Practical MIDI

OK, so this isn't directly linked to the midi topic, but I thought I'd share it anyway in case any of you are in the same boat I'm in. For the first 32 years of my musical existence I've bought and sold a few guitars. Some I wish I'd kept and some I can't even remember what they were. The point is that back then if you wanted a guitar you either went to the music store or found one in the classifieds.

Things have changed. Since I first found and signed up with eBay, my guitar buying and selling habit has escalated out of control and has changed my outlook. Years ago when I'd buy a guitar I'd keep it for a long time. For the first 6 years of my band life, I only had about 2 or 3 different guitars. They were hard to come by and harder to sell so I hung onto them. These days I can sell 2 or 3 guitars a week on eBay and not bat an eye. In fact, since I found eBay in 1998, I've bought and sold (no exaggeration) approximately 200-300 guitars. I guess it was the appeal of such a mass audience that attracted me to online selling.

I guess you could call me an addict. You could also call me goofy, but I wouldn't recommend it to my face. Addict, because I keep buying and selling them and goofy because of my attitude toward owning a guitar for me to use while playing my live gigs. Here's how I figure it (and it goes back and forth constantly) When I have a cheap guitar ($100-$200) I figure it this way..."the people in the audience don't know a good guitar from a cheap one and they sound similar so why not have a minimal investment? After I've played the cheapie for a couple of weeks I look at it this way..."I'm a professional musician and I'm worth it." Then I sell the cheapie and invest in a $1000 classic Gibson or Fender.

After I've played that for a couple of weeks I look at it this way..."Can I justify this price for one guitar? I have to play 8 or 10 jobs just to pay for it and who can tell the difference anyway?" Then I sell the classic and go back to a cheapie and the vicious cycle starts all over again. I've gone though this cycle at least a dozen times in the past couple of years. Right now, hanging on my wall are 3 guitars with 2 more on their way via UPS. Four of these guitars are cheapies and one is a classic Fender. Guess which one I'll keep this week?

©2003 Bill Bernico for CYBERMIDI.com Downwind Publications