Some of us spend a good amount of time and energy on gear; searching, shopping, watching demos, even fixing, designing, and building new stuff.
Why not spend it on making music?
(I ask myself this, as the months pile up without a release… )
Making music is exploring, in many ways. Exploring new techniques, more advanced skills, different performances, writing unique material, and new gear. Gear is on the same spectrum. Different areas of exploration speak to different musicians, and gear is one that seems to speak to me.
Gear can be inspiring. For example, as I was finishing design work on my DS-1 lab yesterday, two new riffs popped out as I was fooling around and testing sounds. They emerged out of my interaction with the pedal; they wouldn’t have occurred otherwise.
That validates the gear quest, for me, in principle.
Whatever keeps you exploring; do that.