I'm going to keep the frets. Bracing needs some work. And I'll replace the bridge because it apparently isn't original.

The neck isn't perfectly straight. "They" suggest re-leveling the neck (and frets). I don't need perfect. So I'll probably keep the frets and neck as is - even though it isn't ideal.

I really don't consider myself to be a terribly sentimental guy.

...but I live in a house that was built in 1916 that I bought because I knew someone would take it and bulldoze it for the location of the land. And then we spent a lot of $ and time to restore/renovate it. And I'll sit in an empty room with no lights nor other distractions and just "feel" the room, trying to imagine who might have been there decades before me...

...and when we designed the addition we not only built it around the nearly 100 year old Magnolia Tree, we gave specific instructions to the builder about how to avoid disturbing the root system to ensure the tree survived. I often sit under that tree with a glass of wine and press my palm against her trunk and just imagine the years she has been blooming in the yard...

...and I can't turn up a shovel full of dirt in the yard without unearthing some artifact. And I'll dust off each item like Indiana Jones and then go share it with my wife...

...so. sure, I'm not sentimental. But I look at the worn flat spots in the Frets of that Martin and think of the tunes my grandfather played while drinking beers with buddies in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. And I look at the wear in the body and think how it changed from perfect new Koa but slowly giving in to the relentless picking of my grandfather. And I wish I could somehow replay those scratches like the bumps and pits in the grooves of a vinyl record and somehow recreate the playing of my grandfather and at the same time relive the history that was unfolding at the same time he was playing that instrument.

But, yeah. I'm not sentimental.

Epi

We were in the process of planning a trip to Costa Rica for a week with my former playing partner. After a couple of years, we were really getting our own sound that I really was starting to dig - I mean really digging what I was playing for the first time in my life. It was him on an acoustic and me backing him on a Tele. And then he took a job in DC. We hadn't played together in almost a year and a half.

I knew we'd probably be hanging around random little bars and pools. Problem is, the Acoustic harem was my Taylor, my 25 year old Washburn that my dad bought me, and of course the 1926 Martin. None is really a guitar I want to drag to Central America.

My wife had been pushing me to buy a guitar for the trip and I'd been procrastinating on getting a new girl. Yes - my wife was instigating the guitar purchase and I was the one slowing it down. She really loved what my buddy and I were doing and wanted to hear us play in CR. She called him an told him he had to bring a guitar to CR.

I do believe I've mentioned how cool my wife is.

So I'd been looking at various Acoustic guitars for several weeks. Probably should have looked at Craig's List, but I've never really been a Craig's List guy - except for Erotic Services of course.

I went to every local Guitar Shop and saw a few potential "beaters". But I am so spoiled that I just couldn't make myself buy a "disposable" $100 guitar. So I moved away from the cheapest side of the wall. There were some Mitchell and Yamaha guitars that I didn't hate. The Mitchells were lacking in set up quality. Lots of buzzing and if you hit a 12th fret harmonic and then fretted the string there was a noticeable (5 cent or more) difference in the note. Unacceptable. The Yamahas were really inconsistent. Terrible wood matching and the fret dressing was awful. The frets felt like sand paper.

The girl that really caught my eye was a brand new Epiphone jumbo. Beautiful big hips. You might remember me talking about the big hipped Gibson J200 that I met while buying my Taylor. This girl is sort of like her cute cheap cousin from out of town. As I played every guitar +/- $50 from her, I kept coming back to her. She barely fit in a gig bag - sort of like a hot girl with super tight jeans.

There was only one other girl, another Epiphone, who compared. A used dread. Eventually it came down to these two. The Dread was well set up and just had this "punch" when I hit a chord. Big Hips had the great bottom end and a bit of buzz. But as I went A & B vs. each other the Dread really had a better feel and MUCH better overall tone.

...but I wanted that big bottom.

In the end I just decided that I was getting more guitar and tone for the same money with the Dread - the Big Hips were just a reminder of the Gibson girl who I let get away. Head won over Heart.

I got a cheap gig bag and hit the road.

Status: She survived the round trip and still gets daily attention.

And with the Slimtone, we have 13 "Relationships"

With the exception of Harmonie, I've never voluntarily parted with a Guitar. Still on my List of Lusts are some sort of steel lap guitar, that Big Bottomed Gibson J200, a gold top LP, an ES-335, a Gretsch, a Guild Starfire, a vintage Mustang or Jag...

...and so on...

PS: I'll still try and get a Harem shot.

I may have fallen in love again.

With the Studio set-up in the Man Cave, I moved a couple of the Girls over there for puttering around as I learn how to use my gear. Just Rioja, Peggy Sue, and Epi so far. As a result I haven't been playing the Telecasters/Slimtone for a few months.

Then last month we went to Chicago and I hit a couple of guitar stores. There was this Gibson L6s. While I didn't love her tone, I really dug her looks and how she felt in my hands. And I can't seem to stop thinking of her. I am considering making her my next true love...

...stay tuned...

gogogogogo...

and pics ffs!!