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  Dealing with anxiety. Menthal healt day: How luthiery saved me 2 times.

  Posted by Alex Q Guitarworks on October 11, 2024 at 7:45 am

  Hello everyone, this will be a long post.

  I usually describe my passion for luthiery as a “fire.” I can easily remember the day I realized that I wanted this to be what I would do for the rest of my life. It started as pure joy; learning day by day was like unwrapping a new surprise. I did everything right: studied, practiced, studied, practiced. I built my own jigs and tools, and I even did a small apprenticeship with a local luthier.

  What I didn’t notice over the years is that this passion completely devoured my soul.

  I started to stop going out with friends, to not give my then-girlfriend enough time, all in order to save money to buy new woods, new tools, and new hardware.

  It was never enough.

  I could have been more precise. Cut the neck in half.

  That joint could have been done better. Cut the top/body in half.

  The neck pocket/neck fitting isn’t as tight as I want it to be. Trash the whole guitar.

  The finish isn’t glossy or satin enough. Took painting lessons and courses. Start over and over again. Trash the whole guitar.

  It was never enough.

  After many years, I decided to become a professional, so I started my own legal shop/factory, and that was the beginning of the end.

  I started to have panic attacks, constantly worrying that my work wouldn’t be appreciated or wouldn’t meet customer expectations.

  So I taught myself CAD/CAM drawing and bought a CNC machine to satisfy my thirst for precision. It worked for a while, but then all that automation (which I truly love) completely extinguished my passion.

  After a couple of severe family and personal troubles, the dream of my life disappeared in just one year.

  It took me three years to step back into the lab. Everything was exactly as I had left it on a day in November 2020.

  I started taking care of my time, enjoying even the small production processes. If I can make something in 10 minutes, I now take 30. I started watching other hobbyists because I learned more from them than from professionals (take this with caution; I mean no offense to anyone), and watching them learning as I did in the past give me joy.
  
  

  I started to feel that warm fire again, and I couldn’t be happier.

  Always take care of yourself and may your passion become the joy of your life.

  Alex Q Guitarworks replied 1 year, 5 months ago 1 Member · 0 Replies
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