🎸Middle-aged Guitarist Series ⑥ The Story of the Creature Known as the Middle-aged Guitarist

Things middle-aged guitarists tend to do (120% relatable?)

A middle-aged guitarist is a creature that
develops more character than the guitar itself.
The frequency of changing strings, the way they hold a pick, even their habits with amp knobs—
it all becomes like "annual rings" of experience.

In the world of such guitarists in their 50s,
there are definitely several phenomena that evoke "empathy."

■① Why we reflect on our lives when changing strings

Strings that I used to change in 3 minutes when I was young
now take me 30 minutes to an hour.

And I end up getting a faraway look in my eyes halfway through.

“Did I buy this guitar in the 90s?”
“I played my first gig with this...”
“Back when I was covering BOØWY, I just played with pure momentum...”

Sometimes I'm not changing strings, I'm just rewinding my memories.

■② Feeling your "age" in the weight of the guitar

In my 20s: "Les Pauls are the best! Heavy, but the tone is thick!"
In my 50s: "A Les Paul...? My shoulders are stiff today, so I'll go with a Strat..."

No, I get it.
A guitar that suffers from neck dive
is honestly painful enough to make your neck fall off.

But for some reason, I still play them at the music store.

I just refuse the "future of taking it home."

■③ When I play bands I covered back in the day, I always end up grinning

ZIGGY, BOØWY, Jun Sky Walker(s), The Blue Hearts...
Songs we played back then with the intensity to tear down the school festival.

When I play them now,
only the youth of that time plays back in my brain, but my body can't keep up.

But that gap is strangely endearing.

■④ The most fun part is lining up the effect pedals

More than the moment I step on them,
the "preparation stage" of lining them up is what gets me excited.

It's just like the feeling a child gets when opening a box of plastic models.

The Middle-Aged Guitarist's Formula:
Effect Pedals = Adult Toys (Wholesome)

■⑤ Before you know it, you're chasing down "old live concert footage" on YouTube

Your search history ends up looking like this:

・1986 1987 Western hits
・Hotei 88 guitar
・CROWDED HOUSE 1987
・Walk This Way guitar
…and so on

This is already a proper form of "time travel."
Before you realize it, two hours have passed.

The only thing I hold longer than a guitar is a mouse (scrolling).

■⑥ You genuinely respect the sound design of young bands

In the past, I tended to say "kids these days..." but
once you hit your 50s, you become strangely open-minded.

“Kids these days are all so good...”
“Are there really this many types of effect pedals?”
“Wait, can you diagnose a guitar with AI?”

I'm a little surprised at myself for trying to absorb things rather than dissing the younger generation.

■⑦ But in the end, you always return to "your own sound"

No matter how much new gear you try,
no matter how much you go back to the songs from your youth,
no matter how much you cry or laugh,

ultimately
“Ah, this is the sound for me after all.”
is where you return.

Once you're in your 50s, you understand that.
And that makes you feel a little proud.

■⑧ And in the end, it always settles into "laughter"

Even if you break a string, make a mistake,
feel like crying,
or your body hurts,

you become able to laugh at all of it.

The true state of mind for a middle-aged guitarist is this:

“Even if you can't play it, if you can laugh, you win.”

...

I can play it, though!! Haha