Please, stop laughing. I am going to do it!
I said "PLEASSSSSSSSE" stop laughing!!!
Oh go ahead and laugh. Everyone around here is as well. No one in my family, or my friends think I will come close to pulling this off.
However, be for warned!!!!!! . . . I have discovered the secret of how to keep this pledge!!
Seriously.
I have, over the past 5 years, purchased, traded and worked for a dozen different guitars. But only a few weeks ago did I understand one of the reasons why.
The reason I was always purchasing, trading or working for guitars . . .
Really, this is going to blow some people away . . . is that I didn't know how to take care of the guitars I had!!!!
Again, seriously . . . if a guitar developed fret buzz, or couldn't keep intonation, or if the action was wrong . . . I simply got rid of it and got something else.
In the past several months, perhaps as a result of rereading my copy of the little Martin booklet, "The Care and Feeding of Your Martin Guitar," along with a long conversation with the Taylor rep who works with Sean to support Grapevine Guitar Works, I came to realize that I did not know the first thing about properly taking care of a guitar.
And, I have to give Bob Taylor himself a bunch of credit. I believe I have watched every single "how to care for your Taylor Guitar" video on the Taylor web site that Bob has done. And I learn something new every time I watch them.
I have now learned a great deal about intonation, humidification, action, proper choosing of string type and guage, and so much more.
As a result, I am taking 100% better care of my Martin DC-16gte and D-12-16, my Taylor NS74ce, and my 1989 Alvarez/Yairi DY-38. I have humidifiers in all the cases now. Weekly I check on the humidity level. I use the Planet Waves humidifier that has the little sponge. I wipe down the strings, both on top and in between the frets after every time I play. I wipe the guitars down every time I play. I keep each guitar in it's case at all times. I have a tuner, can of String Eaze, a Planet Waves pro guitar tool and capo in every case, along with a good quality wiping cloth.
I have the right strings on my Martins and my Yairi, and that means they all have phosphor-bronze strings. I like the Cleartone brand phosphor-bronze coated strings . . . the ones that Martin is starting to market as SP long-life. If Elixir has a phosphor-bronze nano-web, then I will give them a shot as well.
These new habits, and more things I will check on as I learn how to do them, have in a strange way, brought me closer to my guitars. I guess it is true in all relationships, the more you put into it, the better the relationships.
As a result ... I really think I am going to honor my goal of no new guitar until 2012. Come to think of it, I will have plenty of time to play and try out other models, most especially a Taylor CS-7 or 716ce. But in the meantime, I have acknowledge that the guitars I own now . . . I am becoming closer to. And I play them now with much more appreciation than I have in the past.
And appreciate them I should. They all gifts and blessings to me in some unique way.
God's grace still amazes me . . . ><>
No comments:
Post a Comment