Rehearsal with the new guitar has been a varied experience. On the whole, what I said on the day I bought it is true — as a “real” guitar, my Jazzmaster definitely sounds and plays better than any of the cheap-o electrics I’ve had in the past. But it does sound different, and sometimes I think it’s not in a good way. Deep down, I think I’m just psyching myself out, but…

Last night I thought the bottom two strings sounded clattery and thin, then I remembered that I hadn’t changed them since I bought it. Perfectly good strings, but I usually go for much heavier gauge down there, for the two-string songs I play. In truth, even during six-string songs, I believe I’ve adjusted my playing to maximize the thickness difference — gentle rhythms on the low end, with stray sparks of tone up high. I’m not really a picker; I don’t play riffs or lines. My style is definitely more of a wash, but I’d like to think it’s a slightly deliberate one.

What’s funny about playing the Jazzmaster is that, confronted with how legitimately “different” it sounds, in the moment I either twiddle knobs and change strings to make it sound something like the way it used to…or I alter my playing once again, adjusting my songs to the new sonic contours. But when I’m not in the thick of a practice, psyching myself out, when I first strap that thing on and play a simple chord… I know that this guitar is, in all objective senses, a far superior instrument to anything I’ve ever owned. Each string rings out more roundly and true, and the clarity holds at any volume.

It reminds me of this time back in Raleigh when I was painting houses. After a string of apartment jobs with conservative, faded colors applied with a comparatively relaxed standard of quality, we got a north side dining room where dramatic red walls had to be cut into a high-gloss crown molding. After a morning of shaky lines, a co-worker of mine said, “Damn thing makes me feel like I can’t paint!”

So I think that’s really what’s going on here. The damn Jazzmaster makes me feel like I can’t paint. But I think if I stick with it, then as now, I’ll come out of it a better painter than before. Wish me luck, and patience.