Gear minimalism as a thought process...

[andy_tchp]

I have a small car with a decently big (B58 3.0L turbo-charged) engine and an 'average' sized house. The house could do with more storage space, or less stuff.

'Less stuff' is an easier to justify and more financially sensible choice.

It was a serious question.. Many people prefer to live in small dwellings… Many people prefer to drive small Cars.. Regardless of Income.. It’s not a dumb question… I’m just curious about people’s motivations for Gear Minimalism because, I don’t get it. Maybe I can learn something…

Because almost none of the gear I have amassed over the years is being used.

What's to 'get' or not understandable about that?

What is dumb are those whose minds are so closed they can’t except anyone else who may not follow their lead, their choices & anything else they deem as the right & only lifestyle choices…

Yes, there have been many demonstration of this over and over and over throughout this thread.

From you.

[Larsongs]

I have a small car with a decently big (B58 3.0L turbo-charged) engine and an 'average' sized house. The house could do with more storage space, or less stuff.

'Less stuff' is an easier to justify and more financially sensible choice.

[quote=Larsongs post_id=<a href="tel:1772419">1772419</a> time=<a href="tel:1679795408">1679795408</a> user_id=17539]
It was a serious question.. Many people prefer to live in small dwellings… Many people prefer to drive small Cars.. Regardless of Income.. It’s not a dumb question… I’m just curious about people’s motivations for Gear Minimalism because, I don’t get it. Maybe I can learn something…

Because almost none of the gear I have amassed over the years is being used.

What's to 'get' or not understandable about that?

What is dumb are those whose minds are so closed they can’t except anyone else who may not follow their lead, their choices & anything else they deem as the right & only lifestyle choices…

Yes, there have been many demonstration of this over and over and over throughout this thread.

From you.
[/quote]

So anyone who asks questions is dumb? Seriously? Intolerant mindsets are dumb.

Getting rid of stuff that there’s no room for, unused or unwanted is just logical… I guess I never gave it a thought as being a “thought process”.. More like common sense..

What’s to justify if a guy has 1 Guitar, 5 Guitars or 50 Guitars? Why would it be something anyone should have to justify? I see nothing wrong with any of those guys & no need to justify anything..

I just don’t get the dislike for those who have a lot of Guitars… Or who don’t follow the crowd..

I’ve had a few Guitars over the years that I wish I’d never got rid of.. Like my 1959 Gibson ES345, mid 50’s Les Paul & mid 60’s Vox Phantom Guitars.. I was younger & more naive.. I thought they were just old Guitars.. Replacing them with something new would be smart.. Who would want those old Guitars? I regret it now. That was dumb!!!

Those 3 old Guitars in particular were better than anything I’ve ever seen or played since. Unless it was another similar year & model… I hope that never happens to any of you..

[postqualia_1]

Normal sized car here -- it's a 4 door hatchback (for US, probably large by Euro standards, but I'm a big guy and I don't fit into little cars very well). I have one small room in shared house with 3 other people. This isn't by choice necessarily, but I live in a very expensive part of the US (LA area), and I my salary is very small (I'm a PhD student).

If I had limitless space and resources, yeah, maybe I would have a nice Martin or something as well as the stuff I have, but I'm ok with keeping things trimmed down in terms of my belongings. It allows me to be somewhat mobile, to live comfortably in small spaces, and not to get overwhelmed by my things which are there to bring value to my life, not to detract from it. I also don't like to have too much of my limited resources tied up in gear, which sorta makes me feel stressed, especially if it's not all getting used regularly.

I'm also a big fan of working within limitations--I think it breeds creativity. Having limitless options for sounds isn't necessarily better. If I can't make amazing music with the gear I have now (JC-120, CIJ JM, tele, jazz bass, pedals, synth, drum machine, microphone), it's not the gear's problem, that's for sure.

I've even considered getting rid of my tele and just having one electric (the CIJ JM), and my jazz bass, along with my synth and drum machine. I'll probably keep the tele for some variety, but I could get rid of it I think and not really miss it. I had one electric for more than a decade, and it was fine. I don't care about capturing loads of different tones, I'm mostly a bedroom player, and I don't really use alternate tunings.

