Anyone keep buying more guitars to keep the interest going? ( and failed)

Winny_Pooh

Dominic said:

Owning lots of gear is great but there's nothing like as much fun as sex with a wild stranger !

Good luck with that

57Deluxe

Gardening can be rewarding...

ac30man

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and reply. I really appreciate it. There are some great pearls of wisdom in there. I'm not selling all my gear off in case the bug bites me again at some point. Just one guitar is going I think. This has given me a lot to think about. Some comments have really inspired me to think differently, some have made me laugh and some have made me realise that I'm not on my own. Thanks again guys!

stickyfiddle

I can appreciate the feeling, and may have been guilty of it myself. I made a pact (with myself) to only allow really properly brilliant gear into the house, which I've found inspires me to play far more than I would otherwise.

Since I got a Martin in February I've played almost every day. I've probably played more hours since then than I did all of last year, and I'm making big efforts with new tunings and actually learning things rather than just strumming the same old stuff again.

ac30man

imalrightjack said:

@monquixote sounds like he's had a journey I'm attempting to complete, gear-wise. And I'm equally dissatisfied and play no more. I spend more time on here, Facebook, EBay, fantasising about new guitars, as though it'll result in me wanting to play more or that it'll make me better. Recent acquisitions have meant that the Ibanez Little George Benson that had become my newest friend and inspired me (see last month's solo of the month) has been gathering dust. So more gear has had a reverse effect. 

Just typing that out has made me think hard about the pointless pursuit of 'the next guitar'.

You have just put my original post into almost the exact words I was trying to say. It is like being on a hamster wheel ( a very expensive one). It looks like we are not alone. Cheers mate

ac30man

Funkfingers said:

ac30man said:

I lost the end of my finger on my fretting hand which holds me back and makes it impossible to play some chords. 

How about switching to an instrument with fewer strings and on which you will rarely be obliged to hold down chordal shapes?

Bass guitar.

I actually bought a nice 95 MM stingray from Casapete from the fretboard. A great guy! I have played this way more than any of my guitars ( i played guitar 4 or 5 times this year)  in the 6 months since I got it. I think it's the way to go. With the wider string spacing my damaged digit is ok. Thanks

dindude

I went through massive GAS and gear changes over the last 5 years, was lucky enough to have a decent amount of disposable income and I really learned what I liked and didn't like during that time, although I dread to think what it actually cost me. It was an exploration journey but crucially when I found something that worked for me I stuck with it.

Then after that, all I can recommend is having a baby. All of a sudden the problem of disposable income disappears so every purchase is more of a consideration, and you have exactly zero time, so sneaking 5 minutes on the guitar feels like a real treat to be enjoyed!

HarrySeven

I'm saying nothing.

dindude

HarrySeven said:

I'm saying nothing.

You have a contribution to make here. You are the antidote to the statement above of "don't buy more, buy bettter".

riscado

I can relate to what you wrote, yes. I find myself in a similar position, buying stuff which for a very brief period of time (a week or two) rekindles the buzz of owning a new guitar or piece of gear, then it's gone and I find myself rarely playing.

However, I don't think I've lost the interest in playing, I don't play as much as I used to, but I still take pleasure in creating a riff, song, or learning how to play something I've heard on a record.

Danji

The total opposite for me, with all the guitars that I have, I'm rarely playing anything but my cheapo squire tele or cheapo acoustic. 

I wouldn't say no to an atkin OM or some amazing tele

jonnyburgo

Its an addiction, the snagging becomes mre exciting than the playing with ever diminishing returns believe me I've been there. My advice fwiw is strip back to 2 or 3 that do different things, get some lessons to Inspire and push you.

peteri

I've thought about this thread a lot - it's very interesting.

I've been playing guitar since 14, and I'm now 47 - but for many of those years, whilst I always had guitars I often went many months without playing, and then it becomes a problem - when you pick one up, you feel crap - and it puts you off more.

Now I play most days, and really miss when I don't and I can safely say I'm finally getting somewhere - I am happy with my playing, I've realised I can play a certain style - it's not always one I like (I have a deep seated urge to be able to play really, really fast - but absolutely no ability that way) - but I'm happy.

What changed for me is finding gear that excited me, I've been on this forum since MusicRadar - but kind of forgot it existed for a long time - finding pedals that really work, really nice amplifiers and then getting into vintage guitars did it for me - turns out I'm very sound and feel motivated, much more than I would have thought.

And for me - what really keeps me playing is the love of the sound that I get from the gear I've collected.

It's not been cheap, but I've bought wisely and wouldn't lose too much if I sold the lot (I reckon 10-20% absolute max and maybe even a small profit).

So for me it was having less gear, but having 'high end' (whatever that means) - gave me the motivation, Youtube also was great - when I discovered that, not only for the gear demos (I've learnt a lot from That Pedal Show and Pete Thorn) but also turns out I'm pretty good at learning tunes when they're visually shown to me - and that's my passion, learning to play tunes I love and getting the sound right.

