I have a respectable guitar collection for my age; nothing terribly rare or exclusive, but I’ve made it my goal to collect guitars that just have “it.” What does “it” men exactly? “It” is just a feeling I get when I look at a guitar; a beautiful mix of excitement and desire that sits in the pit of my stomach like a warm, home cooked meal.
When I find a guitar that has “it,” I get a vision of myself playing it. Sometimes it’s of a dark stage loaded with giant Mesa Boogie amplifiers and a crowd of people moshing to the intense music that is coming forth – other times it’s a small fusion or blues club, with a minimal amount of gear and a minimal amount of nonsense. Once I’ve had the vision, it becomes a mission to complete it to the best of my ability.
That brings with it an interesting idea – does gear REALLY matter in terms of what you can/can’t play on it? I’m sure some would call me a “Gear Head” but I don’t think having a good amount of gear alone simply makes someone a Gear Head. To my understanding, Gear Heads enjoy the gear more than playing the gear. For me, I love playing more than anything. Metal, fusion, country, blues, rock, etc. I love it all and try my best to work on as much as I can without having a stroke at 22. Having a small variety of guitars just makes things a little more interesting and provides a fun way to change it up occasionally/experiment with tone. That being said though, if I had one guitar or one thousand guitars, it is about the playing more than anything.
The gear can provide a level of inspiration – and it should! Guitars, amps, pedals; these are all works of art in and of themselves. There’s something magical about the thought of endless combinations of guitars and amps and the scope of sonic possibility. If the gear is inspiring an individual to play, great! More power to them!
As I said earlier, I don’t think I’m a Gear Head. If anything, I’m just a nerd that plays more guitar than is considered healthy. Having passion about tone woods, pickup combinations, and amp tubes is just another way to fuel the greater passion that is guitar and music.
