For full time working professional players

Pat Comeau · From: New Brunswick, Canada

Just wondering what other full time professional players view their PSG or any other instruments as a matter fact, do you see it as your baby toy or as a working tools?, i've seen and read of alot of musicans bragging about their instruments just like someone would brag about their cars ect..., being a full time working musician myself i always though of my instruments as a working tool not as a toy just like a carpenter with his hammer, when i finish a show it goes strait in the case until the next gig, i clean the instruments at the same time when the strings needs to be change and thats it, i don't beleive in having a bunch of expensive instruments collecting dust or spending it's life in a case.
Winking

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Barry Blackwood · Posted 15 Oct 2008 7:28 am

Yep, working tool. Cool

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

Me too. I do have an affinity for a D10 Professional I acquired recently, which I know will be a keeper, but generally I do not get attached to steels. They are tools, and I think it's important try out different brands, as I have been doing for 7-8 years while playing steel live.
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Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

My guitar is a working tool for a working fool!I try to keep my guitars running in top shape Laughing

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Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.

Brint Hannay · From: Maryland, USA

With the loaded way you phrased it, Pat, I doubt many will chime in on the side of "baby toy". Muttering

Is "working tool" intended as a sort of dismissive term, as in "it's JUST a working tool"? I don't see any reason why working with an instrument excludes taking enjoyment, or even pride, in it. A good instrument, to me, is both a tool and a "toy", in the sense that some of the most enjoyment I get in my "free" time comes from playing one.

You say "when I finish a show it goes straight in the case until the next gig". Do you mean you don't play except on the gig, for pleasure or for practice? Confused

Michael Douchette · From: Gallatin, TN (deceased)

I have to answer a bit more broadly; they are working tools, but tools attached to my heart through which I can help the singer express his/her emotion more completely with. Therefore, they have an emotional connection with me.
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Charles Davidson · From: Phenix City Alabama, USA

Since picking is the only job I have,guess I fit in here.I love nice ,high dollar instruments,BUT I have allways considered them TOOLS,I was a guitar player about thirty years BEFORE I switched and started playing steel,I loved to trade and play different guitars,Can't remember how many,Tele's,strat's Byrdlands,Super 400's,175's,335's,Moserites,Paul's,Country gentleman'setc,and everything in between,I played swank supper clubs,redneck bars,and chicken wire dives,played these guitars in EVERY one of these places,NEVER had one stolen,or damaged.One of my best friends[for 50 years]was just the opposite,He to had a lot of high dollar guitars,He bought a brand new Byrdland one time,left it under the bed and would play a cheap piece of crap on the job,for fear it may get scratched.Never understood that.If you make a living playing ANY instrument,IT IS A TOOL.For someone that collects vintage instruments for investments,lock them up and let them gather dust[I can understand that]But they were made to PLAY not just to LOOK at.If a five thousand dollar guitar gets a scratch or ding in it SO WHAT,gives it character,If SRV had played a brand new spotless Strat,would it have improved his playing ? DON'T THINK SO.DYKBC.
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Bill Hatcher · From: Atlanta Ga. USA

It is a tool...but one that fits you at that particular moment in your career and for a purpose. Things change, your gig changes, what you need on the gig is always changing. You use what works best on the gig. Sometimes it is a more expensive tool, sometimes a less expensive. Sometimes the old tools in the closet come back out and others go in. Its' always changing.

Don Brown, Sr. · From: New Jersey

Wow Pat, that's COLD..... Very Happy

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

They're tools to me, although most have a unique personality or vibe that can make them particularly special. I've really liked most of the steels I've owned, and disliked a couple, but over the years I've refined my taste and knowledge about what I need in that particular tool. I know I'd hate to be without the killer Zum I have now!

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

I like Mark's post. I would have liked to say it that way. Smile

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chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

tools....but i don't set up a torque wrench in the living room to stare at it occassionally!

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

For me, the answer is "both."

For one-nighters around TX where I'm in close contact with the guitar at all times, I play my two Emmons Wraparounds, a '64 and a '65. These are my "babies," so to speak.

However, if I'm in a tour situation, or an environment where I'm staying in hotels and my guitars travel in a bus, a trailer, or... God forbid... in the hands of roadies or stage crews, I carry either my Sho-Bud/Surratt Professional, or my Fessenden. These are great guitars and valuable, but are replaceable, whereas the Emmonses are not.

