Wow this got quite heated while I was gone!
First and foremost let me say that my absolute favorite threads on all of the PG forums have been all of the custom amp builds. You guys have so much ingenuity, and it's so fun to be able to live vicariously through all of them. And the best thread out of all of them, in my opinion, was your MS1000 conversion. Remember that? You were the first and only hobbyist to ever properly hot-rod an MS amp.
You need to figure out what you find fun in the hobby and what you don't. Clearly you were actively, and still are emotionally driven to create the absolute highest quality amps for your own enjoyment. From your messages here it sounds like the job of having to repair amps has sucked the time away from being able to fulfill your hobby in a way that is enjoying to you.
I know you take the repair of our amps quite personally... whenever you see an amp getting "harmed" you are always the first to say something about it. But in the end you have to realize these amps are just material things. You can't save them all. You might as well have fun with your own, in the ways you like enjoying them.
Maybe this thread has given you the much needed kick in the ass to start working on YOUR BOFAS. It might just rekindle your love affair.
Building something MS-related
Eric I totally understand where you are coming from and I had to do what KUB3 suggested. Car audio became a chore rather than the hobby I loved. At that point I moved into DJ'ing which took my mind off of car audio and gave me a rekindled spirit for car audio whenever I came back to it. Taking some time off, hell years off, will clear the bad taste and eventually you will love it again. Give it time bro and take care of the family. Thanks again for the services you provided to AAMP.KUB3 wrote:Can I humbly suggest looking into having multiple hobbies.
When one hobby gets a bit dull move into a totally fresh scene for a couple of months. I also happen to love building retro rc cars, or mountain bikes, making things in the workshop, plus other things. When I return back after a break you appreciate the fun much more. Just focusing on one thing will lead to a loss of perspective. I once got far to obsessed over home hifi many years ago. Once my car hifi is sorted soon I intend to dive right back into my love of other hobbies for a while
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oldschoolfan
- Posts: 897
- Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 11:08 am
- Location: Burb of Detroit
I know I am late to this party but have been out of town for a couple of weeks.
Eric, it sounds like you have the same problem I used to, except it is repairing cars for me. You can't say no. You are repairing amps because you enjoy it. You like being able to help folks out. It is a great feeling being able to offer top quality repair work that is done at a reasonable cost to the consumer. I personally have no official mechanical training but can guarantee that I will complete a repair with more tenacity and attention to detail than many "professional" wrenches out there. Besides I hate to see people getting screwed. This I do for fun and a few bucks. The problem comes when we can't say no and lose the balance between a fun hobby and people relying on and or demanding our services.
Don't quit. Just stop taking new work. Clear out the jobs you have, at your own pace. If you really feel like you don't want to finish what you have send it back. You are not a shop and under no obligation to fix anything for anyone. Work on your own stuff and only your own stuff for awhile. If you want to get back into repairs for folks just pace it and or be picky as to what jobs you will take. When folks ask me if I can work on"insert make and model here" I always tell them that I haven't found anything I could not fix yet. However there are certain jobs I will turn away because I just don't want to deal with them. I do love a challenge though.
Hope this does not sound like a lecture, just trying to offer some friendly advice and thoughts from my own personal experiences of the sort.
Please, just don't break up with us, we need you around here.
Eric, it sounds like you have the same problem I used to, except it is repairing cars for me. You can't say no. You are repairing amps because you enjoy it. You like being able to help folks out. It is a great feeling being able to offer top quality repair work that is done at a reasonable cost to the consumer. I personally have no official mechanical training but can guarantee that I will complete a repair with more tenacity and attention to detail than many "professional" wrenches out there. Besides I hate to see people getting screwed. This I do for fun and a few bucks. The problem comes when we can't say no and lose the balance between a fun hobby and people relying on and or demanding our services.
Don't quit. Just stop taking new work. Clear out the jobs you have, at your own pace. If you really feel like you don't want to finish what you have send it back. You are not a shop and under no obligation to fix anything for anyone. Work on your own stuff and only your own stuff for awhile. If you want to get back into repairs for folks just pace it and or be picky as to what jobs you will take. When folks ask me if I can work on"insert make and model here" I always tell them that I haven't found anything I could not fix yet. However there are certain jobs I will turn away because I just don't want to deal with them. I do love a challenge though.
Hope this does not sound like a lecture, just trying to offer some friendly advice and thoughts from my own personal experiences of the sort.
Please, just don't break up with us, we need you around here.