Home after a month with nothing but my GS Mini Mahogany

[big jilm]

Well I have just returned from Greece. A month with nothing but my GS Mini Mahogany, harmonicas and a neck rack, capo, tuner, some Dunlop Primetone 1.3mm picks, a strap, an iPad with SongBook, and a foot tambourine.

Here it is loaded into the overhead.

[IMG][/IMG]

At home, my collection has grown to include a Martin 000-15m, two 12 strings (Ovation and Yamaha), a Seagull S6, a La Michoacana classical, and two mandolins. Electric stuff like a Gibson SG, Telecaster, Strat, a couple of basses, amps and a bunch of pedals, recording equipment, Etc, etc, etc. So many fun choices!

On the trip there were no choices. It was the GS Mini or nothing. Here's what happened.

My hand grew used to the shorter scale of the GS very quickly. I play every day, and with the fewer distractions around me, I played even more than usual. Instead of concentrating on tones, I worked out songs and sang and played them. There was no 'Would my Blue Chip sound better here? Let me get it..." or "Let's try this on the 12 string - it might sound cooler" or even "Let's see how this would sound with My SG plugged up into the Carr Mercury V... we'll add some vibrato and reverb and..." You get the picture.

As my hands became more and more familiar with the GS, my right hand really began working back and forth between the neck and bridge to get different sounds. I began to really appreciate the acoustic guitar as a percussive instrument as well as a chordal one. My playing is in better shape than it was before I left.

As far as the GS Mini itself goes, It's really an amazing little instrument. It feels solid and well made, had a great tone for a guitar it's size, and stays it tune very well. It flew all the way from Texas to Greece, and when I pulled it out it was still in tune. Loud enough to keep up with a cajon player, I found out.

Lastly, the gig bag. This is a GREAT piece of kit. Very protective, with a front pocket big enough to hold all of the things I mentioned carrying including the iPad. Very sturdy zippers as well.

My wife is Greek, so we travel to Greece every summer This is the first year I have taken a guitar along. The original plan was for me to leave the little guitar in Greece, but I like it too much to do that. It will go back and forth with me, until I buy a guitar to stay there. I'll never go back without it! Plus, playing in the shadow of Tagytos (the second highest mountain Greece) is inspiring.

[IMG][/IMG]

Moral of the story? As much as I hate to say it (for ME) less is more. I won't be ditching the rest of my gear, but I'd probably be a better guitar player if I did.

Now! Off to see if my Martin is still good (...and my SG, and my Tele, and my fuzz pedals...)

[Mike Sylvia]

What a beautiful picture on the balcony.

I truly think you're correct in saying "less is more". It seems we are never satisfied with just one guitar, when it's really all we need.

Glad you fell in love with your mini!

[beatcomber]

Originally Posted by big jilm

My wife is Greek, so we travel to Greece every summer

One of the best things about being married to a foreigner is traveling to your mate's home country and getting an immersive understanding of the place, especially if you understand some of the local language.

My wife is Japanese, and I've been to Japan eight times, I think.

[big jilm]

Originally Posted by beatcomber

One of the best things about being married to a foreigner is traveling to your mate's home country and getting an immersive understanding of the place, especially if you understand some of the local language.

My wife is Japanese, and I've been to Japan eight times, I think.

So cool that you have been to Japan with your spouse! I agree completely about immersing yourself in the culture. I wander around Sparta by myself carrying out mundane tasks for the house (getting keys made, buying light bulbs, etc.) which gives me a chance to speak Greek with the shopkeepers and people on the street. As limited as my Greek is, I get along. I've been there enough times that people remember me and call me "Kalo Xeno" - the good foreigner lol. They have a hard time pronouncing my name (Wayne) as there is no 'W' in Greek - it comes out 'Ooaine'. The older folks in the villages call me by my middle name which is Anthony - 'Andonis' in Greek. It's so much fun.

[AndrewG]

I couldn't agree more; while there's a definite attraction in having several 'flavours' to choose from, there's nothing quite like getting to know one guitar intimately, along with all its pros and cons, nuances and subtleties. Less can definitely be more

[GuildF20Guy]

Great story. Less is more and there is nothing like getting intimately familiar with an instrument.

Off topic, what kind of strap is that?

[big jilm]

Originally Posted by GuildF20Guy

Great story. Less is more and there is nothing like getting intimately familiar with an instrument.