Therein lies the difference. Which instrument's loss or destruction would be the least heartbreaking is the determining factor in it's being the tool of choice.
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My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Geoff Barnes · From: Sydney, Australia

Tools to me....I don't worship them... Having said that; I buy quality, and have a great luthier.

The instruments are maintained and beautiful to work with..... but I don't mind if they get a few cosmetic dings along the way.... makes 'em a bit like their owner Laughing

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Larry Bressington · From: Nebraska

SHO-BUD PRO11 for donkey, No offspring!
MSA CLASSIC for chop building! No offspring!
Everything else for firewood! Laughing

Hal Higgins · From: Denham Springs, LA

This is a very unique post....I think of my Rains not only as a "tool" and it is that, but it's also of such fine quality that it needs to be treated well. I don't worship it, but I do want it to be taken care of just like a mechanic would take care of his expensive tools. However, I do believe that we should strive to make sure that we don't intenionally do something and mis use and mishandle such expensive pieces of equipment. I consider my steel and my amplification system, investments, and as such be aware that I just can't go out and get another 4250.00 piece of equipment everytime I want one, so taking care of the investment wisely, is a top priority with me. HAL
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John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

I worked for over 15 yrs, playing 5 nights a week with an occassional tour thrown in. My steel of choice was an S-11 RusLer, which, I held much endearment for because of its beauty and most of all, its reliability. It NEVER broke down, not once. I went through 2 cases until I finally got a decent road case. I now have a 2005 Zum, which, I would use the same way, if I was playing as much. I consider them both musical tools, but, instruments of great quality, that, I can depend on with the utmost trust.

Roger Francis · From: kokomo,Indiana, USA

I've allways looked at mine as a beutifull sounding instrument expressing my emotions first and as a tool second. I take care of it in the same way.

Don Brown, Sr. · From: New Jersey

After reading over some of the posts, it would have been better to ask, how these same people who feel they are Only Tools, feel about themselves when they're up on stage!

I personally wouldn't want anyone working in a group if they truly felt that way.

Maybe it's a macho thing with some?

The fact is, when I hear the word Tool, it reminds me of Work.. Playing music, was first and foremost (to me) a Deep & Dedicated Love, and I (quite frankly) can't see how anyone can play without first loving what they're doing.

When it got to feel as if it was (actual) work to me, I did as I should have, and retired for the health reasons that caused it to start feeling like work.

Question: Did it feel like simply a tool, when you were spending all of that time learning to play?

I think NOT.... Cool

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

Don, you may be getting caught up in semantics here...
I've known some mechanics and many carpenters who truly love their work, taking great pride in quality and esthetics, and who love and are attached to their tools, but can get more tools if they're worn or (as unfortunately happens) stolen.
I love playing live more than just about anything I do, with recording coming in a close second.
I greatly admire and respect the build quality and innovation I've seen in every modern steel. I enjoy playing just about any brand, and after experiencing so many, I feel the Zum I'm playing now fits me better than anything I've ever owned, but that does leave room for the possibility that another, slightly better "fit", might happen along.

As far as learning, my first steel was a 2nd hand Maverick. I was actually thrilled to have it, I knew what a beginner model it was, but just having one to learn on that I could afford was a blessing. As I progressed, and understood the tonal advantages, and mechanical things like additional knee levers, that a "better" guitar could bring to my playing, I began to see the Mav as more of a tool that would be replaced by a superior model when I could afford it.
I guess that's not the response you're looking for!

I can love, honor, respect, and appreciate such a fine tool, while still realizing that I could find another equally inspiring if I had to.
I hoped I had answered Pat's post.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

This is an interesting question, because it also brings into play the concept of what is "work" and what are our attitudes towards work.

I hope that we all can agree that when money is not involved in a musical situation, for a professional musician (i.e., one who makes or has made a necessary portion of his income from the music trades), then a performing situation is done for the enjoyment primarily.

When a musician makes money from his playing, it can generally be considered "work." Now for the musician and non-musician alike, work can be viewed as 1) fun, enjoyable; 2) neither, but not necessarily unenjoyable; 3) unenjoyable, but required because of the money involved, so it's appreciated; 4) a combination of 1-3; 5) terrible, and resented because the musician is compromised due to needing the money (see self-loathing Wink

), and 6) so bad that the job is refused in spite of the money.

