All a bit....... meh

GoldenEraGuitars

I’ve been here before but this time I don’t know if there’s any turning back...

I did a massive gear shift in May/June. I couldn’t afford the space to keep the Marshall 4x12 cab setup in the workshop so I sold up and bought a Princeton from Peach in June (a fender clean amp seemed like a good test amp for our builds). This coincided with me adding cabinet doors to my workbenches which allowed me to store the amp under my bench and keep it dust free, neat and tidy. The problem is... I’ve only switched it on twice since I bought it. I also have zero desire to play, no actual guitar of my own and no pedals. 

Even the thought of playing makes my fingers feel like jelly and I end up on a trip down memory lane thinking about the times I’d plug an Ibanez into a Marshall and have some proper fun. The thought of then trying to get back into that mindset makes me feel tired and bored and I go back to what I should have been concentrating on in the first place.

Given that I’m surrounded by other people’s guitars all day, every day I knew that playing might get sidelined for a while. But I wasn’t expecting this.

Soooo.. in a nutshell, I don’t own a guitar, I probably own the wrong amp for my rock roots and the thought and effort of playing annoys me. This has been going on since last year. Have you been here before? 

Jason

In a normal year (with a guitar show at the end of Feb) I’m so consumed by the event that the last thing I want to do from Christmas to mid March is pick up a guitar, it’s just being too close to it. 

I also know know working for yourself is all consuming , add a family too and it’s a perfect storm. My advice is go and do something non guitar related, my love for it always comes back. Just give yourself something else to focus on for a while. 

viz

I find the solution to all these problems is get a smallish acoustic, even a 3/4 size, and keep it next to the bed. I’ve also temprarily lost the desire to blare out power chords with my Jem through my Legacy stack, but just spent a very happy 90 minutes playing jazzy chords in bed. 

ICBM

I go through periods of this as well. It’s a problem when your hobby is also your job...

My suggestion would be to sell the Fender amp, it’s clearly not right for you. Buy a cheap Marshall Valvestate or something that at least makes you smile when you play a customer's guitar through it, and you may rediscover your love of playing without having to try.

dannyboy82

GoldenEraGuitars said:

I’ve been here before but this time I don’t know if there’s any turning back...

I did a massive gear shift in May/June. I couldn’t afford the space to keep the Marshall 4x12 cab setup in the workshop so I sold up and bought a Princeton from Peach in June (a fender clean amp seemed like a good test amp for our builds). This coincided with me adding cabinet doors to my workbenches which allowed me to store the amp under my bench and keep it dust free, neat and tidy. The problem is... I’ve only switched it on twice since I bought it. I also have zero desire to play, no actual guitar of my own and no pedals. 

Even the thought of playing makes my fingers feel like jelly and I end up on a trip down memory lane thinking about the times I’d plug an Ibanez into a Marshall and have some proper fun. The thought of then trying to get back into that mindset makes me feel tired and bored and I go back to what I should have been concentrating on in the first place.

Given that I’m surrounded by other people’s guitars all day, every day I knew that playing might get sidelined for a while. But I wasn’t expecting this.

Soooo.. in a nutshell, I don’t own a guitar, I probably own the wrong amp for my rock roots and the thought and effort of playing annoys me. This has been going on since last year. Have you been here before? 

Been through a couple of cycles like this. My solution has always been, go acoustic only. To me, the electric only really makes any sense in a band setting. It’s fun for 5 minutes but essentially, I’m way more creative with just an acoustic and my voice as I’ll actually record some stuff etc.

With the electric it seems more about acquiring a load of gear to make the perfect rig, firing it all up and.....

If your in a band this would of course be completely different but for solo playing, the acoustic is where it’s at IMO.

WiresDreamDisasters

Play with some other people. Usually fires me up!

Iamnobody

Sounds like it’s time to buy a drum kit!

guitars4you

 similar comment to @ICBM -- About job and hobby having the same roots

I tend to play the guitar more at work than at home - The natural part of the day job, is checking, evaluating and setting up guitars - As such I'm having some form of doodle on a regular basis - Certainly not constructive  practice though and sometimes 2/3 mins here and there - Time at home to play tends to be divided between, shop work that comes home with me (web site + admin) dog walk/play, daughter and that important taxi service, sky sport and even a chilled out half hour of relaxing - I want to play more at home but hard to commit as much as I'd like to 

GoldenEraGuitars

Something that I’ve finally taken up (along with my 8 year old son) is in-line hockey. In fact, we have training this afternoon. This is all part of the move away from working at the weekends and trying to enjoy my life again. But I’ve been heavily into skating since I was 7 years old and more so inline skating again this year (thanks to the awesome weather we had). I did the gear move in the middle of all this and instead of returning to the guitar in proper style I’ve just let it slide completely out of my peripheral vision.

