Guitar: Working vs Performance

Subject: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:07 AM

First, I'm posting this as guest because I'm too embarrassed to post as a member...

Second, though the problem occurs for me with guitar, it could be any instrument.

Here's the issue--I have my "good ole student guitar"--20-years old, sounds ok, plays ok, nice instrument for what I paid for it. It's got some dings 'n' scratches, because I'm a klutz.

2 years ago, I got a lovely (also 20-year-old) Martin. I bought it from a friend, so I paid what it was worth, which really wasn't much in a world where people routinely pay twice as much for a fiddle bow. It sounds great, and plays wonderfully, and, here's the problem--it hasn't a scratch. Consequently, it spends all its time in its case, because (as I said before) I'm a klutz. I only take it out on gigs where I know it will be safe, and even then I'm a wreck about it getting dinged, banged, scratched, etc.

Does anybody else have this problem???? Anybody have any advice???

It's a good thing I don't have any kids...


Thanks in advance,
Anonymously Embarrassed

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:12 AM

Well, think about it from theguitar's perspective--

"Lemme outta here! I'm tough! I can handle a coupla dings, fer cryin' out loud! Lemme OUTTA here......"

Let it out, let it breathe, let is PLAY. It will develop its unique sound, if you do.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:15 AM

What's a 'Klutz'?

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: leeneia
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:17 AM

I know what you're talking about. I encounter people who seem to feel that their instrument is a piece of fine woodworking, rather than a device for producing sound. From the way they act, you'd think it was a museum piece by Chippendale or Sheraton.

For example, I have talked to owners of fretted dulcimers who can't play a single song, yet they were aghast at the idea of putting anything (label or sticker) on the neck to help them get started.

The first thing to do is to get away from those people.

The second thing to do is to realize that the guitar is not going to last forever. Whether perfect or imperfect in appearance, it is going to deteriorate. So what if you accidentally speed up the process some?

Finally, why are you a klutz? Are people making you hustle too much? Are you not getting enough sleep? Do you have too many things on your mind at one time? Do you need better vision correction? Ask yourself what's the deal with that.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Scrump
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:21 AM

Hi GUEST. I know exactly what you mean.

I only take my 'best' guitar to venues where I feel it will be 'safe'. Of course, even in the friendliest location it could still get beer spilt on it or something dropped on it, etc.

But if I have a gig in a pub I don't know, I have a couple of older guitars that I'm less worried about losing or being damaged. Some pubs I've gigged in have been a bit rough, but so far (fingers crossed) I've yet to suffer any damage to my guitars.

That said, I deliberately don't leave my 'best' guitar in its case at home - apart from anything else, I enjoy playing it more than the others, so I leave it on a stand in the corner of the room so I can grab it whenever I feel like it. If I had to get it out of the case each time, and put it back afterwards, I probably wouldn't play it much.

I'm assuming that after a while, I'll probably do something accidentally to damage the guitar, and then I'll probably care a little bit less about doing further damage. It's like when you have a new car (not that I would ever buy a brand new one) and you worry about getting a minor scratch. Then the first time that happens, you stop worrying :-)

Tell yourself that guitar's meant for playing, and get it out of its case right now! :-)

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: leeneia
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:28 AM

Me too, Scrump. My guitar is on a stand in the living room, away from sun and the heat register.

After I learned that the end with the tuning pegs makes the guitar top heavy, I started attaching the head end to the stand with a twist of wire. Wouldn't want a frisky cat to knock the guitar over.

Terry McDonald: how do you mean, "what's a klutz?" Where's your Yiddish?

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST, Grimmy
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:35 AM

I fully agree with leeneia - unless you want to mothball it as an investment, your guitar is meant to be played. It will get damaged. It's the way things are.

I've seen guitars belonging to Martin Carthy, Dick Gaughan and Tommy Emmanuel (especially Tommy Emmanuel) which look like a bomb's hit them. Doesn't bother them.

Play that thing!!!!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Scrump
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:35 AM

Hi leeneia - my guitar stand has a neck holder with a bar that folds across in front of the neck, to stop it falling over if it should be nudged (luckily our cat is a complete guitarophobe, and tends to keep well away from it).

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:38 AM

I have no Yiddish - my Dorset is pretty good, but Yiddish, no. It was a serious question!

re the guitar - play it, play it, play it. It's only a Martin, after all. I use my best Gibson all the time, and that's the reason - because it's my best one.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Wesley S
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:40 AM

Take a look in the mirror Guest. Are you wrinkle free? Of course not. Those lines are like roadmaps - they show where you've been and who you are. A guitar is the same way.