Off topic, what kind of strap is that?

That is a Souldier Owl strap. I love Souldier's stuff - but they are slippery, so you have to be cool with that aspect of it to dig one.

[jklotz]

Nice story. My wife is Korean, and we'll be making that journey sooner or later. I don't have a guitar to bring. Maybe there is a GS mini in my future?

I can certainly relate to the whole let's see how this will sound on my...... I agree, it can become a distraction from good practice. Not that I'm going to stop doing it anytime soon.

[SoCalSurf]

I very much think you are on to something when you describe the difference of being focused with only one guitar compared to when we are surrounded by choices.

I was in South Korea for a month in July, and I had NO guitars with me, nor access to any. I can tell you that, while it was torturous at times, it sure made me appreciate what I had when I got home. My playing was more focused and purposeful, and I was more in tuned (pun intended) with the experience for sure.

[Pickcity]

Cool story. Thanks for sharing. I am also a subscriber to the less is more mentality. I spent all last week playing my 5 year old son's mini Fender acoustic at a motel in Pigeon Forge, TN, and thoroughly enjoyed myself while doing so. I had an audience gathered around me at the pool one evening and I played for a couple hours. Pretty fun, and that little Fender did fine.

Being in a situation where we are stripped to the bare essentials can certainly be a learning experience as to how much we really need, especially with the right attitude.

[raysachs]

I've had similar experiences. I have three electric guitars, a pretty nice amp, and only one acoustic at the moment (carbon fiber but thinking about picking up a cheap wooden instrument just to have a full scale length guitar also). And I enjoy having them and playing them. But every winter we head south for three months where we rent a very very small beachfront condo in North Carolina very near our youngest daughter.

And between loading up 3 months worth of stuff in a small car and the place we rent being much smaller than our place at home, I just take one acoustic and one electric and a much smaller amp than the one I play at home. And I really enjoy the minimalist setup when we're down there. I never have to think about what I'm gonna pick up other than acoustic or electric, which is a choice I hope I'm NEVER without because I love both so much. But there's just one of each, so no options. And I focus totally on the music I'm playing and never give a thought to the instrument I'm playing. It's strangely liberating. I never miss the instruments I DON'T have with me - it never occurs to me.

I love my other gear. I'm happy to get home to my larger stable in the Spring and I enjoy playing the other stuff for a while. But I often think about so many of my favorite musicians who basically play one thing almost all the time, at least on stage. I know they HAD other stuff and played it in the studio, but when you saw Clapton, he was playing his strat, Garcia was playing whatever he was using in that era of the Dead, Springsteen always had his tele (or Broadcaster), BB always had Lucille, Cray had his hardtail strat, etc, etc, etc. Never saw Doc Watson or Tony Rice playing anything but a dread either. They just got their gear dialed in for their playing and then they didn't have to think about the instrument. Some folks have a variety of gear onstage with them, but most really top level players don't seem to.

So why does a player with my limits have different types of guitars? Just because they're kind of fun on their own terms i guess. I'm sure I'd be at least as good a player, maybe better, with just one electric and one acoustic. I spent most of my guitar playing/owning life with a D-28 and a Strat and during those days I never wanted anything else. Not sure why I have more now, but I guess life is fully of irony and paradox...

-Ray

[troystory92]

Gotta love a mini, aint nothin like it!

I fell in love with a Hog mini at the Taylor factory.


After that, saved some money and searched high and low for a Hog mini with electronics. None could be found, to my dismay. So I sprung for a used Koa gs mini-e and I love it. Though I'll never forget the Hog...

[Cool555]

Interesting story of your travel to Greece with your trusty GS Mini! Thanks for sharing!

[redpoint]

Nice story, thanks! I wonder sometimes if I'd be better if I just had one acoustic and one electric, but I haven't gotten the confidence to try it out just yet

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by beatcomber

...My wife is Japanese, and I've been to Japan eight times, I think.

Originally Posted by jklotz

Nice story. My wife is Korean, and we'll be making that journey sooner or later. I don't have a guitar to bring...

Um, how about next time you're there both you guys buy one (or two, or three, or... ) of those Asian-market-only major-brand (Fender, Epiphone, Takamine, Ibanez, Gretsch, Peerless, etc.) pieces, that the rest of us drool over but never seem to find their way to the US...