I tried to make guitars that were close to what my heroes played. That's the way it's done. My experience is that you have to do it like a musician. You have to learn the language before you can learn to be a novelist.

It used to be that I could talk to someone in Texas and nobody would hear about it. Now, the moment I open my mouth it's all over the world. The second I say something, guys in Germany know about it. It's basically a wonderful thing because more information is spread, but you have to keep your mouth shut.

I change guitars as they come and go. I have one I played for almost a decade, but I've put it away. It was the first McCarty. Now, I'm playing one I grabbed off the line. I've been playing it ever since.

Nobody gives twenty-five million dollars to anybody if they're not getting twenty-five million worth out of it. Forget it. It just doesn't happen.

I don't see any rock stars playing an electric guitar from some new maker like you see in the acoustic guitar world.

Somebody's going to wake up and their job in life is going to be to make guitars. There are a lot of good, talented people.

I see money as a reflection of how much impact you're having on the world. I see money as a metaphor in a way.