Guitars Are Tools
Guitars are tools. They are tools designed to create music. Every good workman appreciates quality tools. They make the job easier and more enjoyable. But they are still tools, designed to do a job. A hammer drives nails. A guitar makes music. I think sometimes guitar players get so infatuated by guitars that they forget about their function. Now don’t get me wrong. I love guitars as much as the next guy, but the ultimate goal of owning a guitar should be to play it (make music.)
However, for some people, collecting guitars becomes the goal. I guess that's alright if you can afford it, but guitars were not originally designed to sit in cases for years increasing in monetary value or collecting dust. This is a corruption of their real function, which is to make music. That is where the value of an instrument should really be found. An inexpensive acoustic guitar played for friends is creating a priceless experience that a 1950’s Les Paul sitting in a bank vault can’t touch.
Sure, guitars can be viewed as works of art worth collecting. But that should be secondary to making music. So let the rich guys lock away their guitars for profit and use whatever guitar you can afford to make something far more valuable: music.
Photo by Todd Quackenbush
