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Letting others play your guitars


davidl

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Depends on the guitar. NO ONE touches my guitars if I am not there. I keep most in their cases. The ones out on stands are ok. Certain guitars (Ken Lawrence replica and Ibanez PGM100RE) must have supervised play and time is limited. My friends know this and generally do not ask to play those 2. In a pinch, band members are allowed to use my stuff live or practice...except those 2.

 

My bass player tried my PGM and i heard the knock of the body hitting his keys and by some miracle, it did not leave a scratch but my sing looked at when it happen and apparently had that "I'm going to murder you" look. So now everytime someone asks to play, I tell them to removed all metal objects from pockets, no zippers...etc.

 

Sold all the cheap guitars...all that's left is USA Fenders, Gibson, ESPs, high end LTDs and Japanese Ibanezesesesez (and one Jap Fender)so I'm a bit more paranoid.

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I just remembered, there is one guy I know on the local scene I would never hand a guitar to simply based on how much abuse his own instruments take.

 

I remember watching him one night lay his strat across a table at a bar and he decided to use a beer glass as a slide... he forgot to empty it first and got beer all over it. Between that and the stories I hear from local luthiers and guitar tech's who've repaired his gear for him over the years, I would never trust him to handle my gear. Great guy, but if anyone ever loaned him something they'd better pray he didn't promise to care for it "as if it was his own". lol

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I just remembered, there is one guy I know on the local scene I would never hand a guitar to simply based on how much abuse his own instruments take.

 

I remember watching him one night lay his strat across a table at a bar and he decided to use a beer glass as a slide... he forgot to empty it first and got beer all over it. Between that and the stories I hear from local luthiers and guitar tech's who've repaired his gear for him over the years, I would never trust him to handle my gear. Great guy, but if anyone ever loaned him something they'd better pray he didn't promise to care for it "as if it was his own". lol

 

lol [laugh]

 

Great story! [thumbup]

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In my own case, it's more pragmatic. I can't afford (these days) to replace my more

expensive guitars, if they should be abused, broken, or stolen. So, it's just easier,

not to lend them, to anyone, other that those I totally trust, and have "history" with,

that's lead me to that feeling.

 

CB

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Funny how we think about our instruments. If someone asked to borrow my truck (not far off $50,000), I would just throw them the keys and say "keep it between the ditches"

Strange logic, don't you think?

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I'll let people play the cheap guitars, like the G-310 and the Squier. I gave my daughter free reign over the G-310 until she got her own guitar. Nobody touches the S-500 unless they know how to play and are familiar with a Floyd Rose. No one gets to play my basses. But then again, most bass players I know dont know what to do with a 5 or 6-string bass, so I dont usually have to worry about it.

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Sure.

 

I pass mine around like like a bottle of moonshine at a frat party.

 

I bring my Historics to Open Mic.

 

 

Wow... some of you guys are strict. Last Summer I have about 15 guitars players here and about 40 guitars and about 15 amps of every price range and make imaginable. We spent 3 days jamming and passing guitars around. I sent one guy home with my hand made EllieCaster to jam on for a year or so and one guy who couldn't be here mailed his Parker Fly to the event so others could play it. It's still here.

 

The only rule was you couldn't use mosquito repellant if you want to play a guitar and a good time was had by all.

Just a sampling of good answers I agree with.

 

I am a gear whore and take great pride in my stuff, but I think they are useless unless played. The more that can play them, the better.

 

I used to take my amps to open jams all the time, sometimes even a spare. If someone WANTS to plug into mine instead of their own, I consider that a compliment! And if the speaker blows, well, it blew doing the same thing I would have done. Tone is meant to be SHARED!

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Friends who are guitar players? Yes. Unless they have the bad sweat. I have one friend who played all of my guitars one day (before I knew he had caustic fingers) and I had to change all the strings the next day. He's forbidden now! [biggrin]

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The thing is, in my experience, the people who really know how to play well, will

(more often than not) "ask" if it's ok, to play your guitar, or you'll naturally

offer it, to them. Those folks generally speaking, Know how to treat someone else's

guitar, in the first place.

 

CB

Oh yeah, my answer assumed it was offered or they asked. Don't even put my guitar on with out asking [cursing]

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Last year i borrowed my guitar teachers 1989 Fender strat that had a floyd rose on it, it was black with a maple neck, very nice guitar, but i never let other people but my guitar teacher to touch my guitars, he tunes them for me and he installed a pickup into one of them, i liked that pickup, very shrill sounding for a neck pup, in the 4th it sounds like SRV on crack. i even played pride and joy on it

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I'll let pretty much anyone play my guitars, but I tell them not to scratch the pickguard.

=D> A good first step, but there is a better way. After washing their hands, I give the players a pair of white cotton gloves to wear. If they can play a clean 32 bars ( [laugh] )with no errors, I let them take off the gloves, since their touch is delicate enough to preserve the instrument.

 

[-X All bets are off, however, for those tho salivate excessively or who must squint and lick their lips before speaking. [-( [You may use the technique, if it will help, Moishe!]

 

J/W

:P

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When I played on a regular basis I generally didn't let anyone play my guitar because they were mostly a bunch of drunken idiots. One time this guy just wouldn't leave me alone, even while I was playing a set. I'm usually pretty patient but he pushed me too far. I looked at the bouncer and he tossed the guy out of the bar.

 

But when I'm home and someone is over, it's a different story. They can play any guitar I have...

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I only let other guitarists touch my guitars, not even a bassist, and definitely not drummers [flapper]

but honestly, Im not going to let someone who doesnt play guitar mess around on one of my guitars, unless of course theyre willing to learn

something. I may just seem like a jerk, but I dont see the point in letting someone strum open strings on a valued investment of mine. [unsure]

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The other side of this is I don't like/enjoy playing other peoples guitars - always feels uncomfortable.

The only other person that plays my guitars is my son and I don't like that much but only because he is way better than I will ever be!

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The other side of this is I don't like/enjoy playing other peoples guitars - always feels uncomfortable.

The only other person that plays my guitars is my son and I don't like that much but only because he is way better than I will ever be!

 

 

Yeah, I'm that way too. I rarely, if ever, borrow anyone's guitar, either. And, if I do, it's

with them in the room, after they've offered it, and just for a very short time. But, even that

is very rare.

 

Also, I never turn up, at any "Jam" or "Open Mic" night, without my own guitar(s). Never! I'm

always surprised, at the number of "entitlement" people, that do, though. Some, have even openly

admitted, the don't "want" to bring their own guitars, because they don't want anyone touching them,

or asking them to play their guitars.

 

CB

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Guest farnsbarns

A member here recently offered to lend me an R9 to take home for a while. We have never actually met. I was staggered, very grateful, honored and far too frightened of damaging it to accept. I have to be honest, I wouldn't have done that.

 

You know who you are! Thanks again for the amazing offer.

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