Also, most of my heroes were poor, not gear collectors, and they made do with very simple setups. I doubt joy division in the early days had racks of guitars and sweet equipment. Cocteau twins became gearheads I think, but not until later. The main mogwai guitarist just had his main tele for years and years. Explosions in the sky didn't even use pedalboards for years. The mono guitarist has two jazzmasters--his main guitar and a backup, and that's it.

[BoringPostcards]

During my playing and touring years I only ever had a small pedal board and two guitars. An electric and acoustic. That’s it for close to 18 years at least. Only after I stopped playing in serious bands did I start collecting stuff.
I could easily go back to having two instruments and be comfortable. Maybe some day I will, but I’m enjoying myself too much right now.
Forums made me worse and likely even started it, if I think back far enough.

[andy_tchp]

What’s to justify if a guy has 1 Guitar, 5 Guitars or 50 Guitars? Why would it be something anyone should have to justify? I see nothing wrong with any of those guys & no need to justify anything..

I just don’t get the dislike for those who have a lot of Guitars… Or who don’t follow the crowd..

Maybe you could provide some quotes from this thread where that's actually happened. Or been asked to justify anything. I've obviously missed it.

[JSett]

Yet again, I was doing so well and things have crept up again. I was down to three electrics, a bass and an acoustic but now I'm back to 6 electrics

I still mostly just play my MIJ JM too. It's the first one I reach for and the one that feels the best. The Tele is definitely 2nd now...I really love that thing.

'72 Jazzmaster? Cool to have but not as nice to play as my MIJ

'79 Guild S-70? An oddball that owes me very little but rarely comes out the case

Backup MIJ JM? Technically for sale as it's in the way and I haven't even looked at it since it arrived!

Rickenbacker 360? Still warming to it, truth be told. I need to get it looked at and possibly a new nut made as it doesn't hold tune all that well with vigorous playing despite me doing all the usual setup stuff I know how to do.

Truth be told, I don't think I'd miss any of those if they were gone. That's pretty sad I guess.

[Fuzzbuzz]

Late to the party here but just wanted to chime in that I love the thought process of gear minimalism. If no other reason than frugality and utilitarianism.

But my personal reality is that gear minimalism is just a thought process because I am goo goo for amps and guitars and anything related!

My name is Fuzzbuzz and I have a guitar addiction.

[adamrobertt]

I personally think that frugality and minimalism/utilitarianism are kind of boring... at the same time, I don't really get dudes like Joe Bonamassa who essentially just has his own little museum of shit. I don't think it's like morally wrong that he has all that shit... but it's weird.

[Marc]

I’ve bought far too many pedals in the last 18 months. This extended in the last 6 months to analog synths (4 - one a vintage Korg Polysix). Also some fancy outboard. A lot of it just sits there not getting used - the main reason is that I don’t have the time to get stuck into them. I’m 56 this year and I don’t know where the last 20 years have gone. When I got my Akai samplers in the late nineties I had the appetite to learn them inside out but I keep looking at the Digitakt I bought and feel a sense of… learning all this new kit feels like being made to eat your vegetables. I don’t have the zest I once had. I think the problem is me. HOWEVER… I do still have an Akai 3k and an S950 which I know backwards and have really moved forward with my guitar playing so I think the answer is get rid of most of it and stick with the Akais and one bass synth.

[welshywelsh]

Backup MIJ JM? Technically for sale as it's in the way and I haven't even looked at it since it arrived!

What is it about the backup you've not warmed to? My MIJ JM is my number one too (too scared to take the '59 out the house) but have been toying with an identical spec backup (in a different colour) and just happily swapping between the two. Interesting you've not had that approach, backup just doesn't have the magic?

[UlricvonCatalyst]

When I got my Akai samplers in the late nineties I had the appetite to learn them inside out but I keep looking at the Digitakt I bought and feel a sense of… learning all this new kit feels like being made to eat your vegetables. I don’t have the zest I once had. I think the problem is me.

