JennieG: A battered, bent and bruised instrument, on the other hand, can send the message that its owner doesn't care about looking after what can be an expensive investment......and if they don't care about their instrument, what else don't they care about? Playing well? Annoying or boring an audience with a crap performance?

Or one might think that the musician is a long-time musician who probably knows what they are doing. I take very good care of my instruments. They are well-setup, well-maintained, clean, and freshly strung. After thousands of gigs in bars, at weddings, in restaurants and coffee houses, at street festivals, and at folk dances, they are no longer pristine.