Addiction Part 3

(This blog is a response to a recent blog entry by Ed, from the blog Striving for Mediocrity)

I can stop at any time. Really, I can. I mean, I don't need another guitar. I can just look, after all.

And look I do. Craigslist, eBay, you name it. Even though I have several guitars myself (far more than necessary), I look for new ones. Whenever I feel guilty about this need irrational need for more material possessions, I justify it by looking at guitars for other people. It's not so bad then, right? It might even be noble; an expert on the subject simply bestowing his opinion upon the unknowing masses. My dad's looking for a hollowbody guitar, so now I can indulge in the browsing and buying process. I get my little taste, my fix.

You see, the thing is about guitars is that you do kinda need multiple guitars. Not only do they get different sounds, which you need for performing a diverse range of sounds for a diverse set of songs, each guitar has its own set of songs. Picking up a particular guitar changes the ways your hand moves, influences what chords you will play, and bestows a certain mentality for songwriting. Playing new guitars is almost a creative necessity.

But I'm not addicted.

But that temptation can sure be strong. I mean, there has been some deals on Craigslist lately. Once in a lifetime deals; the kind of deals where you could easily justify indulging one more time. The thing is, though, sure the guitar's a deal, but the guitar I envision is not the guitar that's for sale: It's the guitar with all the mods. New pickups ($80). New tuners ($30). A set-up including intonation, adjustment, etc. ($50). That $150 guitar just became a $300, requiring an extra $150 I never actually had.

And them I'm down in the hole again. I hit rock bottom when my bank account bottoms out.

But I'm not addicted. No sir, I can quit any time. In fact, I've been "clean" for a full year now and counting.

Hi, my name is Ben and I'm a guitar addict.