Bass builds: My own & for clients (friends)

[ThaCoast]

Today is Amp day (& couple of set ups). The Main focus is the Superlead/2203/dookie mod rebuild for my bud Jeff. Last night i pulled the remaining transformers off the chassis, & all the octal power tube sockets out. Give a cleaner look to them for re-wiring, & also inside. Today, its focus is getting the power side of things (IEC plug, fuses, Power transformer, filter caps, power & standby switches, Octal tube sockets) all wired & clean looking. Am going to replace a few components such as bent screws, bad ground terminal lugs, to have a clean slate to work with.

In terms of set ups, i'll finalize Sheena's new graph tech nut, & get the rasta strat sorted out wiring wise & set up in half step. The latter will most likely be sold off, as i prefer my abstract Siorraidh strat more.

Also in amp work, the Bug era 5150 clone is getting closer to having its newer components settled in. Removed the 10k audio presence pot to be replaced with a 25k linear for better & gradual sweep of the airy highs. Its fixed resonance resistor & capacitor are also out & will be replaced with a 1meg audio pot & lower value capacitor for a proper shift in the sub low end for added girth to the amps tone (specially in this open back 212 combo). Still figuring out its bias, & how to implement a proper pot value & resistor network in series for a good bias setting of the power tubes (to not have them set extremely cold below 50%, nor to go above 70% max plate dissipation - & red plate which is a big no no). But it's slowly getting closer to being done.

 

[ThaCoast]

Yesterday was New Pedal Day!

^^^Tronographic Rusty Box; based on the Traynor Ts-50B head. It's got a nice mid grind, & I'm extremely thrilled to have this. It definitely feels & sounds as what i wanted for the longest time in terms of "low gain" bass drive. It's super clean preamp wise, reacts to pick attack, & treating the EQ as I had with the Bass D.I.+: The bass is the girth/fullness, Mids are the character, & treble is the Airy/pick attack presence.

The Boost switch is useful, when the input gain switch is set to lo, the effect itself stays pretty clean with its gain set even at noon, & the boost switch makes it reach the grind/midrange bass tone without losing low end. Input switch in hi mode, the preamp can get pretty dirty, boost just kicks it up a notch into chaos. I played around within my signal (DOD 250 pre/post, Flanger pre/post, digital delay), The DOD still sounds good, i only need to sit down for a while with the fx chain & see where things get placed & all that jazz. But i'm glad to downsize on this board - Less is definitely more.

Looking forward to having the sansamp programmable Bass Driver so i can store 3 presets depending on the class of basses played, & then it'll be completed rig.

 

[ThaCoast]

Tonight's rehearsal had me playing the Sub Ray4, & i knew i wanted to bring it back home to tweak the electronics. To re-wire the push pull volume as an active/passive switch, instead of its current series/parallel pickup config. Parallel's nice, but too weak for the music we play/write, & when i had first tested the Duncan Alnico pickup passive, it sounded good. Not out of this world, but passable for a pinch of: my battery's dead & i've no spares sadly. I've lowered the pickup according the EB specs (roughly 5mm), will test tomorrow during the day how it sounds. If it gained clarity overall, while still retaining beef, i'll leave this pickup in it. If not, i'll opt to test with its original ceramic magnet pickup, same height below the strings 5mm, & test.

UPDATE Saturday October 19th, 11h43 Am: Re-wired the volume push pull pot as an active down/passive up. I had tested prior, having set the pickup to 5mm below the strings, & although parallel was interesting, it's not something i'd consider using for this Pop punk band. + the duncan Alnico MM pickup sounds good & full in passive mode too, active w/original SUB electronics, they respond better & aren't as "hot" sounding as with the original pickup. Which after re-wiring the push pull, i decided to try the original pickup. Verdict too dull & muddy lows, & somehow the A string is the weakest of all. The Duncan SMB-4A is forever in the Ray4, & it kicks!

I'm currently waiting on some black hardware to swap the squier Dimension V bass' chrome. Just some generic big clover keys (same i had got for the Sub, just an added treble side key), & a wilkinson wbbc5 bent plate, 18mm spacing bridge. Replacing the chrome high mass fender wide spaced (19mm). It'll be kept around, in case i'd up & decide to sell it off (would most likely sell it as a whole kit with its original hardware). But that's not anytime soon, i've got a whole year coming to play all my gear (those which are in playing condition), put them through the paces of band rehearsals/gigs, recording, & just general home play. I'll be rotating my gear every month, & taking note of who i gravitate towards picking up mainly.

