Just Maintainin'!

[sergiodeblanc]

No NGD's, no new projects, no GAS... I'm just maintainin'! and that's enough for me.

I realize I'm a pretty boring forum member lately, and I haven't bought a guitar in years. I've been trying hard to hold on to what I've got and keep it all in working order, and that's alright. I'm generally pleased with what I have.

I still browse the sites lookin' for deals and checking for something to paint (a ton of ideas are running through my head) but then I stop and realize that I'm full up at the moment. I've got a PRS for every day of the week fer chrissakes... and outta those I play maybe one or two a week. What's going on here?

Ain't nothin' going on but work.

Rusty strings, superglue, contact cleaner, chipping paint, soldering, tweaking, wiping, cleaning, lint rolling (lest ye forget I have a guitar with fabric on it), Febreze (see??), sparkled diamonds and glitter that need to be glued back down... Sheesh! I need a bubblebath and a glass of wine to calm my nerves when I'm done with all the housework.

I mean, it's a great problem to have. I wouldn't want to trade it for zero guitars (that's just crazy!) and, yes there are starving children in Africa that totally deserve one of these more than I do... but it makes me wonder:

Should I have less guitars?





F@ck that! That's the worst idea I've ever heard!

I think I have all these guitars for a reason, and that reason is to teach me how to maintain. I have to learn how to take care of things and how to appreciate the things I have. It may not be a big deal to some people. Some of y'all already learned that life lesson but, just as "every tree bears it's fruit in due season", it's my time to learn how to look after a veritable "pile" of guitars.

I can't just wimp out and trade some in for something newer and shiner, I have to learn to trust my past judgments and live with what I've got for as long as I can hold on. I need to treat every one of these lil' bastids like the treasures they are and make more time for each and every one of them.

There's an SE I have that I'm not really fond of... conventional wisdom says to ditch it, "there's not enough time for a guitar you don't truly love" some people might say(to borrow a FOX News-ism). Well, maybe I just haven't figured out who or what that guitar is yet?! Maybe it's not a lame guitar, maybe I'm just a lame guitar player!

Today I'm going to put away a few of the guitars I play the most. Today I'm gonna spend some time getting to know that SE a little better. Today I'm gonna let it tell me who and what it is, rather than the other way around.

Today I'm maintainin'!

 

[Brad737]

Dang, Sergio. What a mature outlook.

 

[bodia]

Mature, and somewhat rational! Wtf's with that!? Don't worry, we'll pull ya outta the gutter and back to the sewer where you belong.....with the rest of us

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Right on, homie. Let it speak to YOU!

 

[veinbuster]

That's a good place to be Sergio.

I think of having a few less guitars once in a while, but I remember why I bought each of them and when I play it it reminds me that it still has what I got it for. I don't need another one. Not saying I won't get another, but I'm pretty happy with what I have.

Today I gave my first PRS some quality time, and realized it is almost its 20th birthday. A tiny turn of the winged tuners to free the strings. A nice polish job. Oiled up the finger board. I hadn't really remembered it being a 10 top, but there it was in gold on the back of the headstock.

 

[wardog]

i am not going to be easy on you on this one. I am spoiled by the project bug and d@#n if you think i will let you get out of it that easy. MOD THAT SE!!!! that is the next stage of maintaining. Sometimes you listen to that guitar telling you who it is and you realize it has a frog in it's throat. She may be singing, but alittle pitchy at times. Once you listen to her, see what she is asking for to make her sing better, clear her throat!!!!!!

 

[pac90]

Just change your Ebay search parameters to pickups, and the 7 sisters have a potential seasonal refresh

 

[gush]

Well well well. Serg not wanting a new guitar and it's snowing in Texas........what the hells next??????? Jeez

 

[xjbebop]

fwiw, I seem to recall you posting a year or so ago about "not gonna buy any more guitars for awhile so that I can spend more quality time with the ones I've got....really get to know them..."
I admired that attitude and am trying to adopt the same for myself this next year.
We'll see how that goes for me....

 

[Smoo]

very curious about this guitar feat. fabric

 

[László]

What I'd do if I were you is sell all of your guitars, plus everything else you have that isn't nailed down, and buy a really fancy new one.

Later in life you can do what I do, and say stuff like, "I had a really nice one of those, but foolishly sold it to buy something else I no longer have."

 

[The Fight]

I know what you mean ...
That's why I write songs on special guitars and get used to them, and that makes that guitar for that song. Each has its own sound, others look better as art on the wall...

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Dang, Segio. What a mature outlook.

Thanks, I'm tryin' to grow up a bit, but I'm still really immature in a great many of ways. I mean, the SE I'm tryin' to jive with looks like a glitter bomb went off at a Taylor Swift concert.

That's a good place to be Sergio.
I think of having a few less guitars once in a while, but I remember why I bought each of them and when I play it it reminds me that it still has what I got it for. I don't need another one. Not saying I won't get another, but I'm pretty happy with what I have.

