Post
by postqualia_1 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 1:14 pm
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.