Guitar (and all other musical instruments)
I have an almost 8 years old black Samick guitar which costed about $200 (8years ago).This year, I actually spent $50 repairing and refurnishing it (its still black in colour though). Before I did that, it has to be "beaten into the cold palace" (打入冷宫).
The action of the guitar was too high, and the 1st string will get stuck at the fretboard producing 'tink tink tink' sound. Also, there were some scratches here and there on the body. The inside was full of dust and dirt.
After spending the $50, it looked much better and cleaner. The action was lower, and there wasn't anymore 'tink tink tink' sound. Most importantly, it was great to play on!
Yesterday, I bought an expensive packet of strings that says 'Extra Life'. It is supposed to be able to last longer than normal strings. I've never tried it before cos I've never bought any strings that costs more than S$10. I also bought a bottle of string cleaner and conditioner. Hopefully with the two powers combined, the strings will last even longer and sound even better.
After saying so much, there are two things which I just want to share.
1) It is important to maintain your musical instrument.
Your guitar (or keyboard or flute or saxophone ...) feels good if it is well maintained. There's "life" in the instrument. The guitar is, afterall, made of wood. The better it is taken care of, the better it feels. As it is being used more often, the better seasoned the instrument will be. (It is same for brass instruments.)
I have another guitar at home which I've not touched for eons. It sounds really bad and I suspect that it is corroding through time. Sorry to that guitar!
2) The better maintained your instrument is, the better your skills can be.
After I changed the strings on my guitar and conditioned the strings, I felt GREAT playing on it. I hope it isn't a psychological thing. Actually I don't think it is. Good guitars actually make you feel more like playing it. (Again, it applies to ALL other musical instruments.)
I have a friend whose guitar is a Baby Taylor. Every time I play on it, I just feel so inspired to write a song. Seriously, its EVERY TIME. He takes good care of the guitar and of course that guitar is a moderately high end guitar, so naturally (I think) the guitar feels good about itself (healthy self-image!!!)
There was one day that I went to check out Maton guitars with another friend. The guitars are REALLY expensive! Nevertheless, I tried on it. WoOOSH!!! It was fantastic! Superb! Beautiful! Wonderful! Come on, face it! You know what's good stuff the moment your hands touch it. You don't even need to think twice.
Get what I mean? I simply love Maton.
But, I would not neglect my Mr. Black (or 小黑). Without Mr. B, my life would never be as interesting as now.
posted by Sarah Loke @ 11:52 AM
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