I have been playing guitar off and on for very many years, since I was a child. Before you decide that means I should be a Chet Atkins or Eddie Van Halen, read the rest. Most of the time I have played on an entry level instruments and never thought much of it.
I had been playing an Ovation and a Squire Bullet and one day I was talking with someone about the joy of playing a high end Martin that was at the guitar store but because of the price I felt like I would have to earn it. I come from that sort of background where you don’t spend a lot of money on something until you know you’re going to stick with it. So this person I was talking to gave me a bit of a strange look when I said I’d have to “earn” the Martin, but I tried not to think of it.
So I went about playing my Ovation, a little frustrated with listening to the sound of the ABS back, and a little frustrated with trying to get clean bar chords. And I played my Squire and didn’t really notice much other than by the time I finished playing a particular song, my hand was cramping.
Since I was planning on getting a new, all wood 6 string acoustic after I moved and then for Christmas I was thinking of gifting myself a Telecaster I figured I could make do. Or those were the plans until I came across a Gibson Les Paul Studio Mahogany with a 60’s neck. Oh my. Not only a good looking instrument but also a pleasure to play, and wait, my hand didn’t cramp.
I moved. And one of the first things I did that first weekend was to go find the guitar store. Unfortunately, with guitars, and probably other instruments, what happens is when that one you are looking for, that “the one”, comes up you kind of have to take it then or leave it and deal with the fact you may spend a long time looking for the next “the one”. I knew this going into the store and I knew it coming out of the store.
Sure enough this store had one of the Gibsons I was lusting after. They had exactly one and were not expecting any more in that wood or color, it’s black with a satin finish. Hmm.. Ok, looks like it will be now or never. I still wanted to look at acoustics. I was eying a Takamine but figured the salesman might have another suggestion. The only real criteria was that I would like to not spend as much as I was looking at paying for the Gibson. Right.
The guy handed me a mid-priced Takamine and a Seagull. Both played better than my Ovation. Wait, this was a dreadnaught, I don’t usually like those. Ok so it was time to change my thinking. The Seagull was still a little boomy for me. The Takamine was a lot better but something just wasn’t doing it for me. Then he handed me another Takamine. This one was a cedar top instead of spruce and it was about double what I was hoping to pay. But oh, it was nice to play. It was nicely balanced for a dreadnaught and it fingered wonderfully. I could now get clear sounding chords, not rattle and no unintended dead strings. This baby made me want to play.
That was my experience with both the instruments. They were such a pleasure to play that they made me want to play even more and even longer. At that point I think I understood the look the person was giving me when I said I had to “earn” the Martin. There comes a point where that is the wrong approach. There comes a point where you really need to invest in something a lot better. Though, to be hones, I did purchase two instruments for the price of the Martin so it will still have to wait a while.