Why I sold most of my music gear

Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a very real thing. It involves musicians feeling compelled to buy new equipment in the belief that is will enhance their creative endeavours. For some people it does, for some it doesn't.

For me, it provided the backdrop to my participation in Jamuary, an annual online celebration of musicians filming jams and putting them on Instagram. I participated in 2020, 2021, and 2022. This year I’m not participating.

When I got a new toy, I’d get it out the box, learn how to use it, film a few videos, and then add it to my desk - my desk gradually turning more and more into an RGB light show with illuminating buttons and low-res screens.

Then the guilt would happen: “I haven’t used this in ages, I really should find the time."

Then the promises that were left unfulfilled: “Now I’ve got time off work, I’ll make some music and film some TikToks.”

Then the attachment: “I enjoyed using it before and made some good music on it. It has sentimental value now and I couldn’t possibly get rid of it.”

Then towards the end of December 2023 I made a decision. There is literally no point keeping all of this stuff. The guilt and the growing accumulation of dust isn’t worth it. So I started calculating how much I could get for some of the gear at CEX, a UK store where you can trade gear in for a store voucher or sell for cash. Upon seeing I could get a £4k store voucher, and then seeing I could get the best laptop I’ve ever owned for the same price, I then made up my mind. I would reduce most of my gear down to the point where most of my music making occurs on my laptop.

I traded in my Roland TR-8S, MC-707, and MX-1, my Korg OPSIX (sadface), and Wavestate, a Korg Volca FM, base model Mac Studio M1, MacBook Air, original Steamdeck, and a few other small bits. After a couple of days, I drove to another branch and picked up the new laptop.

*My setup is now computer-based. I now have monitor acquisition syndrome.*

So now I write this post on a M2 Max MacBook Pro 4TB/96GB. As I start my new MFA degree in video game composition and orchestration, this will be the powerhouse that gets me there.

So how did I feel when I sold all the gear I had acquired?

I honestly didn’t feel anything. I wasn’t selling the gear to pay bills, so that helped. Instead I chose to reinvest. That’s probably what made it easier. It’s nice have a desk that looks like a desk. One that’s ergonomically useful and doesn’t require learning over a synth to reach the mouse.

And in case I still feel the urge to use some gear, I did keep back the Maschine+, SP-404mk2, and the Roland JD-XI just in case.