time you spend making music that will make you a better musician. That said (and you touch on this too), some gear that I've purchased changed how I made music into something better. The best example I have is the Digitone, which was my first Elektron encounter. What it did to me was that it changed my perspective on drums and melody, because I started to experiment with percussion that were also tones, like something in between a bitcrushed tom and a C note in a C-minor techno beat. The other thing it did for me was to competely blur the line between a sequencer and a synth. It made me explore different forms of automation in my music making. I sold the Digitone because I felt it was geared too much towards live performances, where my goal is/was to make full tracks, but after I switched to the MPC One, I took many of these new learnings with me and incorporated it into the music I make on the MPC, using its step sequencer for some glitchy automation of all sorts of things. If I hadn't bought and sold the Digitone (with a small profit, no less!), I wouldn't have gained these insights about the music I make. 2. I think GAS is probably stronger for people who started their music making journey on hardware. I make music with my best friend, and he started making music on the laptop, whereas I started on a Roland W-30. And it's clear that he and I have very different cravings for hardware workflows. He would probably be comfortable doing everything in a DAW, whereas I feel like something is missing, both emotionally and physically, if I'm unable to interact with real instruments (whether they're an analog synthesizer or just a glorified groovebox DAW-in-a-box). The tactile nature of making music is important to me and makes me enjoy this hobby a lot more. Thanks for all your advice!

I’ve owned so many synths and groove boxes both on the high and low price range, but had to turn around and sell them because it all put me into too much debt and I never make money off of my music ventures. I completely agree on the statement of being able to afford what you want to purchase. It can all add up so quickly that you don’t realize how far you’ve gone down the spending rabbit hole until it’s too late.

Great video. I think a very exciting an inspiring part of being a musician is to get new gear that adds to your music and gives different ways to make music. However for me recently, I've found I'm happier with a more minimal hardware setup with only gear I really love and connect with. But I do think setups evolve and new gear is good in the right circumstances. I recently had a bout of bad G.A.S when I started messing around with modulating sample start times on my RYTM II. I hadn't done this before and found the effect very cool... also putting CV into the RYTM to modulate it which I had also never done before! I then found myself looking at how much a Octatrack would cost because this would do even more fun stuff to samples, but had to remind myself I'd just found a really cool workflow with the gear I had, that was doing lots of cool things, so I should enjoy that and not use that as an excuse to blow £1k on more gear!

Space, time and money. I am at gear saturation and actually bought zero new gear this year. I have been busy learning all of the modular and synths that I bought for the past few years. I have drum machines, synths and modular and no need for more synths.

The painter analogy is way better than the writer analogy.

lots of down-to-earth wisdom - thanks!

Very insightful take. I really liked your point about being deliberate based on the kind of music you wanna make and the current skills you have. I’ve fallen in that trap of “hey, let’s switch up the workflow for some creativity” but then just end up uninspired because I feel unable to do what I want. Some of my best flow states came from playing around in ableton with my own custom MIDI mappings and templates tbh. Been delving heavily into modular synthesis lately and it’s such a double edged sword. Like the more you learn, the more you wanna expand your system, and because of the very nature of the format, it doesn’t take the same amount of time to learn a new module as it does to learn your first few modules as a system. So the question of “am I gonna waste a lot of time learning this new piece of gear?” Doesn’t seem to apply as much in the modular space since every thing you learn ultimately compounds your knowledge of your own system or of working with modules in general. All that to say, if you wanna stop GASing on modules, it takes a lot more willpower 😂

Nail on the head there Mr Surco - most of us like technology and tinkering as much as we like actually making music! Great video 😀👍

Was skeptical of the video at first but this is all good advice! The biggest problem is chasing inspiration and efficiency. Hard to know what the machine will REALLY do for you until you spend time with it, and the gap between imagination and outcome is what fuels GAS. That being said, all the principles you brought up are bound to help!