I must be honest, the acoustic guitar doesn’t interest me at all and in my current situation I also wouldn’t have anywhere to play it. I’m somewhat tempted to sell the Princeton and get something I can pick up and play with a headphone amp. Even as I type this my mind and eyes glaze over... perhaps I should just let it go completely and see what happens. 

sergio

Sometimes something you used to love is just not appealing anymore. It's a normal thing - you are a different person that the one you used to be when you were plugging that Ibanez into that Marshall, and that different person has a different set of priorities such as family or a job. Most of us have gone through a similar process when our tastes changed as we go from being a child to a teenager to an adult, and that process never really stops.

The main question is, do you need to play guitar for a living? If not, I would park it for a while. I've had that happen to me a number of times both for work stuff and hobbies. In my experience you cannot really force yourself back into loving something and nowadays I give myself permission to stop pushing for it when I feel it's not working anymore. I've found the love often comes back at some point in the future when the situation changes, or a new opportunity arises, and suddenly the old flame is rekindled.

dazzajl

I’m a photographer and most of my work is pretty specialised, my kit will cover just about any eventuality. The equivalent would be you being able to pick up a guitar and amp combo for any feel and style you’d like to play. And like you, my job stems from a love and a joy for what I do. 

I’ve been working flat out for about the last four months, I’ve shot more than ever and do enjoy it. I’ve also not so much as even used the camera in my phone to make an image just for me do most of this year. There is no desire and I’m not seeing images around me like I would normally. Creativity is completely dried up. 

This happens at times and I don’t think it’s because you don’t have a Marshall anymore. It will pass though, when the rest of your life lines up better again and you have more emotional energy, you’ll feel creative again. Hang tough 

PonchoGreg

I go through something like that every couple of years or so. Literally not touching a guitar for months at a time. And it's not even as if guitars are my job or something... And then it kicks back in and I'll play every day for a year.

I don't sweat the down times now. It just happens, I'll switch to a different hobby and I know I'll pick it back up eventually. Probably hasn't done my skills any favours, but life's too short to force yourself to do things (unless it's your job of course)

Adey

It's probably caused by the current ban on being normal...

Not being able to do usual social things and pretending how great it is to have an on-line meeting with someone is very depressing, for me at least.

I hate going into town now because mask wearing is crap and because it isn't a fully filtered carbon activated self contained breathing apparatus, is probably of little use anyway. But that is not a popular opinion.

No gigs to go to - who wants to sit at a table 30 feet away from the next one. There's no atmosphere.

I suppose I could join a socially distanced mosh somewhere.

Lesgrandepotato

I’d put the amp somewhere else out the way. Slowly the desire will come back. I have lots of projects on the go. I’ve got a project to supercharge a 60’s Mini Cooper, a camper van, biking and making and recording my terrible music :-) 

a little time away makes the heart grow fonder. 

DiscoStu

Maybe try a desktop amp like a THR or a Spark? Keeping your amp in a cupboard doesn't work for you. I'm the same with my Blackstar Stage 60, it sits under its cover, squeezed in between a wardrobe and a wall and I have no desire to take it out and use it.
I have an acoustic in the living room and I have a THR10 and a Spark which are just so convenient for getting my metal on.

TTBZ

I'm kind of here as well. I work with guitars/amps so I'm always immersed in it all. Familiarity breeds contempt and all that. I do still love guitar but haven't been truly inspired to write for a while - all my recent stuff is regurgitated crap or picking up ideas I came up with years ago. It doesn't help that I've ended up with a nice guitar but it would never be my first choice of guitar type, and doesn't really inspire me to play. But because it's a nice one I'm worried about selling/trading for something else just in case it's not as good and I regret it. Silly catch 22 situation I suppose! 

Danielsguitars

I've found the only way to actually get enjoyment out of playing guitar was to play with others so we meet once a week and just bash some stuff out, we're doing our own music mostly and I really like it, don't think I'd bother so much otherwise, I'm making guitars all day, first string up is always good 

grungebob

Yes. 

I haven’t played guitar in around 5-6months. I’ve also stopped listening to music in the car and around the home. 

I don’t miss it, but I know I will return to both eventually. 

No point worrying about it , neither hold an interest presently but some day soon they will. 

stickyfiddle

Do something else. You don’t have to play guitar. Try drums, or bass? Or something entirely different - sounds like you’re enjoying the hockey so I’d focus on that until you don’t enjoy it any more. There’s nothing wrong with pausing or stopping a hobby if you’re not feeling it.

tone1

I lurch between selling everything and then looking at amp or guitars in Classifieds in the same week. I keep myself pretty limited to 1 amp and usually 1 or 2 guitars because as soon as I acquire too much stuff, that’s when my desire to sell everything gets worse. 
It must be a bit of a busman’s holiday for you though, as in you’re working on guitars all day, so probably haven’t the desire to play for pleasure in your leisure time...

p90fool

I haven't really played since my last gig in March and don't even have finger callouses any more. 

It's not looking that likely for the next year either, and although I do still fix the occasional guitar or amp for other people and have recorded a couple of singers in my studio I don't really have anything to do with music any more. 

There are other things in my life though and we've become closer friends with our singer since we've stopped working together and have time to socialise.

Our acoustic covers trio is now a mountain bike trio, it's more fun if I'm honest.