A guitar tech for me would be a useful person to have around, as I'm not at all good at pratical work like wood-repairs or electronics. Plus if I were to be a pro I expect I would find trying to do everything myself would leave me no time to have a life as well. Not that I don't want to learn about the tech side of guitars, but still, a team working together is stronger than an individual acting alone.

And as for the people who work in guitar stores, I've met some great people by simply wandering in to stores and asking a few questions. A good music-store salesmen has to have a good sense of what his customer is looking for and how to sell them their products. Yes, there are some who will sell a guitarist expensive gear they dont really want and think 'who cares as long as I make money and stay in business.' That's the bad kind.

When I went out to buy that les Paul I'd been dreaming about I went to my local store who were kinda used to me going in for strings and stuff...after playing the LP the sales assistant says to me 'you like to play the blues, have you thought about a strat?' ..'well, no not really...' He had me try all sorts of gear before I decided to settle for the LP, and the prices certainly varied. He didnt just want me to empty my wallet, he wanted to send me away satisfied. Those are the kind of people with business sense and respect for the musician.