Hangin it up

Billy Henderson · From: Portland, AR, USA

i was going to quit but decided not to. Thankx to those that responded

David Pike · From: carter oklahoma

PM sent

Dan Beller-McKenna · From: Durham, New Hampshire, USA

Sorry to the hear this, Billy. I suppose its something many of us will have to face at some point.

Best wishes going forward.

Billy Henderson · From: Portland, AR, USA

Not hanging it up yet just can't pull the trigger. Keep it open a while

Charlie Moore · From: Deville, Louisiana, USA

donâ€™t sell nothing cause you love it to much to stay out Iâ€™m back,wasted all that practice time,bought another guitar,call me will talk bout it....CM
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Use it up,wear it out,make it do,or do without.....

Jim Reynolds · From: Franklin, Pa 16323

Well, at 77, I think I'm done. Just bought a new Mullen Discovery too. Age is coming on strong, along with a divorce. You figure. Has nothing to do with the steel, just thought I would throw it in. hahaha. Comes a time you just have to say it's over. Never was any good on the steel, I just loved it, and wanted to learn to play. I guess I was to old when I started. Any way just my thoughts.
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Zum U-12, Carter SDU-12, Zum Encore, Emmons S-10, Emmons D-10, Nashville 400, Two Peavey Nashville 112, Boss Katana 100, Ibanez DD700, Almost every Lesson Jeff Newman sold. Washburn Special Edition Guitar, Can never have enough, even at 80. 1963 Original Hofner Bass bought in Germany 1963, and a 1973 Framus Bass also bought in Germany 1974.

Harry Dove · From: Michigan, USA

If you love the steel guitar, nothing else will do. My dad loved steel guitar but he could never play it. He was a heavy equipment operator and his hands were twice as thick as a normal person, from pulling those levers all day. It was like trying to play with clubs. So he did everything he could to get me interested. He would do about anything to get to hear me play.
We had him home on hospice as he didn't have long to live. My sister overheard him pray that he would like to hear me play one more time. So I packed up way too much gear for that little living room with a PA for rhythm tracks, and the family helped with the singing. For a good hour or two I played those old gospel songs he loved and he cried like a baby. He died three days later. I hope I helped him to die happy.

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

Well I guess this was over before I got here, but there are others reading who might care. I had twice in my life found jobs and/or "careers" that were very thought-and-physically demanding, but mentally REWARDING - so I thought... and it turns out, it's TYPICAL and happens more often than not, that it all turned warpy and evil on me. The first time I was screwed, I had sold almost everything. The second time, I only had to buy another $1,000 or so of music goo to get back up to speed. And when I started working on my own guitars, and especially when I started teaching guitar, there were are SORTS of rewards in music that I missed the first time through.

Thankfully Mr. Henderson appears to have been rescued, but whenever somebody else recites the ritualistic "There's no bands I can't make money modern music sucks kids today yar yar yar" stuff, my initial reaction is harsh: "Good riddance, more music for the rest of us Bwa Ha Ha" kinda thing. But my own experience is, I can't even PRETEND to be sane if I'm not doing something musical, and some form of git is the best security blankee ever made. And other musicians are rarely able to IMPROVE mentally by quitting, playing music for some of us is not much different than a heroin addiction except it costs more.

Keep ONE good instrument, two if you double, and an amp. There are SO MANY THINGS playing music does, you only find out some of them when you quit. And if 12 people read this and half still quit, at least 4 of them will say "Oh darn, shoulda listened." And the 6 who keep playing may ruin their life, get divorced etc., but at least they won't be able to afford heroin. Very Happy

Tom Campbell · From: Houston, Texas, USA

One needs to keep playing FOR health reasons. The complexity of playing a steel guitar (or any musical instrument) can go a long way in warding-off dementia/Alzheimer's. Health experts keep suggesting the need to do cross-word puzzles etc. to challenge the brain...I can't think of a greater challenge than play steel guitar.
Down size...but at least keep a couple lap steels that you can play from your "easy-chair" or wheel-chair.

