My beloved Gibson Dreadnaught guitar is slightly more than four decades old. For far too many of those years it was dragged around and tossed in cars without a case. It has been to more drunken parties than I care to remember. It has been dropped, cigarette burned, and spilled on. And yet, it survived all that, still playing like a dream and sounding great.

Most recently, it made it unscathed through two Georgia Blogfests (hard parties, both) and their associated plane trips. It was after the most recent Blogfest that I decided that it is time to spare my beloved Gibson the potential perils of travel and to spare myself the stress of worrying that it might be damaged.

I, therefore, have been in the market for a guitar that is not overly expensive but still plays well, and sounds good. I want to be able to subject it to the rigors of travel and the hurly-burly of drunken brawls sing-alongs with friends, which always comes with the potential of damage to the instrument. At Jekyll, I played and admired the guitar that Rob brought, he having decided to leave his beloved Martin safely at home. A short while ago, I asked if he could hook me with one like his and he said he could.

True to his word, this morning, Rob went to see Willy, his guitar guy, and gave me a call about this Washburn guitar, which he had taken for a test drive and loved. Once I heard that Rob played it and liked it, it was a done deal. Here is a close-up of the nifty fret board, and, as you can see, it comes with a handy gig bag. (I’ll use my existing hard case for flying). It should arrive at my door early next week. I’m psyched.

Thanks to Willy, who is a real nice guy and who definitely knows his guitars. If you’re in the market for musical instruments, check out Willy’s Place, Music and Things. Nice selection and very nice prices.

Finally, a very special thanks to Rob for making it happen.

Now all I need to properly break in the new axe is a kitchen table, some good whiskey and a couple pickers taking turns doing tunes. It just doesn’t get any better’n that.