 

[ThaCoast]

Today i received the new wilkinson 5 string bridge for the squier dimemsion bass.

^^^stock fender high mass, wide spacing bridge. Honestly, when these were new on the market, it was very much a deal to have a well build bass with a quality bridge. & notice i've changed the flat top squier knobs for the original j bass knobs from my rickenbacker copy.

^^^very close to the edge of the board with the fender bridge. Still playable, but can definitely notice it.

^^^up close & personal

^^^took a side picture, as tonight i will be entering the shop to tweak the neck pocket depth. Currently sits at 14mm, & im shaving to 17mm for better setup overall. The fender bridge saddles weren't maxed out, but stood very proud above the base.

^^^new black & brass wilkinson bent plate bridge. Less realestate taken up by the bridge, the brass compliments the maple neck very much, & the black baseplate works with guard/pickup/knobs. Much better overall! Waiting for its keys in early november, which will be nice. Short mod project, glad im changing hardware colour, sleeker look

Monday october 21st update/edit:

Got the pocket & pickup cavities routed to depth.

^^^used the stingray neck pocket template, & simply shifted side to side for proper depth. At 17mm on the nose.

^^^pickup depth taken from just above 1/2" to a smidge over 7/8". Cover itself is 1", but i dont see it needing that much depth. I've omitted the pickup cavity ground because well there wasn't any shield paint to start with, & after play testing, there isn't any amount more of hum/buzz than prior with it. The wire itself is still around in case.

& now the bass sets up in a flash, & feels much better. The neck has just enough back bow, & saddles aren't a mile off the plate x).

 

[ThaCoast]

Currently making good progress with the Superlead re-build/transformation into 2203 circuit. Still lots left to do, mainly reconfigure the turret board which has most of the capacitors/resistor networks for the controls/gain stages, etc. Then i can wire up the remaining wires to it.

I'm thinking of testing the Dimension V bass passive again, simply to see how the pickup sounds, without any boosted/cut frequencies of the preamp itself. It comes up from time to time, where i feel i'd want to replace the preamp itself (even though with its current settings, it sounds good), but if i had a chance to hear the pickup itself, & play within a band/or write music in general, i'd have a better idea of what type of preamp i'd go for. Was considering a pickup upgrade, & some options are available, even if they're the standard soapbar size, but a preamp upgrade may be beneficial, if i deem it necessary.

& well, if ever i do swap preamps, I still have a bin with the old SUB Ray4 bass chrome parts, I may be inclined to piece together a stingray bass, using the Dimension Preamp. Would be something to consider...

EDIT Wednesday October 23rd, 6:17 Pm: I pulled the Dimension's Preamp out & hooked the pickup straight to a simple tone control (500k, 0.047uf cap). & compared to the first time i had wired it passive with the low B set of strings, the pickup is much more open sounding, & very loud. Not muddy, or overly biting, it could stem from a simple 2 band EQ (vs the original/replacement 3 band), To either boost a little treble for pick attack, or back the bass off to clear the air, while retaining fullness. I've been checking out just inexpensive 2 bands from Amazon, read some TB reviews of a few users who enjoyed them. They're not uber expensive (some 40$ CAD), so i may test out to see. + i'd wire just a push pull volume for active/passive (which isn't possible with the original dimension without adding a separate switch), & having a passive tone (for general openness when not in active circuit). & well with that, i'll be slowly at some point in 2026, start pilling together for the eventual spare stingray project with recycled SUb ray4 parts, & Dimension Preamp.

 

[ThaCoast]

Making good progress on the superlead conversion, Rearranged some turret lugs on the board, which a portion of the board itself won't be used as i need less components for a true single channel amp (Kinda consider the Superlead circuit as a dual channel with a shared EQ). Anyway, That hopefully will be completed in the following week or so.

Getting back on the Bug Era 6260 amp too, simply figuring out how to implement a true fixed bias w/ajustable pot. Deciding to run this combo as a Matched pair of Power tubes vs a quad. It's Rather loud already, & I don't truly have a need for such a loud tube amp - impedance switch will always be set to half of how the speakers are wired up, putting some rigid tape to keep it in position & not knock to 16 or 4 ohms. All to come shortly, i know what i'm missing, gotta go study.

