I play jazz piano (intermediate level), and recently decided I’d like to learn to play guitar as well. I have a good handle on music theory so that helps, but guitar is a much bigger departure than I anticipated. Figuring out the fret board and notes is proving to be unintuitive, and getting a sound out of this instrument is a physical feat (And not to mention painful sometimes too). All that said, I love it and I’m enjoying the early learning curve on an instrument again.
I am currently in module two in JustinGuitar, and I also take lessons at a local music store. While my guitar skills are fledgling, my gear acquisition syndrome is in full bloom! After I bought one guitar, I ended up buying two more plus a bass. Then I added 3 amps and three multi effect pedals…what is the cure for GAS?
I look forward to being part of this community and continuing to learn and grow.
And with such a background and the right attitude you have , it won’t be long before you’re playing beautiful songs, I look forward to your progress.
Oh yes, what a wonderful time in the beginning, many people think differently about that, but the feeling of the first (even days) weeks/months and all that learning and to see so much new every day…absolutely wonderful and I miss that sometimes …
Hi Marla,
Warmest greetings from Warsaw, Poland (I believe the whole world i represented here ).
So nice to meet you here, and thanks for an interesting introduction story, to which I have, if you allow me, two comments:
Absolutely. That’s something I understood pretty late; then, as my playing progressed too slowly, I realized I needed to make up for my earlier laziness.
It’s incurable, I’m afraid… I tried many times to quit buying new gear, but it never worked.
That’s why I decided to stick to the main principle: ‘How many guitars do you need? Only one. The one you’re going to buy…’. No more remorse…
I’m sure you’ll find this community very friendly. I look forward to listening to your recording.
All the best, Marla.
Regards
Tomasz
Hi Marla, I think I would feel the same if I were to bring a piano into my home, not that my wife would be very happy. I can not for the life of me find my hands and fingers banging in time on those keys, so I get where you are coming from, the gas is just there it can not be helped, however the theory and musical knowledge timing etc that you will have will bring you on heaps and bounds after a little finger pain. best of luck cheers HEC. UK
Hi Marla, you came to the right place for learning guitar I think. You’ll also get much support from fellow forum members. Much positive input from all here.
Seems like your well on your way to learning guitar with your music background. The guitar I’m guessing will fall into place soon for you.
As for your GAS.
Consider. Find a guitar and amp that you like. A guitar that plays good for you, one that you like the looks of too. A amp that your ears enjoy the tones of. imho, consider plain amps too. But it’s tones will need to please you. There is so much out there for amps, with all the choices you can think of. I find a plain amp allows me to play guitar and not chase tone by scrolling through a menu for my favorite amp and cab and effect. Consider less effects, a bit of reverb maybe, but not much more.
Then just stop buying gear. Consecrate on your playing. I hear that tone is in your fingers and I mostly believe that.
I came to the conclusion at this point in my playing that new gear will not make me play better. Once I came to this conclusion my GAS went away and now I can concentrate on how I play. There are many tones you can get with your existing gear. Try rotating some knobs on your amp and your guitar (bass, middle, treble, vol.). There’s likely many tones you can get w/o new gear.
Have a great time here. It’s a great place to learn guitar imho.
Welcome to the community Marla. So your guitar experience so far is proving “unintuitive,” “a physical feat,” “painful,” with a big “learning curve” and it is "giving you GAS? " I think you have come to the right place!
I don’t know that there’s an actual cure…so I use the excuse that it’s like buying art for a home. For many of us these items are rarely collectible, and are possibly now worth less than when purchased. But we love having it, love looking at it, and love how it makes us feel. Collecting guitar equipment comes with all that, and the added excuse — I mean advantage — that we can actually do something with it!
Hello Marla & Welcome!!!
I hope you enjoy the Journey ahead & also enjoy the gear you are acquiring!!!
For me the answer is “When you run out of money and/or space”!!! Fortunately, neither has hit yet!!! I found that after a certain point, I got a bit more “choosey”… I would think (agonize) more before the actual purchase, but more often than not ended up with a new guitar/amp/pedal anyway!!!
