I have the related condition known as SAS–Score Acquisition Syndrome. I find it very hard to resist buying or otherwise obtaining scores, especially opera scores. I also never get rid of anything. Being married to another opera singer doesn’t help, especially when we often perform together and need to both buy a score. We currently have two Gianni Schicchis (plus a Trittico), two Turandots, two Dialogues of the Carmelites, two Most Happy Fellas (Frank Loesser), three Le Nozze di Figaros and four Carmens. We also own Aida, Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Das Rheingold,and die Walküre in both full score and piano/vocal (two full score Butterflys). Much of this is the result of large gifts of scores from a couple of acquaintances who were looking to divest themselves of a number of scores and singled me out to receive them. We will soon be acquiring two new Otellos because we are both performing in the ensemble this summer, and the director insists we have Ricordi scores, and our Otello is a G. Schirmer.
Well, first off, my thanks to all of you! What an interesting place the SDMB is.
Quasimodal - you must have phenomenal willpower. The band teachers in my hometown had garages filled with instruments kept only for spare parts, and they were forever trolling the pawn shops for non-functional brass and woodwinds… Do you have to do much repair for the band students?
Zsofia - I hear what you’re saying about pianos, but it all depends. The record in my personal experience is a pianist/composer who plays in a duo - he has two well-matched baby grands for 2 Piano 4 Hands work (no, he’s never done the show!) and an upright which is tuned 1/4 tone flat for playing the Charles Ives and some of his own compositions. Do you play much duet rep, and if so, do you play 2X4 or ‘elbows over middle C’?
I sense from your interest in Squeegee 's earlier thread about guitar shopping that you just need the excuse to let your GAS out. “Has anyone played a 12-string around you yet?” he said with an evil, enabling sort of grin…
mack I had never considered the recording angle, but of course, you’re right. And family does get in the way of adding to the collection - fortunately, kids are even more fun than gear.
1920s Style “Death Ray” Oh, the pedals will get you, too. With them, it’s not just the cash, it’s the time they consume trying to get ‘just that sound’. I love 'em though. What are your favourites?
**picker, ** Balance - You’re my kinda people!
GorillaMan , Cyberhwk - Yes, my wife once organized an orchestra going to the Edinburgh Festival, and among other things, she had to arrange for the insurance on the instruments. After calling back the first three or four string players (“Are you sure that comma’s in the right place?”), she came to accept a good violin really was worth that much! Where string players tend to get hooked is on early instruments like Viols, and bows. I know some Toronto based violinists whose bows alone are worth as much as my house. Have you ever gone over to a Baroque bow as well as a modern one?
For all that, you still get the odd person who likes to double on Violin and Viola. In my opinion, mind-boggling and expensive. Some people are just masochists.
I also remember talking to the string players from ‘Nouvel Ensemble Moderne’, all of whom had cheap s**t plastic student bows in their cases. “What’s that about?” I asked. The viola player explained that with the amount of contemporary music they had to play, they didn’t want to wreck their good bows playing ‘Col legno’ (for non-string players - that’s when you use the wood of the bow instead of the hair. Gives a weird, whispery sort of tone, until you hit the string with the wood, which gives a really cool ‘snap’ to the sound.) and so they’d change to the cheap plastic ones if they had lots to do in a piece. It gave a more interesting sound, because the plastic had a bit more friction than the wood…
Spectre of Pithecanthropus - Are you one of those strange people who wants to learn how to play more than you want to buy stuff? 
I wish I could be more like you; what’s your secret?
Beware of Doug Oh, thank you for that link! What a delight.
Eonwe Well, part of the trick is being able not only to find the right sound, but find it on the fly. “I know how to do that on my Ahamay 12, but where is it on the Grok 666?” And you’re right about sometimes the gig is based on if you’ve got the gear… How do you get it all around on gig day?
