What is the longest you've ever gone without your guitar?
Dear tonebuddies,
When I don't have my guitar with me, I feel alone and incomplete.
I bet you feel the same.
What is the longest you have gone without the guitar? Did you miss it greatly and love it even more when you returned to it?
I am curious about your stories...
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Funny that you ask this question, since I am about to head to Portugal and Spain for two months without my guitars. This is not the first time that I have been away for two months. Last year, I did a two-month trip to the UK and Ireland without a guitar. However, this time, I hope to pick up a cheap guitar in Madrid so I can have something to play on during my travels. I will also be staying at a winery for four nights in the Douro Valley of Portugal and was recently informed by the owner, who is a guitarist, that he has guitar waiting for me in my room. So I will have a guitar for a few days when I am in Portugal. While it is hard to be away from my two Anthony Murray guitars for so long, it is amazing to rediscover their beauty when I return from my travels. Finally, I will take advantage of being away for so long to have my guitars worked on by an excellent luthier in San Francisco.
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In 1989, after almost ten years of duo playing, I gave my last concert with duo partner Neil Anderson at Merkin Hall in NY. We played a full program of American duo guitar music with a grant from the NEA. David Leisner (we opened with Mirage by DL), Michael Newmann, and Alice Artzt were there I think. My second child was 1 month old, and I was also working full time in the software business, so I couldn't handle family, fulltime work, and touring. The next morning I cut off my nails, and didn't play the guitar seriously again until 1995. that was six years without playing.
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I never want to be without a guitar, so some form of travel guitar is essential for me. The Soloette has been a mainstay for me over the years. For air travel, it is thin enough to be placed above the other luggage in an overhead compartment. I have also taken a travel guitar by Klos. It's a steel string, however the company indicated that they will make a classical guitar version if enough players indicate interest.