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All I Have To Do Is Dream: Chasing the Dream Guitar
In our line of work, we come across incredible instruments every day. It’s hard not to look around and think, “Ooh, I’d sure love to have one of those!” It’s even harder not to blow our entire paychecks on more additions to our “Gear Emporiums,” as Reverb.com puts it. Usually, reality sets in and we remember all of our lingering financial obligations, space considerations, and, perhaps most importantly, our families who may not be so thrilled at the sight of ANOTHER guitar. So the G.A.S. (Gear/Guitar Acquisition Syndrome for the uninitiated) eventually subsides and we go back to our business until it strikes again. However, certain guitars will really make an impact on you. They burrow into your mind like a parasite and stay with you long after your fingers have left their strings. They can become an obsession, an instrument that is just out of reach with that “holy grail” tone you’ve been looking for. This, my friends, is the dream guitar.
It’s always exciting when we get the opportunity to set up a customer with their dream guitar. We get a kind of vicarious thrill as if it were us celebrating that “New Guitar Day.” Recently, several of us at Maple Street were the ones celebrating as we had the good fortune of making our own dream guitars a reality. For some it was a reward, for some good timing, for some it was the “You Only Live Once” mindset. For me, it was patience, luck, and good will. So while I’d leave it to my colleagues to share their stories if they so choose, I felt like right now, as I’m stuck at home awaiting my COVID-19 infection to subside, was the best time to tell the story of my dream guitar.
The dream guitar concept is not foreign to me. In fact, my dream guitar has at times been a moving target, changing from week to week, month to month, particularly when I was a young player with no concrete personal tastes. First, it was a Samick Ultramatic, a guitar that I fell in love with at Old Towne Music, my local store in NJ where I took my first several years of guitar lessons. I’d play it week after week until it sold and left me heart-broken. As luck would have it, my family bought it and gave it to me for my 13th birthday after I’d shown how dedicated I’d become to learning guitar. Later, it was a Gibson Flying V that I’d found at the same shop that would become a Christmas gift. Predominantly though, my dream guitar was a Paul Reed
Smith. So many of my heroes played them and any time I’d pick one up at that “Guitar-Store-That-Shall-Not-Be-Mentioned” it solidified that this was my real dream guitar. They were always out of reach, financially AND physically since I often had to ask an employee to pull one down for me. I lusted after a PRS for many years until (and you might be noticing a pattern here) my 21st birthday when my uncle and I took a trip to the store and bought my PRS 513. You can learn much more about that guitar in my episode of “My Favorite Things” on our YouTube channel. My true dream guitar was finally a reality and it remained the standard to which I compared
all other guitars for over a decade. That is, until I started working at Maple Street…
Before Maple Street Guitars, I was an electric guitarist through and through. Acoustic guitars were secondary to me and I was more than content with my trusty Taylor 214ce. But now, I was surrounded by dozens of acoustic guitars and I was once again learning where my actual tastes lie in an acoustic. My playing style was also changing along with my listening habits and, before I knew it, the 214ce wasn’t quite fulfilling what I needed out of an acoustic, though it was still a great instrument. I found myself gravitating towards smaller OM guitars and was drawn to the ever popular Spruce-on-Mahogany wood combo. I remember picking up a Martin OMC-18E for a session of Tuning and Grooming and thinking, “Hmm, there’s something here. I’ll have to remember this one.”
Around this time, I’d also made the biggest sale of my short tenure at Maple Street: a Collings OM1A JL, also known as the Julian Lage signature model. I remember the experience vividly as I was afraid to even handle those guitars at that time. I was running back and forth from the customer to Lindsay and back again as he was persistent in haggling over the price, a process that I was not yet comfortable dealing with. Eventually, he bought the guitar and I celebrated my own little personal milestone. A few months later, another OM1A JL arrived and by that point I was no longer afraid of handling such expensive instruments. I played one chord and was immediately struck with a realization. “Oh, s#!^. That’s the sound I’ve been hearing in my head.” And thus began my love affair with my new dream guitar.
