Have you ever considered just hanging it up?

[ncook]

Lately I've been considering just selling all of my gear. I haven't felt like playing in a while and when I do its the same old licks. I have some new recording I'm supposed to do but I just feel like doing it. I'm thinking about Ebayin' it all.

[Panopticon]

Yep. i want to get into percussion.

[hournegative]

Originally posted by ncook Lately I've been considering just selling all of my gear. I haven't felt like playing in a while and when I do its the same old licks. I have some new recording I'm supposed to do but I just feel like doing it. I'm thinking about Ebayin' it all.

 

 

 

DO NOT STOP PLAYING!!!

 

It's completely normal to go through dry spells, even long ones. I say, give it time and it will pass. Besides, you've already bought a bunch of gear, and if it's paid for it costs nothing to keep!!! I would advise you to go do the recording deal because it could very well trigger a new fire to play.

 

STAY AT IT!

 

Ray Mitchell

[FWAxeIbanez]

usually when I'm stuck in a rut I take on an entire new genre of music... you can't really fall back on your same old licks if they don't translate, you know? I'm gonna have to do it myself again pretty soon, I feel like I'm about ready to "get" playing jazz soon, so I think that's where you'll find me about this time next week... stuck in the woodshed with all my getz and jobim albums

[Doug's Tubes]

Originally posted by ncook Lately I've been considering just selling all of my gear. I haven't felt like playing in a while and when I do its the same old licks. I have some new recording I'm supposed to do but I just feel like doing it. I'm thinking about Ebayin' it all.

 

 

Don't do it. I had the same feeling in 1972 when I sold my 1967 Gibson ES-335 for $225....

 

I feel a lot worse now.

[desiderium]

in metal, yes... i'm just not a good enough metal guitarist.

my new acoustic project is going very well though... it just flows naturally and i seem to be getting very good responses. played a show at the beginning of the month and got a standing ovation.

i think i'm going to sell of all my amps...

[FWAxeIbanez]

Originally posted by desiderium i think i'm going to sell of all my amps...

make it easier, I'll just PM you a shipping address and you can forget about em all... I'll pay shipping!

[ncook]

Originally posted by FWAxeIbanez make it easier, I'll just PM you a shipping address and you can forget about em all... I'll pay shipping!

Thats got to be one of the best avatars I've seen, whats the storey behind it?

[joolzriff]

all the {censored}in time....never meet people that meet my requirements.
look cool,think cool,write cool music.thats all i want

[17 Tubes]

I say do it.

If it is a burden....chuck it all.


There will come a point where you will say "damn, I miss it". Then you can buy it all over again.

Then you can say..."should I just hang it up?". The you can sell it all again.


THEN!....later on, you can buy other stuff.




Or you might not miss it.




















Hah...Serioulsy, just put it on the closet or garage or something, Unless you need some money, but thatis no reason to quit or sell. So storage.

[HypnoToad]

Never had that problem, but well, I

[Stratfan]

Your "rut" isn't nearly as pathetic as my situation...

I learned my first chords back in 1979. Soon after that, a friend showed me how to play barre chords. Zoom ahead 20 years, and I still had no idea how to play a scale, or how people knew which notes to play on lead solos.

Now, I know what a scale is, but I still can't improvise a solo to save my life. I can stumble through a quick wanking of the minor pentatonic scale, but after a few notes I just end up repeating myself. (Damn, I wish I would've taken lessons years ago!) to make matters worse, I have poor technique: I hold the neck in a quasi-Kung Fu Death Grip.

I know I'm not good at all, and I'll admit it. What hurts is seeing young kids with no lessons whipping out excellent leads after only a few months of playing. Every time I see a kid do this, I feel betrayed by the Guitar Gods. For some people, playing comes natural to them... I wish I had that gift.

So, 26 years of experience, and I still suck. I'm the one who should've gave it up years ago, but I can't do it. I like playing too much. Does this make you feel any better?

[AcidRock23]

buy some recording gear. You won't need to find people to play with (although, if you do, they will LOVE you...) and it will take you like 6 years to slog through the {censored}ing manual, in which time, of course, it will have become obsolete, so you will need to throw it out and buy NEW recording gear.

By the time you are 'done' w/ that cycle, you will be dead or in an old folks home. If you have recordings of yourself playing "Unchained" on 16 tracks that you can rock out after you have your meds, the old folks home will be A LOT more fun!!!

[ncook]

Originally posted by Stratfan Your "rut" isn't nearly as pathetic as my situation... I learned my first chords back in 1979. Soon after that, a friend showed me how to play barre chords. Zoom ahead 20 years, and I still had no idea how to play a scale, or how people knew which notes to play on lead solos. Now, I know what a scale is, but I still can't improvise a solo to save my life. I can stumble through a quick wanking of the minor pentatonic scale, but after a few notes I just end up repeating myself. (Damn, I wish I would've taken lessons years ago!) to make matters worse, I have poor technique: I hold the neck in a quasi-Kung Fu Death Grip. I know I'm not good at all, and I'll admit it. What hurts is seeing young kids with no lessons whipping out excellent leads after only a few months of playing. Every time I see a kid do this, I feel betrayed by the Guitar Gods. For some people, playing comes natural to them... I wish I had that gift. So, 26 years of experience, and I still suck. I'm the one who should've gave it up years ago, but I can't do it. I like playing too much. Does this make you feel any better?

