Ig on the IG BLOG wrote about how you gotta fight your guitar a little. I generally concur, but I think the idea extends to other tools as well… I like my cameras to fight me a little as well. But it’s not just that I want my guitars/cameras to fight… I want them to fight me in useful ways, in ways that make me a better musician or a better photographer. I don’t want just any old thing to be harder. For example, if my Telecaster isn’t set up just right, it frets out on bends above the twelveth fret. I HATE that. It limits me, as opposed to fighting me. On the other hand, I like using a manual focus lens on my autofocus camera. It fights me, but it makes me more conscious of what I’m doing.
That’s the advantage of a guitar that “fights” you, I think… it keeps you focused and concentrating, and not just doing something too effortlessly.
Sit down and shut up! 
“That’s the advantage of a guitar that “fights” you, I think… it keeps you focused and concentrating, and not just doing something too effortlessly.”
That’s a great thought! Thanks for sharply “focusing” on the issue. I love your blog!
Funny you’re into photography. I love photography too and actually dabble in it at times. My father in law is a professional photographer and gets on my case about being too much into music and not enough into photography. I used to have my own dark room a few years back and did a lot of work and prints. Had to dismantle it once I had kids who needed the spare bathroom! Haven’t been inspired yet to get a good digital SLR, but, you never know…
Best,
IG
I’d like to have a darkroom, but my recording studio takes up all of “my” space. :} For a while, I was developing my own B/W film and then scanning, but that got to be awfully time-consuming. Getting a DSLR completely reworked photography for me, and I highly recommend it. The digital workflow can be just as rewarding as the chemical one, I think. I still prefer the look of film, and the way film cameras handle, but the advantage of being able to take SO many photos and edit them quickly is really seductive.
Speaking of “fighting”, a manual 35mm camera fights me just about perfectly. Cymbals can fight you too, if you’re a drummer.