He's no stranger to unique instruments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIupV9Hy ... D6UWZdXcpA
And he travels the world playing gigs at colleges universities. Much of the music he does could not be recreated on a guitar.
As for violinists buying expensive guitars it's more about status then performance. They don't buy the violin until they can afford it and if they are smart they lock that fancy stratovarius in a vault and only play it in very special performances (like playing for the President)
http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/01/ ... -the-rest/
Who goes to classical concerts....Millionaires. Who sponsors Classical performances...Millionaires
There are quite a few millionaire wives and daughters and sons who went to private schooling to become classical performers. (starting at a very young age) So even if they aren't making a good living as a classical musician they have sugar daddy to finance them.
Ann Romney's Horse.... a partial breakdown for the $77,731 figure: housing ($29,000 -- the price the Ebelings charge customers), food ($1,200 -- might be low), clothing ($10,000), medical care ($2,000 -- also might be low), and transport to shows ($15,000).
If you are rich you don't have the same value system. That damn horse lives better then I do and I'm sure it cost a pretty penny to buy. It's an olympic dancing horse so it's not like they are getting any financial return on it.
I used all one needed was one good guitar and the rest was about will power. Then I thought that a cheap guitar was just as good as a more expensive one. Ha yeah right. I went through a lot of junk and only caught a small few good and cheap guitars.
Do I think an expensive guitar "Plays better" then a less expensive one? No but I understand the influence of having a high quality guitar can have on ones playing. Do I think that more money equals better... No but there is a reason why I use silverware as opposed to plastic sporks. It doesn't make the food taste better but If I want to impress a girl with my cooking I'm not making mac and cheese with bologna and a bottle of ripple.
