IT'S NOT JUST A GUITAR

June 10, 2024

Don't Let Go Of A Classic

When I hear someone say, "If you love something set it free and if it returns to you it was meant to be." I recently heard someone say that and my body cringed while at the same time my brain thought, "Who is this idiot?" I didn't even need to see what he looked like...it didn't matter. The fact that his voice was so nonchalant, word after word he announced was crippling with an easy going flow. "This guy has never felt any remorse or regret," he was infuriating and I think he was just repeating words he heard people say, not knowing what that phrase really means. I wanted to say, "That's a load of crap!" Especially when it comes to guitars. Okay...it's open for interpretation, it's all about how you look at things that make the words have meanings. Granted, I viewed that phrase opposite of how he envisioned it. Although it's been decades, I still I haven't got over the consequences of my own actions. I was responsible for letting my wreckless actions because I wasn't considering the consequences that I...myself let both of them slip right out of my hands. I felt like I committed such a sin, I needed to apologize and ask for forgiveness, but to whom...myself?

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I felt a deep and painful regret of wrongdoing to myself. I thought I needed to be sorry for something I did. Although, there was no reason to repent, I still felt a gnawing pain of guilt, and remorse that is still alive today. Not knowing there'd be such agony that would keep rising from my past decision, the bitterness of that past mistake went beyond regret. I owned a classic Gibson Jimi Hendrix Flying V. with his signature signed in gold. When it came to playing that Gibson Jimi Hendrix Flying V. it could do anything! There wasn't a sound it couldn't find. There was a tone that delivered a sound with no limits. This guitar was used by one of the worlds greatest guitarist. A tribute to the famous left handed legends. I sold it out of desperation...and it never came back. I still want to shout out, "That's a load of crap," when I hear that phrase, "If you love something set it free and if it returns to you it was meant to be."

Well guess what? It happened once again. I owned another classic, a Steve Vai guitar, the one with the handle on it, a monkey grip handle, featuring a green body with red indents. I thought the color was all wrong, but I didn't care. I almost didn't care how it sounded. I just thought it was so cool. It spoke to me, like it was calling me. It was definitely an attention grabber to say the least. The scallops on the neck would allow you to play at a higher rate of speed, pure guitar gymnastics. It was so cool. Well, coolness had to go. I wasn't thinking that I'd regret letting it go. "If you love something set it free and if it returns to you it was meant to be." That Steve Vai guitar, just like The Flying V. never came back to me.

Both those guitars, as different as they were aesthetically, the sound was were it was at. Either one of these guitars could melt the paint off walls, or make an angel cry. Once I had my hands wrapped around either one of these guitars, there was an immediate connection and there was no shortness of inspiration. As versatile as both of these guitars were, they both gave me an endless variety of sounds when playing. I now know not to ever part with anything when it comes to a classic. A classic is something you hold onto. You don't, "Set it free," and see what happens. When I hear someone say, "If you love something set it free and if it returns to you it was meant to be." I know I just had a conversation with a moron.

Let my past be an to example for others to find inspiration from. When you look back at an emotional decision you now regret, learn from it. Don't let that decision have a damaging effect on you.There's no time machine when it comes to making a decision. I now know of the fox proverb: A fox ran so fast to catch something he fell into a deep hole and couldn't climb himself out of it. I can't go back in time to change my decisions. I can keep kicking myself down, barely hanging on when I think of not only the value those guitars have today, but also the connection I lost while playing both of those guitars. Self blame isn't going to make things easier. Learning to live in the moment is a great way to celebrate life, but look before you leap, that's a lesson about wisdom, and that can apply to any situation.