A NEW GUITAR IN TOWN

My new shiny friend

This hasn’t happened for a long time - perhaps fifteen years, but I’ve gone and done it - purchased a new six-string just for the hell of it. Why?

Me and buying guitars were constant companions back in the day. When money was flush, when it still hadn’t dawned on me that saving funds for retirement was a necessary thing, I acquired quite a few. And then it ceased. I had all guitar bases covered - and basses too. Every type you could justify a need for, I had.

Then the money ran out and I transitioned from making guitar-based music to electronic ‘in the box’ productions.

But then a weird thing slowly emerged during this musical realignment. Before, when I wrote and recorded guitar music constantly, I never practiced the instrument. This goes way back, but for me guitars were just tools. You bring them out when you need to write or record a song, or perform (something I rarely did). Other than that, I never played them. Which probably accounts for my chronic lack of proficiency.

These days, when all my music is made on a MIDI keyboard, I play guitar and bass more than ever. In fact, not a day goes by when I don’t have a strum, pluck or twang. It’s become a ritual. Around breakfast I grab a guitar and noodle around on it. I even write pieces on it which sometimes get translated to keyboard, or sometimes (rarely) actually feature in songs ‘as is’. In the evening too, I have a time slot (usually waiting for some component of the evening meal to cook) when I grab a bass or guitar and just play. It’s very therapeutic and calming.

I absolutely need all of these. I swear…

And then I suddenly discovered alternate tunings. Or rather one, the open D tuning. I always regarding these kind of things in the past as dubious, and all those bands who were so into them seemed to be making a fuss about nothing - I couldn’t really hear how they sounded different form normal tuning. But then an excellent YouTube video made me pick up my Telecaster and give it a go, and I was amazed. Talk about being forced out of your comfort zone. Suddenly I found myself playing very differently, out of necessity. In addition, I tried finger style, something I have almost never bothered with before. And out came gorgeously melodic cascading sequences that sound like nothing I have previously come up with…

Which got me wondering…what would this sound like on an acoustic guitar? I have only ever had two acoustics, an Ovation knock-off I bought in Germany circa 1990, which I never really liked and is now languishing under heaps of junk in the cat’s room, bowed neck and layers of grime making it unplayable. Later I also purchased a cheap Yamaha twelve-string. A good idea in practice - the sounds are unbelievably gorgeous - but changing strings was a nightmare and soon I discovered that the neck had warped and you need a pair of pliers to hold down any chord above the third fret. Yes, I know you can straighten guitar necks by adjusting the truss rod, but that never seems to work for me.

Anyway, on a sudden impulse I scanned Amazon and chose a $350 dollar Fender CD-60SCE. Resplendent in its all-mahogany veneer, it’s a joy to behold and sounds wonderful. Although, I must admit it’s a little tricky to play. No, the neck isn’t warped - it’s just that I’m used to light-gauge electric guitar strings - gossamer-like almost invisible strands compared to the shipyard hawsers installed on this new acoustic. But no doubt I will get used to it and I foresee many a well-spent hour on the verandah rocking chair picking out some emotionally resonant arpeggios. Except that I don’t have a verandah or rocking chair, but you get the idea.