"Mojo or MoJo comes from the mystical religion of voodoo, a catch-all phrase for most beliefs blended from African and Christian beliefs. Over simplified, mojo is the meta-physical magic a voodoo practicioner uses to influence the physical world.
When used in reference to a guitar or other musical instrument, it refers to the supposed magic the instrument has gleaned from being played by talented, soulful musicians who coaxed sometimes incredible music from the instrument.
Usage example: "That beat-up guitar I scored for twenty bucks from a pawn shop sure looks like ass, but MAN, when I play it, it's like the mojo in it is playing ME! I NEVER sounded so good!"
I buy and sell guitars. I would rather just buy guitars and not sell them. I have pangs of immediate regret each time I list a guitar for sale on Ebay. I get a feeling in my gut of intense potential loss of the thing. It is a thing isn't it? Inanimate. Dead. Lifeless. Of course it is. I know that. But when you interact with a guitar in anyway it is something else. It is not the only object that has this attribute. Any tool becomes something else. A hammer sitting in a tool box is something else five minutes later when it is your hand removing a nail or knocking off stubborn piece of wood from a collapsing structure. It becomes an extension of you. We know that. A musical instrument becomes a means of expression and not just a tool. A guitar in my hand is more than a guitar in a box. A guitar I look at and admire is more than just a construct of wood and other components.I recently acquired a guitar I have decided to sell. The reason being is that I got it for a good price and I can turn around and sell it at a reasonable price and make a profit. I bought it and took it home to photograph and slap up on EBay. But I wasn't able to put it down after bringing it home. This morning when I got up I went into the room I keep guitars in and played it for a few minutes. It is a piece of work and I want to write a bit about it.
It is a Sigma made in Korea somewhere between 1984 and 1993 maybe 94. So at it's youngest it's 17 years old and at its oldest its 27 years old. Not a kid as guitars go. Not ancient but not a kid. It sounds great. Really. I was surprised at the tone. But that is not what fascinates me most although if it didn't sound good I wouldn't be writing this I suppose. When is interesting and romantic is how steadily someone played it and for how long. It is not a walking skeleton like Willie Nelson's guitar. But the wear on the frets is evidence of serious playing. The rosewood has held up well. There are no real grooves worn into the fingerboard but the initial oiled and finished Rosewood is worn away so that the color is lightening. The area above the sound hole has some pick marks made with energy but not a mass of them. The pickguard has some scratches but, likewise, not a huge amount. There are some scratches to the neck. It appears as if a strap screw was placed into the side of the heal at sometime. There are remnants of a strap still there. Let us now be forensic. The wear of the frets is almost equal on all the frets from the first to twelfth. So someone was up and down the guitar neck often. Therefore the player must have been a bit more than competent to use the whole board. That requires dexterity and talent and a mess of musical ability. The lack of more than a few scratches above or below the sound hold would indicate a lot of finger-picking in comparison to a lot of strumming. The addition of the strap screw in the heel of the neck would seem to suggest that whoever played it played it standing up. In addition having the strap attached below the fretboard lends credence to my idea about competent use of the fretboard top chording and/or playing a playing notes with a sort of Tommy Emmanuel talent.There are few scratches on the back so, once again, the biped who played it took care to remove the belt buckle from contact with the guitar.
Choosing an early Sigma would, possibly, also indicate a knowledge of guitars because a cheap Martin product is still a Martin product.
So someone played it a lot. This worn guitar. If playing a lot "opens up" a guitar this guitar is wide open. It fingers and chords well and sounds just fine. Just fine.
You shouldn't buy a guitar on looks. I say that a lot. No point really. Sound and character. Sometimes the two are the same thing.
I love this guitar. I do. I do. Will sell it because that is why I bought it but I will miss it when it goes.
Well...shit...maybe I won't sell it.
It has way too much mojo.
Well...shit...maybe I won't sell it.
It has way too much mojo.
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