Got a new stingray body from ebay, i suspect was a 5 string knock off from aliexpress. Good weight for basswood as far i can tell, does need work to make it useable, & well missing a neck for it. At least i've got the electronics; pickup from the SUB ray4, & 3 band Squier Dimension preamp (only missing a battery box/clip, + stereo output jack. Everything else hardware wise are the originals from the SUB ray4. Makes life easier, going 4 in line headstock, 21 fret, rose board (overhang will hide the guards truss wheel cut). As for the body, i'm leaving it red, need to drill for the output jack, the many screw holes, route the neck pocket depth once a neck is acquired, extend the tummy cut towards the bass horn, & polish the body up.

Pulled my unfinished Semi hollow bass out, & will be upgrading its 4 screw big chrome tuners to hipshot ultralite clovers instead. Its original intended keys are now on the fretless precision bass neck, which both these projects need their headstocks reshaped (the Semi hollow is more a tweak than reshape, where the fretless is getting cut & a block added to trace & cut my intended shape, & will be painted black on the front only).

Lots going on, many minor shop work for multitude of projects which is nice, i can get most if not all done within a days work.

 

[ThaCoast]

Some photos to make the dialogue less boring xD

^^^this is the new basswood body (however heavy for basswood). With the bridge, guars, pickup & control plate of the Sub bass, & mid control pot from the dimension bass. Few details to work about the body beforehand, & well need a neck + misc small parts for this project. Sometime in January i'm sure this will get a move on & completed.

I still need to paint the aerodyne jazz body, & have that portion done. Then draw the spiral design to it. Aiming for mid December hoping.

^^^the original squier dimension chrome keys. Big plate, & big ears, tall gotoh string tree, curved in posts.

^^^new hipshot LIC ultralite 1/2" post clover keys in black. Smaller in size all around, & straight post, swapped for a short string tree. Feels & rings better somehow. Black looks best on this bass, definitely looks less "cheap" than chrome, & fits the visual overall.

^^^some weeks ago, i received the sansamp programmable bass driver. Since was downsizing this bass board fx wise, i swapped its truetone cs12 for the voodoo power 2+ (which was originally its supply).

Play tested & tweaked aroud the sansamp to program 3 channels:

Left switch - fender bass preset. Started with their "bassman" setting, & tweaked from there. Played all the precision clones & the BB clone, found a solid foundation with enough lows & pick clarity.

Center switch - humbucker preset. This was mainly all my gibson style basses (grabber, ripper, thunderbird), & rick clone. i am missing the dan armstrong plexi bass (which needs its neck to be completed), the semi hollow bass (unfinished). Started with the "svt" preset, but settled on the "flip top" set instead. The svt set sounded too boomy & i'm keeping these presets clean as a bell, since the rusty box & dod claim the chaos, the fliptop sounded more like the ampeg i wanted. Still tweaked to what sounded best for all the category basses.

Right switch - low output preset. This encompasses the maya grabber, SuperNova, Ibanez GaxB. As the name suggests, this is more of a boost preset, to bring these particular basses in line volume wise with the others. Left the EQ neutral, just a little presence for pick clarity, & bumped the level knob up more. Bouncing between basses & sets works like a charm, much more efficient overall & less fx/cables too.

Very happy with this layout, & rendition of my bass rig!

 

[ThaCoast]

Got some Small parts order for the Bugera 6260 & the Marshall clone amps; New 2A fuses for the Bugera (replacing the 1A slow blows which are too prone to failing, even in the original 5150. Up the Amps to protect the amp), Marshall clone's getting the last of its resistors installed, & i'll be able to have it assembled for the most part with the rest of the circuit. Potentially test it all tomorrow, tweak as i need to go along (its FX loop will be installed last as i need to wire it in differently on a 2203 circuit vs 1959, & to calibrate voltages & drop resistors to keep everything steady with the fx loop in/out of circuit.

