and probably by me. But what are forums for but to churn over a finite amount of topics, therefore giving people the reason they need, "new" content, to stop by regularly. This insures a lively site where threads pop up regularly and often.

Well the topic of the day is, hold on to your hat, aquireing instruments. There is an entertaining thread going on right now asking for suggestions on what to buy for $6k. By the end, every instrument to 10K will have been mentioned. So my wise ass comment would be, consider all of them. Not really bad advise, but not real helpful either.

So I look around me thinking what instruments I own are really important to me and why, in relative order.

1. Far and away in first place, my Arches kit. Why? Well, I built the thing. Plus it's a real good sounding mandolin. Verified by others. Really. Besides being shocked by that, I've found myself semi seriously shopping that $6k range. I've played Collings, Northfield, Weber, Pava, Girouard, and none have made mw want to part with my money. Ellis, yeah, but that's another 50% more at least. All put my build skills to shame. Chock iy up to 50% a good mandolin, 50% pure emotional attachment.

2. 1965 Epiphone Texan. A Gibson j 45 with a long skinny neck. It was a once every two decade love at first strum. Looked at a clock and three hours had gone by. I hated the sunburst. It had major scars that dirt had semi healed. I ignored all and bought it. It would be the last one to go.

3.Here is where things become pretty even, but Ill start with my Martin custom 00 15 12 fret slot head. One day I made a list of what I might want in my next guitar. 00 size, 12 frets, slot head, all mahogany, no more than around $1500. Knew it was never going to be my primary player. Looked on the Martin website. They didn't make a guitar like that. Oh, well, we'll settle for the next closest thing. About a month later, I walked into Gryphon, and there it was. Someone had ordered it then not taken delivery. I know to heed the cosmic gods of the universe.

4. Silverangel A. I was two weeks removed from a bypass, my wife had a travel week for business, and I decided I was going to upgrade my Eastman 505. I was on my way to make my first and very unauthorized car trip to buy a Collings MT. I decided to check the classifieds one last time. There was a Silverangel. Let's see, I don't need to drive, I could save a thousand plus dollars, and I'd read good things about them. Had it air freighted to me and was very happy.

5. One more, my 1970 Guild D 35. Bought as a fixer from Gryphon. They didn't think they could turn a profit if they did all the work it needed. What the heck, $250 isn't that much. Sat in a closet for twenty years. I finally got it fixed for $1200. It might bring $1000 on a good day. My what a well balanced dread it is. And what a beater to have.


I've got a lot more, but these stand out. What do they have in common? One by one, they found me. No going over specs, analyzing resale value, deciding on aesthetics, or materials. The only actual I'm shopping for an instrument was my Texan, but I was looking for a J 45. So my vote goes to keeping an open mind and your antenna up. Trust your ears. Stretch your budget within reason when you have that once a decade feeling. Know the difference between want and need. Be happy.

And, yeah, that birdseye Collings MF 5 at Gryphon is driving me crazy.