Lure of the new gear?

[FreakAnimalFinland]

There is indeed entire section for specific gear talk, but not sure has there been topic about do you have some kind of urge for new gear and how it happens?
I know some people just buy, seemingly whatever, give it a try, and if it works, it works. If doesn't, they trade/sell it forward. Some know exactly what they are missing or what they would need to do, but do not have tools to make it happen. Therefore buy something new.

I recall already years ago talking with one US cut-up harsh noise artist who was sitting on almost complete recording, that he felt is missing like couple seconds long fragment, that he needed to buy new pedal to be able to make it. At the time, had to wait for it. Did it make a difference in album, who knows, but there was still that urge that album was not going to be ready until there was that exact thing in there.

I personally have quite little moments when I feel like I'd randomly buy something and see what it can be used for. Already have enough gear that can do so much, plus I prefer to keep it quite minimal in a way that one item and its functions means more. If something is cheap and just sort of lands in my lap, I may take it. Different pedals or mixers or something.

Few things I have been thinking about and purchased are things like: What is the tool that would go AFTER mixer, to make especially live sound better. Not the tinny line-in to PA type of sound, but make it something closer to recorded material. Have had bunch of solutions for it that work, but they work for different situations. Currently been looking at 200 euro value pedal that should be functionin like Tascam 424 input gain - which is sort of perfect for final noise boost over whatever you are doing. But does it really work like the real deal 4-tracker sound is? In studio and Finnish shows, I can theoretically use real 424 as mixer. While flying somewhere, it would be impossible to carry too much stuff, so buying small pedal that does the trick would be luring idea. Just thinking is it really like it says to be, or would any generic overdrive pedal do the same trick. Which is fine, but not really the same.

Occasionally, I do think would I need one more synth? Something that works differently than the former ones? Since there are so much a synth oriented sound out there, I am tempted only very short periods of time and quickly realize I have not even fully immersed myself into all possibilities of former synths I have. Same with filter banks. Do I need new filter? And why exactly? Would it do something really different or is it just excuse to be able to toy around new gadget?

So what did I buy? This year, maybe nothing? I did buy octave pedal of some sort, bass-distortion with clean/wet balance button on it. Couple of years ago rat -clone pedal. Most important have been updating looper. Same pedal, newer model. That was already couple years ago. That really made a difference, especially for live.

[Stipsi]

Can i give you my personal opinion about the tascam pedal?
I own the 424 and i tried the pedal.
Absolutely a total different thing.
Not worth the price for me.
It's just a simple booster/overdrive/distortion
Btw, as a gear addict for long time (at one point i had like 120 pedals),i found out that most of the stuff i bought was just for the excitement of the moment.
Tried and then realizing that they didn't work for me.
Nowadays I'm more focused on multifunction looper devices (like the soma cosmos) and self built junk metal instruments, because it's my main sound source.
For the rest, i had everything i need.
It took ages to understand it.

[tiny_tove]

I am a gear hoarder. But I work exactly like you said at the beginning. I buy (after checking demos that is not always easy for noisy stuff since most machines are built to do something completely different), then have a first try, then get deeper, and if it doesn't work or sits in my cupboard for too long I sell it.

Usually my choice is not drawn by need but by "opportunity" (suggestions, reviews or videos I stumble upon by chance). Then when I do my own thing I rarely improvise or jam, I get straight to that machine.

[k.p.g]

I used to buy as much as I could.  The thought was "always be prepared.  You never know what sounds you may need"  Over time though, I have found the certain pedals that do what I need (i.e. right pedal combo for distortion, favorite delays, etc.).  Not really trying to flex as many styles across my output as possible.  I got more than enough 4 tracks to last me a lifetime.  No need to get 4 or 5 anymore.

[Atrophist]

Few things I have been thinking about and purchased are things like: What is the tool that would go AFTER mixer, to make especially live sound better. Not the tinny line-in to PA type of sound, but make it something closer to recorded material. Have had bunch of solutions for it that work, but they work for different situations. Currently been looking at 200 euro value pedal that should be functionin like Tascam 424 input gain - which is sort of perfect for final noise boost over whatever you are doing. But does it really work like the real deal 4-tracker sound is? In studio and Finnish shows, I can theoretically use real 424 as mixer. While flying somewhere, it would be impossible to carry too much stuff, so buying small pedal that does the trick would be luring idea. Just thinking is it really like it says to be, or would any generic overdrive pedal do the same trick. Which is fine, but not really the same.

I've been looking at getting something similar as well -- something to go between mixer and PA at live shows. I've been using an EHX Platform for this purpose. It's a stereo compressor/distortion unit that handles line level signals. It's pretty good, but a little samey, so I might be on the market for something else. Pain Appendix uses an OTO Machines Boum, which sounds really good. Might be within my reach in terms of price, just about. The Electron Analog Heat used to be almost reasonable priced, but then they threw in some digital effects processor and doubled the price. No thanks.

One option that seems promising is the Endorphin-es Golden Master, at about 350€. It's specifically designed for live techno and other dance music, so it might be too clean and clinical sounding. I curse not getting the FMR Audio RNLA when it was still available.

Lots of guitar pedal companies seem to be coming out with products that promise to emulate earlier, more expensive gear. Like the Tascam pedal, old compressors, amps, vintage reel to reel tapes, whatever. This is a very broad blanket statement ofc, but I'm pretty skeptical about a lot of these. They seem pretty pricey for you get, and as for how authentic they sound, well, I can't judge that usually. There's also the question of how they will behave if you intend to use it in an unconventional way. The results might be total ass -- or, they could be great, who knows.

I used to buy and sell a lot of gear, with the excuse that I was just trying things out to see what works. I guess its true to some extent. New gear is fun, but it is also an investment of not just money, but also time and effort. You need to actually learn how to use it effectively, and integrate it with your existing equipment. That is why I tend to be quite a lot more conservative when it comes new gear purchases these days. I'm convinced that GAS is (or it can be) a form of procrastination.

[SSRI]

10-15 years ago when I had more spare money I used to buy more gear. It was always (at least almost always) something I thought would be useful, not just any random stuff. Preferably second hand if available. Then I sold a lot away and concentrated on other things. In the last couple years I've started to buy more again. Again preferably second hand and even more preferably from people I know. The latest purchases are a few different distortion pedals and a Whammy from one friend, a looper from another (can't have too many loopers), and a neat oscillator/drone box and an EHX Flanger Hoax from yet another one.

Of course in the end all you really need is a fist, a cock and possibly a contact mic, but I like to have options.

[The Devil´s Cormorant]

At the start I definitely bought gear a lot more with the idea of "let's see what I can do with this", and this coincided with the era of still looking for my own sound and not having any specific ideas to target with specific gear. Part of it is the excitement of the though of what new doors new gear would open. This was especially the case with synths for me, where every new synth appeared as a new world of possibilities. But when you get to understand basic analog synths a bit more you realise they're very similar to each other, and while some weirder ones like LYRA-8 are conceptually interesting they're also very limited. I did end up buying some that basically did the same job as the previous ones but had that one more extra trick in their sleeve. In hindsight perhaps unnecessarily so. But I also don't mind having a few synths lying around, they're handy when you have different roles or layers of sound to make at the same time, e.g. percussions, murky drone, weird space sounds.

Nowadays I have a lot firmer grip of what I want to do and how it's done, and the general orientation towards gear isn't as naively enthusiastic. I also just have enough of tools at my disposal already and I've been focusing more on DIY stuff rather than buying anything.