It's kind of an obsession - but it gives me pleasure, and there are worse things to do.

But you can't force it, so experiment - try a different style, get into home recording and write some tunes (very interesting and I did that for a few years) - you'll learn on the way and keep your hand in.

And remember it's not a competition - despite how some of us talk on occasion, it's meant to give you pleasure - maybe for you it's buying and selling

welshboyo

I'm in a fairly busy cover band (2 nights a week at least) and have gone from the whole "chase" and having silly amounts of gear down to what is now a fairly conservative 7 guitars, 2 of which are my main guitars - however, all of which are fairly high end - Gibson CS's, EBMM's, Fender's, PRS.

What I have done I think is managed over the years to sell/swap/trade to a point where I am happy and content with what I have got - OK, there a few instances where something comes along and you need to scratch the itch but most times, taking a step away from that thought for a day makes the pangs go away..

Its quite a strange feeling to not have the massive GAS pangs anymore and I am starting to see (especially the 2 main guitars) as tools for the band.

Its whatever floats your boat, there is no right or wrong answer to this

carlos

Instead of spending gear, try buying lessons from guitarists you admire. I don't think we ever had as much access to amazing guitarists as we do now. You can forego buying a new guitar and buy a pack of 6 lessons from a guy like Paul Gilbert or equivalent in whatever genre you like. 
A competent teacher will show you stuff you didn't know about or didn't know how to do and that might open up the instrument a bit more.

Or maybe you just like collecting stuff!

Garthy

fftc said:

There is nowt wrong with being a collector as long as you're honest about it.

I agree. I like playing different guitars instead of the same one every day. I like listening to talented players and it is nice to get something amazing out of my fingers but for me the instrument itself is the juice.

ESBlonde

Something else I've realised I don't do enough anymore, going to other peoples gigs. As a yoof if we didn't gig we went and saw someone else playing and got inspired that way. I rarely go to other peoples gigs now which is a shame I have to live with.

Teetonetal

I've certainly turned to gear to keep me motivated. It's not guitar playing a such that gets me down - I still enjoy it. It's more the constant battle for time vs actually achieving something when I play.

I think the days of me having time to pracrice are long gone due to kids.

Recording with headphones is soulless and I miss singing. I'm also not creative enough on my own

Bands always rise or fail on their weakest link. My current band is really committed but the singer is rubbish.

Really its all rather pointless.

Thank god for gear. At least buying it is fun!

darthed1981

I've got a couple of guitars id happily give away to an enthusiastic friend who was learning, or sell them for £50.

I'd happily play with any like minded individuals or friends to keep my enthusiasm going.

But, I don't have any friends lol - so I basically buy gear and then play on my own, and get cross with myself if I don't play even for five mins each day.

My wife hilariously has literally no interest in guitars whatsoever, they are just things on the wall to her.

ac30man

peteri said:

I've thought about this thread a lot - it's very interesting.

I've been playing guitar since 14, and I'm now 47 - but for many of those years, whilst I always had guitars I often went many months without playing, and then it becomes a problem - when you pick one up, you feel crap - and it puts you off more.

Now I play most days, and really miss when I don't and I can safely say I'm finally getting somewhere - I am happy with my playing, I've realised I can play a certain style - it's not always one I like (I have a deep seated urge to be able to play really, really fast - but absolutely no ability that way) - but I'm happy.

What changed for me is finding gear that excited me, I've been on this forum since MusicRadar - but kind of forgot it existed for a long time - finding pedals that really work, really nice amplifiers and then getting into vintage guitars did it for me - turns out I'm very sound and feel motivated, much more than I would have thought.

And for me - what really keeps me playing is the love of the sound that I get from the gear I've collected.

It's not been cheap, but I've bought wisely and wouldn't lose too much if I sold the lot (I reckon 10-20% absolute max and maybe even a small profit).

So for me it was having less gear, but having 'high end' (whatever that means) - gave me the motivation, Youtube also was great - when I discovered that, not only for the gear demos (I've learnt a lot from That Pedal Show and Pete Thorn) but also turns out I'm pretty good at learning tunes when they're visually shown to me - and that's my passion, learning to play tunes I love and getting the sound right.

It's kind of an obsession - but it gives me pleasure, and there are worse things to do.

But you can't force it, so experiment - try a different style, get into home recording and write some tunes (very interesting and I did that for a few years) - you'll learn on the way and keep your hand in.

And remember it's not a competition - despite how some of us talk on occasion, it's meant to give you pleasure - maybe for you it's buying and selling

Thanks Peteri. You raise some very interesting points, especially the part where you mention not playing for months and it becoming a problem. I know I don't play as good as I did years ago. This must be down to lack of practice . It really does make me feel crap and it does put me off. Sometimes the answers to my questions are there but I don't see them. 

cheers