I value my guitars greatly because I value being able to make music on them. But in the end, guitars are just things. They can generally be replaced. If I had to trade off some of my guitars -- and I will have to thin out the herd eventually -- I would have trouble letting some of them go. It's hard not to feel attached to the wonderful sounds they are capable of making. But again, they are only material things. I can let go if I need to.
I do have an attachment to my 1967 Martin D-35 that my dad bought for me when I turned 21 in 1969. Of all the guitars I own, this is the one that matters the most.
My dad really did not want me to learn to play the guitar when I started at age 16. I think he was afraid it would somehow derail my education. It didn't. But I did a lot of playing in the dark in essentially a closet where my dad couldn't hear me when I was 16-18 years old.
When I was very close to graduating from engineering school, my dad took me down to a Martin sale where we picked out this amazing D-35 after playing everything in the store. I know this guitar meant a lot not just to me but also to my dad. He asked me if I was still playing it just a couple of months before he passed away, just 3 years ago.
Music really can bring people together...
- Glenn
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