This describes me to a tee as well. Went to see Death & Vanilla last night, who were using a Roland SP404 for all their beats and basslines, and thought "Shit, I could be doing so much more than just testing out each new pedal I buy for a short while. I should really take the time to learn how to use that SP404 I bought about a decade ago."

[JSett]

Backup MIJ JM? Technically for sale as it's in the way and I haven't even looked at it since it arrived!

What is it about the backup you've not warmed to? My MIJ JM is my number one too (too scared to take the '59 out the house) but have been toying with an identical spec backup (in a different colour) and just happily swapping between the two. Interesting you've not had that approach, backup just doesn't have the magic?

Ive well and truly bonded with my main one. It's broken in lovely on the neck and the weight feels good...just resonates with me like nothing else. The backup I just didn't even really look at. Bought, strung and setup with 12s and put it in a case. I haven't played it for more than 5 minutes

[mediocreplayer]

When I got my Akai samplers in the late nineties I had the appetite to learn them inside out but I keep looking at the Digitakt I bought and feel a sense of… learning all this new kit feels like being made to eat your vegetables. I don’t have the zest I once had. I think the problem is me.

This describes me to a tee as well. Went to see Death & Vanilla last night, who were using a Roland SP404 for all their beats and basslines, and thought "Shit, I could be doing so much more than just testing out each new pedal I buy for a short while. I should really take the time to learn how to use that SP404 I bought about a decade ago."

This reminds me that they have a new album out that I need to listen to. I was very much into them but somehow they drifted off my listening queue. How did you like the show?

[seenoevil II]

One thing that's been brought up here is the antipathy from some for those who have scads of seemingly redundant or infrequently used gear. I can kind of understand this reaction when I imagine my younger self who didn't have the means to acquire the gear I liked. You desire something that's rare and here are people showing off piles of them. Or "worse" they have a huge and varied collection and the thing you desire is in there merely to "round things out" or for very special circumstances.

I guess the reasoning here is that it would be better for these pieces of gear to be out there in the hands of somebody would fully appreciate and more thoroughly utilize them.

But that's got me thinking about the concept of supply and demand and ultimately liquidity. There are only so many of these niche interest guitars in the world. But at the same time, there's also only so many people who would want to own one. And if one believes in the in ol' "invisible hand" then, when you see guys with hoards of similar instruments, you have to conclude that the equation is tilted in favor of supply rather than demand. If everyone was forced to put their huge collections up for sale, sure prices might plummet, however they'd all just end up in different hordes owned by different collectors.

It makes you think about the mindset of the manufacturer as well. Would their approach be altered by knowing whether their wares were being considered by collectors or by users who might only have one or two instruments. Would that mentality change through the years as our consumption habits changed?

I've been falling down the rabbit hole of watches lately, and I must say that there are many many similarities between these two worlds.

It's interesting to think about. The abstract idealist in me wants to have one of everything. Because that's easier to conceive of. That's what children imagine or screen writers create. Indiana Jones doesn't have a hat collection and a whip collection after all. Paul Newman doesn't rotate through a series of Rolexes.

I'd love to have one watch, one ball cap, one guitar (or type of guitar perhaps). But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Having more of a thing is a way of expressing appreciation for that thing. I love my red Phillies cap that I also want the blue Phillies cap.

Ultimately though, it's likely governed by the hedonic treadmill (like everything in life). Having a 12 string to bust out is as satisfying an experience as double tracking your one and only guitar with capo on the 12th fret. People ask "hey is that a 12 string I hear" and you either smile and go "yeah I have an electric XII !" or you smile and go "no I actually just put a capo on my tele!"

[Maggieo]

Peter Singer would argue that any gear you have that is not currently being used to make you money to live on, is, in fact, evil. Every dollar you spend on unneeded gear, instead of giving it to a charity, like OXFAM, is the moral equivalent of walking past a child drowning in a shallow pond. Same goes for that cup of coffee or tea you bought.

33:51 Now playing Peter Singer - ordinary people are evil