I've got really bad G.A.S.

I've got a problem. A big problem.

Here's how it all started -- I'm gearing up for Chaos Theory performances this fall, and I've been trying to find the right instrument. For the last few concerts I'd been using a Steve Morse model Music Man guitar, which is a beautiful instrument, but it doesn't have a wammy bar, and its bridge pickup is a little shrill...

So I figured out what I needed -- something simple and stripped-down. A whammy bar, two pickups, and a volume knob. That's it. And lo and behold, today I found it.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Hamer Californian Deluxe. Its fast, its dangerous, and its also dead-sexy!

So that's it -- end of story.

Or so I thought.

At lunch, my friend Vince wants to go hit a guitar store. That's cool, I'll go look -- I'm in no danger. I know what I want, and I'm not going to be swayed. Until she came along.

The 100 year anniversary Fender American Stratocaster Deluxe (except the one I saw had a humbucker in the bridge position and you could see the mahogany woodgrain through that deep burgundy finish... drop dead gorgeous).

This guitar sounds like art. Seriously. Its amazing. I love it.

And now I can't think. I can't concentrate on anything. I look at a picture of the blonde, and I'm thinking about the fun we could have -- the fast runs, the excitement, and those dangerous curves. Then I remember playing the redhead and I'm lost in the music we could make together... those moments we'd create would be so meaningful...

(Note to girlfriend: don't worry, I'm still talking about guitars!)

I've fallen in love with TWO guitars in the same day... how could this happen?!?

There is a name for this -- Guitar Addiction Syndrome (or G.A.S.) There must be a support group somewhere for people with my condition...