The Day I Met My Dream Guitar
There are moments in a musician's life that you only recognise as turning points much later. A few years ago I flew to the other side of the world to attend a house concert and guitar show in Texas. A long weekend full of music, guitar enthusiasts, international luthiers, and handmade instruments. And, as it turned out, the weekend I would first hold the steel string guitar that Rebecca Urlacher had built for me.
I filmed those first moments without quite knowing why. Now I am very glad I did.
Watch the video
Before reading on, here is the full video of the day I picked the guitar up:
The first time you hear and see a guitar carries something you cannot really write down. The video gets closer to it than words can.
Opening the case
I had never unpacked a guitar like that before. There is a particular quiet that settles around a brand new instrument, especially one that has been built for you. The first thing I noticed was the weight, or rather the lack of it. Then the smell of the wood. Also the way the finish of the guitar case shifted between gold and green depending on the angle of the light.
The guitar back and sides are Mexican kingwood. The headstock alone made me stop and just look. I remember saying out loud that I could not quite believe this was going to be mine.
The first notes
What surprised me most was how open the guitar already sounded. New guitars usually need time to settle, to find their voice as the wood adjusts to being played. This one was singing from the first chord. The overtones were extraordinary. The harmonics rang so clearly you could barely tell them apart from the fretted notes. And there was already a real depth in the bass that you do not always hear in a new steel string.
I had been playing a cedar-topped guitar before this, and the difference in the trebles between cedar and spruce was immediately obvious. Cedar has a beautiful warmth, but it can get snappy quickly when you dig in. Spruce gives you more headroom. You can lean into the strings without the sound breaking up. Standing in that cathedral-like room in Texas, surrounded by people who understood what they were hearing, I knew this was the right instrument.
The neck and the small details
The neck felt very close to the cedar guitar I played before. I had asked for wider neck measurements so I could move between nylon and steelstring without having to readapt too much. Rebecca had also put side dots all the way up the neck, which is one of those small details that makes a real difference when you are playing in higher positions or on a dark stage.
None of this is what makes a guitar special on its own. But together, with the sound, it becomes an instrument you trust.
The weekend
There were many beautiful guitars at the show that weekend, and many incredible musicians playing them. I even caught Tony McManus picking up my new guitar and trying it out, which is one of those moments you do not quite forget.
Being in a room full of luthiers, players, and listeners who all care deeply about the instrument is a particular kind of experience. You hear sounds you have never heard before. You meet the people whose hands shaped the wood. It reminds you that a guitar is not really a product. It is the result of a long, quiet conversation between maker and material.
What I know now, looking back
The relationship you have with a guitar unfolds slowly. In the beginning you are just getting to know each other. Over time the instrument becomes part of your artistic voice, almost without you noticing. Pieces start to be written on it. Tours happen with it. It develops the small marks and signs of use that turn it into yours.
That weekend in Texas was the beginning of something I had no way of measuring at the time. I am grateful that I caught those first moments on camera, and that I can share them with you now.
If you'd like to follow along as this guitar continues to find its way into new music, subscribing to my YouTube channel is the best way to stay up to date with new compositions, arrangements, and stories from the road.
