Every professional musician forms an attachment to their instruments . From the fussiest , nerdiest gearhead to the most laidback “ give me anything and I ’ ll play it ” musician , over time , players all get attached to something . For some , it ’ s purely the sound and features of the gear that makes them love it , and for others it ’ s much more sentimental and personal . Sometimes it comes with a hefty price tag , and other times it ’ s a family keepsake or gift . Regardless , we ’ ve always found the stories behind musicians ’ most loved instruments to be fascinating — and often very touching .
And so , we sent out a message to artists asking them to share their favourite or most cherished instrument and the short story behind it . From Canadian legends to emerging artists encompassing a wide array of ages and genres , the responses were wonderful . We couldn ’ t fit them all , but here are some of our favourites …
PHOTO : ELLE MARIE
ROB BAKER OF THE TRAGICALLY HIP
On his custom Oskar Graf acoustic guitar
I recorded “ Ahead by A Century ” on a big Gibson Blues King model , but it was a real challenge to keep it in tune as once you tune that low E all the way down to C , it gets pretty floppy and can start to sound ugly . It quickly became apparent that I would need an extra jumbo body , longer neck , and super heavy strings . I had to call in the big guns for a job like this — enter Oskar Graf , one of the finest luthiers on our planet , who happened to live only about an hour from Kingston .
We met and discussed the mission , and boy , did he rise to the challenge ! A truly fantastic and unique instrument . You can see the wear below the pickguard — my on-stage technique has never been delicate . Originally , I used a custom set of strings ( 72mm to 12mm ) but they ’ ve become very hard to get my paws on . Now , I just use a medium-heavy acoustic gauge with the heaviest low E I can find .
I also used this tuning and guitar on “ Stay ” and “ Train Overnight ” off of Music @ Work and on “ Local Bear ” from the first Strippers Union album .
SATE
On her upright piano
My most cherished instrument is my upright piano . I actually got it from my contractor when I was renovating my house and building a garage to house my studio . He was giving it away , which was crazy to me . We always had an upright piano in our house when I was growing up ; my mom , [ Salome Bey ,] would write all of her songs there and record them on the reel-to-reel , so getting an upright of my own was nostalgic . Along with it being nostalgic , it ’ s my main writing tool . I can and have spent hours just making music or learning songs that have inspired me throughout my life .
50 CANADIAN MUSICIAN