Instruments

There’s an old saying: “you can tell a man by the instruments he keeps”.  Something like that.  I firmly believe it to be true, at least for most of the musicians I know.  Instruments represent you, they become your voice, the natural extension, the physical tool that creates the fleeting sound that is your art.

And they’re just freaking cool.

Victor Wooten said once that he thanks his bass after every gig.  I like that idea.  You see, I have an idea, and my fingers transfer the message to the instrument, then the instrument has to do all the hard work.  And, somewhere along the way, the instrument adds something unique to the idea that I wouldn’t have expected, and I’m always surprised when I hear my idea back.  Sometimes it’s cooler than I expected.  Sometimes not.

Every instrument I own has a story behind it.  I’ve gone way out of my way to meet the people who have built my instruments, or I’ve tried to build them myself.  I’ve dinged and scratched and whacked and cracked them.  I’ve re-fretted, re-strung, re-wired, adjusted, polished, and babied them.  And, now, I’m thanking them.