Great input on the topic! You just saved me a couple of grand replacing a Pioneer AS-1 with a Prophet 16, no point having multiple voices for techno, it would be cool having better control over the sound design though! The best gas for me was: Adam A77X (these are incredible), Akai Force (sequences everything), DFAM (oozes techno), Eventide Space & Timefactor (techno is nothing without being drowned in effects), Korg Zero 8 (simply the best dj style studio mixer interface). The worst least used gear: NDLR (cool but I don't really do complex melodies), Subsequent 37 (poor girl is just collecting dust in the other side of the room away from my rig as it can't fit on my table), Electron model cycles (already have a TR8s and not enough audio channels on the force to plug it in).

Thanks for this video. Your structure and delivery is super helpful and much appreciated.

I feel positively about gas as long as it's not economically hurting the person! I'm a singer songwriter guitarist by trade who'd done nothing of note for a while and then bought a digitone on a whim for a decent price. That little box has been my gateway drug to an octatrack, tr8s, microfreak and more recently a nymphes, landscape stereo field (which may have been a step too far) and a toraiz squid. Yours was one of many videos I watched before purchasing a syntakt which arrives tomorrow. I should mention that over lockdown I threw out around 200 tracks, mostly garbage but culminating in a lot of decent bits so it's worth it in the long run. The thing is, I heard this thing about car adverts - they're not really trying to sell you the car. They're affirming that you made the right decision. Essentially, as soon as I found out what the syntakt did I knew I was buying one. Videos like loopop and yourself are just corroborating what I already thought. I also exercise a one-in one-out rule. So the tr-8s has sold today and I sold an Arturia 2S for the nymphes. That's one way to do it, I'm not saying I'm hugely disciplined but it's about real estate right? My mate has lots of little things that collectively amount to what the OT does; smaller devices that cost less individually but overall - maybe he should just have bought an OT! My main concern and focus is clearing as much room as possible for the eventual arrival of an osmose. So the real estate gain from converting a tr8s into a syntakt is considerable, and the various voices in there will make gigging live a lot easier than having to bring all the different little bits n pieces. It won't be the same, but it'll be doable and compact in a small peli case. Just some ramblings, big love to the community jx

SURCO, you helped me decide on an A4, and I'm grateful for that. GAS almost won, but after taking a few weeks away from the reviews, I made the correct choice.

Great points: 1) A piece of gear will not make you a better musician (hope of what a piece of gear has led to most of my purchases). A deep truth that is hard to accept. 2) Does the user interface motivate you (menu diving and option paralysis are the worst). 3) Don't buy (too many of) the multipurpose/ multi tool (all-in-one gear). I constantly look for ways to minimize my gear and streamline--but it usually backfires! The one-trick-pony is often the keeper for me!

I made a promise that once I get a 2600 clone which is my dream dream synth, GAS is over. Now, I get to play my B2600 and just watch KZfaq synth reviews to satisfy GAS, kinda lol. I still do fantasize about what if I sell this for the MC707 or TR8S, JunoX, Udo6, Cobalts or Hydra SYNTH desktop. Self control was something I had to get good at. I just say "I truly have everything I need to make my brand of electronic music. I don't need the SP404mk2"

Great video and very true 👌 Always find the more gear I have the less music I make

Great video. I'm trying to really look for those pieces that I'll use for specific circumstances. I appreciate your videos because I feel that you give the information that I'm looking for to make relevant purchasing choices. I also like that you are not a gear collector, but use what you have. Your thought process is rigid and methodical for gear acquisition in a way that's unique to other synthtubers. I like that you say how it is and don't really sugarcoat your opinions. It's very direct and very refreshing. I love the tinkering part as much as making music. This may be the best GAS video I've watched so far on the subject.

My neighbor has 3 motorcycles and I have 3 pairs of Studio LOL monitors. . Knowing what each one's budget is. The tastes must be given to them in life. As long as you know that you are going to have money to eat and pay your debts.

