Bringing my guitar to a Bluegrass Festival

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Rexsblues

I'm going to my first Bluegrass Festival next month and I know that jams in the campground are a big part of these events. Do most people bring their nice acoustics with them or is it better to bring a beater? Just trying to decide if I should bring my HD28 or not. Thanks!

Bring the HD-28 (nice!)

Just wear a t-shirt that says. "You can dance with my wife, but don't touch my guitar."

But leave your wife home

[Mr Fingers]

I'd bring an excellent player, because that's kind of the point. There are plenty of player/collectors who have very fancy, beautiful instruments and, frankly, I wouldn't bring one of those into an outdoor, public, camping environment. My feeling is that you want to present your best musicianship, not your fanciest material possessions.

[Neil K Walk]

I concur with the others: take the Martin. Everyone else will have brought theirs, trust me! It's the right tool for the job.

Besides, if you bring anything else they're not going to take you seriously.

There's a temptation to "save" your best guitar(s). I wouldn't recommend needlessly putting a good guitar in harm's way, but in my opinion that can be taken too far. Never taking a guitar out of the house, or not taking it to a weekend long even where making music is primary goal is the definition of "taking it too far" in my opinion. I own nice instruments because I enjoy them. I can't enjoy them if I don't have them with me.

I make plans such that my instruments will be at minimal risk - always in sight, guarded, or locked up, never left in excessive heat, avoiding bug repellant, etc. This isn't too hard to do if you're with a group of friends or family, and even possible to do if you're traveling alone as long as you put some thought in ahead of time and make it a priority.

My guitars go with me on family trips, business trips, festivals and all. Never had any harm come to one in any of those settings.

[Wade Hampton]

Always, always, ALWAYS take your best-sounding and best-playing guitar if you intend to actually play music. Just keep an eye on it and don't lock it up in the trunk of your car if it's a hot day.

It really does come down to this: do you want to play your guitar, or just admire it in safety, solitude and silence? If your preference is for the former and not the latter, take the best guitar you have.

Personally, I don't think I could have become the musician I evolved into if I had been playing an instrument that wasn't as playable. The effect that the first Winfield festival I attended had on me was profound: I arrived there a fairly good player, but left there three days later as a genuine by-God musician. Seriously, it had a seismic effect on me, and I took enormous steps forward that weekend and have never looked back.

Why deny yourself that possibility? Take the guitar you play most often and like the best.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Playguitar]

I go to a fair amount of music campouts and festivals. I always prefer to bring a good guitar, but I always consider the weather first. If it is very hot out it can be very difficult to keep your guitar at a safe temperature at all times. Even setting a guitar in its case in the shade, the sun moves and before you know it, your guitar is sitting there in full sun. When it's hot you are also not able to lock your guitar in your car. For me if it's around 100 degrees out, it's time for the beater

[Steadfastly]

I would have no problem bringing my HD28 to the festival. I would just look after it, like always. I bought it to play it and dang it, that's what I'm going to do.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Rexsblues

I'm going to my first Bluegrass Festival next month and I know that jams in the campground are a big part of these events. Do most people bring their nice acoustics with them or is it better to bring a beater? Just trying to decide if I should bring my HD28 or not. Thanks!

Put it this way .... you can't NOT take a Martin.

[fatt-dad]

. . . you do have insurance, eh?

f-d

[frances50]

That's what my Rainsong is for.

[amyFB]

Originally Posted by L20A

Take the guitar that you love to play. Take care of it and enjoy the jams.

If you leave it home, you will regret it.

^^^^ This is how I answer that question for myself.

I took a low cost low end guitar once to festival. It was a drag and a half.

Why?

Because the fest jam experience was really fabulous and I wanted to enjoy it all around. The junker guitar had no projection and was useless in groups of more than two.

How do I keep my good guitar safe in a campground festival venue?
1. Solid gig bag well padded with backpack straps.
2. Guitar is either in my hands or in the case. Never on a stand.
3. When not in use: locked up At instrument check (if avail), or, wrapped in silver reflective blanket and locked in my vehicle.
4. No one plays it except me. No one.

Are you going to DelVal bluegrass fest? It's a lot of fun in the campground jams there. (They don't have an instrument check , at least didn't used to)

[lroyb]

I'm going to Galax next week, taking my BR-1060. It's not a beater more of a bluegrass cannon with a sweet and loud ring to it.

I would take my HD28 or D18 but they both have pickup systems and I don't want to get kicked out of the festival.

Seriously though with the crowds and chairs and other instruments turning in tight spaces I don't want to turn my Martin into a beater. That's why I bought the Blueridge,

[mtcross]

I'm putting new strings on my HD-28 today getting ready for the Targhee Bluegrass festival, we are headed that way on Sunday. So yes I am bringing my best girl.

[1Charlie]

Two experiences give pause.

1. I once had to leave my beloved '73 Guild D-35 in a hot car to keep it safe from theft. All it took was a few hours to soften the glue on the bridge, allowing it to lift and slide toward the sound hole about 1/4 inch, where it re-hardened as evening came. If you render the guitar you brought unplayable, then it really doesn't matter how great it sounded beforehand.

2. My playing partner watched in horror as a drunken friend fell directly on his $3000 mandolin at a party, sitting in its open case, smashing it to splinters.

I am all for playing my best instruments for other people, but only when I have some control over the circumstances (weather, theft, irreparable damage).

I also like to have fun at festivals, and having my best guitar with me would feel like a ball and chain. You can get great sound from the right beater.

[ManyMartinMan]

Those are both horrible stories but....... both well covered herein. It is every person's responsibility to keep their instruments... safe. NEVER under any circumstances leave a guitar in a car unless it's for minutes to run in somewhere or ....... and NEVER leave an instrument anywhere it can be sat or stepped upon. Both preventable catastrophes.

No real difference than at home: Never leave your guitar in an unlatched case. Never lay your guitar on a bed, chair, couch - it will be sat, elbowed, fallen, laid...upon. Never leave your guitar out on a stand with children, pets, drunks around.... personal responsibility.