My 1967 D-18 has some scratches and dings just like me. The biggest scratch I put in it was when I ran it into a railing going up the stairs to the stage. Sliced it right down to the bare wood. So it got fixed up and you can barely see it now. But what I remember about the scratch is that we raised several thousand dollars that night for a homeless shelter. So I'm proud of that scratch.

Relax - If you were perfect you'd deserve a perfect guitar. You're not perfect. So just have fun with it. Life's too short to worry about stuff like that. Be careful with it of course but don't let it ruin your life.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:54 AM

The poor thing probably does want out...I'm sure it does. It sounds so great when I let it out!

Why I'm a klutz: I've always been told I was clumsy. When I was about 10 I went through a growth spurt that put on about 4 inches in about 4 months, and I had another one when I was about 14, when I grew 6 inches in 8 months. I had no clue where my feet or hands were at any given moment, and I was constantly tripping, falling, bashing into things, and breaking things. Consequently, I perceived myself as a klutz, and I still do klutzy things. For example, a week after I got the then-brand-new student guitar, I was putting the guitar strap over my head and somehow the strap detached from the endpin, and I, instinctively, LET GO of the neck. You'd think I'd have GRABBED the neck, but no. The impact split the top in two places, dented in the bout, sprung the binding. What a mess. I did have the presence of mind to immediately loosen all the strings, but the damage was already done.
On top of that, at gigs my partner and I tend to be in cramped quarters; we really try to make open space around me, but I'm always bumping into things. And Leeneia, your insights are amazing--I hadn't thought of those things before, but I do always feel rushed--both at gigs, and at home, and I always seem to have too much on my mind, and I really, really wish the world moved a little bit slower. I'd move slower, but people are always telling me to hurry up as it is!

Thank you all, and please, keep the ideas coming!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Roughyed
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:55 AM

I do sympathise. A good guitar is a beautiful work of art and when it is in perfect condition it seems heartbreaking to think of any damage. But everyone above is right. Everything is impermanent and steel strung guitars more than most.

How would you feel if you kept it for decades, took it out of its case one day and found it was unplayable? It'll happen one day whether you play it or not so you and the audience might as well have the pleasure.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 10:58 AM

Thanks, Guest - it makes sense now. But I still say play it - that's what it's for. It has no other purpose that I can think of!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Deckman
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:00 AM

My answer is to keep my best guitar hanging on my bedroom wall. It's very safe there and yet also very handy. I would draw the comparision between your beautiful guitar and a beautiful woman. Would a beautiful woman want to be kept safely locked away! CHEERS, Bob

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Deckman
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:14 AM

Come to think about it ... I don't know many beautiful wimmen that would to be kept hanging on my bedroom wall either!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Jack Campin
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:20 AM

I play in a session where one regular brings an extraordinarily crap guitar. It's a twelve-string with most of the courses reduced to single and most of them years old. I can't imagine anybody who would give a fiver for it in a jumble sale. He's got a good one at home but I've never seen it.

He's sitting at a table with other people who have minimally a few hundred pounds worth of kit in use, some a lot more, and none of the rest of us seem to have a problem with the risks. I find his behaviour condescendingly arrogant - "you lot aren't worth me risking my good axe for".

I don't get why people don't use stands. You can put almost anything on a stand to reduce the risk of it being knocked over, and most of them are neither heavy nor expensive. A simple one that will work for any table-high stringed instrument is two heavy spring clips (the sort used for DIY jobs) connected by a length of elastic; clip it on the edge of a table with the elastic round the neck and the soundbox resting on the floor. Total cost about two pounds. Instead of something like that you see fiddles balanced edgewise on ledges, guitars sitting on chairs with the pegbox hanging over the back where anyone could bump it, flutes on tables where they could roll off if anybody stood up in a hurry.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Nick
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:25 AM

I bought a new guitar a few years ago which, while not expensive, was new and I wanted to keep nice etc etc

First time I played it in the local pub that we used to play in I managed to drop a large metal bar onto it from the fireplace.

I'm not too concerned about where I take it now

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST,Sailorboy
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:45 AM

There is a story prevelant concerning ramirez spanish guitars where its said that, when a customer came to collect a comissioned guitar, the said luthier used to take the guitar from its case and ding it on the front with his thumbnail then hand it over with the words " now you need not worry my friend" No idea whether this is a urban myth or not. Any takers?

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Scoville
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:47 AM

The only pristine guitars I've ever seen were the ones that nobody wanted to hear.

Anyone/any guitar worth listening to is going to have an instrument with some scars. Heck, Willie Nelson's Trigger has a gaping hole in the front, in addition to the soundhole. Get it out and use it. Mine live in their cases or on stands when they're not being used, but they do get used and they do travel (I must confess to taking the Alvarez places I wouldn't risk the Guild--like, outdoors when it might rain--but the Guild has its share of miles on it).