Love the combination of music and psychology and talking about the creative process.

Absolutely love this video. Purpose Deliberate With thought Use your machines wisely. Excellent stuff.

Very nice thoughts! I catched the 808 bug about a year ago. I watched some 808-inspired-videos and always instantly liked the original machine best. Then I started looking for possibilities and a very nice unit became available. Fully serviced and calibrated, straight from maybe the best workshop for vintage gear here in Europe. It was the most expensive item I ever bought. I used well-made 808-samples up to this point, I was fully aware of all those clones that are available nowadays. But then... I wanted an 808. So I bought it. And the search is over, I am very happy. Being an engineeer during the day, I do not believe in "magic". The money I put in is not "wasted" as some ppl always comment :-D Yes, I hear and feel the difference in the mix, since my "mix" is 808-only quite often. I do not waste money on clothes or consumer technology like phones/tablet/computers/game consoles/cars/tvs and whatnot. Great video, SURCO! ❤️🧡💛🤍

My sentimental piece is my Digitakt. It was the first piece of gear I ever bought and is still my favourite. Between that and my Octatrack, I did my first live performance this year so they will always hold a special place in my heart

Me: Nice video about GAS and its dangerous traps .... but now let's press that "buy new Juno-X" button!!!! :-)

I tend to buy 2nd hand that way I get to play with it, learn and then decide whether to keep it. If I sell it I've not lost too much, but I try not to keep everything (my wife might disagree)

I‘ve watched the video to end, your opinions are great, i startet and was lost in G.A.S, after buy and sell much of my gears i startet to collect, but the right gears, always in my mind is for what do i need the gear, that‘s not ever good, because so i have to buy it, the reason is so clear i can‘t go other way.. for me there is a solution too, to not watch any vid from other gear than you have collected.. i‘m happy that i have the money to collect the real gear, but the way need a carefully thought about the rightness! Thanks for the vid, i always like your view of things, hope to see you in switzerland again

Man love your videos. Big elektron fan here too. You’ve had killer Syntakt content! Those who say you’re pushing the product are just being negative. They don’t have to watch your videos if they don’t like them 😎 Appreciate the work you put in man! Personally I think Syntakt is a killer box with some best of and new features. As I have most elektrons I’m fighting off the GAS as I really don’t need it. But it’s super cool. Cheers!

you hit some great points. One thing I personally had an issue is distinguishing between inspirational vs usable in my music. However i realized that even if I dont use a particular gear for recording it defintely can be a part of the setup which I use specificly as a creative release thats not tied to my usual "style" or "genre". Also fully agree with "the best version" ideology. I always say buy nice or buy twice. Get something that can do greeat things and still have much to learn from to keep inspiring you. One thing that I do disagree with tho is going into debt for gear. No one can stop me from getting the new Syntact! Instant Ramen diet is not so bad! heck it can even lead to some much needed weight loss!

Damn GAS......Can't stop thinking will I get rid of my MC707 sell afew other things n buy the MPC Live 2. I'm now not gonna bother n will make an effort to learn more on the 707. Tho the new boutiques are damn nice looking !!!.....Heeeeelp. Good video agree with everything you said.

Spot on! Loved your thought process as you went through your logical process as to (or not) invest in a piece of gear. I personally have been wowed by some pieces of gear that I initially thought might not help with some of my needs, and, on the flip-side have encountered some well-hyped "toys" that have not helped me with my process. A big concern of mine, which you brought up the point, is that of major overlaps of features and/or process steps of many of the hardware coming out in the recent years. A major example is that of most of the mid-priced synths including a keyboard versus having a module to which we can exploit the use of its sounds and not need another keyboard. I love music and buy gear for my personal use and enjoyment, plus with an engineering background I certainly love technology with a keen interest in understanding "how things work", AND, how can I use them in my musical journey. Thanks for the though provoking vid, much appreciated!

You make a lot of solid points here. Great video!

