Temptation

Do you ever find your self wandering around a musical instrument store looking, drooling, dreaming? I found myself with some time to spare the other day, and near a store of said type. I have spent absurd amounts of money on musical equipment over the years, yet I still always need, or want more. And when I go into a store to look around it's not like I can go into just one department and check out the newest or coolest product. I play several instruments, and have a recording studio, so I have to go look at the guitars and amps, then the drums, then the recording equipment like software, mixing boards, speakers, doo-hickeys, gadgets, and so on. There is no end to the list of toys I want, which brings me to my point, and maybe someone out there can offer me their view. Do I just "want", or do I "need"? I know I can go my whole life without that spectacular brown Gibson SG they had hanging on the wall. My Blue Epiphone Les Paul works just fine, and it's bought and paid for. Yet I feel as though a part of me is incomplete without the SG. I have never bought a drum kit in my life, many drum accessories, but never drums themselves. The set I have is a hand me down collector set that many would die for, and the other set I use is pretty smokin' hot too. I still look at the shinny new Sonors or Gretschs or Ayottes and contemplate how much space I have left on my master card. At this point I haven't even been over to the recording gear yet. What's worse is that this department justifies buying all the previous stuff I just looked at. I mean why record using old instruments when I could have a new Vox rig for my hollow body 335. Or that amazing sounding wood rim snare. Hey why not pick up an acoustic bass? And of course no studio is complete without a wicked sounding Korg Synthesizer. Eventually I convince myself to leave the store without purchasing anything. Fortunately the salesman I was talking to in the pro audio department was a bit of a jerk. I have lot of cool stuff now. I can go into my studio and record a pro sounding record by myself with the equipment and instruments I have now. I know I don't "need" more, but I think it lies deeper than just having stuff for use. I am a fan of rock history. To own your favourite guitar, or that vintage amp is like owning a piece of history. Jimmy Page with his red sunburst Les Paul, the Stevie Ray Vaughn's tobacco Stratocaster, Pete Townsend's old Hiwatt Custom 100 watt Lead head, I could go on and on. However, the difference between me and a collector is that I wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on something meant to be played, and have it sit in a glass case. I also couldn't see myself buying a "signature model" of something. So why the desires? I don't think I will ever stop wanting more gear. It's just something I love.

John Simmonds
Worn Records - Indie Bands