Thinking of selling most of my guitar gear

[maguchi]

I dunno if this is a gear rant or what, but anyway. I've had most of my guitars in storage since september when I went on holiday, I think? I keep the Strandberg 8 out in case I feel like playing it, but I've honestly played for maybe less than an hour this year. I'm just not drawn to it at all.

I always wanted to think that I was a guitarist, but I've never felt creative or particularly skilled on guitar. If someone asked about my hobbies, I'd be hesitant to mention the guitar. I've played for more than 20 years but you'd never guess from my playing. Guitar feels like I have to perform physically and a lot of the time I've spent with the instrument has been drilling whatever I'm working on with a metronome. Such fun. It doesn't help that I've got tinnitus and distorted guitars seem to make it worse.

I'm even thinking of selling the FM3. I mean I could just use plugins whenever I actually felt like playing or even grab a Tonex One or something. I'm going to give the FM3 another try with my synths, but I wasn't super impressed last time. I could always get a VP4 if really liked FAS effects.

TL;DR: I've realised that guitar is a chore for me and makes me feel inadequate. Thinking of selling it all and getting more pretty sounding bleep machines.

Yeah that can happen to us sometimes . Maybe sell only some gear if you must, don't sell too much. You might wish you still had it later.

Consider switching up what you play and put together a plan with some repertoire as well as technique. If you read or want to read, spend 20 minutes a day on that. Maybe just 20 minutes of technical stuff (scales, arpeggios, triads). Keep the technique to one key a day and do the next key in the circle of 5ths the next day. I also spend 20 minutes a day on improvising to backing tracks.

Playing clean instead of distorted can be a acquired taste. It can be a pleasant sound too if distorted guitar doesn't sit well with your tinnitus.

Good luck on your journey.

 

[Aleksi]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

This is less of a cry for help than me coming to terms with who I am musically. I always thought of myself as a metal head (and I still love a lot of metal) and playing guitar is what you do when you're into metal. But it must have been nearly 20 years ago that I last wrote a song.

But I find that I just enjoy making electronic music much more. I love the sounds and all the ways I can manipulate them, I love how I can just jam by myself and have it sound like actual music instead of someone going chug-meedley alone on a guitar, I love how I can tell the machines what to do and just chill out to a two hour generative ambient piece while slowly changing things.

I just watched Thomann's video on hypnotic techno and I can't wait to get off work and play with my synths.

 

[Eagle]

One consideration is ( if it was me) I own lots of gear that I simply wouldn’t ever replace if I sold it. I bought lots of pieces over the years that have seriously increased in value . While I am happy to own them for what I paid I would not pay what they go for now. So in effect if I sold them I would never own one again.
Some of these I hardly play but they don’t stand me much. Would I miss them? I can’t really be sure. The other thing is as a tech I have played and worked on thousands of guitars over the years so all of my instruments are exceptional examples of their type or I simply wouldn’t have bought them in the first place. Most were opportunistic buys that I wasn’t looking for at the time. I always had a list in my head of the pieces that I wanted and waited for them the come to me. The best instruments I have ever played are those I have. Difficult to replace but half hardy get touched.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

I think it's the feeling that I'm incapable of creativity on guitar. I like playing metal, but if you ask me to write a riff I'll just go djent-djent-harmonic or 0-0-5-0-7. And playing tightly in time while recording or god forbid double tracking anything is a nightmare

The most enjoyment I get from guitar is laying on the reverb and delay and playing sparse single notes. But I feel like synths are better for that anyway.

Well the thing is that doing anything for fun that isn't fun isn't worth doing.

I got lucky because I like working on the things I suck musically at more than literally anything in life.
More than getting paid for musical endeavors, sex, food, etc...

If I enjoyed synths and ambient stuff on guitar I'd do just that. Instead of trying to shed and it not being fun,

 

[FuzzyAce]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

This is less of a cry for help than me coming to terms with who I am musically. I always thought of myself as a metal head (and I still love a lot of metal) and playing guitar is what you do when you're into metal. But it must have been nearly 20 years ago that I last wrote a song.

But I find that I just enjoy making electronic music much more. I love the sounds and all the ways I can manipulate them, I love how I can just jam by myself and have it sound like actual music instead of someone going chug-meedley alone on a guitar, I love how I can tell the machines what to do and just chill out to a two hour generative ambient piece while slowly changing things.