It’s probably a topic for a whole other thread, but it’s funny you mention that it feels odd to say professional. I find there’s a whole spectrum from hobby to obsession to profession - and on top of that, there can also be an attitude of “I’m a professional, and I show it by not being enthusiastic about what I play because I’m doing it for the money.” Give me a cheery amateur over that any day…
as_u_wish Your daughter has a cool collection - I hope she gets a chance to play all of that stuff at least once a year.
fachverwirrt Well, that’s how it manifests itself with singers - we can’t get a new voice, so we get new repertoire. I’m a compulsive hoader of scores, songs + sheet music, but it’s partly because everytime I get rid of something, I need it about 6 weeks later. Maybe I should just chuck the lot to see if I get more work that way…
WordMan - You’re most welcome, I’m always happy to enable, uhh, I mean, assist anyone with acquiring more stuff. The Chancelloresse of the Exchequer has made it quite plain that I have to earn (net, not gross!) the money to get anything else with what I already have, so my rate of purchase has decreased dramatically since that edict was passed. However, I enjoy other people’s instruments vicariously…
Alas, I only have two keyboards: an ancient Yamaha that plays and sounds bad but was my first keyboard (though I might be giving it away soon), and my beloved Kurzweil PC88 that is now nearly 10 years old. I keep warning my SO that someday we will have an upright (which will become a baby grand if/when we get our dream house), because I miss playing an acoustic piano, but I won’t get rid of the Kurzweil until it stops working. Besides, I just finally got a wheeled case for it at Christmas.
I sort of share fachverwirrt’s Score/Sheetmusic Acquisition Syndrome. I can’t pass a new (to me) music store without checking out their sheet music selection, but I’ve gotten pickier about what I’ll buy. I’m about to move much closer to the biggest music store in my area, and I’m looking forward to that: it’s been too long since I’ve bought any new sheet music!
If I had the money I would probably own several microphones and stands, too (I sing, but with bands as opposed to on stages ;)).
Oh, and right now I’m in the market for a new metronome.
I like most of them for various reasons.
I have a Fulltone Fulldrive (I think that’s what it’s called, I haven’t played my electric for a few years) that I really like. Also a Crowther Hotcake distortion pedal made by Paul Crowther, a New Zealand guy whose pedals are used by some local bands. Paul played drums for Split Enz in the early days. The stock Hotcake had a mid-boost switch that I had changed for a pot so I could vary the mid boost. I also have a Rat II that I had Paul Crowther modify, he put it in a new housing, made it a lot quieter (got rid of the background noise in the gain circuits,) and installed a “FAT” switch that produced a much fuller sound. The switch was his idea, I just wanted a better sound out of it, he put the switch in so I could revert to the normal Rat sound if I wanted. Out of those three, the Hotcake is my favourite, great sounds, and quite different to the run of the mill distortion.
The only other pedal I used a lot was a Boss DD3 delay. I used to be a Pink Floyd tragic so delay was a necessary part of my sound.
My GAS has generally been hampered by a lack of funds. I’m big on window shopping but a little light on actual purchases.
I’ve kinda reached saturation point with guitars and wish I could part with a couple of the ones I have already. I still manage to get a new instrument about once a year. The latest is my new mandolin (just eBayed the one I’ve had for over 30 years). My collection:
Guitars:
Gibson ES-175 2001
Gibson ES-135 2002
Gibson Les Paul Supreme 2003
Gibson Les Paul Deluxe 1979
Gibson The SG 1979
Gibson LG-0 1974
Fender Stratocaster ca. 1981
Fender American Vintage '52 Telecaster 2005
Fender Standard Telecaster 2005 (heavily modded)
Rickenbacker 360-12 2002
Gretsch G6196T Country Club w/Bigsby
Mandos:
Washburn M6SW (Jethro Burns model)
Freshwater tenor mandola
Trinity College octave mandolin
Basses:
Fender Jazz (fretless) (great)
Fender Jazz (5-string) (sucks)
Rickenbacker 4003
Winds:
Pearl Quantz concert flute
Pearl alto flute
Jupiter bass flute
alto krummhorn
sopranino recorder
soprano recorder
alto recorder (plastic)
a couple dozen assorted diatonic harmonicas
two chromatic harmonicas
Synths:
Alesis QS6.2
Yamaha CS-15 (analog)
E-Mu Proteus 2 (module)
E-Mu B-3 (module)
Korg 05R/W (module)
Kurzweil Micropiano (module)
Rogue electric violin
Rhythm Tech tambourine
Shalloch darbouka
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Oh BTW, I own close to 30 saxophones including bass, C melody, F mezzo-soprano and (nonworking) sopranino; a dozen or so clarinets including two basses and 3 or 4 metal ones; a trumpet, trombone, mellophone, sousaphone, 3 flutes and a cheap Harmony archtop guitar.
