Delight inside.

Passion and temptation come in many forms, but strings have been involved for me this week.

I have neglected my guitar playing for quite some time now. I started playing in my teenage years and you can find my various tracks on this site. I fell out of love with it all for some reason although other interests have naturally filled the gap. However, getting the chance to play on a nylon-strung acoustic at a party made me realise that I still really, really enjoyed it.

Being in an acoustic mood I popped down to Nevada Music to grab some new strings as my acoustic has been out of action for a while due to string breakage! Nevada is pretty much the SHOP OF DREAMS. There are so many shiny objects of musical desire that a musician would need a cold, cold heart to not even be tempted.

My acoustic is very old and was in fact my first ever guitar. Old, battered and attempting to mic it up was always an exercise in feedback-frenzied pain. Next thing I know, I’m surrounded by string-clad siren acoustics: “Look at me! Shiny! I’m an electro-acoustic! Quality pre-amp! Listen to how BRIGHT I sound! Mmmmm!”.

MINE. Not yours. MINE.

Needless to say, I bought the guitar. A lovely Takamine with integrated tuner (They think of everything these days).

In mitigation, I have always wanted a quality acoustic guitar of this nature. I have plenty of lovely electric guitars but the non-amplified side of things has been lacking! Back in the day, the sort of thing I was after was prohibitively expensive but it is great how quality is seemingly much cheaper nowadays.

I am very much out of practice but it is amazing how everything is coming back so quickly. However, it isn’t just about the knowledge: It is the sheer enjoyment of playing and coaxing a wide range of emotions from the instrument that is striking me.

Just in case though, next time, I think I should take a chaperone…

I’d love to hear about any musical purchase impulses that have struck you, be they ultimately good or bad!

Line 6 have released some cheesy seasonal backing tracks and tab combinations.

Unleash your holiday spirit playing along with these traditional tracks – free downloads of Auld Lang Syne, Greensleeves and Jingle Bells in country, blues and rock styles.

Also, although I have a PODxt and love it, if ever I am in the market for a portable unit for hotel rooms or similar, the Pocket POD would be fantastic! I’m particularly impressed that they have put a USB interface in there as well.