I try to avoid actual music stores but the internet calls to me with beautiful pictures of guitars & seductive sounds of gorgeous amp tones… it’s like I’m Odysseus & the Sirens are singing “ Buy it, Buy it, Buy it NOW!!!”
So, not a lot of help for you… I’m sorry!
The most important thing about learning guitar, IMHO, is to keep it lots of FUN!!! Keep smiling, the Joy finds its way into your hands & heart!
Hi Marla, welcome to the community forum. With your jazz background I wonder whether you had purchased a semi-hollow electric guitar, played by some jazz guitarists as well as blues guitarists.
Indeed! I have one hollow body and I love it! Hopefully the image comes through. It sounds beautiful and feels smooth and silky in my hands. I’ve become a PRS fangirl already…
Lovely PRS, Marla!
PRS really puts out good quality gear! I can’t remember that particular model’s name but I think it’s the one I very nearly purchased… I went with the Zach Meyer’s model - purely because I fell in love with the color, “Meyer Blue” !!!
Is that another PRS in the picture?
My preventative is being such a mediocre guitar player that I can’t justify buying any more. I’ve looked at a couple of different semi-hollow bodies at my local guitar store (Gretsch and Epiphone) with humbuckers, got tempted, then remembered that I’m not very good on what I have, so spending on another made no sense!
My standard answer to that is to develop GPS. Guitar Playing Syndrome.
Welcome to the forum. I’ve suffered from GAS to greater and lesser degrees, the one truth I’ve found is that GPS will improve your sound, GAS not so much
Yep, that’s my newest binge this weekend. Picked up a n SE McCarty 594, because I had to have a solid body to go with my hollow body. That’s my GAS at work…I’m going to take @tony s advice and develop GPS instead…
For some people there is probably no cure for GAS. However, as you can see from the answers above, some people have found the answer. @HappyCat has found his rig and has reached the point where that’s his sound and he’s happy. Others have enjoyed playing more and more and that distracts from GAS which I think is the most important thing to remember. For me, watching a YouTube video by Bass Buzz that addressed this particular issue had several great recommendations. Most notably, there are so many beautiful guitars visible online and a plethora of reviews telling you that this is the best guitar ever and that you “need” it, and let’s face it, they are all objects of beauty. The best thing, is not to make an impulsive buy, but to wait. Go back and look later, like 2 months. The chances are that by then you have already spotted another guitar(s) that you just “need”. Then you realise you don’t need the one you were looking at previously and probably the new ones you are looking at. I think that if there is a guitar you just really keep going back to look at again and again and that wish to own it doesn’t go away then perhaps it is the one for you so why not buy it at some time. But I think avoiding impulsive buys is important.
My advice for you now is that you have 2, or 3?, absolutely fantastic guitars from which you should be able to get a wide range of wonderful sounds (given time). Follow Justin’s course. Don’t be too hung up on playing one style of music but just go with the course. Over time, you are going to hear lots of different tones from your guitar. Instead of purchasing new ones, try to enjoy finding those tones. I have a few guitars. I’m a beginner. But I’m amazed by some of the tones that come out of my budget guitars and when that happens, it’s a very nice moment. I also made a guitar (Strat) with high end parts and it’s just a joy to slowly discover all the different tones it can produce. I have realised, I don’t “need” another guitar as it’s going to take me a long time to explore and learn to get many different tones out of this guitar. It’s an an enjoyable experience.
Like @HappyCat I’m a bit of a purist and so I just enjoy having an amp with very simple controls, no fancy effects and really enjoying the tone that the guitar, amp (and eventually the player) produces. I think the moment you feel that it’s not the guitar but you that makes a lot of the tone is a watershed moment and for me definitely helps with GAS as I realise I have so much work to do to get there.
I don’t recommend trying to use lots of pedals. As a beginner, they are an unnecessary distraction. You just need volume, bass, middle and treble and that should be enough. Bit of reverb perhaps.
You didn’t say what your other guitar and your amps are.
, it won’t be long before you’re playing beautiful songs, I look forward to your progress. 
).
Buy it, Buy it, Buy it NOW!!!
