more Andy McKee

this time playing a Lowden F model...



so which guitar do you like better? This one or the Greenfield in the post just before this one?

cool

growing up in the flower power days, materialism was a definite no no... except when you were talking about guitars. Then, you could own as many really cool guitars as, well, you could. More recently, materialism became trendy and owning huge numbers of guitars or a small number of very expensive guitars has even become an investment strategy. I try to avoid that temptation and my bank account impedes the reality... but I still find myself suffering from G.A.S. - guitar acquisition syndrome. My favorite guitars are build by George Lowden & company. I think George's design was a key to the movement of new fingerstyle guitar styles. Indeed, one of my fingerstyle playing friends Michael Millham, once remarked that Lowden was the guitar company owned by the largest number of his fingerstyle playing friends. I love my Lowden and can't imagine ever not owning & playing one.

Occassionally, though, I get GAS for someone else's guitars... and one builder who guitars inspire me from a distance - I've never played one - is Michael Greenfield, an individual builder who works in Canada. His guitars are gorgeous sounding... and really expensive.

Here is a video of Andy McKee playing his brand new Greenfield... I can only imagine how this guitar will sound as it opens up...

slap that thang

Sometimes guitar players do technique just for technique sake. I don't enjoy listening to that kind of playing. While I can appreciate the ability of a player like that I honestly feel as if I'm watching someone masturbate... not something I particularly enjoy doing.

But when a player has amazing technique and puts it in service of a song, that is something sublime.

Take a look at Andy McKee here. BTW, he is playing a Lowden guitar. George's company builds what I think are the best guitars in the world.