This is the age just about right to smarten up a bit. You do not need all this circus really. Just build something solid
enough worth keeping for good and if it breaks down, you'll be able to make repairs and practice DIY.
I've just gotten into DIY so I can't say I'm contemplating quitting, but I can really relate to what a lot of you are saying. What would I do with all the projects I think I would like to build? I'm about to turn 72 and have a ton of time on my hands, and I'm at a point in my financial life where I can afford a few toys, but I also don't want a pile of electronics sitting around that I never use. Plus, I don't want to have to invest in a bunch of new tools.
For the last 15 years or so, I've been building/assembling/restoring guitars. I've built and given a few to my daughter and grand kids, but I also have a dozen hanging on my wall, and I'm not that good of a player. Of course, guitar building requires some special tools, and I'm not sure how many more I want to build if they are just going to end up on the wall. I say all this because the guitar experience is influencing my thinking about how far I want to go with DIY electronics.
I've built two of the ACA kits and plan to build a tube pre-amp, but I would also like to try an SET, and a Pass F5, and a 300B, and...
For the last 15 years or so, I've been building/assembling/restoring guitars. I've built and given a few to my daughter and grand kids, but I also have a dozen hanging on my wall, and I'm not that good of a player. Of course, guitar building requires some special tools, and I'm not sure how many more I want to build if they are just going to end up on the wall. I say all this because the guitar experience is influencing my thinking about how far I want to go with DIY electronics.
I've built two of the ACA kits and plan to build a tube pre-amp, but I would also like to try an SET, and a Pass F5, and a 300B, and...
Can you put the bridge back on my Kala Nylon 6 string? This would be the 4th time attached, counting the original factory job. It's ripped wood out of the top beneath each wing. I suspect the original attach failed because they put it after the top finish, so it's not adhered to the wood grain. I'd do it but I dont have those deep clamps to do it right...two of my previous attaches eventually failed.
FWIW, we have gentleman your age performing regularly at the open mic I attend in Olympa WA. It's never too late! I've got 68 coming up and I can play stuff I only dreamed of being able to do in the recent - and distant past. Got so many songs in my book I cant maintain them all - they fade like flowers you know, if you dont "water" them regularly. Arthritis in my left index with a nasty click too.
I made up some marijuana juice out of some bud and isopropyl alcohol, which I slather over my left index and thumb; seems to help noticeably. Anything to keep playin'. Working on "America" by S&G, after hearing another fellow play it last Friday. Waltz time is killing me; drill, drill, drill - Today's Friday, will I make it ready for the show? Good enough?
To me DIY is just a hobby. I do it more for the sake of doing it than I do for the outcome.
In a perfect world, my house would be a big electronics/computer lab with an attached listening room, bathroom, kitchen/den, bedroom and four car garage. Anti static linoleum floors everywhere with big air filters.
My wife doesn't understand that, so we got to have more bedrooms and bathrooms and living spaces and furniture and stuff. At least she let me put up three racks of electronic boxes in the living room and one in the den (HT).
DIY is just a way to say: "I know how that works, why should I pay 90% markup?"
Now, I can build small things, but big stuff I'll let someone else do it, or I'll buy it used... well built DIY is usually a great deal. Sure, you have the rare smoke sessions, but that's a learning experience. After all, do you think Nelson Pass will let you specify an XA200.8? Nope, you get the transformers here, the wires there and a BLUE LED... just like everybody else.... that, is B.O.R.I.N.G
My wife doesn't understand that, so we got to have more bedrooms and bathrooms and living spaces and furniture and stuff. At least she let me put up three racks of electronic boxes in the living room and one in the den (HT).
DIY is just a way to say: "I know how that works, why should I pay 90% markup?"
Now, I can build small things, but big stuff I'll let someone else do it, or I'll buy it used... well built DIY is usually a great deal. Sure, you have the rare smoke sessions, but that's a learning experience. After all, do you think Nelson Pass will let you specify an XA200.8? Nope, you get the transformers here, the wires there and a BLUE LED... just like everybody else.... that, is B.O.R.I.N.G
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Hmmm, well, I could probably repair your bridge, but shipping your guitar back and forth from Olympia to Des Moines, Iowa would surely cost more than taking it to a local luthier. You can find the appropriate deep clamps and bridge caul that you need to make sure you're applying even pressure on eBay, but, again, the luthier might be cheaper...and, they have the other special tools they need to make sure the alignment and position is perfect.
I should take those guitars off the wall and learn to play them better. It would be good for the guitars, too. I'm terribly lazy, though. However, I have some friends who like to play, so we're talking about setting up a weekly get together to jam over the winter. Should give me some motivation. I also have a new acoustic build that I've started that I need to get back to. 🙂
My approach is music first, audio quality second, and DIY a fun third. Only build what will improve audio quality and upgrade the resulting component as necessary/possible. Since my DIY projects are always superior to store bought items, my garages fill up with discarded store bought components. Got 100+ of these.