Many non-professionals who have jobs that allow them to do whatever they want in their non-work lives can't understand why an activity they get so much enjoyment from can be viewed as unpleasant and resented by those who voice those contrary opinions.

The facts of the issue to me is this: when someone enters a profession he generally enjoys, but is not in a financial situation where he can pick and choose what jobs he accepts, there will arise situations in which he goes to work when he'd rather be doing something else. So the enjoyment of the job is either diminished or obliterated.

I've accepted and been paid well for jobs I would have done for no pay. Likewise, I've gone to gigs with musicians with whom I couldn't have possibly disagreed more musically but accepted because I needed the bucks. And I've also turned down jobs, even though I needed the money, because the situation was so potentially unpleasant for me I didn't want to risk it.

Attorneys may love to practice law, but not necessarily in all situations or cases; doctors might love practicing medicine but hate the realities of owning a clinic; plumbers might enjoy dealing with some of their clients and dislike others of their clients personally.

Long-winded explantions aside, when you have a hobby it's nothing but enjoyable. When it's a profession that requires performance when you'd rather do something else, enjoyment is diminished and a bit of the romance is gone. That's a fact of life.

Example: I love bass fishing, and have a comparable amount of money *invested* Laughing

in rods, reels, tackle, and boats as I do with musical instruments. But I'd never be a fishing guide, because I wouldn't want to take an activity I love to do and sully it by potentially taking someone in my boat I wouldn't want to be around on the water or off, just because I needed the money.

When you hear a musician complaining about something you'd do for nothing or even pay to do, think about your own career/job and whether or not you've been ecstatic over every situation that's been presented to you. That's the way it is for us upon occasion.
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My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

I worked for over 22 years straight in SoCal at least 5 to 6 nights a week and I don't think I ever thought of my instruments as "tools". It was nice being able to leave my steel, amp, etc. set up all week long on the bandstand but I still gave 'em some love. I'd go in early at times or stay late to wipe 'em down, a little polish, and a string change if needed. I always left my steel at the gig but I always took my lead guitar home with me and never left it in the car, it'd come right out of the trunk and into the house. Strange, but when I was playing for a living only ever had 1 or 2 guitars (lead) at any given time and usually did any repairs myself.....

Since I moved to Virginia, I worked days for twenty years and weekends at music. Since retiring three years ago I'm doing 5 gigs a week now and loving it again. I'm getting two retirements now so I guess I can't be considered a "full time" musician anymore but I now have at least 18 guitars that are gig worthy. Man, I wish I'd have had 'em in the old days! Also these days if I need a repair I just take the guitar or amp to the shop and get it fixed......JH in Va.
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Don Brown, Sr. · From: New Jersey

Herb, I too have had many jobs with groups that I'd rather not have been playing with. However! Just because of that, it has nothing at all to do with what I was saying.

I raised a family of four children, playing music, paid off the mortgage, doing the same, and managed to have whatever it was I wanted.

And yet playing as high as six nights a week, it wasn't ever felt of, as a job. And when it did get to feel that way, I told how I handled it.

Well, all I have to say on the subject is, I know everyone doesn't feel the same way about much of anything, (in reality). But adding in things such as you stated. Naturally there are lots of times the night may not be as pleasant as it could have been, etc.. Non-the-less, it never stopped the love of it, nor the way I personally feel about each and every one of my (personal) instruments.

But I will say this! Yes! I have many instruments that I don't feel that way about. But my steel was always as being a portion of me. As is my 68 starfire 4, and a Guanarius.

Guess maybe I shouldn't have responded huh.. Embarassed

Maybe that explains all of the trading going on, that folks just haven't found that "ONE" that they can really feel connected to..?????? Very Happy

Great thread! Very Happy

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Don
I realized after I wrote my post that it was kind of "off topic," but I felt, what the hey, it might spawn some enlightening conversation.

But yes, I do have my babies that I love, as I stated in my first post. My two old Emmonses that don't get left in the car or the trailer, and are lovingly played on most of my gigs. Those are my treasures, and the Sho~Bud and the Fessenden are some of my pleasures.

Along with my bass boat. Laughing

_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

It seems that just the word "tool" carries a negative connotation for some. As with some of my mechanic and carpenter friends, I can see a tool as a beautifully realized functional implement, as well as a piece of art and source of joy.
I love my steel, even more for the increased joy and ease of expression it brings to my work. It's a great tool.

BTW, brilliant post, Herb.

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