Loaners

There are a few people I trust enough to lend most any guitar to, including some here. My first PRS is off limits as a loaner for sentimental reasons. My PS, well, not sure how long I could get by without it but there are people I’d trust with it. I guess it would depend how well you know said person. That’s why it’s nice to have a beater around .
 
I typically NEVER let anyone play one of my guitars. A few years back I made an exception for a young player from here in the area. He was maybe 15 at the time, but he's one of these KWS types who was wowing everyone with his abilities-mainly because of his age. He really wanted to borrow the guitar in the pic (Hans, you know it well), but I had to say "NOPE, there are only 8 of these in this finish, and 6 are in Japan." I will let you use my tried and trusted '95 CU22.

He was booked at our local fair-kind of a big deal for a kid his age. I met him and his parents at the local GC. I showed him the guitar, talked about the Dragon1 pups (at the time they were hitting $500/pair on ebay). We said our pleasantries and left. I didn't go watch/listen when he played the show.

So here's the kicker. We met a couple weeks later for me to get the guitar back. He said he really liked it. As a common courtesy I didn't open the case until I got home. He had broken the B string (I heard during an Allman Brothers tune), and the entire guitar felt like it was encased in grease! I've never felt a guitar that gnarly in my life! When I had let him borrow it, I had cleaned, polished, and re-strung it. Like Hans mentioned, I'm the same way: I give something back better than when I borrowed it. This was not the case here! It took me 2 cleaning/polishing sessions to get that "squeaky clean" feel back!

I am thankful I don't have the acidity or whatever it was that attacked 'Ol Blue! DAMN!
 
I typically NEVER let anyone play one of my guitars. A few years back I made an exception for a young player from here in the area. He was maybe 15 at the time, but he's one of these KWS types who was wowing everyone with his abilities-mainly because of his age. He really wanted to borrow the guitar in the pic (Hans, you know it well), but I had to say "NOPE, there are only 8 of these in this finish, and 6 are in Japan." I will let you use my tried and trusted '95 CU22.

He was booked at our local fair-kind of a big deal for a kid his age. I met him and his parents at the local GC. I showed him the guitar, talked about the Dragon1 pups (at the time they were hitting $500/pair on ebay). We said our pleasantries and left. I didn't go watch/listen when he played the show.

So here's the kicker. We met a couple weeks later for me to get the guitar back. He said he really liked it. As a common courtesy I didn't open the case until I got home. He had broken the B string (I heard during an Allman Brothers tune), and the entire guitar felt like it was encased in grease! I've never felt a guitar that gnarly in my life! When I had let him borrow it, I had cleaned, polished, and re-strung it. Like Hans mentioned, I'm the same way: I give something back better than when I borrowed it. This was not the case here! It took me 2 cleaning/polishing sessions to get that "squeaky clean" feel back!

I am thankful I don't have the acidity or whatever it was that attacked 'Ol Blue! DAMN!
Ugh...
 
Along the same lines but a little different...

I went to a local music store one day years ago to get some strings and check out whatever.
A father and maybe 15 y/o son were there. They were in a somewhat difficult discussion with the proprietor of the shop.
As the conversation upgraded to politely heated I realized that the father/son had ordered a relatively expensive guitar, and had negotiated a "loaner" until said guitar came in.
Sadly when the father/son came in to pick up the relatively expensive guitar and return the loaner, the loaner was beat to carp! The stupid kid had obviously had his way with it... dinged, scratched, and scraped it was. Poor axe...:(

Anyway, I was somewhat disgusted with how the father was justifying/defending the condition of the loaner and his kid. Lacking in parenting skills was horribly obvious.
Some people suck.
 
I loan my guitars to my boys, period. Even they know which ones are ok to borrow. We raised courteous people.

Borrow? Seriously? I would never even ask. Play? Sure, at their place, but borrow? That’s asking too much.

The exceptions to that rule know who they are.
 
There are a few people I trust enough to lend most any guitar to, including some here. My first PRS is off limits as a loaner for sentimental reasons. My PS, well, not sure how long I could get by without it but there are people I’d trust with it. I guess it would depend how well you know said person. That’s why it’s nice to have a beater around
 
I have found loaning money or important items (esp guitars) is the most effective way to test the reality of a true friendship...and the quickest way to end an acquaintance. Proceed with extreme caution...unless it’s an item you can afford to lose, and a friend you’re sure you won’t.
 
I am somewhat the opposite. I have mentioned on here before that I have two friends that I jam with every Wednesday night. I have also mentioned that my wife and I go on Joe Bonamassa's Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea cruise every February. And we normally take extra days after the cruise hang around Florida or the Keys.

I get spooky about leaving my house unattended while we are gone. So I don't loan my guitars. I force them on the guys I jam with. I ask them to guitarsit. I've got a couple handfuls of guitars but 6 what I would consider "nice" guitars. So I ask the two guys each year which ones they want to try out and they pick and then I hand off 3 to each the last jam before we leave town. And then the jam after we get back they bring them back.
 
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