Bob Jennings · From: Indiana, USA

I've thought several times about giving up doing music. I'll be 81 this month. I started trying to play the violin when I was about 10 years. Hated every minute of it but it taught me the appreciation of music...all music. When I turned 14, I took lessons for guitar. The instructor taught me to play good rhythm. I learned on a Harmony with the strings about a half inch from the frets and the neck bowed. My teacher played a Gibson and told me when I bought a guitar to buy a Gibson and I'll have it all my life. He left teaching and I helped my parents work on a house (painting the outside and working on the roof and yard) for which they said they would buy me a guitar that fall when the work was done. Work finished, we went down to the local music store. I took a friend with us that I had met in school that played like Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. My mother said $100. was max for guitar and case. The salesman brought out two Gibsons, an L48 and an L50. My friend played them both and said to buy the L50. It was $110. I begged my mother to buy this one---ten bucks was TEN BUCKS back in 1952. She said OK. Anyhow, I played this L50 back then doing music on the radio and TV and at a few of the gin mills in the Minneapolis area for a few years(never got discovered) so I did a regular job and wound up here in southern Indiana where I retired. I still have the L50 and it shows it's been there but still sounds as good as it did 60 + years ago. I've tried to learn to play the pedal steel over the past 20 years and am still a wannabe. I have did music with a lot of musicians over the years and found I do best playing along with rhythm tracks. I still do music in my music room upstairs. I do the True Traditional Country music. I haven't found any musicians that just want to get together and do these songs. What I am getting at is: I'm not giving up on doing music, it is a good way to keep the mind going..I just got the Jeff Newman Up from the Top DVDs and am working on them. Don't quit doing music, even if you gotta do it alone...it's good therapy for the mind. Hope I didn't get too carried away..

Bob Jennings

Jim Reynolds · From: Franklin, Pa 16323

Bob, your story is very touching, and a lot like mine. However if I started mine it could fill many pages. I too, have an old Gibson SJ, I think 1947. My Dad bought it, on payments. I think he said he paid $145.00 for it, New. I was with him the day he made the last payment, and brought it home. I went to Vietnam, in 1967, he gave me the Gibson, to take with me. I had it there, for a year. My brother was on orders to go there, so I extended to try and keep him from going over. He went anyway. Two months before I came on, on my second tour, I gave the Gibson to my brother, so he'd have something to play there. He brought it home in 1969, when he came home. So it had a two year tour in Vietnam. Anyway, my father finally gave me the Gibson. I have it to this day, and it still plays and sounds as good as the day it was bought. It shows it's years of heat and humidity, from Vietnam, but I wouldn't take a million bucks for it. I don't play it anymore, but I sure treasure it. I just wish I could play this darn steel. I have about every lesson, there ever was, but just haven't found the answer. I just don't understand why. I could even tell stories of my first experience with the lap steel, and the old dobro years ago. Someday maybe I will. They are some good ones.
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Zum U-12, Carter SDU-12, Zum Encore, Emmons S-10, Emmons D-10, Nashville 400, Two Peavey Nashville 112, Boss Katana 100, Ibanez DD700, Almost every Lesson Jeff Newman sold. Washburn Special Edition Guitar, Can never have enough, even at 80. 1963 Original Hofner Bass bought in Germany 1963, and a 1973 Framus Bass also bought in Germany 1974.

Jim Reynolds · From: Franklin, Pa 16323

I might mention, that back then, Gibson didn't use numbers. The SJ stood for Southern Jumbo. I don't know what else they used. I was just told this, by a dealer. He looked at my Gibson, and said it would be worth about $5,000.00. If I wanted to get rid of it, I could have anything in his store for it.
_________________
Zum U-12, Carter SDU-12, Zum Encore, Emmons S-10, Emmons D-10, Nashville 400, Two Peavey Nashville 112, Boss Katana 100, Ibanez DD700, Almost every Lesson Jeff Newman sold. Washburn Special Edition Guitar, Can never have enough, even at 80. 1963 Original Hofner Bass bought in Germany 1963, and a 1973 Framus Bass also bought in Germany 1974.

Bob Jennings · From: Indiana, USA

Jim,

I had a nice long reply and then it disappeared; I'll try it again.

My L50 is a F hole with a carved top. I have a DeArmond PU on it and run it thru a Fender Deluxe 112. On the Pedal Steel Guitar; if you have the videos of Webb Pierce and Marty Robbins, play along with Sonny Burnett and Jimmy Farmer. An on the CD of Little Roy, play along with "I'll hole you in my heart" and "Bouquet of Roses" You'll find, like I did, that this is nice to do. Try it...and don't give up!!

Bob Jennings

Bob Jennings · From: Indiana, USA

I the e instead of the d; it's "I'll hold you in my heart"
and, playing the pedal steel or non-pedal steel is also good for the hands, fingers, knees and feet!!

Bob Jennings

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