My Guitar: the Martin D18 Sandy Morris couldn't afford

Musicians often express themselves best through their instruments.

In the latestpart of our summer series about musicians and their guitars, Central Morning's Leigh Anne Power spoke with St. John's musician Sandy Morris about the guitar he couldn't afford.

• CBC Music: Sandy Morris

Morris prefers to play his 1967 Martin D18 acoustic. When he saw the guitar in 1968, he wouldn't go near it in Hutton's Music store in St. John's because of its steep $800 price tag. One day, Mr. Hutton the owner of the store, took Morris across the street to the bank and signed a loan in order for Morris to buy the guitar. Morris eventually paid Hutton back at $20 a month.

"There's a way when you can sense when an instrument's meant to be yours," says Morris. "I had that exact experience with this guitar. The way that it felt against the neck, the string spacing, the way it vibrated when I held it and played."

• My Guitar: Colleen Power's souped-up Danelectro

Morris also used the guitar as an electric one in the sixties. It sometimes produced feedback when he plugged the guitar into the amplifier, but Morris said it was an interesting sound.

Morris can be seenplaying the guitar in the opening of the Land and Sea show. But he finds it's not ideal to play the instrument outdoors because of the warmth, humidity and noise. He prefers to play the guitar indoors at home or the studio.

The guitar is also an emotional outlet for Morris.

"Every now and again a guy comes along and realizes that when he picks up a guitar he's getting rid of stuff emotionally that he can't express to anyone else," said Morris. "You can find peace or you can get the anger out."

Click on the audio on the left to hear Leigh Anne Power's conversation with Sandy Morris.