Placed another small parts order, some misc pots for a couple of my basses (Rickenbacker copy getting 3 new pots, & one for the Ripper bass), couple of pots for the bugera amp (Resonance & bias ajustement), some capacitors as backup for few circuits, screws/ferrules/stereo output for the red stingray bass, a black string tree for the dimension bass, couple of amp handles for the bugera (single top one is broken/tearing, & the cabinet is heavy) so as i've done to my 5150 headshell, i'm installing these handles on each side of the cabinet for ease of transport. & also getting a hammond 194G filter choke transformer rated 3H at 250mA (replacement for marshall plexi amps) for a couple of reasons: 1- it'll clean up the circuit signal of residual AC ripple, also keep the voltage closer to what is fed into the amp prior to the choke (with minimal reduction), & will also change the feel of the amp, a little looser feeling. Which is also my plan for my own 5150 head rebuild though it gets a 5H 120mA choke (marshall 2203/04 replacement). So the head will be a little tighter than this combo will be, but not by much considering the amount of gain on tap. Down the line, i'm looking to upgrade the tube sockets in the bug for some beltons, as the original ceramic sockets are holding, but i don't trust em to survive long term, especially in a vibrating cabinet due to the speakers being very close.

 

[ThaCoast]

Some good progress on the Marshall clone - all offboard components are wired & secured, the turret board is completed with all necessary jumps. Just missing a few wires from the board to the tube sockets/controls to be wired in, & then it can be tested over the next month. Deadline approaching fast, hopefully it's good!

Currently in redesign of my own 5150's schematic. Changing a few things concerning its power section, question of simplifying & making it better overall while retaining it's robustness. Since am mainly treating this as a heavily modified Marshall 2203 circuit, i'm leaning towards implementing a few of that amp's DNA into this rebuild. It'll be worth it all in hte end, & make the rebuild go as smooth as possible.

 

[ThaCoast]

The Marshall clone is ready for a first voltage reading test, as soon as i receive the 100 watt 8 ohm fixed resistor to be able to have a load on the amp while reading voltages through the circuit without being plugged into a speaker & causing disruption overall. Once i've got proper voltage ratings, & the output tubes are bias'd to their 60% dissapation, i'll test through my DIY 2x12 cabinet with celestion G12-75ts & my slammer dual cut jr style guitar. To hear a 2203 circuit's gain again after all these years, & hear how this Dookie mod overall too. Then i can box it up, & hand it over to Jeff so he can have a swing with it for the following month.

In amp news, i'm going to do the same with the bugera, my small parts order is sadly delayed until further notice (canada post union is on strike for undetermined time), so i shall take voltage readings of the bugera 6260 as is, with its fixed bias, non ajustable atm, & its current 390 ohm/10 watt drop resistor (which will be replaced with the 3H 250mA choke once it arrives). & if the bias of the power tubes is on the colder side (less than 50%), then i'll be fine to run the amp as is. If my output tube starts running away as i flick the standby switch to play mode, then i'll simply wait for all the parts to arrive & i can tweak the bias circuit properly.

I've received the Jazz bass neck for the IDLES tribute build. It's very nice, the ambered tint, simple black block inlays no binding looks clean, the profile is chunky which i definitely enjoy on most bass necks. Took the time to test my chrome fender CBS style tuners on this headstock & i'm pleased to say it all fits with no issues! & since this bass is getting gold hardware, i'll acquire the Gotoh FB30 lollipop keys along with a gotoh 404SJ bridge. Then i'll only be missing the duncan QP jazz neck pickup & some oversized gold strap pins (& the alder body blank to build). Will be a nice project at the end of things! looking forward to my very own Jazz bass that'll match my fender style collection

The Aerodyne jazz is almost completed, only needs another coat of green, & then to hand paint the spiral design overtop. Once the spiral painted, i'll assemble w/new electronics, set up, & back to Eric's place to test out over time. Really just to see if the Jazz pickup is worth replacing, & if yes for what exactly. TBD, but TBF first xD

I'm also going to slowly start building the Hiwatt custom 50 amp kit of mine. I'd like to have this one wired, & ready to play test also, & see how the twin parallel gain stages sound (on their own & when channel jumped). If i feel it's too weird in the amount of gain it gives, i'll wire the preamp stage as it was intended (2 separate channel gains going to a single gain stage shared). & i plan on getting a headbox for it as well, ease of storing away in my studio & carry around when needed.

