I used to love fussing with my guitars, changing strings, tweaking here and there, etc. When I was young, I envisioned myself as a shrivelly old man, smoking a pipe and contentedly still messing with my now-old guitars like Gepetto tinkering with Pinocchio.
But now that I'm actually a shrivelly old man, I find that I don't smoke a pipe, I don't like changing my strings or tinkering, and I have new guitars (though I do like playing more than ever). So the whole image I created for myself has never come to pass.
Thus, string changes for me are the end result of weeks of procrastination, during which I pretend that my strings still have more life left. By this time, my guitars look at me balefully when I open their cases, and whimper sad little notes until I cave. Finally, out of guilt and for no other reason, I sit down, grit my teeth, and change strings.
As far as I'm concerned, the nicest invention PRS could make for guitar players would be strings that never need to be changed. Or maybe they'd need to be changed once every 100 years, like a piano. At that point, a person could buy a guitar as a child and never have to face a string change.
Since that hasn't happened yet, I've decided that what I need is an on-call guitar tech. The trouble is, I don't let anyone else do my string changes because I'm very obsessive about how I like it done. So in order to have an on-call guitar tech, I'd have to have a dual personality, and when I need a string change, call myself up on the phone, tell myself that I need myself to swing by and do some tech work, pay myself, and so on.
This presents kind of a dilemma, since I'd still be the guy changing strings.
I suppose I could send the guitar to the PTC often enough to keep the strings fresh, but that might be a bit expensive.
Well, I thought of a solution, and frankly, this could be a real boon to a smart guitar manufacturer:
A rental fleet.
Hey, rental fleets have kept car manufacturers in business for a long time.
You rent a really nice PRS, model of your choice, for X number of weeks, it comes with fresh strings, when the strings get old, you return the guitar, pay for a set of strings, and rent another one. Just like paying for a tank of gas with a rental car when you're done if you don't refill it.
Think of the variety! And no string changes! Heck, you'd never have to even polish it. No worry about a ding at a gig. The guitar comes with ding insurance.
I think I'm on to something. Plus for an extra fee, you could rent a custom "dime bag" model modded by a certain Blanc...could even come in an LV guitar case...for an extra fee of course.
Always wanted a Private Stock but couldn't spare the coin? Psst...how about a Private Stock for a nice weekend getaway., or for that special gig at the venue where the women are really hot... Fun, huh?
Oh yes, this needs to be done. Guitar Center? Pffft. How About Les Zeppelin Rent A Guitar...
But now that I'm actually a shrivelly old man, I find that I don't smoke a pipe, I don't like changing my strings or tinkering, and I have new guitars (though I do like playing more than ever). So the whole image I created for myself has never come to pass.
Thus, string changes for me are the end result of weeks of procrastination, during which I pretend that my strings still have more life left. By this time, my guitars look at me balefully when I open their cases, and whimper sad little notes until I cave. Finally, out of guilt and for no other reason, I sit down, grit my teeth, and change strings.
As far as I'm concerned, the nicest invention PRS could make for guitar players would be strings that never need to be changed. Or maybe they'd need to be changed once every 100 years, like a piano. At that point, a person could buy a guitar as a child and never have to face a string change.
Since that hasn't happened yet, I've decided that what I need is an on-call guitar tech. The trouble is, I don't let anyone else do my string changes because I'm very obsessive about how I like it done. So in order to have an on-call guitar tech, I'd have to have a dual personality, and when I need a string change, call myself up on the phone, tell myself that I need myself to swing by and do some tech work, pay myself, and so on.
This presents kind of a dilemma, since I'd still be the guy changing strings.
I suppose I could send the guitar to the PTC often enough to keep the strings fresh, but that might be a bit expensive.
Well, I thought of a solution, and frankly, this could be a real boon to a smart guitar manufacturer:
A rental fleet.
Hey, rental fleets have kept car manufacturers in business for a long time.
You rent a really nice PRS, model of your choice, for X number of weeks, it comes with fresh strings, when the strings get old, you return the guitar, pay for a set of strings, and rent another one. Just like paying for a tank of gas with a rental car when you're done if you don't refill it.
Think of the variety! And no string changes! Heck, you'd never have to even polish it. No worry about a ding at a gig. The guitar comes with ding insurance.
I think I'm on to something. Plus for an extra fee, you could rent a custom "dime bag" model modded by a certain Blanc...could even come in an LV guitar case...for an extra fee of course.
Always wanted a Private Stock but couldn't spare the coin? Psst...how about a Private Stock for a nice weekend getaway., or for that special gig at the venue where the women are really hot... Fun, huh?

Oh yes, this needs to be done. Guitar Center? Pffft. How About Les Zeppelin Rent A Guitar...
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