- Redirect your GAS to cheaper Gear or software – that doesn’t exactly avoid GAS but it will reduce cost.
- Set a limit for purchases – maybe 200 Dollars or Euros per year
- Buy used gear – that is also reducing cost. And reselling used gear loses less money than reselling previously new gear.
- One in one out – for each device you buy, another one has to go.
- Avoid buying gear with overlapping abilities – I have a Digitakt, an OP 1, and an MPC 1. Quite overlapping 🙂
- Rent or borrow gear – I guess meetings and conventions could be good places just to try some gear.
- Set an interval for purchases – one piece a year.
- Learn one synth thoroughly before buying the next one.
- Use only one synth to make an entire track – you will learn to appreciate that synth much more.
- Put a synth on the shelf for a while – when bringing it back on the desk it will feel like a new one.
- Re-Watch tutorials about your synth – you might find new ideas and approaches.
- Rewatch reviews about your synth – relearn why you wanted this Synth.
- Use your gear differently – replug it, reroute the sound, turn it upside down – anything that helps.
- Buy books – not gear. Read something about Music theory. Or buy online courses to improve your skills.
- Create ten tracks with the cheapest gear you have – Creativity needs constraints – and you will appreciate what you have.
- Spend more time playing your synth and less time watching gear videos.
- Find out what you need instead of what you want. This leans on storytelling. Example: A hero wants to overcome his enemy, but he actually needs his family’s appreciation. Translating to synths: You WANT that new Synth, but you NEED to improve your skills. (At least I need to).
- Beware synth nostalgia. Yeah, vintage synths are great but very expensive.
- More Gear means more Problems – think about latency issues, connectors, compatibility, and firmware upgrades. And DUST!
- Try before you buy – or send a synth back if you do not like it.
- Did you have GAS before with other kinds of gear? Is it a pattern? Consider professional help!
- Remember: You will get used to any new synth within a few weeks. Then you will start your search for new gear again.
- Ask yourself: Do you want to make music or do you want to collect synths?
- Realize that only other gearheads care about your equipment. Real listeners just want to listen to your music.