I have this really funny musical pet peeve. When I’m at a gig and I see other guitarists who don’t trim the ends of their strings, it drive me crazy. There’s something about a frazzle of metallic spaghetti whipping around a guitar’s headstock that screams “I AM A BUSH-LEAGUE AMATEUR” to me.
I’m not one of those guys who breaks into tears if his guitar gets dirty. I’ve pumped enough of my own sweat over my guitars to double the size of the Dead Sea. I’ve had unruly music fans knock mic stands into my guitars. That’s all okay. But there’s nothing worse than seeing careless maintenance.
That’s because if you’re sloppy in your maintenance, you’re probably sloppy about your playing. And it probably means that you don’t really love the instrument. I absolutely love playing the guitar, and getting to do it in front of audiences. They deserve better than indifference if they’re paying a cover, or even just wandering in for free to spend some time watching me play.
So, do the right thing: When you change your strings, clip the unneeded lengths. You might think you might look punk, but really, you just look like a punk. See the difference?
