[Rick Lee]

Well, the technology today does get you a real nice guitar for an incredibly low cost of entry. Starter guitars when I was a kid were around $150 and they were absolute crap. Let's say that's $300 in today's dollars. $300 will get you a nice Mexican Strat, perhaps a slightly used one. I bought my last one around 1998 for $318 new.

But older guitars that have been played a lot do sound and feel better. Look at a new Les Paul next to one that's been played so much that all the paint is worn off the back of the neck. Those old pickups get better the more you have power running through them, sweat dripping on them, your belt buckle scraping the back of the guitar and your hand rubbing the neck down to bare wood.

Check out Fender's new Road Worn line. I visited a buddy who had one of their Road Worn Telecasters and I thought it was an old vintage guitar. It's a little cheesy, like putting tears in your jeans and then trying to bleach them. But sometimes they get it right and it improves playability.

Also, you always play better when you love the way your guitar feels and sounds.