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:48 AM

I think it's Jed Marum who has what I think is the healthiest attitude about his gigging guitars I've seen around here-- that intrinsically, it's a tool for work. A beloved and well-cared-for tool, but tools need to be replaced from time to time and STUFF HAPPENS to them. I think his approach is to put the good ones in a Calton case, and let the airlines do what they will. Maybe they are insured, also-- have you looked into getting the Martin insured? Or are you at least putting part of the gig money away against the day you need to replace the Martin?

If it makes you feel any better, I drop my good autoharp on the floor from time to time-- hard, when the strap clip opens up as it sometimes does. I'll sliong the case over my shoulder and start off, and hear the THUD behind me as the whole case goes south. I LOVE that harp, but it's going to crack one of these times, and then? I'll have to love a new one. Cuz other than this strap clip thing, I really like that case! :~)

There are all kinds of tricks you can try to reduce the anxiety over this, but it has to start with taking your klutziness less seriously. It IS a serious problem, but treating it seriously will only reinforce it. No matter how klutzy you are by genetic inheritance, you're only going to get klutzier (and more anxious) the more you worry about it and the less you let the poor thing out in company.

You could try working your way up to resolving this, and get some more of the cheapies to handle in a playful, carefree manner so you can giggle the fears away while talking to the martin safe in its cse, nearby. "Hey, Marty, this may be your last day! "I may bust you to flinders in less than an hour!"

You also could try immediately getting an even better good guitar to lock away "in case" you wreck the Martin, to reduce the apparent importance of the Martin in your mind.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST,chris
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:54 AM

If guitar makers didn't want their instruments heard in public by people who enjoy playing them why on earth would they make them. My 28 year old Fylde has a few knocks and scratches but I suspect if I hadn't played it so often it wouldn't have developed such a good sound. Play the damned thing!
chris

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST,chris
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:54 AM

but get it insured!!!!!!!!
chris

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Scrump
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:55 AM

Come to think about it ... I don't know many beautiful wimmen that would to be kept hanging on my bedroom wall either!

I've never put it to the test, but I have a feeling Mrs Scrump wouldn't be too keen on the idea either :-)

As everybody says, a guitar is for playing. So play it!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:00 PM

I'd take care of it. I am very hesitant about taking some of my guitars to the wrong places - they are better than I am.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:01 PM

Think of it this way-- what if you had started this thread titled "Best Guitar-Busting BooBoos" and then you could see all the dumb things other players have done. And how well the guitars held up, or what new axe came along as the Next One. OK, you've been conditioned to see yourself as a klutz. Instead of fighting that conditioning, you can attack the effect of the conditioning instead-- BRAG about it instead of fearing it. Besides, playing it without busting it is bound to work some magic on you, you know.....

If you only play it when you're being paid to risk it, aren't you making it into a hooker instead of a pal? :~)

I'm sure the rest of us klutzes would be happy to swap some old beater for the Martin, and take it off your hands..... then you wouldn't need to worry about it anymore! :~)

Another possible viewpoint modifcation-- "I AM a klutz, but I'm a GUITAR-PLAYING klutz!"

~Susan

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Leadbelly
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:06 PM

Terry McDonald - according to Wikipedia "A klutz is a person who is clumsy, foolish, inept, or accident-prone. The term is perhaps derived from the Yiddish קלאָץ klots ('wooden beam'), cognate with the German klotz, meaning a "block" or "lump"."

Like you I didn't know what this term means. But because of german origin I do know what a Klotz is. Brrrr..., sorry for this, Guest. But I believe that your are joking, wasn't you?

Manfred

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:16 PM

Put a rubber washer like plumbers use to secure the strap on the peg - then it won't fall off so often. Or the rubber ring on the bottom of a Grolsch beer bottle top is very good for this also.

I used to have an act where I leapt around a lot , and this cured the problem of the instrument falling.

Don't have atrap with a buckle on - someone once packed my D35 for me and scratched it with the buckle.

As for leaving your guitar at home in case it gets damaged - you're not really giving yourself a chance as a musician. Part of getting to know the instrument is taking it out and gigging. You might find you don't like it much when you see how interracts with others!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:17 PM

Leadbelly - thanks, I hate mysteries!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:34 PM

You all are wonderful--You've helped me separate two issues--playing it isn't the problem, *worrying* about damaging it while playing it (or having it ready at hand to play) is the problem.