Can understand the DIYers mindset above and think that some of it is perspective. If you have DIY as your primary goal you build for that pleasure. Understandable and fun. But since there is no direction controlling your project selection, you will always end up with a lot of peripheral stuff lying around.
Have been pleasantly surprised at how much better DIY components can be in the electronic realm. Speakers, not so much...
Can understand the DIYers mindset above and think that some of it is perspective. If you have DIY as your primary goal you build for that pleasure. Understandable and fun. But since there is no direction controlling your project selection, you will always end up with a lot of peripheral stuff lying around.
Have been pleasantly surprised at how much better DIY components can be in the electronic realm. Speakers, not so much...
My approach is, a good speaker has to be able to reproduce any music, no matter the genre or taste. If it can't do that, it's not a good speaker.
That's great - you're fortunate, as am I to have a "weekly goal" to get some musical stuff worked out, besides the electronic hardware.
I know about the shipping costs these days, so I was half kidding about you helping to repair my guitar; perhaps you lived just north of Seattle and willing to meet up - epoxy sets up in a couple hours! Local luthier / repair shop is the only practical way to go. The bridge has two plastic pins to locate it precisely.
I like that little thin-line Koa nylon guitar; picked it up at a yard sale years ago in Olympia, where the fellow had a whole pile of 'em. Thought "I can fix this". Found out, Not Really.
If I knew then what I know now, I would have bought them all. You cant find that particular guitar used, anywhere. Not made anymore... Pretty, comfortable, plays like a dream, sounds great with its Shadow electronics / pickup. Even after getting its undersaddle connecting wire tugged on innumerable times. Even after having me molest its bridge back into place twice without proper tools...
@jjasniew I know some people make simple bridge clamps from 3/4" ply. I'll be visiting diy designs eventually but I was having a hell or a time building the rosette I had in mind and put the project away for a while (its a marathon).
Alternatively, harbor freight has a few sizes of deep C clamps for a few bucks each. The 8", with a small pad glued to the foot might work for you
Alternatively, harbor freight has a few sizes of deep C clamps for a few bucks each. The 8", with a small pad glued to the foot might work for you
It starts to get intimidating when one has absurd amounts of unfinished devices, tons of spareparts an then realizing one only uses 1 source and 1 amplifier. Not many and maybe no one at all uses an inferior device after a choice is made. So it often ends as accumulating stuff no one else appreciates around you. This is sad but true in many cases. If the thought on getting rid of stuff is clear then selling off stuff might be rewarding and appreciated by the ones near you. Having a lot of (unfinished) stuff only gathering dust is not a strength but a weakness.
It is nice that you can build audio devices but that does not say that you should.
It is nice that you can build audio devices but that does not say that you should.
Quitting DIYS is quite far away for me. Also, I really don't know how that would work. DIYS is about taking responseability of things happening around you. Some kind of real freedom. I feel really sorry for people that can not DIYS, because of their mindset or personal situation.
I have projects runing for quite a long time. For example, I'm about to finish a subwoofer I started with in spring this year. Even investing only an hour or only 15 minutes at a time makes me feel good. It is like watching a plant growing, it takes as long as it takes.
I'm in the position to have a small wood workshop and a separate one for electronics. These are part hobby and part work, as I have to maintain an old house, which makes most of my tools dual use, hobby and real life.
DIYS has the luxury that you don't have to finish at a fixed point in time.
I have projects runing for quite a long time. For example, I'm about to finish a subwoofer I started with in spring this year. Even investing only an hour or only 15 minutes at a time makes me feel good. It is like watching a plant growing, it takes as long as it takes.
I'm in the position to have a small wood workshop and a separate one for electronics. These are part hobby and part work, as I have to maintain an old house, which makes most of my tools dual use, hobby and real life.
DIYS has the luxury that you don't have to finish at a fixed point in time.
To be handy in various areas is indeed a very good thing IMHO. That maybe is different from the audio hobby of mainly gathering parts and old devices and starting too many projects.
I'm now in my early 80s. Have a hand tremor which makes soldering all but impossible and lameness + COPD meaning that I have already given up playing golf and fly fishing.
But the part which is most missed is the couple of hours here and there with a soldering iron. It is also an innocent passtime - far less expensive than keeping a mistress or gambling on horses cards etc.
But the part which is most missed is the couple of hours here and there with a soldering iron. It is also an innocent passtime - far less expensive than keeping a mistress or gambling on horses cards etc.
My first thought on reading brianco's post was to wonder about the possibility of finding young people to mentor in this hobby. Not only would it provide an outlet for the projects we probably don't need cluttering up our shelves, but would introduce a new generation to the world of audio. I have a grandson who would be all over this idea, but he lives six hours away.
I thought someone had thought up strapping a strong gyroscope to the hand, when then dampens those tremors. Glue a firm pad under a 7200 RPM HDD, strap it to the top of your hand and spin 'er up. Just...wondering?
