Instrument Quality Quotes

There are good '59 Les Pauls, and there are not-so-good ones. There are ones that are just OK, that don't sustain as well.

The Steinway pianos of today are the finest I have ever played.

I have played Yamaha instruments since I was young, specifically their alto saxophones, and I have always appreciated their top-notch quality when it comes to making instruments.

Harmonics are vibrations a fraction of the length of the vibrating string, which add higher-pitched and more complex content to the notes. With a dull instrument, the harmonics die out, but with a sustaining instrument, the harmonics continue to sound along with the fundamental note.

Oh yeah, I mean, it wasn't a very good guitar, most good guitars have got thrust rods in the necks that you can adjust or that'll keep them in shape, you know keep them straight. This one just, well it turned into a bow and arrow after a couple of months.

Using modern guitar techniques and modern methods on an early instrument is not a very clever thing to do, because it is the authentic spirit of the instrument that should dictate the quality and characteristic of the sound.

You think it matters to the kids whether they're learning to play on a Steinway or a normal piano?

I'm endorsed by Yamaha. I represent Yamaha, and I really like the way that piano handles and capacitates the force that I put into it without losing the shape of the sound and the contour, and it really holds up well.

No matter how great we get with digital formats of instrumentation, nothing really quite duplicates the real thing.

The ones I have got great necks; of course, all of the Fenders from that era are incredible.

If you have a great-sounding guitar that's a quality instrument and a good amp, and you know how to make the guitar talk, that's the key. It starts with the guitar and knowing what it should sound and feel like.