How has building affected your guitar playing

[billstein]

There's a thread going about how often we build. I thought another interesting question is how often do you play guitar after you started building? I know it is a bit frustrating to me that my actual playing time has gone way down.

[muddyfox]

I haven't played at all when I started building pedals (started building on a dare and was pretty handy with a soldering iron already) and then I thought sheesh as long as I'm building the blasted things I may as well try to learn how to use them. 
So in that context my playing actually went up from nonexistent to utterly horrible. I do have my moments though, once in a blue moon my wife actually sits quite calmly through a five-minute flub fest that is my current repertoire.

[chromesphere]

Improved immensely.  I hate to admit it, but I don't think I could honestly stay interested in guitar playing for this long without access to so many different sounds.

[Ettore_M]

I try to keep building and playing in equal states. But already, building (and learning electronics) brought my guitar playing way down. Maybe it's that I don't play in a band anymore. Don't know!

Hector

[juansolo]

I bought a guitar 5 or so years ago with a idea of learning to play in my spare time. I made a tube screamer not long after and essentially never got beyond AC/DC / Sabbath riffs and what have you. Turns out I really enjoy building stuff and I'm not particularly talented when it comes to the playing side.

[Tremster]

I dare say I have a tiny bit more talent as a player than as a builder, but that doesn't mean much, see below.
Since the band broke up my playing has gone to almost zero. Building, I'm afraid, is kind of like telling myself that I'm still musically active, these days.
There is another thread going about being through with building out of frustration. Yesterday I finished two PCBs and both don't work.
So yeah. I'll soon stop building because I can only get half of my builds to work, it seems, and start playing more again. No really, surely, I will. Really.

[Cortexturizer]

My playing has deteriorated quite a lot since I've caught the bug for building. I've never really been a practice-scales kind of guy, but I did try to cover some songs at least. Now it's just pointless yanking. Still, i have 3 bands at the moment, and somehow I get by. But I cannot stop thinking all of those would be better bands if I were just to sit and practice for an hour or two a day.

[angrykoko]

bought my first guitar about 2 years ago.. I haven't improved much which is also why I don't do demos

[pietro_moog]

i don't play so much anymore, i don't have time and when i'm home i'm usually so tired that i just wanna hear silence.  but i was pretty good. i play guitar since i'm a kid and i can do even some famous solo, but now i've lost a lot. i like building pedal and stuff but i like playing much more. and i have too many pedals that i don't use anymore. and even a few amps..

[gjcamann]

Yeah, my playing abilities have taken a serious nose dive since building. Building pedals also puts less strain on my marriage than guitar playing.

[AntKnee]

I've only recently started building and it has helped to increase my playing time. I have played guitar for around 25 years, been in multiple bands and gone on tours. Took a few years off not long ago, but I'm playing again and back in a band. Building has only increased my desire to play. New sounds inspire new riffs and songs. Plus, I love having a really cool looking pedal board! I love music and I love constructive activities. I built a lot of models as a kid, and I have a project car. I just grew up building things, so building pedals really compliments my musical hobby as well as scratches a constructive itch.

[jimilee]

I could be better, but at 42, my playing is at it's best. I've built 2 bass guitars so that's an inspiration. Also just traded for a strat so I'm looking to learn to play guitar better also.

[danwelsh]

yeah my playing time has dramatically dropped....all i wanna do is build pedals lol

[midwayfair]

Some things have gotten better, but it's still a time sink away from practicing, so who knows if I would have improved more just by playing more rather than building. I am much better now at understanding the sound as a whole than I used to be, so I think what I play has improved. I just think a little more deeply about sound than I used to.

[Droogie]

... I just think a little more deeply about sound than I used to.

This. The whole pedal building thing started as part of a quest to help my guitar sound. A bit less time practicing, but a better end result in many respects.