I finalized the peavey 5150 schematic redesign. It looks much less overloaded now that all the useless things are eliminated, & having simplified the filtering capacitors at key spots (question of having its power section be properly "clean" & the preamp is what handles all the gain). Drew up the front & rear panels of the chassis once that's also fixed up & ready for redrill - decided to layout the front more or less like a marshall superlead (Single input bottom left, channel select switch top left, & channel LEDs top & bottom right.), then all 9 controls (Rhythm & Lead Gain knobs which will both be push pulls for their bright cap select, lead going darker when pulled out, & opposite for rhythm channel pulled. Bass, mid, treble, rhythm & lead volumes, resonance & presence.) Power & standby LEDs & both switches side by side. Overall, it's more inline with the old marshall superleads where everything was in close proximity. Rear panel is both Mains & HT fuses in their respective holders, the IEC ac cable plug, ohms select switch & speaker outputs. I may also have a footswitch jack & copy the topology of the 5150 II heads where you could select between channels but also engage the crunch on/off on the rhythm channel.

That's all so far, which is quite a lot in itself xD. Today i did fix up a few guitars: The lotus prototype needed a final setup tweak, my Scream Queen Silverburst LP also needed a set up & shave the graph tech nut, & my first ever Epiphone LP-100 had a faulty bridge pickup pot, so i replaced it. All sound good, & play great! I did reverse the bridge pickup wires on the rasta strat too (dimarzio w/2 duncans), haven't tested it, & i still need to install the bottom strap pin, & the remaining guard screws. This one will most likely be sold off as i'm pretty content with Siorraidh as my one & only stratocaster.

 

[ThaCoast]

Wanted to showcase what I call my official "prototype" guitar. The Lotus!

^^^25.5" scale length, maple neck w/rosewood board, bolt-on to a birch ply body (as a proof of concept), Two Alnico II humbuckers, Fender Jazzmaster AVRI vibrato, Buzzstop, Black pearl guard, finished in Rustoleum Seaside gloss, 3 way toggle switch, master volume & push push tone (splits the neck pickup for single coil type sound), mustang style bridge w/big steel saddles (at their radius of 9.5").

The pickups are based on Seymour Duncan's Pearly Gates (neck), & Custom Custom (bridge). Medium output for the neck, & hotter but not compressed bridge pickup. They sound great together, & suit this guitar perfectly. Originally i had installed a dimarzio Air norton in the neck, & an epiphone Humbucker pulled from an old LP Jr, those were much too muffled/wolly in tone, & didn't really compliment one another. The knobs are from Xentric off ebay. I've purchased from them for my Bass VI SoBeIt, Sahmchair the BB bass, Siorraidh the Strat, & my eventual ash Stingray bass build.

One thing i'd do different on this build if i had the chance, would be moving the vibrato closer to the bridge by 1/2", mainly for string length when stringing up as the high e string just barely has enough left over once its wrapped around its post. Overall, i'm pleased with the proof of concept guitar, & people seem to enjoy it too. To see if anyone would ask about having this model to their specs.

But right now, i'm gonna finish up my long line of projects to finalize/complete, & celebrate each accomplishment as they come!

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Wanted to showcase what I can my official "prototype" guitar. The Lotus!

View attachment 7081897
^^^25.5" scale length, maple neck w/rosewood board, bolt-on to a birch ply body (as a proof of concept), Two Alnico II humbuckers, Fender Jazzmaster AVRI vibrato, Buzzstop, Black pearl guard, finished in Rustoleum Seaside gloss, 3 way toggle switch, master volume & push push tone (splits the neck pickup for single coil type sound), mustang style bridge w/big steel saddles (at their radius of 9.5").

The pickups are based on Seymour Duncan's Pearly Gates (neck), & Custom Custom (bridge). Medium output for the neck, & hotter but not compressed bridge pickup. They sound great together, & suit this guitar perfectly. Originally i had installed a dimarzio Air norton in the neck, & an epiphone Humbucker pulled from an old LP Jr, those were much too muffled/wolly in tone, & didn't really compliment one another. The knobs are from Xentric off ebay. I've purchased from them for my Bass VI SoBeIt, Sahmchair the BB bass, Siorraidh the Strat, & my eventual ash Stingray bass build.

One thing i'd do different on this build if i had the chance, would be moving the vibrato closer to the bridge by 1/2", mainly for string length when stringing up as the high e string just barely has enough left over once its wrapped around its post. Overall, i'm pleased with the proof of concept guitar, & people seem to enjoy it too. To see if anyone would ask about having this model to their specs.

But right now, i'm gonna finish up my long line of projects to finalize/complete, & celebrate each accomplishment as they come!

