[Wyllys]

The Zone. That's where you want to be, where everything's in balance: touch, tuning, coffee/tea...whatever.

My subjective feeling is the good, clean touch required feels almost like walking on ice as I warm up for the day. There's a delicacy, a hyper-aware approach to waking up the hands, ears and instrument and as an old friend said, "achieving soundage".

When balance is attained there's a tangible sensation of a circle being closed: hands/ears, heart, breath and instrument. I proceed when a balance is struck.

I have what I call my "coat-hook" tune, the one I always play first when I pick up the guitar after making my coffee and doing my warm-up stretches. It's a familiar old friend of a piece and warms/opens me up for whatever Music and the day have in store for me. I have a deal with Music and the instrument: I won't tell you what "should" be. I'll accept what is and what will be. Play me.

But I think that the primary factor is the "user friendliness" of my instruments. I've had many through the years, but the friendliest, the most open, warm, balanced one has always been a Harmony Sovereign H-1203. Touch is a two-way street, the hands on the guitar and the guitar back to the heart through the fingers.

When it's clean it's alive : when it's alive it's clean.

Balance.