I just watched Thomann's video on hypnotic techno and I can't wait to get off work and play with my synths.

Sounds like you know what you want.

One thing I've really discovered over the years about myself (especially the last 3 or 4) -- whenever those creative interests pop up it's best to follow-through on them while I'm in the mindset, and not overthink things. Letting things workout organically. If that means sacrificing guitar for something synth related for the sake of creativity, then so be it.

 

[spawnofthesith]

I've always ended up regretting mass sell offs

I sold -everything- and quit playing guitar entirely for a year and it was a terrible mistake

 

[FuzzyAce]

I've always ended up regretting mass sell offs

I sold -everything- and quit playing guitar entirely for a year and it was a terrible mistake

I can't imagine having quit guitar for a whole year. I can't imagine quitting for a month.
It's just become so ingrained even if I lost my hands I'd learn elbow slide guitar or perhaps use my feet.

 

[Aelred]

Fwiw, I gave it up for decades. What was the easiest thing to do when I picked it up again?

Drop D and power chords with 1 or 2 fingers. Instant old-man metal! Next easiest?

Ambient noodling and toying with effects (and buying more gear to achieve better tones).

Combine the two - "metal" power chords into a looper then ambient noodling over it - and that's where I've stayed.

Maybe I should've bought a synth instead.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Fwiw, I gave it up for decades. What was the easiest thing to do when I picked it up again?

Drop D and power chords with 1 or 2 fingers. Instant old-man metal! Next easiest?

Ambient noodling and toying with effects (and buying more gear to achieve better tones).

Combine the two - "metal" power chords into a looper then ambient noodling over it - and that's where I've stayed.

Maybe I should've bought a synth instead.

Wow you basically just described my band

 

[Will Onyx]

If you have stuff you aren’t digging anymore then by all means sell it, but definitely throw that money into a little ‘music fund’. That way you always have the means to pick up something in the future if you want/need it. Just make sure not to sell everything. At least keep your favorite guitar and amp/modeler so you can play whenever the mood hits.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Would I miss them? I can’t really be sure.

 

[Eagle]

This was my point. I like my PRS CU22 for what I paid but not enough to buy one for today’s price.

 

[laxu]

At least keep your favorite guitar and amp/modeler so you can play whenever the mood hits.

This is what I'd do. The amp/modeler could just as well be e.g a VST plugin or whatever, but keep at least one guitar you like.

I have way too many guitars, so I sometimes think about selling a few. But at the same time they are paid off, I'd take some losses on some of them, and above all they are all good guitars that inspire in different ways. If you keep at least your favorite, you won't be annoyed later that you sold it if you want to play guitar again.

 

[Aleksi]

I'm definitely not selling everything. I have a few guitars that I want to keep and a few that are probably not even worth selling. I'm not even in any hurry to sell really, they may as well stay in storage for a while. The FM3 is on the chopping block, though, but that can wait a little while as well.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I'm definitely not selling everything. I have a few guitars that I want to keep and a few that are probably not even worth selling. I'm not even in any hurry to sell really, they may as well stay in storage for a while. The FM3 is on the chopping block, though, but that can wait a little while as well.

Why not incorporate the FM3 into your synth rig? Would be a good source for adding further textures like distortions and cabs, not to mention all the other effects available.

 

[mbenigni]

I dunno if this is a gear rant or what, but anyway. I've had most of my guitars in storage since september when I went on holiday, I think? I keep the Strandberg 8 out in case I feel like playing it, but I've honestly played for maybe less than an hour this year. I'm just not drawn to it at all.

I always wanted to think that I was a guitarist, but I've never felt creative or particularly skilled on guitar. If someone asked about my hobbies, I'd be hesitant to mention the guitar. I've played for more than 20 years but you'd never guess from my playing. Guitar feels like I have to perform physically and a lot of the time I've spent with the instrument has been drilling whatever I'm working on with a metronome. Such fun. It doesn't help that I've got tinnitus and distorted guitars seem to make it worse.

I'm even thinking of selling the FM3. I mean I could just use plugins whenever I actually felt like playing or even grab a Tonex One or something. I'm going to give the FM3 another try with my synths, but I wasn't super impressed last time. I could always get a VP4 if really liked FAS effects.

TL;DR: I've realised that guitar is a chore for me and makes me feel inadequate. Thinking of selling it all and getting more pretty sounding bleep machines.

