T UNING UP
To Buy, or Not To Buy...
Just last week I
was sitting in my
underwear in a
beanbag chair,
throwing back a
couple of toddies and playing my guitar…
sorry you had to
visualize that. I
was desperately
searching for a
little solitude because of a pending guitar
purchase that I seemed to be ambivalent
about for several weeks. My purchasing
opportunity simply boiled down to a basic
decision: “To buy, or not to buy.”
My Precarious Acquisition
Dilemma (P.A.D.) was over an
all-original, Alpine White 1978
Les Paul Custom that has aged
to a Canary Yellow finish, with
just the right amount of checking. A local musician I have
known for many years decided
to liquidate a few instruments
from his collection. Now, I tend
to go gaga over vintage guitars,
and I have a difficult time controlling my G.A.S., especially
with guitars like this—ask my
wife. I am easily distracted by
bright, shiny objects. However,
my ambivalence created quite an
inner dichotomy. The deal was
fair, and you certainly don’t run
across an all-original ‘ 78 Les Paul
Custom every day. Regardless,
I was apprehensive about the
purchase because of concerns
over the economy, so apprehensive that I actually started feeling
guilty for even considering buying in the first place.
my mind. Then, waking in middle of the
night as if by some magical, magnetic pull,
I decided then and there that I was going
to bite the bullet and buy. It occurred to
me that perhaps this is all part of the perceived problem: a knee-jerk, hunker-down
decision to sit on the sidelines and watch
the game go by, to turn out the lights and
lock the door. No thanks.
I do not personally believe in such a strategy, and furthermore, our collective conviction as a company does not subscribe
to it. We strive to continue sailing the boat
regardless of how rough the waves, or how
strong the current. No doubt the waves
are rough, but with steady hands on the oars
and a steadfast belief in making it to the fin-
to do nothing. I would encourage fellow
gearheads to consider a similar liberating
experience, especially on the heels of what
many consider to be a pleasantly surprising NAMM show, the music industry’s
leading economic barometer. What was
prematurely tagged as a sure train wreck
was actually cautiously optimistic and hopefully promising of a steadily improving MI
industry. One thing is for sure: there was no
shortage of cool new products (log on to
premierguitar.com for the industry’s most
complete sampling), many aggressively
priced to penetrate perceptible consumer
economic concerns. For a gearhead, this
means incredible opportunity and incentive
to purchase, and I would strongly urge you
to participate. Don’t sit on the sidelines;
get back in the game of your
relentless pursuit of tone.
In closing, thank you to everyone who has been kind enough
to send me a shout out of well
wishes regarding my recent
Broken Ankle Recovery Effort
(B.A.R.E.)… very humbling and
greatly appreciated. In honor
of your sympathy, and in some
instances empathy (for I’m evidently not the first guitar player
to break an ankle), maybe we
could start a support group:
Guitarists Impaired from Mobility
Proficiency (G.I.M.P.). We could
all meet once a week to sit in
beanbag chairs, throw back
some toddies and play guitar.
Sounds like perfect therapy to
me. Hope to see ya at the next
meeting; I’ll be the one with the
Canary Yellow Les Paul Custom!
‘Nuff Sed...
With daily reports of unemployment figures rising to
unprecedented levels, record
losses in the stock market,
corporate bailouts, mortgage
foreclosures—not to mention struggling
music retailers—it seems like everywhere
you turn there is no end to the economic
doom and gloom. Amidst this, my acquisition opportunity didn’t seem quite right,
and it really started to weigh heavily on
Trent Salter, Publisher
trent@premierguitar.com 888.247.2009
ish line, we will all overcome the tremendous
economic challenges that lie ahead.
For me, this purchase ended up being
very gratifying and surprisingly liberating.
It simply felt better to do something than
