Tell me about the time you lost interest in guitar. Haven't played since Sep 2020.

[Number Of The Priest]

Hi everyone. I started playing guitar in December 2000 and have never gone more than maybe a couple weeks without playing guitar. From about 2014 to 2016 I took a break from electric guitars, keeping just two of my favorites, but was playing a lot of acoustic. From 2016 onward, electric guitars (and buying them) entered my life again.

From September 2020 to today, this is the longest time of my life I have never even touched a guitar, and somehow I don't even feel bad about it or have the compulsion to play. I lost my calluses within two months. I have other priorities and hobbies so I'm never bored, but it still surprises me how I suddenly quit cold turkey and have zero interest in resuming. I've almost stopped listening to music (not just guitar-based music, but all music) too.

Due to all-time high prices for used guitars, I have considered reducing my collection and just keeping a few favorite guitars, almost a repeat of the 2014 electric guitar downsizing.

Tell me about the time(s) you lost interest in guitar or took very long breaks. What made you stop? What made you resume? What did you do with your guitars? What would you do differently? Were there any regrets? Were there benefits to the break?

[paranoid]

I started playing around 85' Played in a few bands in late 80's early 90's, Bought my first Charvel in 90', Bought my second Charvel in 91', Gave lessons at a music store in the early 90's, Got married in 95', had 2 kids and guitars became decretive objects. Got the fever again about 2012' got in a band again, started buying some model series guitars. 2016' developed tendonitis in my left hand, had a bad surgery that ended my playing at that time, started repairing some guitars for fun, buying more guitars( about 100 now all Charvel some USA, some Promods and lots of model series), started playing again in a limited capacity about a year ago.

[catzodellamarina]

I sold my guitar, my amp, my Chevelle, and my soul for 9 months between 1987-88 when I lived with a witch.

[Mudlark]

Got the fever again about 2012' got in a band again, started buying some model series guitars. 2016' developed tendonitis in my left hand, had a bad surgery that ended my playing at that time

At 50, THIS is a fear I feel daily.

Priest, I never thought I'd see the day that music wasn't playing in my house, but I'm 98% podcasts over the last year or more.
As far as new music goes...it's like the Barenaked Ladies sang..."It's all been done..." to my ears.

Barenaked Ladfies are Canadian for those wondering WTF?

[slayer]

I quit after selling everything off in around 2008 and we went thru
Bankruptcy. Didn`r start buying and playing guitar again until around 2015. I play a little everyday, but not as crazy about like I was from around 1980-2008. I`m 51. I imagine most of us are around 50-ish.

[Dak]

I went a whole year and didn't even touch a guitar once. I can't remember the year. 2011 or 2012. I had been playing drums in a band and then keyboard in another so not a lot of guitar anyway. After those bands ended I would just play drums on occasion. Late 30's married with a kid and mostly a homebody except motocross some weekends so desire to go to a band practice multiple times a week coupled with the acceptance that the time to "make it" in music was over. I lost interest I guess. I don't know how to explain it. It was like pick up the guitar to play and write some stuff nobody outside my house would ever hear. What's the point. Then a year and a half or so later I stumbled upon a Japanese contemporary strat in a pawn shop for a smokin' deal. I didn't know what it was at the time. Just I had wanted a Japanese strat with a floyd style bridge. I don't know how long I'd have went if I hadn't bought that guitar. Of course I didn't play long before I semi quit. I'd play a couple time a months maybe. Really I'd only drag it out when I got new gear. I've been playing weekly for the past couple years. I think songsterr and youtube helped a lot to pull me out of my guitar funk. I've never been good playing by ear and just about everything is on there. I think I get more inspired to play now by watching somebody shred in their bedroom/home studio than listening to CD's and such.

[pianoguyy]

From September 2020 to today, this is the longest time of my life I have never even touched a guitar,

CoVid has sucked the life out of a lot of us.
Not CoVid the virus. But, CoVId the government's response - they did their job by warning us there was a virus. They did their job fast tracking a vaccine. But then they overstepped by forcing us into house arrest, not that we had anywhere to go because they closed everything.
And with nothing going on - the only left in life was CoVid and Politics.

Inspiration is gone.

[Razor]

Dude.

