[gumbo]

Am I wrong in this issue or not: Me and my friend both play guitar. IMO he doesnt treat his instruments very well, and he thinks I baby my mine; rudely gives me shit for it too. His parents bought evey one of his instruments, including his 2006 Deluxe American Strat. I on the other hand worked and saved lots of pennies for a nice acoustic to play. Recently I got back my Jay Jr. that I borrowed him, only it sounded like shit and had blood on it everywhere, including my name written on it. Not cool in my opinion. I was also screwed into bringing my nice acoustic camping with us once only to be the person to carry it in for him, the part that really made me feel like shit was when I realized it was laying on the ground for some time, being kicked and tripped over by numerous drunk people. It also rained that night on and off, and on my guitar, to the point where there is what looks like rust on some lower frets. I dont even like to play this guitar around him because when I'm done he picks it up and plays *forever* and just ignores me. It's gotten to the point where he calls me just to ask me to bring this guitar over to "jam." I need some guidance please

[bodiddley]

Doesn't sound like a very good friend to me. Sounds like a snotty rich kid. Screw 'em. Find some other people to jam with.

[Currtwuzheere]

yea, m with bodiddley

i got one acoustic that i got for christmas this last year, and its like my rized possesion. i wouldnt let any1 treat it like that

and what was he doing with it that i got back covered in blood?

[jackr]

Your friends need to respect you and your property. It is as simple as that.

You can treat your guitar anyway you want and he can treat his the way he wants. Be he cant treat your guitar like that if you dont want him to. If you cant set some boundries, I would question his friendship.

[Jimkkc]

What everyone else has said - also, I bet you will find more people that "baby" their axes than not. In my case, I change strings on all three acoustics at least once a month and in the process treat the fretboard with the lemon oil and buff up the body of the guitar. I also store all three in their cases with the in-case humidifiers - I don't know if this qualifies as babying a guitar; I think of it as a little tlc! As for your friend, sounds like he is more than a little immature and spoiled.

[confusions_prince]

I don't "baby" my guitar, but I do treat it right. Then again, if I had a nicer guitar, I might baby it...

[IamDocWatson]

guitars are gonna get makrs/dents/dings/scratches andjust worn its bound to happen..so dont spend too much time "babying" your guitar but do take good care of it. i think your friend is stupid, no offense to u. why damage something that makes music, music is priceless. so that said yes i keep my good guitars cased and take care of them and shine em up from time to time and clean the neck and try not to let it get messed up, but at the same time dont get all pissy if u get a little scratch on it or something, but blood....what the hell???

[hobbsy]

What a dick. This ain't about a guitar, it's about some asshole u hang out w/ for reasons only you know. Everyone should take care of/baby their guitars. Like someone said, they make music and that's priceless and they are also works of art in and of themselves. Your turd "friend" just doesn't get that.

[gratephulphish123]

i tend to agree with everyone else, fuck this prick, tell him to go ruin his own shit, i've gotten to the point where i wont let other people touch my guitar, they never put it down trying to show off . i think it's instinct for people who dont play guitar as an art to try and show off so just dont give em the opportunity to

[gumbo]

Hey thanks for the help on this, I gotta make it clear to this dude how I feel and how he should treat my instruments. I have been really good friends with this guy since like 6th grade so I cant just ditch him, but lately it has been really sketchy, soon though we will be on with our lives and not living in the same city so it will be kinda nice to have the distance. Peace

[Billbbill]

The true test of this friendship will be how your friend treats your possessions and by extention you when you lay it on the line.

If after you tell him how you feel he continues his behavior (disrespect) you'll come to realize he's nothing but a user and the 'good friend status' you perceived was just a mirage of convenience that could not stand up when he was faced with catering to his self gratifying mindlessness or respecting the sincere wishes of a good friend.

If he makes the 'wrong' choice it'll be time to move on as you'll have matured beyond his realm.

[gumbo]

goddamn BillBill you have the wisdom and a good way to go about this. Thank you guys for all your help on this........

[Hajimemashite!!!]

Uh, just wondering, how the fuck did he get blood all over the guitar and why did he write your name on it?

[CaptainTrips]

Wow man, that is so not fucking cool. I pretty much stopped letting people use my guitars for a whole lot less than this. There was this one kid who I stopped letting use my guitar because he strummed the strings way too hard and routinely broke strings. And at the time neither one of us had jobs so a broken string was a big fucking deal.

But what you have described is way too much for you to take in good faith. You cant let him use your guitar at all anymore. No way. The only people I let use my guitar is the other guitarist in my band, cause I know that he will take care of it. . . . And then there was this one time where we playing with a band who had a hot chick in a tight black mini-skirt and a low cut blouse . . . she can use my guitar any day of the week.

[jackr]

gumbo,
Did you tell your friend yet? If so, how did it go?