That's part of the issue, each one has been modded and beat to hell... and they have a sentimental value that is greater than any price I could sell 'em for.

MOD THAT SE!!!! that is the next stage of maintaining.

Well then I must be at the stage of maintaining my maintaining. Nothin' here's stock, and nothin' stays the same until I get it right.

Well well well. Serg not wanting a new guitar and it's snowing in Texas........what the hells next??????? Jeez

There will always be a part of me that wants a new guitar, I doubt that will ever completely go away. Most of the reason I don't grab something new is because I'm starting to repeat guitars I already have.

I can't explain anything about Texas though... Nobody can.

very curious about this guitar feat. fabric

I'll see if I can grab a new pic for you. My photo bucket account became too big of a mess and I decided to start from scratch. Organized scratch (I hope).

fwiw, I seem to recall you posting a year or so ago about "not gonna buy any more guitars for awhile so that I can spend more quality time with the ones I've got....really get to know them..."
I admired that attitude and am trying to adopt the same for myself this next year.
We'll see how that goes for me....

Correct. I did post that, and this is kind of a continuation of the same theme. I have pretty much stuck to just my KL33 (korina Santana/West St.) for the past two years. I must admit to feeling a little stupid when I packed it (along with my 93CE) away tonight. I suppose it's just a new lil' game I'm playing to test my willpower. You should try it! At the very least, it kinda feels like a free NGD after some time apart.

I know what you mean ...
That's why I write songs on special guitars and get used to them, and that makes that guitar for that song. Each has its own sound, others look better as art on the wall...

I feel that! There are guitars I have to grab because of the way they sound or if they just "belong" to a certain song in my mind. When I have session work and really need a certain guitar, of course I'll grab it. But I'm tryin' to see how much of largest variable of my tone is just... me.

I can't relate to the art on a wall deal. I can relate to a guitar being a fashion accessory though, does that count?

What I'd do if I were you is sell all of your guitars, plus everything else you have that isn't nailed down, and buy a really fancy new one.

Ha! Belive me, that thought does goes through my head! I know I can't do just one guitar, I'm a string-breaker and it's a reasonable responsibility of me to have two for live stuff. So I'd have to choose.

What do I do? Keep my CE and spend gobs of loot on a PS West St. or semi-hollow Santana? Keep my KL and go for two very similar guitars? Or just calm down, acknowledge the "birds in the hand", or go all out on the PS "in the bush" with pretty flower inlays and a "Bangin'!" banner that's pretty much gonna be the same thing I already own?


I pulled out the SE tonight, replaced the SE saddles with some core PRS saddles, and gave it a setup. It's better but.... we'll see how it goes.

 

[BALIstic]

Sounds like a plan. God knows I don't have the space, talent or need for any more guitars. The gear in my sig is all that I could fit in the space allowed. I think I've become more obsessed with gear purchases than with playing in the past few years.

I think I might try just being happy with the gear I have in '16 and attempt to spend a lot more time learning to utilise what I have in a more efficient and musical manner.

I had intended offloading a few rarely used guitars but all that would achieve is a few feet of floor space. I'd be loosing a decent amount of $$$ as they were all bought new. So that's not gonna happen.....

 

[justmund]

So what you're saying is I need another 2 guitars so I have one for every day of the week? Roger, message rcvd.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

So what you're saying is I need another 2 guitars so I have one for every day of the week? Roger, message rcvd.

That's exactly what I'm saying. You need days of the week underwear and guitars just to maintain proper sanitary conditions.

 

[DogPhishHead]

I find myself in the same boat. I have 3 guitars - PRS SE ZM, Fender Amer. Standard Strat and a Fender Classic 50s Tele. After a few months of tweaks and finding the right pedals and EQ'ing my Mesa Express I can really say I'm happy with the gear and really don't see a need to seek out another guitar. I've toyed with buying an S2, but of those I've tried, I can't justify spending more money these days. I love doing the setups, pickup adjustments and tone tweaks to my rig. At 51 I've found my style, my rig and my sound. Like Sergio, I'm "maintaining" - and enjoying my gear.

 

[CVS]

I am pretty much at the same stage as Sergio. In maintenance mode ATM. I am very happy with my guitars and amps. Unfortunately for me, I am not very handy, so maintenance means paying someone to do things like replace tubes, shave frets etc. Not as exciting as buying a new guitar or amp.

Now that I have said this, I can see a Vela in my future????

 

[Boogie]

Been there, doing that, too...for years (with minor exception). Living vicariously thru my musician friends (you, inclusive) is almost completely satisfying since I already have so much to tide me over. When you start with great instruments, there are only so many mods you want to try without upsetting the balance. I'm happy.

 

[Tosca]

What's the opposite of maintainin'?
That's where I've been at for a few years...seriously out of control. What's the secret Serge?