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Selling a Dream: A Bittersweet Guitar Story

dybmh

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
For the past 35 years, I dreamed that I wanted to be a rock guitarist by the time I was 50 years old. Today, I'm 45, and I'm nowhere near that goal. :oops:

Some have told me, even my wife, that I have it in me; if I wanted to do it; I could. We actually had this conversation yesterday evening.

Reality Check: I suck at playing guitar. Sometimes, I accidentally play something that sounds good. But. I am not rock-god material. Not me.

Because of that I have decided to sell my electric guitar, and all its accoutrements. Not because I'm giving up playing guitar, to the contrary I plan to play more than ever. Just not electric. Only acoustic. I never play the electric guitar anyway. I like to play softly. And the acoustic is better suited for that imho. The electric guitar is so sensitive. It's like every mistake I make is ... well ... amplified. ( Which it is... duh, that's the whole point, but I digress :rolleyes: ).

So that's it, I have an appointment with a local music shop to check out my rig. None of if is collectible, and all i want out of the transaction is that my beautiful guitar finds a home where she will be played. That's it.

Once I had realized, I never play my electric, I realized I'll never be a rock-god, and knowing that, meant, owing such a beautiful guitar felt fake, and somehow disingenuous. I don't like that.

So, I'm selling a dream. The dream to be a rock-god... on Monday apparently. And it feels bittersweet, like saying goodbye to an old friend.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey musicians out there? Have you ever had to part with one of your favorite instruments? Feel free to share the story if you feel so inclined.

:)
 
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Eddi

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
I'm a guitar enthusiast

I sold my acoustic as I never played it, I now only have electrics

Which I haven't touched in ages, due to the lockdown

What type of guitar is it you're selling? Do you have any pics of it? And how far did you come towards becoming a Rock God? - I can do major and minor barre chords and power chords but need tons more practice to even approach being a Rock God!
 
SalixIncendium

SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
I sold my whole rig sometime around 2000, which included a Peavey amp, two cabinets, and two basses, a Peavey Forum Plus and BC Rich Warlock. While, like you, I had aspirations of being in a rock-star, I had settled for playing in bar bands. I became burned out on that lifestyle in my mid 30s.

While I don't miss getting home at 5am on Fridays and Saturdays, I do miss playing and the occasional jam sessions.
 
Twilight Hue

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
dybmh said:
For the past 35 years, I dreamed that I wanted to be a rock guitarist by the time I was 50 years old. Today, I'm 45, and I'm nowhere near that goal. :oops:

Some have told me, even my wife, that I have it in me; if I wanted to do it; I could. We actually had this conversation yesterday evening.

Reality Check: I suck at playing guitar. Sometimes, I accidentally play something that sounds good. But. I am not rock-god material. Not me.

Because of that I have decided to sell my electric guitar, and all its accoutrements. Not because I'm giving up playing guitar, to the contrary I plan to play more than ever. Just not electric. Only acoustic. I never play the electric guitar anyway. I like to play softly. And the acoustic is better suited for that imho. The electric guitar is so sensitive. It's like every mistake I make is ... well ... amplified. ( Which it is... duh, that's the whole point, but I digress :rolleyes: ).

So that's it, I have an appointment with a local music shop to check out my rig. None of if is collectible, and all i want out of the transaction is that my beautiful guitar finds a home where she will be played. That's it.

Once I had realized, I never play my electric, I realized I'll never be a rock-god, and knowing that, meant, owing such a beautiful guitar felt fake, and somehow disingenuous. I don't like that.

So, I'm selling a dream. The dream to be a rock-god... on Monday apparently. And it feels bittersweet, like saying goodbye to an old friend.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey musicians out there? Have you ever had to part with one of your favorite instruments? Feel free to share the story if you feel so inclined.

:)
Click to expand...
That's my problem with being a vocalist.

Some songs I can sing pretty well, otherwise I can't carry a tune if it was to even save my life.

If I was you I would have gone alternative. Give you a bit of wiggle room. ;0)
 
amorphous_constellation

amorphous_constellation

Well-Known Member
My problem is that I have several instruments around here that I haven't gotten around to learning, and might not find the time to. I am a multi-instrumentalist though, and am fluent on the guitar, bass, banjo, piano, mandolin, and now finally the violin. I happen to own a lute and an accordion though, and I haven't gotten around to learning those, however I don't wish to part with them. I also own a cheap drum set, but that's just practical for the drummers who wanted to come play, and I don't intend to learn those, I don't think
 
dybmh

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Eddi said:
I'm a guitar enthusiast
Click to expand...
:hugehug:
Eddi said:
I sold my acoustic as I never played it, I now only have electrics
Click to expand...