Looks good. Nice work.

 

[ThaCoast]

Aerodyne bombard

^^^crude concept design of paint job.

^^^heat gun at first, & at shop in for sanding. Finished removed quite easily.

^^^ready for paint!

^^^white base coat to uniform all. Green layer first, taped up for black lower portion. Boom! Missing a few touch ups here & there.

Super close to the finish line, soon!

 

[ThaCoast]

Prince tribute tele update!

^^^with the duncan ssl2 neck & ssl6 middle pickups. These were rated at 6.7k neck, & 13.5 middle pickup. Sounded good, but missing that jangle.

^^^original 1 meg pots. Updating these as well to the less "stiff" alpha pots ive got on most of my instruments.

^^^pegcity pickups triple stack neck & middle pickups. These are rated at 6.3k neck, & 6.9k middle.

^^^new pots & pickups wired in!

^^^changed the switch tip from black to white (fits better imo). & these pickups definitely got the funk jangle in em super happy with these, another guitar equipped with pegcity pickups, & never disappointed!

 

[ThaCoast]

I've been having this thought, considering as i'll be taking a year to myself to work on projects i want to complete, finish, revise, etc. I'm truly considering taking no more than 2 a year of external things. I've realized that i've reached my own end on this front, i don't enjoy much of it, especially when i'm nearing the end of my year as a whole to let the holidays be enjoyed & not have to worry about projects.

There's a lot on my plate for December already, just wanting to focus on the marshall amp 100% & get it done & out. & once January hits, well it's everything else for my self project wise, be it at home in terms of work/re-arrangements (Tv furniture, new studio desk build, & my desktop computer, hiwatt custom 50 build), to recording my band's next few albums, & shop work on builds i want to get done (The Stingray Bass, the Jazzmaster guitar, The Spoiler build, Bat Bass build, & Dev Jazz bass tribute). It's already a lot, & there's two big projects to do in summer of 2025 (An ML Dimebag tribute for my friend Jordan as a gift, & a delonge starcaster style solid body for Eric). Anyways, I'd rather not do any big projects anymore, i'd rather just focus on the things i want to accomplish for myself, & just ride & enjoy the time i've got.

 

[TerribleTim68]

That's why I really dislike taking commission builds/projects. I work at my own pace, and sometimes that means not working on a project for a couple months. Clients don't understand that.

 

[ThaCoast]

That's why I really dislike taking commission builds/projects. I work at my own pace, and sometimes that means not working on a project for a couple months. Clients don't understand that.

Indeed! I also just have a better time working on my own things, rather than stuff for people. Not that it loses any interest, but i try to take more of my time with a clients thing, & by default, it makes me think i'm overloaded by everything else i gotta do for myself. Given it's pretty unhealthy overall, i'd rather not work on anything for people, or at least limit no more than 2 external projects.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I've been having this thought, considering as i'll be taking a year to myself to work on projects i want to complete, finish, revise, etc. I'm truly considering taking no more than 2 a year of external things. I've realized that i've reached my own end on this front, i don't enjoy much of it, especially when i'm nearing the end of my year as a whole to let the holidays be enjoyed & not have to worry about projects.

There's a lot on my plate for December already, just wanting to focus on the marshall amp 100% & get it done & out. & once January hits, well it's everything else for my self project wise, be it at home in terms of work/re-arrangements (Tv furniture, new studio desk build, & my desktop computer, hiwatt custom 50 build), to recording my band's next few albums, & shop work on builds i want to get done (The Stingray Bass, the Jazzmaster guitar, The Spoiler build, Bat Bass build, & Dev Jazz bass tribute). It's already a lot, & there's two big projects to do in summer of 2025 (An ML Dimebag tribute for my friend Jordan as a gift, & a delonge starcaster style solid body for Eric). Anyways, I'd rather not do any big projects anymore, i'd rather just focus on the things i want to accomplish for myself, & just ride & enjoy the time i've got.

You do what’s best for you. Don’t keep working on things if it’s not enjoyable.

 

[ThaCoast]

You do what’s best for you. Don’t keep working on things if it’s not enjoyable.

Definitely! Taking some time to simply do what i want to do for the following year, may just have me love it even more once again. No deadlines, no dealing with "clients", Just me, my tools, music & builds. A chance to breathe for real.