https://medium.com/@danllerena59/the-psychology-behind-gear-acquisition-syndrome-459cce25967a
Interesting article I read online after I was watching some random deadmau5 Videos
I thought this was only real on memes until I found this article
Did you had it before ? Do you find the cure ? Did you really dig into journey of exploring a equipment at least for couple years at least?
How many times you end up variaty of sounds with only one equipment for creativity and creative process? I like see and hear your experiments with your synths ,gears and sound design...

 

Yeah, I knew it´s a realy term and it´s not only musicians. I think pretty much the whole art world uses the term and it´s even a thing in other hobbies, but I see it most in music and painting/drawing. "Oh, another set of watercolours to add to my collection that would last three lifetimes".

Anyway, I think I´m mostly cured. It sometimes does flare up when new stuff gets released, but I haven´t bought anything in a while and I kind of feel like I really have enough stuff. Maybe it´s because I doing more ITB these days after a few years of working with hardware only, I´m not really sure, but for the first time in ten years or so I don´t really care when new stuff comes out.

 

It's a real thing and I've had it. I can't say I'm been fully cured, but the age old treatments of lack of space and money combined with the modern medicine of ridiculous prices for vintage gear have pretty much kept my GAS bay. It's still ridiculously easy get into the mindset of thinking "what if I sold this and bought that...?", but then again, one simply can't have too many distortion pedals.

Highly recommend The Packrat, basically a documentary comic strip.

 

Mine was cured by finding out I was 'really' into sound synthesis and I can do anything I like on Europa and spire or serum
But for me the actual real physical experiences with the synths and gear is also interesting because its inspires you like an acoustic instrument , for now I'm hybrid with both vsts and gears I liked the sound, the 80s Yamaha Roland stuffs and the 00s tritons and &...
I used to had a poly 800 but ever since I came across with furry800 vst that sounded to me almost identical I sold the furry800 around 2019ish?
But now it's not like syndrome anymore my narrative is
I like to have a 90s workstation in the living room to play it sometimes with some home speakers to enjoy the experience not just stacking old gear beacuse I never found a clue for doing it not economically and logically for me because every single gear I have is either from the old times i kept and For now I do "really" buy new stuff only if I'm gonna learn something new from my experience with the instrument or gear otherwise I refer myself to this syndrome and move on with life...

 

Last edited: Jul 14, 2026 at 10:34 AM