I feel a bit sad for you. Get going man, keep going!

[Electricview]

Originally posted by Stratfan Your "rut" isn't nearly as pathetic as my situation... I learned my first chords back in 1979. Soon after that, a friend showed me how to play barre chords. Zoom ahead 20 years, and I still had no idea how to play a scale, or how people knew which notes to play on lead solos. Now, I know what a scale is, but I still can't improvise a solo to save my life. I can stumble through a quick wanking of the minor pentatonic scale, but after a few notes I just end up repeating myself. (Damn, I wish I would've taken lessons years ago!) to make matters worse, I have poor technique: I hold the neck in a quasi-Kung Fu Death Grip. I know I'm not good at all, and I'll admit it. What hurts is seeing young kids with no lessons whipping out excellent leads after only a few months of playing. Every time I see a kid do this, I feel betrayed by the Guitar Gods. For some people, playing comes natural to them... I wish I had that gift. So, 26 years of experience, and I still suck. I'm the one who should've gave it up years ago, but I can't do it. I like playing too much. Does this make you feel any better?

Ahhh {censored} i see where i'm headed! i'm half way there already!

[m90guy]

I played for a few years and then got tired of putting up with all the {censored}ing band bull{censored}. I threw all my stuff in the closet, and focused the next year of my life on electronic music(something I could do be myself). After a damn harddrive crash in which I lost everything, I hung it up. After 5 years of doing nothing, my friend, who has been in some pretty succesful bands, got kicked from a crappy ass band, and asked me if I wanted to form a band and start jamming. NOW I AM BACK IN LOVE WITH MY GUITAR!!! Im sure I will take breaks from time to time, but the guitar is something you can do untill you die!
I want to be that old guy that meets up with his group of 10 or so old buddies, and just jams all damn day, with no worries.

So, I would just advise that you hang on to your stuff, and just wait for the time when inspiration hits ya.

[GorillaLover]

Yep.

[Stratfan]

Originally posted by ncook I feel a bit sad for you. Get going man, keep going!

It's really not as bad as it seems. It would be nice to be a competent soloist, but I can live without it. Just give me some barre chords, double-stops, a few cowboy chords, and throw in some single-note riffing in between them all and I'll rock my ass off! If I'm writing a song, I can sit down and figure out a half-ass non-complicated lead solo note by note (on a good day, that is). I can improvise riffs and rhythms, but not solos.

As long as I'm happy, it's okay.

[superpoo]

Originally posted by hournegative DO NOT STOP PLAYING!!! It's completely normal to go through dry spells, even long ones. I say, give it time and it will pass. Besides, you've already bought a bunch of gear, and if it's paid for it costs nothing to keep!!! I would advise you to go do the recording deal because it could very well trigger a new fire to play. STAY AT IT! Ray Mitchell

 

 

 

+484854765

[godofmetalguita]

i've thought this many times.

At one point i bought a drumset and started playing drums in a band solid instead of playing guitar. It was a great thing to do and a fun time. It has made me a better musician all around. At this point i'm better at drums than the drummer of one of my bands (the other has the experience over me).

I would reccommend it to any guitarist, or any musician for that matter to learn to play another instrument. Its an enriching thing and it makes u better at music in general, and also gives u the option of playing multiple instruments in multiple bands. (i've been the go to for fill in/replacement drummers AND guitarists for a while now. It could end up making me some money in the long run.)

[DenverDave]

I did hang it up once. Not long after I got married I had to hock my only electric ('81 Ibanez Artist - wish I had that guitar now) and my acoustic was a 12 string Ovation. I don't think I played at all for over two years. But if the music is in you, it's gotta come out somehow. I came back....

[JimAnsell]

I'd rather die than quit guitar.

[jeffdo]

You gotta stick with it. I've been feeling the same way. My band's singer quit awhile ago and we didn't find a new one for awhile. I was feeling very uninspired and just wanted to give it up.

Then the Black Crowes got back on tour (fav band). Listening to them play just re-inspired me. If those guys could go through what they've been through and still manage to work it out and play just as good if not better than before, well, damn, I have to keep playing too! And now I've been writing more (and better) new material and we just found a new singer.

Never give up! Life (and music) has it's up and downs, just roll with it.

[Elric]

Thought it? I've done it! I regret it. The fire comes back and then you wish you had the discipline to keep at it the first time through because you'd be that much further ahead. If you've got music/creativity in your heart don't quit altogether... even if you do take a break, keep the gear and come back a month or two later and everything will seem new.

[Kranak]

I've been playing for about 10 years or a little over and I can't imagine life without guitar. I could do it if I had another instrument that I was going to learn but i dont think I could just stop music. It seems like alot of people here get more caught up with being the next big shredder rather than taking it slowly and finding the style that best suits you. For the first 4 years of playing I only had an acoustic and played alot of folk stuff, moving into classical and classic rock. It was a good starting point because I had no 'gear' to worry about. Only music.