Unfortunately I can afford much of this stuff, so the only solution that works for me is to for example buy 5 drum machines, try them out for 2 weeks and return 3 or 4, keeping just the one. Unless you try these things in person, the grass will always be greener on the other side.

Yes

You're absolutely right man, there are so much vids out there with the latest functions. And yes, you only get better by practicing the Instrument... I play drums since i was 16,nevertheless I try to express myself with the keys now, with 48...so I have to learn it, bought a new Keyboard and had some fun til today... The keys are also a great benefit for our band, only using the metronom and the rythms and switching inbetween real drumming and keyboard... So the decision was right and really get to know the affordable Keyboard with all the functions incl. save live usage will take me more then a year i guess, so i don't need to worry about the new models coming up afterwards 👍😉Greetings from Germany! By the way, there is a saying here: An (own) Instrument isn't for sale...

Great advice. In my case (and as a hobbyist), I mostly work in DAWs, and so VST GAS is also a thing. Native Instruments' Komplete is something that I started with basics. I got Komplete Select (this was before they introduced Komplete Start), and as I got to like and explore the available instruments, I upgraded to standard, and then Ultimate (both during their famous 50% sales). This year, after upgrading to Ultimate, I wanted to finally explore all the fuss behind the Kontrol keyboards. Is the "intuitive interface" and integration with Komplete worth the hype? Well, naturally I bought into the M32. At just $140, it gives me the control/integration (minus the fancy screens) to let me know whether it's worth upgrading. I mean, I already have an M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 that has suited me fine. At least this way, I can decide if I want to sell the M32 and the Pro 61 to swap for an S61... So as for the "VST GAS", I experiment with Komplete, and with the instruments in Roland Cloud - combined with the instruments available in Reason (I hardly even touch Live's instruments, even though I find myself using it as my DAW more than Reason lately) and believe me, those are more instruments than I will ever need. Sure, there may be an interesting plugin I might look at, but at least I'm not someone who buys plugins every other week. If there's anything this experience has taught me it's that it pays to be patient and decisive about managing the gear (and money) that you have - ESPECIALLY if you're not a Pro and just a hobbyist like me. If you're not using it, it's just taking up space - and emptying your wallet if you're not careful.

I have pretty much every classic keytar from the 1980s and I know no one in the future is gonna want to buy them. I’ve pretty much made the collection I want, and am only in the market for a new keytar instead of synths synths synths and groove machines alike.

I was shocked by the amount of hate that accompanied the Syntakt release. It's clearly not a machine for every workflow or artist, but I see the value in it as a tool for some people (myself included). Your perspective here is the right way to approach gear purchases in my opinion, particularly on falling back in love with gear you already own.

I just purchased the discontinued korg opsix still brand new in the box but I believe it’ll ultimately be worth money down the line. We will see

I just got an Elektron A4mk2 and even tho other gear tempts me I’m just gona learn it inside out. It’s like buying a guitar, nobody will want to listen if you haven’t mastered the instrument. The only gear I want now is stereo fx pedals/units that I can run the A4 through, if anyone has any recommendations? Most pedals I like have only mono outputs.

word!

Thank you for the video. I’m a guitarist, but I’ve been listening to electronic music for all my life. I have a Korg Monologue and a drum machine, but they have been collecting dust. I love the sound but Im not real good at keys and I don’t like programming on a DAW. So I was watching videos about Syntakt, Digitone and the Polyend Tracker to control everything. I think a hand-on sequencer would be good GAS, but I’m still thinking about pros and cons. One thing sure: no more guitar !

Another great upload!

