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Oof, I'm in a big old pedal and gear-in-general slump right now - nothing really seems terribly interesting to me. I'm sure it's a cue that I've got what I need, should focus more on actually playing and writing, but there's a part of me that misses that thrill of discovery that comes along with being pumped for new and interesting effects. Anyone else experiencing this? What's your solution to climb out of the dumps when this happens?

Blood_mountain wrote: should focus more on actually playing and writing

this

its not the exciting answer, but its the truth 9 times out of 10

just buy deals of whatever pops up

ibarakishi wrote:

Blood_mountain wrote: should focus more on actually playing and writing

this

its not the exciting answer, but its the truth 9 times out of 10

I have been playing and writing a lot more, and it's actually the recording part that I'm totally avoiding at the moment because a) I kind of suck at it and b) I can usually only record after my kids have gone to bed and at that time I usually convince myself that what I should actually do is settled in for a 4th run through the Office and some snacks. Very productive.

qersty wrote:just buy deals of whatever pops up

So tempting, and a decent way to try new things!

Play music and save money

I'm going to say play with some fucking volume.

I go through periods where I hate all my gear and "need" new stuff, but then if I grab what I've got and head down to the rehearsal room, play with a proper amp and feel my pants moving cos I'm playing so loud... that usually solves everything. Most things sound pretty great when you've got a bit of adrenaline and 100 or so decibels behind you.

Another thing that's been fun for me has been limiting myself. For example making a pedal board of a certain size, or colour, or building something around a specific sound.

I have been feeling kinda the same way (although probably for different reasons) and I think it's been pretty nice to not spend that money haha. I haven't really bought any pedals this year and instead have tried to learn as much as I can about the things that I have already. Anyway, I started to try and use the pedals I have with synths, drum machine and samplers to see if I could find new things about what I have and its been very enjoyable. I'd recommend trying that out to kinda get a new perspective on what you have already, it helped me at least. Honestly though, nothing exciting has come out in the last year or 2 that I have really been like, YO that is sick, I need that in my life. IDK, probably not great advice because I'm burnt out but I feel you.

use a new guitar tuning! and/or a capo

alexsga wrote:use a new guitar tuning! and/or a capo

yeah, little stuff can spark some fun discoveries. try some different string gauges, or flatwounds! experiment with different picks! or buy some music books, so you have some new avenues to explore in practice.
honestly, the new-toy thrill fades pretty quickly, so it's good to learn to enjoy playing without having to drop a couple hundred bucks regularly.

Focus on playing is good. I should really do it more, myself. Playing to a beat for rhythm training is helpful, and something like a Beat Buddy Mini makes it less like playing to a metronome. There are a bunch of sources of pre-recorded online lessons and I think some live one-on-one. If you want DIY non-method-y info to figure out things on your own, “The Guitar Cookbook” by Jesse Gress is a good reference and “The Advancing Guitarist” by Mick Goodrick has excellent insight about how to think differently, bust ruts, and deal with weaknesses.

Or you could get into modular synths.

Yep, that's what I do -play more- and after a while, I start thinking about the gear I use, how I could use it differently, and all this brings about want for another pedal. Sometimes it's a pedal I've been ignoring for 3 years -"who needs that crap?" - and all of a sudden it's obviously what I need...

I'm thinking it's also a bit of boredom with guitar, so I'm going to pick up a dumb old Hammond chord organ tonight to experiment with writing and playing on a different instrument. If nothing else, I'll tear it apart for parts, Lol.

I wouldn't call it a slump, but I'm currently more than happy using a very minimal set up - a Volca Sample, a Tenori-On and two Zoias.

All my other pedals are in boxes and I've not been looking for anything new for a while.

To balance that my output has been ridiculous - I uploaded my 81st album (this year) to Bandcamp yesterday.

I was convinced that next time I had some money I would buy a Beebo, or maybe a third Zoia, but I'm not sure at the moment that I'll be bothered when the time comes.

Paul_C wrote:To balance that my output has been ridiculous - I uploaded my 81st album (this year) to Bandcamp yesterday.

Wait. 81st album…this year?