When I choose an instrument it is first and foremost about sound and playability but I appreciate musical instruments as functional art forms as well. A friend of mine has a small house that is bursting at the seams with hand-made instruments from all over, Australian digeridoos, African percussion and kalimbas, Native American flutes and Hawaiian ukes and other exotic stuff from other locales, many of which he's collected in person. Going up there to pick with him, he's proficient on hammered dulcimer and concertina, is a magical experience.