Methods of controlling GAS

What do you use to sharpen them?

A fine nail file procured from my daughter some time ago; its some sort of non-metal, synthetic material that seems to work very well. I need my picks to always have a sharp point.
Some may find this odd; matters nought to me.

Cheers, Shane

I don’t think it is odd. If you pracice speed and precision, it is much better to have sharp point pick. I started changing my picks some time ago, but I never sharpen used ones. I do leave them in a separate mug, so will try to sharpen them for sure. Thank you Shane.

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Erratum:

I found a second one in the strings of my bass. I’m not as careless as I thought :grin:

Shane,
Have you ever tried a Big Stubby pick?
Like you, I prefer a sharp pointed pick & Big Stubbies seem to hold shape longer than Jazz III pics. I do like ‘em both, though!

Tod

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Dont like them. Too big and too chunky for me
Its Jazz III Black XLs for me.
They do actually stay very pointed for quite some time. My 7 day turnaround is perhaps overkill, and perhap a bit psychological/ habitual :zany_face:

Cheers, Shane

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This is a very dangerous thread for me, since i’m very prone to gas attacks.
The way i’m fighting it, well not me really, but rather the physical space that contains my collection, is that i’m running out of space.
One or two more guitars and that’s it. No more room. Pedals on the other hand have some room left, but that’s a different animal.
Buying a bigger house is not a priority for now, so i’m left with ogling the yt channels where people review stuff.
Another way of fighting gas i found, is going to a physical guitar store and holding and playing the guitar i saw online.
Since i’m a lefty and there are but a few physical stores left, chances are slim that they have “that” guitar in store.
Or i would have to drive to the Netherlands or Germany. Not going to happen any time soon.

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I think I have a sort of built-in immunity against GAS: shame. I’d simply be embarrassed to own a lot of fancy gear (or even a lot of not-very-fancy gear) if I wasn’t a very good player (which I’m not, yet).

For me, this has turned into a sort of minimalist challenge: how good can I get using my modest Yamaha acoustic – I’m trying to maximize my proficiency-to-gear ratio, which is a kind of QPR, if you think about it. That’s what keeps the GAS away for me.

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I use the space argument to suppress GAS as well, but now we are just putting together plans for a substantial house extension (80m2), so I’m in really dangerous territory. As an addition to the plans, the architect planned a wine cellar, which I immediately thought would be perfect as a sound damped/proofed room for playing/recording, instead of wine … or both! :grinning_face:

Actually, playing the guitar you want can also be a good GAS killer. I’v seen a few rave reviews on YT, but when I actually played the guitar in question, I realised I was more comfortable with what I already owned. Just remembering the “I really need to have this guitar” feeling after watching YT video reviews compared to the feeling of actually playing the instrument really helped to quell my GAS and put me back into complete (I hope!) reality.

Yep, you’re in for the ride. Prepare yourself to become expert guitar player / wine connaisseur.
Life can be good. :laughing:

About the playing a guitar you see on the yt’s. I did that some time ago. I was fascinated by a Takamine accoustic guitar, thinking “this is it. That’s a great guitar. I’m going to play and buy one, for sure”.
15 minutes into playing the guitar in the store and it was more of: “Yaikes, what’s this?” :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
I tried a few others, but left the store without buying anything.

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I’ve found the thing that is calming my GAS is the urge to leave work. For a long time work was the means to buy shiny things such as cars, motorcycles, bikes and guitars. As time has gone on those same shiny things have become responsible for me having to keep working. I’ve now decided enough is enough, I’ve handed in my notice at work so GAS has to stop! New guitars will have to be funded by the sale of old guitars.

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Congratulations Matthew!

imho, you’ve come to the correct conclusion.
‘Things’ are not what makes us (me) HappyCat.
Playing better guitar is closer to something that makes me happy. And that, I can’t buy. That, I have to work towards. My existing gear can lead me to my goal. New gear won’t help me reach my goal.

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Thank you. I think you’re right - it’s a shame I didn’t learn this in my 20s, 30s or 40s but at least I’ve got there now!

If you’re incorporating a wine cellar in your studio, you’ll have to upgrade the soundproofing you were going to install :wink:

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That’s great Matt. Lucky you. I’m 3 years away from retirement, and TBH, even though I truly love my job, I am really looking forward to retirement. Even more so since starting to learn guitar.

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Thanks. I used to love my job but the corporate landscape has changed and I’m no longer getting to do the aspects of my job that I enjoyed. It’s not the fault of the company I work for, the industry has changed a lot and they have to go with it or go under. I’m not bitter, in fact it might be the best thing that could happen for me.
When I first thought about retirement (maybe about 2 years ago) I thought it might be late 2027 / early 2028 but ever since I started entertaining those thoughts it’s been a one-way journey where the date has kept coming sooner - by a combination of saving more and lowering my target of what I think I need to have a simple but happy life. Just be aware that once you start having those thoughts, it’s not easy to keep them at bay!
I think you’re right about guitar. It feels like a worthwhile activity to pursue in retirement

Congratulations Matt, I hope you enjoy your retirement. I am sure you will, I’m really glad I got out when I did. Never seem to have enough time, my guitar practice gets longer and longer and I still want more. You’ll wish you did it sooner.

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I couldnt control GAS :rofl:

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Been following this with interest and my thoughts are “don’t resist”, just roll with it ! :+1:

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