Heart Wrenching clear out advice

[Gigahearts_FX]

Dear all

I am currently in the process of buying a house
My head says "there are lots of things you will need to buy for said house...such as a bed, widecreen TV and hot drink making machinery"
My head also says "despite having 5 bedrooms and ample built in storage, you might consider space an issue, as well as finance"
My head then follows up with "you appear to have at least 3 of every type of effect pedal known to man...surely you can afford to pick the one(s) you like best, and down size"

My heart says "AAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHGHHHHH NOOOOOOOOO MY PEDLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLZLZZLLSLSLSLSLZS"

I think we have all crossed this bridge at some point, for various reasons. What I wanna know is, as someone who loves and hoards pedals, should I make the step now to have a clear out and make way for other goodly things in my life, or should I keep everyhing (which also involves moving more stuff< shut up head) and deal with the economic mess and lack of TV affordability I am about to sink into?

Your vote counts.

And, for all the heads out there, I know your hearts may say "keep all the pedals" but be smart: I have some very cool shit that would end up in BST.
Such is the conundrum for all.

Avast!

[jrmy]

Speaking as someone who owns a house (yeek) and has done so for about 14 years now (DOUBLE YEEK!), and has unmitigated GAS, keep the stuff. Buying a house feels like an absolutely insane out-of-body shitshow no matter what you go into it with. Plus, if you sell them all now, you'll just end up buying them later. Go in with an honest brain, figure out how to factor these things in, carve out a realistic space for them in the house now (even if that involves half of them living in drawers and storage shelving), and you'll be happier for it down the line.

[Gone Fission]

Is there enough of a studio scene where you are to start a pedal rental business? Justify keeping it all.

[Rob Fossil]

If you use it - Keep it
If you have plans for it in the near future - keep it
If it has a strong sentimental value (1st guitar, etc.) - keep it
Otherwise dump it, it's just collecting dust.

[jrmy]

I would amend Rob Fossil's advice (which is totally solid on its own) to:

If you use it - Keep it
If you have plans for it in the near future - keep it
If it has a strong sentimental value (1st guitar, etc.) - keep it
Otherwise sell it, so you can buy new gear you'd rather have or want to try.

[Gigahearts_FX]

Speaking as someone who owns a house (yeek) and has done so for about 14 years now (DOUBLE YEEK!), and has unmitigated GAS, keep the stuff. Buying a house feels like an absolutely insane out-of-body shitshow no matter what you go into it with. Plus, if you sell them all now, you'll just end up buying them later. Go in with an honest brain, figure out how to factor these things in, carve out a realistic space for them in the house now (even if that involves half of them living in drawers and storage shelving), and you'll be happier for it down the line.

Yarp

Ive had a morgage for 8 years myself, on a 2 bed apartment. Which I am keeping on to rent out. This is moving to a big house in the countryside.
I feel like I should address the balance between need for proper house stuff vs a collection of fun toys that I dont play much but yes as you have pointed out the flipside is losing those devices and craving them again one day. I did manage to part with 2 guitars recently, and I dont miss them. Perhaps the process is more about a cathartic purge and the house is just an excuse?

I think there is probably a middle ground somewhere.
Part of it at least is beinbg driven by acquiring an EchoCzar which is probably my most expensive pedal (and thats saying something) and not really being blown away by it. I could buy a sweet TV if i sold that...for example...

[Jwar]

I've owned 5 houses in the last 7 years (LOL), and have had to sell shit because it didn't fit in my house or because I forgot I had it. Never to pay for shit in my house.

My advice? If you think you have to, do it. Everything is replaceable, even the expensive stuff.

You could sell that Echoczar for 1400 bucks at least. I know because I have one on the way right now! LOL. If it's not your bag, don't keep it because you think you have to. That's just silly. Especially for the money. If mine doesn't blow me, err, blow me away, I'll be sitting on it simply because I can. haha.

Seriously though. Do what you got to do dude. You can build killer stuff, so no harm anyway in selling shit.

[Rob Fossil]

Yarp This is moving to a big house in the countryside.
.

He lives in a house, a very big house, in the countrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpuh1WE-RVw[/youtube]

[Eivind August]

I like selling stuff, even if I kinda enjoy using it, as long as its not an integral part of my sound. Change is (almost?) always a good thing. And if you find yourself really missing something down the line, you could always rebuy it - nothing is irreplaceable.

[afterosmosis]

If you use it, keep it. If not, sell it.

[resincum]

sell me them hehe

[Doctor X]

sell the echoczar, its far too expensive
keep the rest for now and give yourself time to decide in 6 months, rather than under pressure now

[untilshewokeme]

If you use it, keep it. If not, sell it.

+1. As a home owner, I thought I had to fill every square inch of my house with furniture as soon as we moved in. Ended up buying a bunch of Ikea shit that is starting to fall apart 8.5 years later.

You will get everything you "need" for your house over time. Check craigslist (people give shit away all the time), consignment shops and if there is a UK equivalent of ReStore (http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx). Deals to be had.

Saving Money = Saving Pedals

[frigid midget]

Been there done that

It worked out great for me, I just went from being a snobby gear obsessed hoarder to someone who's pedal board looks like that of an actual musician, instead of a forumite with rrrrreally nice board pics and an empty bank account.

So that'd be my advice: Go with cheaper alternatives of what you actually need and use, sell all the rest and don't look back. Like you said, decide on one of each effect type, except for maybe fuzz or delay or whatever you use most

Besides being able to buy a new tv or whateverr, you may end up playing more and messing less with knobs and controls. And obviously cheaper doens't have to mean 'less good'. There's a ton of sweet sleeper pedals that just don't come with a cool brand name, secksy paint job, or a ton of useless controls. Focus on the basic functionality and sound, and forget about fun noise makers that just distract you from writing/playing.

[skullservant]

I'm going through the same thing with a baby on top. My pedals have been reduced to those that I gig with, and those that hold personal value to me (etched Bitquest from Ryan, Big Green from ARC), and 3 other pedals that I use for recording. I will echo that my board has gone from very elaborate with lots of fun toys to utilitarian (while still having fun). It's forced me to be more creative in the 1 hour or so a week I've been able to actually sit down with stuff outside of work and sets. Do I still want stuff? Absolutely, all the time. But I really rationalize purchases now, how they will be used, how they will be paid for, etc. It's to the point that I am happy with what I have, so if I want something else I really have to ask myself if it's worth sacrificing something that I already really enjoy and use to get this or that. It's helped immensely