I don't really need the reinforcement to PLAY this guitar; I prefer playing it to my old one. It actually makes me sound like a better guitar player than I am. Better yet, unlike my old guitar with light strings, I can play the Martin with medium strings for hours, without having my left elbow, wrist, and fingers get sore.

What I need is anxiety-reducing strategies, and the ones that have been suggested are all workable, including adjusting my attitude to accept that material things are transitory, and that nobody's perfect, and that, while I may be a klutz, I'm a guitar-playing klutz! Keep 'em coming!

Thank you all!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: ridge plucker
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:41 PM

Dude,

Think of it like this. When you are old you want to be able to sit in a nice rocking chair on the porch and look back at all that you have done right. Well that guitar wants the same thing. SO get that sucker out of the case and start to get some Mojo built up on it. Besides when you get old and forgetfull a scratch will bring back a moment in time you may have forgotten.

Happy picking,

Pete

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:50 PM

Leadbelly, I am frequently "clumsy, inept, or accident-prone"...I am also occasionally foolish.

In this case, I'm not only liable to clumsily damage my best instrument, but I foolishly prefer to keep it safe from my ineptitude instead of using it for its intended purpose.

I think that might actually make me a "klutz squared"...

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: bubblyrat
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 01:03 PM

I bought a new Martin MC 16 two years ago, and within a month or two, I was dragging it around various venues in Sidmouth.It is now starting to look nicely run -in,with dings,scratches, the lot. Four years ago, I bought a new Avalon, which I took to Miskin, & promptly stood it in a waste-bin half-full of water !! I only realised when the lady who had been doing the Corn Dolly Making class came in & shrieked " Oh God!! Whose guitar is that in my water -bin ? " OOOps !! But no probs., it"s off to an Irish sesion tonight !! Then, 3 years ago, I bought a 12-string, took it to a session that night ( The Mount, Corfe Mullen) and my partner"s mandola fell on it & took a chunk out of the lacquer on the soundboard. Life"s like that !! But my friend Frank Docherty, who liked my Avalon so much that he bought an identical one,cannot be induced to bring it out to the pub,as he is TERRIFIED of spoiling it !! So he plays his battered old "pub" guitar & spends ages every time,changing snapped strings !!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Leadbelly
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 01:22 PM

Guest - "Klutz squared".

I think this does not matter if otherwise you feel fine. And I'm sure you do so. Apart from love, which is the most important thing in life that counts, feeling fine comes up to the top ten of events a human being is able to reach.
Sounds a little bit peculiar, dear klutz? No...just think about it and keep on playing your lovely Martin...

Manfred

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Mooh
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 04:59 PM

The reason for having a great guitar is to help you sound great. You might as well sound great ALL the time. The outward appearance of the guitar is as important as the colour of your car when you're going 160 kpm...ie, it's not important.

I've got great guitars and I take them everywhere. They're tools and they help me sound like me.

Subject that guitar to everything and it, like you, will sound better.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Jim Lad
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 06:04 PM

I often place a monitor right in front of me even though I rarely use it. I find it stops people from bumping into my boom stands.
I'm a worrier, I suppose.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: David C. Carter
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 06:23 PM

If Willie Nelson can get up on stage and play a guitar with two sound holes, I guess anybody can.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 08:08 PM

I never see people playing a good, vigorous game of keep-away with their guitars when we host a Mudcat Gathering.

~S~

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Scrump
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 07:52 AM

As I said earlier, I do use my 'best' guitar when I'm gigging at a known venue, or taking part in sessions, etc. The only gigs I don't take it to are those where I don't know in advance what the environment will be like - there are a few pub gigs I've done where I was glad I had one of my older guitars (but as I say, I've never had any damage caused in such places).

(The other problem to overcome, related to that, is when someone asks to borrow your guitar, perhaps at a session, or at a private gig where Old Uncle Fred wants to play Wild Rover 'cos he always does at family gatherings, and he just wants to borrow your guitar for five minutes, then he beats the **** out of it. I wouldn't want to lend my good guitar to anyone like that, ideally. I like to take a 'spare' old guitar for such occurrences, but I don't always do this.)

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 08:51 AM

I have a 1957 Martin D-28. It is "my" guitar. I have owned it for forty years. For many years, it was my only guitar. Until recently, I took it anywhere I intended to play. It shows the wear and tear. I don't take it to really rough places anymore, but if it is a gig, my Martin goes with me.

Much anecdotal evidence says that the more you play a fine guitar, the better it will sound. Something about the vibrations and the wood. I don't know if there is any science, but I believe the statement is true.

Several people noted that they keep their guitars out so they are more likely to play them. Much of what I have read cautions against this practice. Not just because of possible accidents, but also because of humidity changes. Therefore, it depends on how humid your house stays. If you have lots of fluctuation like you might with forced air heat, it can be very hard on the wood.

