Think I am done with the geetar.....

[LouSiffer]

Its not an issue where I am upset about anything related to it. I just don't have time to play and when I do, all past skills are lost.....songs are lost, I seem to only play a few of the same things over and over. I never thought I would say this, but, I don't even think about it or miss playing on a regular schedule. I am not one of those people that learn something and then do it on a whim......I have to keep on it just long enough so rust doesnt form. Let alone, I have no desire or care if I ever start to improve again.

I am sitting here looking at it now and thinking "... in order to play, I have to warm up the amp, then pickup the guitar......and only for about 2-3 minutes will I actually play it.....". Thats just too much effort for something that doesn't bring me joy anymore. Yeah, getting new gear kind of gives me a kick in the pants.....for about a week....then it is all....well, BLEH again. I got this Peavey XXX head and cab not too long ago and while it grabbed my interest for a week or two, it hasn't grabbed it anymore since then.

In fact, it is getting so bad now ........all music is almost dead to me. There aren't any new bands or material I have even thought about buying in the last 10-15 years ......seriously, I have over 1000 CD's.....well maybe less now due to loaning, losing, etc. and I have not bought a CD in about 15 years that I can recall. I have tried doing all the searching on indie sites, iTunes recommendations, etc. Nothing new or reasonably current does it for me and all the old stuff I love......I have burned myself out on. If I listen to music now, it is for nothing more than to fill the empty background noise of whatever is going on around me. I don't appreciate the music the way I used to.....guess I finally just got.....old.

I have felt this way for a quite some time. I have been in those odd phases before and usually they go away in a matter of a couple weeks. This has been constant for the last year or better.

So, there is a big probability I am going to sell gear one last time. I would rather take the money and do something with it that I currently enjoy and I like to do....bows, guns, car stuff, mountain bike, etc.

Is there anyone else on here that doesn't play anymore?-Lou

[coloradoman25]

Its cyclical I think. For me EVERYTHING is was big into guitars for years then completely vaporized on it for about a decade. Got into cars was big into it for 5-6 years faded. Got into bass fishing hard core ran as far as I could on my time and budget and then ended up getting back into working on and messing with guitars. Its something I can do and be home with the family and make a little cash with so here I am coming back full circle.

My suggestion keep a small combo amp that does a little of everything on the simple end of the spectrum and one guitar that either has meaning or that just feels right and off whatever else. Then if you ever come back full circle you get the thrill of the gear hunt back. Sure itll likely cost more if you want it ALL back but you had that cash then freed up for the now.

Good luck in whatever direction ya head man its something I can totally understand just in different interests.

[pickford1625]

i take long breaks. this past one due to a bad breakup with the band blah blah blah. but its fun to rediscover the instrument when the time is right. im starting to get the itch again, waiting for the right time. dont go selling anything you cant replace......

[horns666]

Lou, my brother. I don't post here much ..I'm broken thru and thru.

But I must respond in short.

Keep the XXX, and your favorite axe. No matter what, music is part of your DNA. Those things you do over and over again may be gettin' old for you. But our sloppiest , shittiest, licks are the hardest for anyone esle to duplicate. Even the very best can NOT dupilcate our personal "go to" licks. These are facts.

Do everything else for now. Put it away. When inspired..play. Even if you think it sucks..fuck you...play!

To answer your last question. Yes, my hand is paralyzed from major neck/nerve damage, and pressing family stuff consumes me. But whenever I play..people..kids..love it. It happened today. My kid and his buddy are recording something I guess. They're full of piss and vinegar, and very good. But when they gave me the axe. They are in awe of my lame tired BS. So, that makes me feel good. The rockstar dreams are long gone, and I've been in horrible slump. But something as little as that can bring the warm and fuzzies. Ohhh..and I passed the torch to my son. See, that's what you can do.

Billy

[bucketbrian45]

Horns is very right! I'm not much of a technical player myself and when I would play with those shreddy shredders they'd laugh at me but they could never time any riff I made up, for some reason they had a problem playing the stupidest simple riff.

[Twitch]

Been pretty much the same way with me since I quit the band. The only real reason I keep my gear is because I worked so hard to accumulate it and a small fear that the flame will be reignited and I won't have the gear needed to fulfill it. Plus the headache of trying to sell it at a price that won't screw me.

[DonP]

I hit a peak in guitar interest this winter and now I'm on the downslope. It's car season and all I can think about is putting a supercharger on the Challenger. 550HP is just not enough Going to my first car show and taking home first place and a $500 prize was nice.

As far as recent material, I must give a shout out to Accept. I can't stop listening to their latest two releases - Blood of the Nations and Stalingrad. I think I like these better than their old stuff.

[Codex]

Lou, you basically wrote what I've been thinking for the past year or so. I do love the guitar, but I just can't dedicate the time to be good. And since I can't play the shit I want to play because of that, I just don't have the motivation to play more than a few licks over and over. I still love all of the gear and hardware so I've turned my attention from playing the guitar to working on and building them. I still get to handle the good stuff and appreciate the finer things that make up a nice guitar like ebony boards, MOP inlays, etc. This also got me interested in other aspects of woodworking which has branched off into it's own hobby for me. I refuse to sell any gear though because I fear that if I do and I all of a sudden get back into playing, I will miss all the stuff I had :P

[atomic charvel guy]

i've been done for a long time. actually don't miss it anymore. but i do listen to a shit pile and diversified
daily assault of music. it's the driving force of the universe.

[rjohnstone]

Been there before... sold guitars I should have never let go in the process.
Stash your favorite fiddle somewhere safe and give it time.

I went 6 years without touching a guitar or even thinking about one.
The itch comes back,

[horns666]

Is it wrong to have Lou-like lust for Tommy?

[hippietim]

Lou, I think you should give up. Dump all the gear. Sell everything stupid cheap so you can be rid of it quickly and can put this all behind you. Send me a list of everything first though.

[Maiden89]

I'm kind of in the same boat. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE playing, but with all the bullshit in my life going on, I'm kind of losing my fire. I only pick up my guitar 2 or 3 times a week and most of the time I quit playing after 15 minutes. But, when I am in the mood, groove or whatever you want to call it, I can play for hours. That feeling is the only reason I can't quit guitar; that and chicks totally dig guys that play.

Seriously, theres a news feed thread on here that shows that woman are sexually attracted to men who play guitar. I know this from experience, this chick invited me to her apartment and she had a guitar there and told me to play something. I did and impressed her and her room mates; I ended up having sex with her that night! I might have even had a threesome with her room mates sister if she wasn't 17. As Bill would say, "These are facts."

Back on topic, I'm actually planning on just keeping my DK2m, my first guitar and a small 15W marshall amp and selling everything else. I think once I get my shit together and get in a band my passion will come back.

If I were you, I would keep your best playing axe and a decent practice amp, then sell everything else if you want.

[Rsmacker]

Fucking hell, scary. Just about all the posts in this thread could have been written by me, I have felt much the same. Trying to alternate pick like I used to do without thinking about is killing me when I actually do pick up a guitar these days (which isn't often). It's forums like this which remind me of the passion I used to have for guitars, keeps me looking out for new axes, and prevents me from selling the lot and going on a holiday of destruction to Thailand.

I stumble over shit I could play in my sleep, don't know if it will come back, but I DO second the comment on the knicker-loosening qualities of being a guitarist. When I lose interest in that, that's the day I will worry.

[VitaminG]

Lou, I think you should give up. Dump all the gear. Sell everything stupid cheap so you can be rid of it quickly and can put this all behind you. Send me a list of everything first though.

nice move, Tim. Very smooth