I know so many people who do that. The electric is much easier to learn on. I learned on acoustic, so that's probably why it's my go to.
Eddi said:
Which I haven't touched in ages, due to the lockdown
Click to expand...
I haven't played in ages either. I picked it up two days ago, and it was a mess... like a soup-sandwich.
Eddi said:
What type of guitar is it you're selling?
Click to expand...
It's a mid 80s Gibson Les Paul Studio, but it has been greatly modified; that's what keeps it from being collectible.
On the other hand, the mods that were done to it make it so fun to play. Once it's tuned, it's locked in. And it sustains forever.
Eddi said:
Do you have any pics of it?
Click to expand...
I'll take some and send them to you via PM
Eddi said:
And how far did you come towards becoming a Rock God?
Click to expand...
I can play LOG like you wouldn't believe... LOG stands for Lots of G. But, yeah, I'd put my skill at the level of ... ummmm .... a bad street musician. heehee.
Eddi said:
I can do major and minor barre chords and power chords but need tons more practice to even approach being a Rock God!
Click to expand...
The question I'm asking myself, is "Why do I want to be a rock-god? What do I have to offer that someone else out there isn't already doing?"

Therefore, my music is for me and my family and for those enjoy lots of G. I used to be able to do a pretty OK version of no-woman-no-cry on acoustic....
 
PureX

PureX

Veteran Member
I've played guitar since I was 9. Learned to read music and played both electric, 6 and 12 string acoustic, and classical. I was quite good at it, but I never had that drive to be a performer. I should probably have moved more toward the singer-songwriter thing but I wasn't that interested in the words, so much as I was the music.

Eventually I went to an excellent art school where I was given a choice: to pursue music or to pursue visual art. And I chose visual art. I kept playing guitar for my own enjoyment, but stuck with the visual art long after art school. I had some shows and sold some work, but I certainly never became 'famous'. If I'd wanted fame, I would have had a better chance as a musician, even as small a chance as that would be, than as a visual artist.

But for me, none of this really matters. What matters is that I chose the endeavor that I really loved, I kept playing music for myself, and I have had a amazing, interesting, and fulfilling life without money or fame.

I eventually quit playing the guitar after I got sober in my mid 30s, because I realized that I was using music to wallow in darker themes that I then used as an excuse to drink. But I have been sober for many years, now, and have been considering, lately, taking the guitar up again.

We'll see. Now days I just follow the joy as I find it. Objects, images, music, I live in a culture that is totally art-ignorant, and even quite disdainful of it. So I expect nothing but my own satisfaction from doing it. And that's good enough.
 
dybmh

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
SalixIncendium said:
the occasional jam sessions.
Click to expand...
Agreed. This is what I miss too. In college we would wander the dorms looking for jam sessions. When I moved off campus ( OSU ) the neighbors and I had a lot of fun jamming out after classes.
 
dybmh

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Nowhere Man said:
That's my problem with being a vocalist.
Click to expand...
I have vocal cord nodules.... there are certain notes I simple cannot sing. Drives me bonkers...
Nowhere Man said:
If I was you I would have gone alternative. Give you a bit of wiggle room. ;0)
Click to expand...
As is nirvana? Slinging the guitar and bass so low can cause serious wrist troubles. I'm a previous student of Gerald from "The Best Kissers in the world", and he still struggles with chronic pain because of that.

But seriously, yeah, you're right, I could probably hang in the back as a fill-in Guitarist in an alternative band.
 
dybmh

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
PureX said:
I eventually quit playing the guitar after I got sober in my mid 30s, because I realized that was using music to wallow in dark themes that I then used as an excuse to drink.
Click to expand...

**Dybmh bows to PureX in honor of his sobriety**
 
BSM1

BSM1

What? Me worry?
My story is completely opposite. Started learning to play in my early twenties. Although I never thought I'd ever play on a stage then, the dream was always in the back on my mind. Fast forward through a life of work and family (of which I have absolutely no regrets) to a mere five years ago when we discovered my wife sings Blues like Janis and ballads like Stevie, and I can sing Americana with the best of them. A well-seasoned musical friend of my brother's family heard her singing while sitting in to one of our impromptu jam sessions. He asked if we would like to form a band that very night and we said yes. I was a passable rhythm player, but I was very inexperienced and needed a great deal of work. In the next 24 months before the band broke up, I learned and learned quickly. Now, not even six years later, not only are we respected by other musicians, but we have local venues approaching us for gigs (BTW, did I mention that she is amazing; that's who they really want). The upshot to our story--we were both in our sixties when we started this leg of our journey. So to all of you who still have that dream somewhere in the back of your mind I say "never doubt the dream"; and it's never too late. Thanks, @dybmh, for including me in this post. If anyone is interested we do have a website and FB page for the band that I would be happy to PM to you.
 
dybmh

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Update:

I traded my whole rig for a beautiful pro-level Uke.

A birthday present for my daughter's 16th.

Bam!
 
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