FrankenFretter
December 17th, 2009, 11:34 PM
This week was wet and muddy here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. I work outside quite a bit (I work for the big, bad cable company that is now associated with the peacock symbol), and therefore get wet and muddy myself quite often. It can be pretty miserable, and I'm sure there are plenty of folks out there who can relate. Nothing works right in the rain; your fingers get dirty and wet, and everything is slippery and hard to work with. I've been living in the Northwest long enough that I should've stopped complaining many, many years ago...but I haven't.
I had a job, the last job of the night that entailed replacing an aerial drop (service line) in my customer's back yard. I was there with another tech, a tech that had the original job that I was helping out. We were there for almost two hours, for reasons that I won't go into. Now so far, that probably doesn't sound like a rewarding experience, does it? And now, as Andy Rooney says, here's the rest of the story:
When I was in my customer's house, I noticed a headstock sticking out from behind a chair. It was a Guild, and I commented that you don't see that many Guilds around anymore. That, of course, triggered a conversation. My customer is a guitar player that's been playing for many years, and he said, "You have to see the basement", which should have made the serial killer red flag go up, but of course I didn't even blink an eye. In his basement he has no less than three old Fender Blackfaces, an old Sears tube amp that looks insane, and a fine selection of nice axes. Not the serial killer kind, either. He has a beautiful Guild archtop, a sweet Strat, and the coup de grace; a 1956 Les Paul Junior. The finish was well-aged, and very cracked everywhere, as it was when he bought it. Still...a beauty. And I got to touch it! I wouldn't have presumed to try and play it, my playing would have embarrassed us both, but I did get to fondle it adoringly.
That made my week. That, and the fact that he invited me to drop in and jam on Saturdays, when he has a bass player friend over. I think I'd better spend some time polishing up my chops first, so I don't break down in tears from sheer mortification.
It was amazing to see so much cool vintage stuff in one room, where nothing had a price tag, and there was no obnoxious salesperson. I have to go back, even if I don’t play, just so I can hear him play and bathe in the vintage vibes.
I had a job, the last job of the night that entailed replacing an aerial drop (service line) in my customer's back yard. I was there with another tech, a tech that had the original job that I was helping out. We were there for almost two hours, for reasons that I won't go into. Now so far, that probably doesn't sound like a rewarding experience, does it? And now, as Andy Rooney says, here's the rest of the story:
When I was in my customer's house, I noticed a headstock sticking out from behind a chair. It was a Guild, and I commented that you don't see that many Guilds around anymore. That, of course, triggered a conversation. My customer is a guitar player that's been playing for many years, and he said, "You have to see the basement", which should have made the serial killer red flag go up, but of course I didn't even blink an eye. In his basement he has no less than three old Fender Blackfaces, an old Sears tube amp that looks insane, and a fine selection of nice axes. Not the serial killer kind, either. He has a beautiful Guild archtop, a sweet Strat, and the coup de grace; a 1956 Les Paul Junior. The finish was well-aged, and very cracked everywhere, as it was when he bought it. Still...a beauty. And I got to touch it! I wouldn't have presumed to try and play it, my playing would have embarrassed us both, but I did get to fondle it adoringly.
That made my week. That, and the fact that he invited me to drop in and jam on Saturdays, when he has a bass player friend over. I think I'd better spend some time polishing up my chops first, so I don't break down in tears from sheer mortification.
It was amazing to see so much cool vintage stuff in one room, where nothing had a price tag, and there was no obnoxious salesperson. I have to go back, even if I don’t play, just so I can hear him play and bathe in the vintage vibes.