I played pretty steady from 2001 to 2010. I'm sure I have carpal tunnel and my left hand would get numb when playing. It still does from time to time but not as bad as back then. I think that had a bit of a "hand" in my playing decline too. I really got into collecting guns heavy and my attention (and cash) just changed focus. Plus, I hit a wall in my playing so I basically sold everything except for two Model 2's and my amp. They just sat and collected dust for ten years. Last Father's Day my wife and son bought me a MIM Chlorine Burst Pro Mod San Dimas and BAM I have jumped back into playing.

The weird thing is that things seem to come easier for me to learn and to play after that long hiatus. I basically didn't play anything for 10 years. Most nights now I'll play around for an hour or so and guitar seems "fun" again. Some nights I don't pick them up and that's no big deal to me now. In less than a year I've went from two guitars to currently nine. It's been fun and I forgot how much fun playing is and how rewarding learning something new is. I've also noticed I'm picking up more things by ear now.

Like others stated above I enjoy picking up the guitar and playing as a means to unwind and relax. I don't feel like I have to pick it up every day and make myself play like I did in the past.

I regret a couple of guitars I sold. A USA Lightning Strikes Fusion and a ESP Skulls 'n Snakes. They were sold to fund guns as they were just collecting dust and I really wish I had kept those two of all the ones I had. Music is ingrained in my and my family's life especially if we're driving and even on the weekends as my son loves watching music DVD's and I don't see that ever ending.

[rjohnstone]

I've been playing guitar since I was around 4 years old. Amazing I still suck at it in my opinion. There have been periods where I've gone a year or two without playing, but mainly due to finances.
Unable to afford a guitar and such.
As an adult with a steady income, I haven't gone more than a month or two without playing between 1991 and 2003. Then I just suddenly lost interest for about 2 years.
I wasn't progressing at all, just noodling, so I sold all my gear. I did keep my 87 Ibanez RG 560 and my 2001 PC3 as they have sentimental value, but EVERYTHING else was sold.
Then my wife bought me a PC1 in 2005 for a Christmas present and holy shit I was inspired again!
That's when I joined JCF.
Since then I've gone maybe a few weeks without playing at times. Mainly due to work schedule, being busy and just too tired to play.

Razor I remember the lighting sky Fusion. I picked that up for you here in Phx, Craigslist or eBay deal, can't recall. $400 for a near mint USA Fusion. The seller would only do local pickup... that stuck in my head because that was almost too good to be true.

[Razor]

Razor I remember the lighting sky Fusion. I picked that up for you here in Phx, Craigslist or eBay deal, can't recall. $400 for a near mint USA Fusion. The seller would only do local pickup... that stuck in my head because that was almost too good to be true.

That was a too good to be true deal and I really appreciated you helping me get it. Just wish now I had kept it but I used it to fund some guns.

[slayer]

Dude.

I played pretty steady from 2001 to 2010. I'm sure I have carpal tunnel and my left hand would get numb when playing. It still does from time to time but not as bad as back then. I think that had a bit of a "hand" in my playing decline too. I really got into collecting guns heavy and my attention (and cash) just changed focus. Plus, I hit a wall in my playing so I basically sold everything except for two Model 2's and my amp. They just sat and collected dust for ten years. Last Father's Day my wife and son bought me a MIM Chlorine Burst Pro Mod San Dimas and BAM I have jumped back into playing.

The weird thing is that things seem to come easier for me to learn and to play after that long hiatus. I basically didn't play anything for 10 years. Most nights now I'll play around for an hour or so and guitar seems "fun" again. Some nights I don't pick them up and that's no big deal to me now. In less than a year I've went from two guitars to currently nine. It's been fun and I forgot how much fun playing is and how rewarding learning something new is. I've also noticed I'm picking up more things by ear now.

Like others stated above I enjoy picking up the guitar and playing as a means to unwind and relax. I don't feel like I have to pick it up every day and make myself play like I did in the past.

I regret a couple of guitars I sold. A USA Lightning Strikes Fusion and a ESP Skulls 'n Snakes. They were sold to fund guns as they were just collecting dust and I really wish I had kept those two of all the ones I had. Music is ingrained in my and my family's life especially if we're driving and even on the weekends as my son loves watching music DVD's and I don't see that ever ending.

I kind of mirror you. I`ve always had a ton of guitars and guns, bought, sold and traded. Also, had Bi-Lateral Carpal Tunnel surgery in 2005. Best thing I ever did. Now selling all of the guns and guitars= STUPID!!

