My father’s guitar

My father's Takamine has a wonderful sound. It's always been the guitar in our house. It was the first guitar I ever put my fingers on and, for some reason, it's still incredibly comfortable to play. It's the right size, it feels right in my hands, and even today it's the best-sounding guitar we have at home.

My father bought it sometime in the 1980s and all those years have given the wood some fantastic sonic qualities. Time has done something to it. I dedicated my first single to this guitar and it has given me a lot of emotions over the years.

Bringing it on stage has always come with a price, though.

The pickup system has a grounding issue that creates a loud hummm through the amp, and the only way to get rid of it is to discharge the ground somewhere. Unless there's a stage electrician around, which has basically never happened to me, I usually end up using my own body to do the job by touching some metal part of my gear.

Long story short, if I want to use this guitar live, I have to stick a jack cable inside my sock so that it touches my skin and the hum disappears.

Crazy, right?

I've taken it to a luthier and the problem improved, but it never completely disappeared. Replacing the electronics on a guitar this old isn't that straightforward either, so if I want to enjoy its sound, I still end up putting a jack cable in my sock.

Do I still do it?

Yes.

Especially now that I'm writing songs in open tunings. On this Takamine, they sound wonderful.

"Just buy a new guitar," you might say.

And yes, I probably will. In fact, I'm already thinking about it.

The thing is, with this guitar, as with many instruments, there is a bond that goes beyond practicality. Almost like a friendship. I know its sound. I know its neck, its shape, its weight. It feels familiar. And it sounds amazing.

Like every guitar, it's unique. After more than four decades, it can't be replicated. Whether for better or worse, the song will be slightly different on another guitar. Not just because of the sound, but because of the overall feeling and vibration of it.

It isn't even the main guitar I take on tour, but every now and then I bring it on stage when I want something extra. And the thought of replacing it brings up emotions.

There is something fascinating about objects that were built to create sound, especially analog ones.

Sometimes they age into something even more beautiful than they were when they were new.

I wonder if, one day, when I finally buy the guitar of my dreams, built specifically for me and my taste, I will actually play that one... or if I'll still be sticking a jack cable into my sock.