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?
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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.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
If your in a band this would of course be completely different but for solo playing, the acoustic is where it’s at IMO.
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
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.
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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)
a little time away makes the heart grow fonder.
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.
(formerly customkits)
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...
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.