[Number Of The Priest]

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. I'll eventually get back into playing. I feel it's just a matter of time, and you gave me hope. Since the time I started this thread, I never got around to selling anything, and am perhaps glad I haven't, given some regrets expressed here.

but I'm 98% podcasts over the last year or more.

Funny you mention spoken word audio. Listening to audiobooks has been my aural drug lately, even during exercise where normally music is "more appropriate".

CoVid

Interesting perspective. From March 2020 to September 2020, covid-related boredom resulted in more playing. Not sure what happened from September 2020 onwards. Definitely nothing bad happened and I'm thankful. But like you said, inspiration is gone, though I'm interested to find out where it went in my situation.

[Mudlark]

I've done a few audiobooks lately, too.

The American Psycho audiobook makes the Christian Bale movie seem tame.

[JJ119]

I was the kid that would grab a tennis racket and
act like I was playing the guitar.
My Parents would not get me a guitar because of the
Stigma that was attributed to Rock N Roll back then.
[ Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, KISS etc ]
Dad said when I get a job and can pay for it, I could get one.
A friend was needing help working on his Datsun truck one day, so I gave him a hand. He was under the truck, lining up the transmission while I was putting in the top bolts from above.
That day led to liking working on things.
Then there was Muscle Cars, Big Block motors,
drag racing.
I was around 12ish at the time. Stayed involved in cars for Years!
Some years later, I got a job. Oddly, my Best Friend asked if I would like to go hear a band at a party on the other side of Town.
The guy playing guitar was PHENOMENAL!!
Re ignited my want of a guitar. A few days later, I got my First Paycheck. My Friend and I went to the Music Store, and the guy from the band was working there.
Ended up getting my Ibanez X Series " Star "??

Well, I got back into cars and the guitar was no longer my " Thing " but I would occasionally play around with it. Found a couple guys from school would play in a garage, so I would hang with them when I wasn't hanging with the Car Crowd. The guitar player was really cool. He showed me some stuff to do.

Met a gal. Got married. Got a hot rod. Later came a Beautiful Baby Girl. A year later, another Beautiful Baby Girl. Once in a while, I would strum around for a few minutes. Then life got more complicated and all the more demanding.

So. Last year I decided I would get the ol' Ibanez out, dust her off, re string her and use YouTube to learn something.
I don't remember what occurred, but I found a
Self Paced Lessons Package. The guy looked VERY familiar. I ordered it. I am still a Novice.
I have liked Rock & Metal since I was a kid.
The lessons are mostly fun and I usually look forward to doing them.
I NEVER should have listened to those that would say shit like
Lessons are too expensive.
It's way too hard to learn that shit, man.
You gotta devote every bit of free time to it or you'll never learn anything.

Screw that shit. That was 40something years ago.
Here I am, mid life crisis, LOVING this stuff!!

I can see how Inspiration and Drive can fall off.

[Number Of The Priest]

I've done a few audiobooks lately, too.

The American Psycho audiobook makes the Christian Bale movie seem tame.

In the time between my last update and my current post, I:

1) Couldn't find an audiobook version of American Psycho but I used the @Voice app to [rather mechanically] narrate an epub version on my Android smartphone. I agree that the book is far more over the top and the movie now almost seems "rushed" and "tame" in comparison regarding the amount of transgressive content. The downside of the book/audiobook is how overindulgent Patrick Bateman as a narrator gets into his descriptions. The movie has a few in-depth music reviews (Huey Lewis, Phil Collins / Genesis, Whitney Houston) and no clothing analyses, but the book takes both to the extreme and it somehow seems less funny/satirical when not fully acted out by Christian Bale on a screen. Book Bateman is soulless and insufferable (though Easton was probably going for that) while Bale makes Bateman quirky, memorable, and fun, and you almost root for him (if it's even right to root for a murderer).

2) Recently started playing guitar again after ten months, at least on a couple guitars whose strings and frets aren't too badly corroded. A downside of owning something like twenty guitars is that upkeep on the whole collection is an annoyance when you primarily play just three or four main guitars and you'd rather play than perform maintenance. I now see the merits of keeping a smaller arsenal where every piece is well-sharpened and ready to rock (reminds me of pre-2016 when I had a manageable handful). As for playing, I discovered my skills haven't deteriorated much (though I cannot claim to be skilled in the first place) but the lack of calluses significantly decreases endurance and comfort, and I feel like a beginner again. I should never again take more than a few weeks away from playing, if only to maintain calluses.