You're describing every other day for me. And if you're anything like me, the sense that your gear collection is excessive versus your perception of your own talent or your practical applications of that gear becomes a weight, a distraction, in its own right.

I don't know that there are all that many people who consistently feel inspired. I know I'm basically humping it most of the time (and I've been playing over twice as long as you, FWIW.) One thing that helps for me is having a clear objective revolving around music I genuinely love. For instance, instead of sitting down trying to be the best guitarist every day (who would even care if I were?), I've been learning lots of covers - songs I love listening to. I learn enough, but more importantly, I'm spending time connecting with great music - less exertion, more like refueling. (This might seem obvious, a very typical approach to learning the instrument in fact, but somehow it didn't occur to me until very recently.)

Anyway, I digress. What I really mean to say is: What you're feeling is not uncommon. don't "give up" the hobby. It's not hurting anyone, it doesn't have to be all that expensive, and there's nothing wrong with taking a break when you need it. Personally, I'd be inclined to sell anything you're not using, but take care to keep enough to cover the bases. Is an FM3 and a couple of your favorite guitars really an excessive indulgence? Only you can make that call, but people spend far more on all kinds of stupid hobbies.

tl;dr - Take it easy. (I'm trying to take my own advice over here LOL.)

 

[mbenigni]

Yeah that can happen to us sometimes . Maybe sell only some gear if you must, don't sell too much. You might wish you still had it later.

Good advice. The "good news" is: selling gear is a massive PITA, and he's not likely to sell it all at once even if he tries.

 

[Aleksi]

Why not incorporate the FM3 into your synth rig? Would be a good source for adding further textures like distortions and cabs, not to mention all the other effects available.

I gave that a try once. Fractal is great for guitar, because I will not tweak anything while I have both hands busy But with synths I'm constantly tweaking something and I just want more hands on control. At the risk of sounding like Laxu, ain't nobody gonna tweak a Fractal while playing

I'm planning on maybe making a demo video or three of FM3 with synth, since I'm getting my new patch bay set up now and it'll be trivial to route stuff however I feel like

 

[Jarick]

I dunno if this is a gear rant or what, but anyway. I've had most of my guitars in storage since september when I went on holiday, I think? I keep the Strandberg 8 out in case I feel like playing it, but I've honestly played for maybe less than an hour this year. I'm just not drawn to it at all.

I always wanted to think that I was a guitarist, but I've never felt creative or particularly skilled on guitar. If someone asked about my hobbies, I'd be hesitant to mention the guitar. I've played for more than 20 years but you'd never guess from my playing. Guitar feels like I have to perform physically and a lot of the time I've spent with the instrument has been drilling whatever I'm working on with a metronome. Such fun. It doesn't help that I've got tinnitus and distorted guitars seem to make it worse.

I'm even thinking of selling the FM3. I mean I could just use plugins whenever I actually felt like playing or even grab a Tonex One or something. I'm going to give the FM3 another try with my synths, but I wasn't super impressed last time. I could always get a VP4 if really liked FAS effects.

TL;DR: I've realised that guitar is a chore for me and makes me feel inadequate. Thinking of selling it all and getting more pretty sounding bleep machines.

IMO you shouldn't live life trying to hang on to something in the past. If you're over guitar and have been for a while, sell off the gear and use it to do something that's exciting and interesting to you. I would keep things that you've got great memories with though as you can't get them back, so if there's a guitar you had since you were young hang onto that.

Maybe just keep one guitar and use plugins, as you said, in case you need to add some guitar or get the urge to play. I wouldn't worry about the gear right now honestly. Modelers and pedals are everywhere and if you want to get back into it, you'll have a ton of options.

I took a break from guitar for several years. I wasn't into it much, I was moving a lot, had a lot going on in my life. I sold off all my gear except one guitar that my mom bought me when I was younger. Didn't miss it or think about it for years. Eventually I picked up a cheap guitar and amp and caught the bug again and built back a really nice collection.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I gave that a try once. Fractal is great for guitar, because I will not tweak anything while I have both hands busy But with synths I'm constantly tweaking something and I just want more hands on control. At the risk of sounding like Laxu, ain't nobody gonna tweak a Fractal while playing

I'm planning on maybe making a demo video or three of FM3 with synth, since I'm getting my new patch bay set up now and it'll be trivial to route stuff however I feel like

It would definitely be easier with the fm3 edit software open.