The only guitar I keep out is a Crafter fiberglass body travel size. That let's me play whenever I want and I am not so worried about it's loss as it was relatively inexpensive.

I am not a guitar collector, I am a guitar player. If a guitar doesn't make it out of the case with some regularity, it's time for me to sell it.

Roger

Roger

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Willie-O
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 09:33 AM

You should do what you're comfortable with, to a point. But minor nicks and such don't affect an instrument's value much. Further, a mature instrument really should have some playing wear. Wear on the neck and body finish are actually quite attractive when seen as the accumulation of many years of loving caresses. (I am still talking about guitars here).

A few years ago I was unforgivably careless with my Martin, letting it fall off a stand and CRACK RIGHT DOWN THE SIDE! I've forgiven myself anyway, and my friendly neighbourhood luthier fixed it for $30. I still use that stand but I fixed it to be more secure too. Life goes on and so does my 34-year-old guitar. Guitar nuts still admire it, they don't look at the crack in the side and realize what a klutz I am.

Klutz? I doubt you can outklutz me. I once had the thrill of opening for Archie Fisher in a 200-seat multi-use arts centre, the show was on an off-night in the middle of a play run so there was a theatre set partially in place. Archie, being a professional and a gentleman, made a point to warn me as he finished his soundcheck to be sure to duck going offstage so as not to hit the low-hanging plywood tree silhouette. I don't suppose I need to tell you what happened. Practically knocked myself flat on my back leaving the stage! Good dent in my forehead, and made an idiot of meself in front of one of my musical heroes and a packed house. But my guitar was unscathed and the whole evening remains about the best of my career.

A 20-year-old Martin probably has another 20 to go before it is considered vintage; the playing wear and dings are part of the package by then.

Bring it out, but not everywhere, use due care... there are some excellent suggestions here. I'm gonna try the "plumber's washer" on the endpin--that's a recurring issue with me.

W-O

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Midchuck
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 10:01 AM

I don't want anything to happen to my nice guitars, so I'm going to buy this and keep it in a cheap gigbag to take to bar gigs and drunken parties. That should solve the problem.

Peter.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Wesley S
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 10:13 AM

Let me know the next party you take it to and I'll be there.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 11:05 AM

Keepaway!

~S~

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Scrump
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 11:37 AM

A guy in my local guitar shop (which I'm ashamed to say I rarely visit) told me about the rubber washer tip for keeping straps on buttons. But my strap has a thick leather button hole and it's impossible to get the washer on the button. Does anyone make straps with thinner ends that are just as strong?

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 12:39 PM

theres a strap called Fort Bryan - an American company, makes very supple leather straps - so if you have guitar stands and you want to use different guitars in different tunings, you can use just the one strap.

Ithink they're on e-bay

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 01:12 PM

A leather worker (saddle shop not shoe shop) can thin the leather to almost any gauge using a crescent-shaped bladed tool. In strapwork, a skiver is used to thin the endpart of the strap that will be turned over and stitched down over a buckle-- the strong thick part will go over the buckle hardware and get progressively thinner as the end goes on to where it was cut for a nice, neat disapearing edge. You can ask one to "skive" the area around the button hole and then sew a thin reinforcing material like ripstop nylon or fiberglass tape on the underside to restore the strength lost by the skiving with a nice finished look.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 02:28 PM

I had a friend back in the '80s who shared our thread-starter's reluctance to play his better instruments anyplace other than his own living room. He owned a Martin D-28, a Gibson archtop guitar, and a Gibson mandolin, but all he ever played at sessions was a Yamaha guitar and a Harmony mandolin. Courtesy of his efforts, they were all in nearly pristine condition when was hit by a train and killed before turning 40.

Moral of the story? Play the things! Don't worry about banging them up a little. Enjoy them today! You might not be here tomorrow!

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Fidjit
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 05:16 PM

If it was a Banjo, then leave it in the case.

Chas

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 08:11 PM

look, its obviously no good you......I'll give you a fiver for the Martin. Its probably out of tune anyway. that could take me over an hour to sort out, and time's money.

if its got a case, that will be extra postage and I can'r really afford to be so generous with the price.. i could arrange for someone to pick it up....for a consideration.

Subject: RE: Guitar: Working vs Performance
From: Ebbie
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 08:28 PM

Member Guest, give this a thought: Say that you keep your guitar perfect for 40 years- you probably will not live forever so eventually someone else will own your pristine guitar. And the first thing that person will do is ding it and scrape it and bounce it off the walls. Wouldn't you rather be the one to break it in?