My
primary passion is the the 70's and 80's Japanese Aria, Aria Pro
II, Vantage, Westone, Washburn, Westbury, and Epiphone guitars made by
both Arai and Matsumoku. These guitars (In particular the Matsumoku guitars)
were hard to top in regards to quality, playability, and flexibility for
the price. There are a number of others I have (and to come) that were
re-brands made by them as well.
I also have a lot of respect for Carvin, and they are probably underrated
for the value and quality they offer. Guitars to me are much more than
just guitars. Often the history behind it and how it came to me is just
as important as what happens when I pick it up.
.
They
are instruments, extensions of the soul, and conveyers of emotion and belief.
I don't know if you are like me but I have often missed a guitar after
I have let it go. Maybe not right away, but the regret does creep in sometimes.
I have a number of "pawn shop" guitars and sometimes I wonder if their
respective previous owners care that they have found a good home, or even
miss them. Sometimes I think some guitars are actually born with souls,
and others acquire them over time and miles.
.
Be
forewarned! It's likely you will not agree with me on one or more points,
and what I say may even inflame you a bit. I am entitled to believe as
I choose, just as you are, and if you disagree, that is your right which
I respect. This does not however, always make you "right" and me "wrong"
or vice versa.
.
I'm
not particularly interested in this "vintage"
hype, and it could be the term gets used a bit too often. I have seen too
many beautiful instruments pine away for the loving caress of a player
as they serve out their life sentences in a case in a closet, or in a glass
cage someplace. I play all my guitars, and if I don't, I let them go in
the hopes that someone will.
.
It
does my heart good to see an old jazz box that has had the frets and finish
played off of it's neck because I know someone loved it, and they loved
to play. It tells me the old axe has not just played the blues, but lived
them and survived to tell the story! Now that's what I call rite of passage!
I have given this "vintage" thing a great deal
of thought. I am the kind of person that has little concern for "what",
and am intrigued by the "why" and "how" of a particular phenomenon. Although
I doubt many will agree, I have made some observations over the years regarding
the "vintage phenomenon" and done my best to compile them here.
.
Don't
think I'm some sort of great guitar player, because I'm not. I love playing
and it's as close to a Jock's workout as I care to get! Heck, I doubt I
know 100 covers in their entirety but have a ton of my own material and
over the years have developed my own style that seems to be a clash of
cultures. A lot of my friends say I'm good but I still think I just know
how to fool people! =] What playing means to me goes much deeper
than simply making racket, impressing people, "being somebody", or simple
pastime. It has been a part of my life since I was 15, and will be till
the day I join my ancestors. It's one of the few things that has always
been there and been a huge part of me. I try my best to explain here,
and some will understand, others will simply think I am strange.
.
Although
I do have quite a few guitars, I am by no means a "collector".
I let them go if I do not play them, and simply "possessing" them does
little for me. As I have said before, they are simply an extension of myself,
a conduit allowing pent up emotion to escape. As time passes I do believe
guitars acquire a soul, a presence of their own.
.
Quite
a few people have asked about me, about the "wall of blisters", the "sacred
Aria wall", and about my little workshop. Some are even curious about what
I look like even though I tried to warn them. I was born in the Ugly Forest,
and being "scary looking" keeps the Dorks at bay. =] I have begun to put
a little bit of my little guitar world up here
for those curious individuals, and for those into "shock" treatments. =] |