I scored a 10. I guess I have my hobby under control!
Never played on period equipment (except the gut strings I used). Wouldn’t be against it though, but don’t have the scratch at this point to just get one out of curiosity.
I wouldn’t have a violin right now if it weren’t given to me. But I do pick it up every once in a while to stay familiar. After getting home from playing viola I pick up the violin and it makes me sick how easy it is to reach the higher positions. I have to contort something crazy to reach 5th+ on the viola. On the violin I can reach the end of the finger board without even unhinging my thumb. 
Like Cyberhwk, period performance has never really been of particular interest. Although I have tried baroque instruments, and fully appreciate how they can engender GAS!
Contempary music is, however, is something I’m far more familiar with. And yes, I can fully understand players with expensive bows keeping an alternative for use in some pieces. The occassional bit of regular col legno (bouncing the wood of the bow against the string) is going to do no harm, even if some people are overly precious about it, but there’s certainly wear and tear which will be caused by extensive col legno tratto (drawing the wood along the string) or frappe (a repeated battering of the wood against the string).
Oh man - I want your guitars! Very cool stuff!
As for my GAS - as I described in one of recent guitar shopping threads, I went through a few-year period of trying out different guitar brands, designs, features, etc. I ended up with a solid understanding how I want my guitars to play - and now I am mindful of which of the guitars I have fit that profile and which don’t. So my GAS is centered around getting the best examples of different designs so I can pick up any guitar of mine and feel inspired to play it. That’s one reason I am psyched about the Tele I assembled and the next build project I am contemplating - I can dial up the features I want and buy the right parts to meet my design - and my playability - needs.
But I can’t just spend money - I have to sell something to start the funding for a new acquisition. Which is why I need to get on with selling this cool vintage Japanese made Les Paul replica I have - great guitar, but I want a bigger neck! So I need to sell it…
Ah, the things we do to relieve GAS…
Non-musicians seem to think I have a problem when they come over, but I got nothin on you guys. (Maybe 'cause it’s scattered all over the house?)
Stuff I can actually play:
my main axe:
drumkit: (5 piece) Pearl World series (in “smoked chrome”)
cymbals: (all Sabian HH except ) 13" Fusion hats, 20" Classic Ride, 18" Light Ride, 19" China, 15" Sound Control Crash, 14" Medium Light Crash, 8" Splash*
second snare: (10X7) Pacifica
(2) cowbells
(2) jam block/blaster
(LP) 9" ice bell
Mic’ed with SM57s and SM58s and AKG D112 into a Mackie 12 channel board and a Behringer Virtualizer Pro effects unit.
additional percussion:
22" Chinese gong (World Percussion)
set of (3) Roto-toms
vintage Ludwig snare (my first drum)
LP djembe
LP Matador bongos
set (2) Picante congas
Toca mini bongos
LP mini conga and mini djembe
Afuche/Cabasa
Vibra-Slap II
Flex-a-Tone
(2) Vibra-Tone (sm & lg)
(2) triangles
(2) set claves (one rosewood, one ceramic)
pescar (aka guiro)
finger cymbals (concert)
large rainmaker
shakers (round ones and egg ones and square ones and tubular ones. Long ones and fat ones and a very large hand painted one. plastic ones and wood ones and three that look like congas. I have a lot of things to shake)
All I need now are a set of tympani and a set of tubular bells.
