Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I'm in Love...

I have the bug. I think I may have caught it from Jeff. But last Saturday when we went to Guitar Works so that Jeff could get a nut for one of the tuning pegs on his mandolin, I wandered into the room of acoustic guitars, and there it was:



A Blueridge Adirondack guitar. And what a honey.

Now, I would be lying if I told you that the magpie in me was not first attracted to the inlay on the headstock:



But I know by now that sparkles and sheen and mother of pearl and that spiffy dalmation tortoise pickguard do not matter if a guitar doesn't sound or play well.

So I picked it up and played a little, and I was swept off my feet. The tones were so round and mellow; the action was smooth and the neck was so playable... and, although it claims to be a dreadnought, the body is much smaller than my current acoustic: a Washburn D10S. That's one of the problems with the Washburn--I like it a lot, but it's so big that I can't really sit down and play it. And it's really loud--it tends to drown out Jeff's mandolin, even when I try to play softly. Apparently, the Blueridge is made in an old-fashioned, pre-war style. I was smitten.

And then I looked at the price tag. Not so bad, compared with what you would pay for a Martin or a Taylor, but still more than I've ever paid for any instrument for myself. I figured there was no way to justify buying it--after all, I have a perfectly fine (but big) guitar. Still, as I sighed to Jeff as we drove off to continue our Saturday errands (with a tip o' the hat to Hepburn and Grant), "My, she was yar."

So now, I'm thinking that despite all the economic uncertainty, despite the fact that it is a rather frivolous purchase when weighed against the downward spiral of our retirement accounts, despite the indisputable fact that I'm not a particularly accomplished musician, I want to buy this guitar. It is calling to me as no instrument has since I walked into House of Guitars in Rochester, NY, in 1979 and saw my short-scale Rick hanging there waiting for me...

Tomorrow I'm going to call Guitar Works and see if I can trade the Washburn in to get a bit of a break on the Blueridge. And then, I'm going to have to take my playing a little more seriously, with an instrument like this one!

So... this will stimulate the economy, right? It is my patriotic duty to buy this guitar, n'est-ce pas?

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6 Comments:

Blogger G. W. Ferguson said...

It IS your Patriotic Duty to go forth and purchase the aforementioned guitar. It will be yours; oh, yes, it WILL be yours.

And I'm sure that little "Blueridge" logo will in no way influence your decision.

I don't know if you read Mr. Dillon's obituary (and I'll be writing about that Real Soon Now), but I found this of interest: "In 1941 he won the banjo competition in Galax, playing his original composition, 'Coal Creek March,' later recorded by Pete Seeger, Dock Boggs, and David ("Stringbean") Ackerman." Now, I'm not sure that's entirely correct in that my sources tell me "Coal Creek March" is something of a standard, still, winning at the Galax Convention is no small feat.

When I was about five and the Dillons lived across the street from us I used to wander over in the early summer evenings and listen to Mr. Dillon play banjo and guitar for his friends and neighbors. It's where I first heard "The Midnight Special" and where I first heard live music.

12:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Perhaps you can put it on layaway. You can use the$13 extra dollars we are supposed to get in our paychecks.

1:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Take away my editor's card. I cannot believe I typed "the$13 extra dollars!"

*sighs*

Can I go home now?

1:05 PM  
Blogger Cathy VanPatten said...

No, Kathi. I'm sure you know by now that you can go home anytime you like, but you can never leave...

Oh no... shoot me now!

GW--what a cool story. I never knew he was a banjo picker! I'll have to look for Rob's dad's obit--I've been so busy today I haven't gotten a chance to look a much of anything online until this moment. Are you going to the graveside service? If so, please remember me to all the usual suspects. I wish I could be there.

4:51 PM  
Blogger Cathy VanPatten said...

Well, I bought it. Traded in the Washburn... I've done my part to stimulate the economy--for the next YEAR at least!. It was dear, but it is lovely. A really classy instrument.

And yeah... I love the name!

11:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, Cathy! Sometimes, even in times like these, you need to splurge on yourself. And I cannot think of a better way. Enjoy your new instrument!

7:27 PM  

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