Should I or Shouldn't I?

Take Control of Your G.A.S.

Everyone gets G.A.S. or Gear Acquisition Syndrome from time to time. Without going into much detail about GAS (read the article I wrote on GAS here), there is a sane and reasonable way to control it. It just requires a bit of self-discipline. But when you're "in the moment," it's difficult to have self-control. The following questions are designed to "get your feet back on the ground," as it were, so you can make a gear-buying decision in an educated, non-emotional fashion. Simply answer the questions below, then review the final +/- rating. What you do with the rating is entirely up to YOU. But here's a way to help control your GAS.

		Rating
	Question	+	-
1	Does this gear solve a real issue right now, or is this something I just want to try out?	Solution	Experiment
2	Am I playing anything right now that requires this piece of gear?	Yes	No
3	Have I really taken the time to research and evaluate this product and make comparisons to competing products to determine if it's a right fit for me to integrate into my overall tone?	Yes	No
4	Now be honest: Do I really have the skill to use this gear effectively?	Yes	No
5	If I don’t have the skill, but have answered positively to the previous questions, do I really have the time to put into getting to a level of expertise with this where I can perform in front of people?	Yes	No
6	Am I trying to sound like somebody else with this?	No	Yes
7	Again, be honest: Will this gear truly expand my tonal palette?	Yes	No
8	Will this purchase have a significant impact on my available funds?	No	Yes
9	Finally, do I want pay for this with credit or cash?	Cash	Credit
GAS Rating

Interpreting the Results

If you scored...	It means that...
-2 or less	For me, I'd definitely not buy the gear in question. But that's just me. Some people may be on the fence up to -3 or -4.
-1 or 1	You're in a gray area here, where you're pretty balanced between the pluses and minuses. In this position, my recommendation is to think it over more.
2 to 5	It's probably a good bet that you could use the item, though I'd do a bit more thinking if you scored on lower side of this range.
6 and up	You should buy the gear. However, if you scored on the lower side of this range, and especially if your negatives came from the money questions, I'd still err on the side of caution and not take a bit more time to think about it.