Stuff I play with:
Lester upright piano (Nanny’s piano)
Yamaha PSR275 keyboard (hardly a pro grade keyboard, but fun)
Yamaha PSS570 keyboard (even less pro grade, but slightly programmable)
'77 Hoffner acoustic guitar
Epiphone “SG” electric
Aims electric bass (some kind of small scale. I don’t know how to measure but the neck itself is 19" from the nut to the end of the neck.)
Peavey TKO 65 bass amp
Boss BR864 digital recorder
Stuff I can’t play:
trombone
flute
(both are student instruments. I think the 'bone is a Conn and the flute is a Bundy)
missed the edit window.
I just want to add, I think I have it easier than a lot of you. I can go spend thirty or forty dollars on a new hand percussion geegaw and be content for a while. You can’t really do that with a guitar or banjo or French Horn.
Pitchers here. Don’t have a picture of the Gretsch, but it looks like this.
Trust me - I know 6196 Gretsch Country Clubs - I used to own a real '55 - it had the Dynasonic single coils instead of Filter 'Trons, but was otherwise a picture of Cadillac Green goodness. Good player, but in such mint condition I never really felt comfortable playing it, so I traded it for a lot of money (in guitars)…
And I love all your other guitars - I want your Ricky 12! Well, I want them all, as stated before, but oh, man!
What are you doing/ have you done to the sage green Tele? But that may be for another thread…
Just for fun–I have zero competence as a craftsman and can barely handle a soldering iron, but I do like to tinker–I decided to get a cheapo Tele and replace everything. I put in Seymour Duncan pups (Vintage Stack in rhythm and Little '59 in lead), new switches from StewMac, swapped out all the hardware for gold, including a set of locking Grovers (the silly flame-pattern switchplate was not what I wanted, but what the hell) and even replaced the pickguard with a green one. I still need to get a good nut put on–I’ll have to go to a pro for that.
I sold all the original parts on eBay and nearly broke even.
I’ve got four guitars (but two are beaters), a small keyboard, and a grand piano. So, far I’ve got my GAS under control; I managed to not buy a guitar for 18 years, and only recently succumbed.
But you succumbed in style, sir. Are you going back to your thread any time soon to provide an update?
Biffy the Elephant Shrew - I now need a new laptop because I shorted out my macbook drooling over your pictures. I hope yer happy. 
DfrntBreign I guess the jam session has to be at your house 'cause you’ll never get all that gear up here.
After searching for weeks for a cheap tambourine, (I set it on the floor and step on it for two and four as a practice tool. No point in getting a good one…) I finally gave up and filled a sock with pennies. It’s been working out quite well. I love percussionists’ logic - a friend has a cuíca made by running a skipping rope through a bass drum. The roar that sucker makes is not to be believed…
When you own no house and not much furniture – but you got instruments and music and books – yeah, I know about that.
Two tubas – Bb and F.
One Sousaphone that is damn near unplayable but I still own it, to hang on the wall if nothing else, I suspect.
Two basses (and I need a fretted bass now too and keep looking but can’t afford one right now but I’m STILL looking!).
Two double-bell euphoniums (1 King, 1 Conn)
One single bell baritone horn.
A weird Eb alto flugelhorn thing I’ve been fiddling with for years without much effect.
A trombone.
Much percussion equipment, mostly hand toys but also a set of congas in storage with a friend along with some other hand drums and an antique snare.
Harmonicas/clavinet – including a bass harmonica.
Bunches of other miscellaneous stuff including a concertina I mess with occasionally, mostly to torture the animals in the house.
And I still want MORE, I’m always looking, I see stuff I want to get into all the time. (See my note above re bass.)
Like a hang drum: Hang (instrument) - Wikipedia Just heard that, it’s the coolest thing.
I swear, it’s a sickness.