Over the next few years, the pattern remained the same. 1) An OM1A JL would show up at the store. 2) I’d play it any chance I got with growing excitement and enthusiasm. 3) The guitar would sell. 4) Heartbreak. 5) Repeat. I started a “guitar fund” that I’d contribute a little bit to every month so that I could eventually buy one. Once or twice I caught myself literally dreaming that I owned one, only to face a cruel reality upon waking up. I even changed my phone background to one of the photos from Collings’ website, a move that I think tested my wife’s patience when her phone background would be a picture of the two of us and/or our cat(s).
Sooner or later, though, life started to get in the way. When I got married, suddenly MY goals turned into OUR goals. My wife and I wanted another cat and we started setting money aside for a house. Surely, the last thing that I NEEDED was another guitar and I had to start thinking more about my family and less about adding another addition to the guitar arsenal. I had a discussion about it with Lindsay who, in his infinite wisdom, said, “Just wait. In our business, an opportunity will show up where you’ll be able to get that guitar or one that you like even more used at a great deal.” While patience was never my strong suit, I listened to what he had to say and realized that he was probably right. After all, he’d been in my shoes before and much of his previously offered advice had been right on the money.
Fast forward to a few months later and I found myself taking a quick moment on a busy Saturday to survey our email. We had received an email from a customer of ours who I’ve grown to become quite friendly with. He was interested in selling his Collings OM1A JL and wanted our store to do it for him. My heart started racing as I tried to go back to helping customers like I hadn’t seen it. I brought it up to Lindsay and he looked at me with that look of a big brother, one that isn’t smug in that “I told you so kind of way” but is instead full of understanding with a little bit of mutual excitement. He said, “This is that opportunity I was talking about.” We discussed things a bit further as we shared mutual respect and admiration for this customer. He gave me his blessing to pursue buying it privately and we spent time figuring out what a fair offer would be. I didn’t quite have that much money sitting in my guitar fund but the last thing I wanted to do was try to get a leg up on this customer or make him feel like I was trying to take advantage of him. I reached out expressing my interest and the customer graciously gave me the option to take the guitar home for a week while I made up my mind. I excitedly accepted, knowing full well that I had no intention of giving it back.
I brought the guitar home, driving with the same care as when I have a car full of friends who have had a bit too much to drink and I want to ensure that my upholstery stays clean. I walked into my apartment, greeted my wife and cats, and went right to the studio, closing the door to remove all distractions. My awe was the same as it had always been upon opening the case and the all-too-familiar feel and sound I had been drawn to were still there. I’d already made up my mind. Over the next week there were several discussions with my wife, including one where she got to hear the guitar firsthand and instantly remarked on the guitar’s richness. It’s rare for her to comment on my musical pursuits until they’ve reached a moderate stage of completion but even more rare for her to actually comment on the sound of what I’m playing. She picked up on how happy the guitar made me and gave me the go ahead to make the offer. I sent the email off and he responded quickly, sparing me the anxiety of a long wait. This customer showed me why I had such admiration for him in the first place as he was not only willing to accept a little less than I offered but was also willing to let me pay over a few months. I nearly leapt through the roof.
And that’s the story of how I came to own my dream guitar. By the time this article hits our newsletter, I’ll either have it all paid off or will be planning on doing so in the coming weeks. It’s the only guitar that I keep in the case and I still get that same childish excitement every time I take it out. I’ve only recently been able to tear myself away from it to finally give some attention to my neglected electrics!! Funnily enough, the first one I went back to was that PRS from my 21st birthday, recapturing that same joy it gave me over all those years. I should note that this is in no way meant to be taken as a column on why one should buy a Collings, nor did they ask me to write this. They’re not even aware that I’m writing this. Same goes for the customer. I’ve chosen to leave his name out for privacy and I hope that he doesn’t get mad reading this. Based on how I’ve come to know him, I don’t think that will be the case. While I don’t know his exact reasons for being so kind in our exchange, I’m guessing that he recognized my enthusiasm for this guitar and realized it’d be going to a great home. I hope he reads this happily knowing that it will get a lifetime of care and countless songs will come out of it.
Dream guitars can be a wonderful thing. They’re something to strive for and the old adage holds true, “Good things come to those who wait.” I try to not take it for granted that I’ve been able to own my dream guitar on a few different occasions. Indeed, I’m truly fortunate in that regard. I only hope that you get to make your dream guitar a reality someday, too.
Chris Capitanio, 2022
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