That's why I like the Steinberger guitars. They're easy to travel with... and they don't get messed up by the airlines.

For the longest time, I didn't even want to admit I was serious about music. Before the Shins, I would tell myself, 'Oh, I'm going to figure something out someday.' I had this romantic vision of being this old dude maybe making guitars or something.

One of our biggest pet peeves is listening to bands that use harmony guitars for the sake of it. If you can't figure out how do something different than Maiden, UFO, or even Boston, then what's the point?

I still believe guitars will be around as long as there's rock music.

The media says that equality for women has arrived, but if you look around, you still don't see girls playing guitars and having success with it.

I've always been into guitars... we want to put keyboards on, but keyboard players don't look cool onstage, they just keep their heads down. There has never been a cool keyboard player, apart from Elton John.

It's been neat to find out different writing strategies. I've been in the room with so many different writers. Sometimes, you write with tracks, and other times, with acoustic guitars. That's been really a cool thing, because it brings out different lyrics with you.

Most of my guitars have been instruments that look cool. I'm not picky. I never think, 'Oh, this neck isn't made of ebony,' or, 'These strings don't feel correct.' It doesn't matter too much.

Why did they keep changing guitars and amplifiers when they were perfect? They did the same things with cars, if you ask me. They forgot how to make them right, because they focused on style and bells and whistles.

I keep guitars that are, you know, the neck's a little bit bent and it's a little bit out of tune. I want to work and battle it and conquer it and make it express whatever attitude I have at that moment. I want it to be a struggle.

I've been playing for aeons now, but way, way back, I remember Eddie Van Halen came out ,and I loved his playing. He was amazing. But then everyone started copying his guitars with Floyds, and I didn't.

I was really into Black Sabbath but heavy guitars can really be very limiting it's a great frequency and it's great fun to listen to but on the other hand musically you can do a lot more without it.

I wish they'd had electric guitars in cotton fields back in the good old days. A whole lot of things would've been straightened out.

Gibson has been making the finest electric guitars the world has ever witnessed for over 70 years. They are as American as God guns and rock and roll.

The media says that equality for women has arrived but if you look around you still don't see girls playing guitars and having success with it.

I've always been into guitars... we want to put keyboards on but keyboard players don't look cool onstage they just keep their heads down. There has never been a cool keyboard player apart from Elton John.

I keep guitars that are you know the neck's a little bit bent and it's a little bit out of tune. I want to work and battle it and conquer it and make it express whatever attitude I have at that moment. I want it to be a struggle.

You can muck around with different guitars for certain bits but you have to have your own sound. That's your benchmark that's your sound. I also play a Black Beauty. It sounds amazing.