There are cultural forces weighing against the popularity of the DIY philosophy. Foremost, music is depressed as an art form and, so, those fields that support it are also depressed.
Many folks are having trouble buying a house these days and that argues against purchasing heavy things like large speakers and heavy amplifiers. No sense in building those kinds of things, right?
Since much of America's manufacturing has been farmed out by greedy corporate interests since the 1980s, the concept of doing it yourself is largely a forgotten thing in America.
When I started building audio equipment five years ago I was surprised to find as much interest as there is. In my youth during the 1970s the general belief was "you could build a better amp than you could buy." We all remember Heathkit, right? DIY activity in the audio world was so much more common then.
But to return to the general music situation, since 2013 labels have been giving everything away for free ala Spotify with MP3 files. This promotes a belief among the culture that music can't be very important if it's given away. Contrast this with the 19th century when you were considered an important person if you knew all of the Beethoven symphonies. To do so you had spent a lot of time, energy, and money to hear them all in concert. Today they are free on any number of streaming services. No effort needed and, as a result, little reason to consider them important.
Heavy audio compression and infantile musical style also contributes to the lack of need for high end audio equipment. The list goes on.
But the good news is that there are free givers such as Nelson Pass and Wayne Colburn that make the effort to provide DIY resources. Without these kinds of folks the situation would be even worse.
Many folks are having trouble buying a house these days and that argues against purchasing heavy things like large speakers and heavy amplifiers. No sense in building those kinds of things, right?
Since much of America's manufacturing has been farmed out by greedy corporate interests since the 1980s, the concept of doing it yourself is largely a forgotten thing in America.
When I started building audio equipment five years ago I was surprised to find as much interest as there is. In my youth during the 1970s the general belief was "you could build a better amp than you could buy." We all remember Heathkit, right? DIY activity in the audio world was so much more common then.
But to return to the general music situation, since 2013 labels have been giving everything away for free ala Spotify with MP3 files. This promotes a belief among the culture that music can't be very important if it's given away. Contrast this with the 19th century when you were considered an important person if you knew all of the Beethoven symphonies. To do so you had spent a lot of time, energy, and money to hear them all in concert. Today they are free on any number of streaming services. No effort needed and, as a result, little reason to consider them important.
Heavy audio compression and infantile musical style also contributes to the lack of need for high end audio equipment. The list goes on.
But the good news is that there are free givers such as Nelson Pass and Wayne Colburn that make the effort to provide DIY resources. Without these kinds of folks the situation would be even worse.
I have to believe some of it is because things have got so far advanced and so plentiful that it's not possible/practical to DIY. While it's amazing the depth of complexity of some of the projects I see done here, I assume most people feel that would be a bit too much to chew, just to be well entertained.
Like, building a guitar. Saw each fret slot precisely by hand? Whoops - new fretboard - measure twice, cut once. I'd rather entertain myself trying to play one already made, everything right. They are abundant and plentiful in America. Similarly, I wouldnt DIY a laser printer. The doctor I used to see quit his practice and actually had a yard sale at his shop. Couple of nice Brothers there, for nothin'!
I'd bet it has something to do with the super-saturation of America with stuff already, coupled with a lot of people cant DIY their way out of a paper bag... It's so too bad the fashionable aspect of it isnt in vogue as it used to be. I remember when I was a kid, the guy across the street built his own camping trailer from scratch. A big camping trailer. What a flex!
I did see on Reddit a list of attributes women find attractive in men and "woodworking" was in the top ten. (If he's handy with that, might be good to have around maybe still has some value)
"If he's handy with woodworking, might be good to have around maybe still has some value"
Now that is cynical! Over the years I also got to think that the value of men diminishes after children have been produced and fathered. After 50 no one notices you anymore so maybe quitting the hobby after 50 is not a wise choice 😀
Now that is cynical! Over the years I also got to think that the value of men diminishes after children have been produced and fathered. After 50 no one notices you anymore so maybe quitting the hobby after 50 is not a wise choice 😀
A colleague at the open mic suggested I attend this guy's free singing lessons happening at a Universalist church. Started going with my wife and teenager, fellow teaching is a hoot, flamboyant theater guy and likes the old American show tunes. All old ladies and men who've been attending for years and their vocal prowess shows.
Last weekend my wife wasnt up to going and our teen boy followed suit, so I went myself. When I walked in and crossed in front of everyone, one of these ladies whom I hadnt seen there before went "OOOooooo!" I got noticed, at 67. Still dont know just what to do with that whilst remaining appropriate in a social context, so I just did my usual; find a seat and pretend it never happened.
I imagine, if you really know what you're doing, lite socializing can be very entertaining, rewarding, fun - all while being 100% above board. I just dont know what I'm doing, never had that one down. But, I can cut a piece of wood at a right angle and drill pilot holes for screws!
I think the number one attraction in that thing I read was "I'm learning another language".