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Shall I 'offer' my Gibson as the house Open Mike guitar ?


EuroAussie

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1491918842[/url]' post='1848524']

Um, yeah. You've just nailed one of my attitudes very accurately and concisely. I've seen idiots show up at such events guitarless, yet with every intention of getting on stage. What's wrong with this picture? Imo, just about everything. Even 'friends' who expect you to turn loose of your guitar seem to me to be pushing it. One of my associates dug a damn ditch in one of my guitars with his metal fingerpicks during the course of 3 songs at an open mic. I was LOTS younger then and haven't loaned a guitar since.

 

I totally feel the same . I don't visit or play at open mic nights I'd rather spend the time practicing . Showcases are another kettle of fish they can lead to good frequent work and bookings . If your a guitarist that can play you'll have your own guitar

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Yep, filing for the guy who normally takes it. Which means i need to kick if off with a few tracks and no way in the world Im using the sorry excus for a guitar they go there.

 

 

Mark, if you're hosting and kick things off, why wouldn't you use whatever of your guitars that you choose? The host's guitar doesn't become the "house" guitar; in fact, whenever I've seen a house guitar at an open mic, I'm pretty sure I never saw the host play it.

 

And it does happen that a regular can show up at an open mic, empty-handed. I've done it, but only at my regular stops and usually because I wanted only to drop in and not play. Never stopped other regulars from offering the use of their guitars, but as others have noted, the genius that shows up empty-handed and expecting to perform...and with someone else's guitar? Nah, that's exactly the guy you don't want touching your guitar in the first place.

 

 

 

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I can actually see that someone who's traveling might end up there without an instrument, or maybe went with some friends not planning to play and got coerced into it. But I still wouldn't make one of my instruments the house guitar. In years of gigging I've had many people ask if they could play a couple of tunes; you never know if they're the second coming of Tommy Emmanuel or just some drunk who wants to slash and mash. I learned to just say no.

 

Early on I fell for it once; the kid was pretty good but I couldn't get him off the stage. I finally went up, took the guitar, and said, "Get your own gig, kid!" We later became good friends and laughed about how we "met".

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The "Guitarless Genius" concept really hit a nerve when I read it. 😠 Those people are the ones that assume any damage from them to your guitar is doing you a favor. Arrogant, twisted, egocentric, idiots with delusions of grandeur.

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Go to a GC or any big guitar dealer on a Saturday afternoon. See all those boy teenyboppers trying to impress their cute, little teenybopper girlfriends? Now, imagine them doing that on your Hummingbird or J45TV. No thanks....lol........I understand and dig the idea of trying to run a great open mic. One that offers everyone the chance to play and to share all the art and culture and all that other "arts" crap, but I'm not supplying the guitar. The typical open mic is not where culture and arts flourish and where wonderful instruments are shared by all.....Be nice if it was, but that only exist on Fantasy Island.

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I've always considered that playing a guitar that's unfamiliar is a sort of handicap, especially if you're trying to showcase what you can do. Hence, even more distrust of those who don't intend to play their own....

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Go to a GC or any big guitar dealer on a Saturday afternoon. See all those boy teenyboppers trying to impress their cute, little teenybopper girlfriends? Now, imagine them doing that on your Hummingbird or J45TV. No thanks....lol........I understand and dig the idea of trying to run a great open mic. One that offers everyone the chance to play and to share all the art and culture and all that other "arts" crap, but I'm not supplying the guitar. The typical open mic is not where culture and arts flourish and where wonderful instruments are shared by all.....Be nice if it was, but that only exist on Fantasy Island.

You sound almost as cynical as I feel😱 Arts and culture, I believe, are important and worthwhile - and should be immediately separated from BS whenever possible. 👍

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Message to the op....

 

'Pics or it didn't happen'.....dry.gif

 

V

 

:-({|=

 

 

Ok, there you go. So in the end it was a really lovelly evening. There were around 8 performers, 4 of them chose to use my Cort, here's couple vids.

 

No issues whatsoever the quality of the talent was on the higher level and it was essentiallly a full house and much fun was held by all.

 

Here's some of footage of an old rocker from Denver who's in Prague and been gigging for 40 odd years and a young Czech couple doing some cool funky moves of orginal material with my cajonist on backup.

 

A clean scored card in the end .... and the sound was good !

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCCHzOJe12U

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__7mpUVoNsY

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Neither - use the House Guitar. Why?...

- anyone who's been there before and is happy with it will use it

- anyone who's been there before and doesn't like it will bring their own

- anyone who happens to be there for the first time will either use it and be happy, use it and realise whey should bring their own next time, or borrow someone's.

 

more importantly (to me) - if you start providing better stuff it starts a precedent that other hosts may not want to follow and do you want to be the guy who started that problem? - or else expect to be the host for the long term and to be supplier of good guitars - including to those who would have brought their own otherwise.

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Late to the party, I know, but I need to vent.... [mellow] and for your future reference.

 

 

As a member of a house band for a blues jam for quite a while years ago, I say: "Give them nothing!"

 

 

While 99.9% of people are really nice, some just have no respect and ruin it for everyone.

 

First 2 weeks of blues jam, I used my prized Mesa Boogie 22 and the jammers used it respectfully, everyone happy to use my settings ...stunning tube amp by the way... 3rd week, this total drip got in my Ferrari and floored it and hit the fence, well not a car but the same with my little amp and wouldn't do anything I told him. And then complained. Some people are touched! From then on I used my amp for me, and borrowed the drummer's tragic Yamaha transistor amp for the jammers!

 

And speaking of no respect, a guy came over to try a guitar of mine to see if he would buy one the same and happily dragged out this huge metal trianglular pick and started hoofing in to my guitar. I said, excuse me? What's the problem, he said?

 

And another, not the last and not the least, a guy borrowed my black Strat and was about to bend it in half and then after an endless 6 songs that took 4 weeks [unsure] , gave my guitar back and complained the strings were like playing railroad tracks!

 

 

And after swearing nobody was ever going to use my guitar live again, a beautiful :rolleyes: female blues guitarist also borrowed the black Strat as hers were 'in the van' and complained about it over the mic - the neck was loose, she said..... [mellow]

 

 

 

Nope, give them nothing.

 

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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