Guitars

I like guitars. I read the guitar magazines. I check the guitar manufacturers websites. I even go into music stores and play guitars.

When first learning to play the guitar, I watched others to see what brand of guitar they were playing. Somehow I thought if I had one of those guitars I could play like that. Guitar brands became status symbols.

I also collected a small library of wooden boxes with a broomstick on one end and strings connected to both. I did purchase some of my most coveted models and have had the chance to cuddle and play some of the icons of the industry. I’m not obsessed or a serious hoarder of rare pre-used by someone famous guitars, but the guitar has been a pivotal part of my life.

I’ve traveled with a guitar like a girlfriend. I’ve performed (for better or worst) with the guitar. I’ve watched others play guitar and learned new techniques and showed others what I’ve learned. I’ve used the guitar to entertain at parties and sat alone with a guitar to write my own soundtrack.

Not being a serious aficionado of the discipline of music, I can somewhat sit down and jam with most. Strumming or picking still brings joy so I continue with my interest.

NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) is a trade show is for guitars. NAMM is what the Detroit Auto Shows or Paris Fashion Runways or the Louisiana Cook-offs are for guitars. The latest whiz-bang stuff is displayed and toted so shops all across the country will line their walls with guitars, each looking like the next one, for the guitar has really changed that much in 3,000 years. There is much historical mystic about guitars and their manufacturers and players but you can look that up.

So this year’s NAMM has the usual flash bam presentations of new colors and shapes and model names but one thing caught my ear. One of the luthiers at Taylor guitars has come up with a new bracing design. You can do the research, but bracing for the guitar is like the engine in the car and people have been tinkering with guitar bracing for years.

Will this new design revolutionize a dying industry? It sounds good on the demos but time will tell. I won’t be rushing out to spend $5K on a new design, but maybe?

Of the ones I now stock I love the smell of the wood and appreciate the care of the craftsmen (and women) who take a piece of tree and turn it into a box that can make wonderful sounds allowing creative types to listen to the sound and write poetry with it.

I like guitars. They are my ladies. I take care of them and they take care of me.