the new kid in town

I decided - somewhat reluctantly -  to sell my best guitar.  It seems to have put on weight. In its place, this slimmer, lighter, younger, model.  It even has, according to the manufacturer, ‘a carved armrest on the body for player comfort.’   Now, there’s a thing.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve found gigging more and more difficult.  My best guitar has proved to be hard to play while standing up - the fat body (the guitar, not mine) - causing discomfort when pressing against what’s left of my left lung. 

Why don’t you play sitting down?”  We do sometimes - depends on the venue - but singing, while bent over a fat guitar, is not ideal for someone a bit short in the lung department.

Many years ago I played a gig while wearing a stoma bag. (I don’t mean a giant stoma fancy dress costume - more of a medical sporran, but without the kilt).  Halfway through the first set the combination of an expanding and contracting diaphragm - together with a guitar body bouncing against the bag - set up a chain reaction  …….. it didn’t end well.  (In case you’re wondering, I had a spare bag.  First rule of living with a stoma).

We now have the prospect of playing at a festival in the Summer.  Standing up.  And although the stoma bag has now gone, I still have the scars and a dodgy lung.  So -  it’s out with the old and in with the new. 

Spruce and rosewood have been replaced by spruce and walnut.  And a pared-down, utilitarian design.  Which I rather like.  Looks aren’t everything. But a carved armrest is.