...one for changing my strings often. That's no metaphor. I literally don't change the strings on my instruments unless I absolutely must. What constitutes must might be a broken string, or something much more subjective. There're guitarists who put on a fresh set every day. Every day! Once a month or every couple of months is a typical cycle. Pshaw to that to me! I like to push mine from old to dead to whatever comes after dead-and-not-yet-made-soil. They soften, they warm, they accept. Antiquistrings know the routine. With a sort of muscle memory they anticipate how they'll be played, and maybe even why.

















Disadvantages (not ringing true relative to each other, loss of projection, muted quality) don't deter, and give a hand hewn flavorful compliment to pop culture's glossy green lawns. A rusted and subtle compliment. Which brings us to electronics. As above, only about potentiometers...the Tesla guitar I play was made by Ulrich Teuffel in Neu-Ulm, Germany. It's a standard model for him, brilliantly designed to accommodate intended and machine-housed ghost sounds. I have quartertone frets up to the 7th fret and otherwise it's unmodified, save for a decent ding with a cute story behind it. The finish is satiny, probably because of the cotton in it. So I've heard.