I started waiting at least 6 month from release to see if there are flaws in build quallity and if Updates come along and sometimes you than can Snack up a return unit or used one

I'm definitely waiting a video like "My thoughts about modular for live performance" 😜

I have 11 guitars I learn alot from each one Feel, TEXTURE , tuning etc etc My Favorite is my Black Nylon String Lucero I learned ALOT of songs on Her. She NEVER fails. Never a Bad Note. Good finger Stretch But... She has no Plug in. When I learn a song... I switch over to another to compare sounds/tone etc... So...I get it I'm thinking about a Syntakt bcus even though I have 2 Boutiques Synths I hate having to "Go behind the desk. Plug. Unplug etcetera. I want a Do it All i can just pick up and CREATE after a long Day. Once I got it out ... then I can slow down and run thru my DAW etc etc

I have extreme GAS, I got into motorcycles thinking it will cure it.. and now I have extreme GAS and MAS 😂😂😂

100% agree. Be mindful with gear, have a purpose before you invest.

I don't know if it was forthought or I lucked out. When I decided to marry the woman I'm still with 24 years ago, a lot of the reasons I did was how she complimented me and I her. Where I'm weak, she's strong and vice vers. There is no doubt that I would have suffered from G.A.S. big time if not for my wife. Before anyone says or thinks it, it's not a matter of her telling me no, because she never has when I wanted to get something. But what she will say is think about it before you buy. See if there's a way you can do on the gear you already have, those list of things you want to buy the new piece of equipment for. Buying second hand/used or B-Stock is also another way to get gear really cheap. I'm a person who prefers a lot of power in my computer but limit the amount of buttons and switches on the gear I touch. There are things I would love to have that I've played over the 35+ years recording. But no chance I'm spending 5000 on a synth or in the case of the OP-1 1300-2000 dollars. Get the gear you NEED not want and never buy something that you have the ability to already do with the gear you already have. My two cents brother. Great videos

You mentioned you make techno music and that you use monosynths over poly synths but use a sequencer (E) to incorporate the sounds. I'd like to see a genre structure video of what you think are the most important parts of the Techno genre. Perhaps incorporate your gear make a techno song during the video. It'd be cool to see a pro break down what it means to create, produce and perform techno. Just a thought of course, it might be a very interesting video coming from the experience you have.

Having gas? Buy used. Sell for the same price. Prices have gone up, i bought stuff new and 2 years later sold it with 30€ profit. My pedals have become my form of longterm investment. Many tc pedals i bought 3 years ago for 80 now sell for 120… beat that market. Please also talk about ptsd. Post traumatic sale disorder. Sold a vintage 76 ehx electric mistress for 120…. Still waking up at night riling from that…

Pretty same with i think about gear, want that Eo Swarm!

Great vid 👌

Discovering the iPad cured my desire for any of the hardware out there beyond midi controllers, electronic musically speaking. Now if only I can find the equivalent in woodworking and photography! 😂

Great video 👌 Respect 🙏

are you going to keep your syntakt, friend?

I want to add that (my rule) first know your gear before you buy something new.

If i had to sell all my synths i would sell all except the minitaur. Thanks for your input and opinions on GAS I learned theres good gas and bad gas from this vid

you dont need the thing!

The problem with gas as I see it is still that a good gas argument can overshadow a bad gas argument for a piece of gear for person. Say, you reason that person A have something, X, working for him/her but person B finds product Y really fun for creativity. Will Y still be a good purchase for A? Perhaps. But not a necessity. 🤔We are on the "gas spectrum" but the line is drawn differently. Also, if I buy something that turns out wrong, I look at it as I lost the difference between buying - sellling price. So it can be turned into good gas if you make yourself accept the value loss for learning that something wasnt for you. 200 dollars loss to play with it for a few months. Bad gas got neutralized.😂

I think you are missing the point :) GAS as in GAS the "syndrom" is usually considered a problem. Of course there are professionals and people with very rational consumer decisions, but those groups aren't in the focus when we discuss GAS. There is no "good" GAS by that definition. And of course channels such as yours where every video sort of starts with a CV like list of musical accomplishments will influence the buying behavior of a lot of people. There is rarely a video when someone sells off their gear 2 weeks later.. (other than the canonical Why I sold ALL my gear..) that's not how it goes.