Pete's guitar

Sorry I didn't post this earlier, it took me a while to find my tapes.
 Here's what Pete said about the acoustic playing during the '89 tour:

Q:  There has been a lot said and written about your hearing loss lately.
 I've heard how concerns about that have led to the current stage
layout--putting all the very loud instruments on the other side of the stage,
and building some baffles between you and the drums.  It's not the "glass
box" we were warned about before the tour, but there clearly have been some
steps taken.  So I'm just curious why you're mainly playing acoustic guitar
on this tour--clearly steps could have been taken to further protect your
hearing and still allow you to play more leads.

A:  Well that's the thing, isn't it?  Yes, I could have put the amps
offstage, or on John's side of the stage or whatever.  The amps I am using
(MESA/Boogies) are in fact offstage.  But the guitar is such a visceral
instrument to me--to really be comfortable in my playing I have to feel it as
well as hear it.  With the Hiwatts I've used for so long, they just sound
like shit at lower volumes.  So to get that sound you've really got to turn
it way up--past the point where I'm comfortable hearing it.  But when you
turn it up that loud and then play a big full chord there's this push at your
back.  And I've had that push at my back for so long, without it it's hard
for me to tell if I'm doing it right.  The times I've recorded in the studio
with me in one room and the amps in another, I can hear what I'm playing just
fine through the monitors, but I can't feel it.  It's a very disembodied
feeling.  Even on stage, the solos I have taken on this tour just don't feel
good to me.  They could be--I doubt it--but while playing them I have no
idea.  So therein lies the problem.  To play the electric guitar, or rather
to be comfortable playing, I have to play it loud.  Because of my ears, I
physically can't consistently expose myself to loud noises.  But the acoustic
guitar. . .well you can feel that without having to turn it up, feel it
vibrating against your chest and resonating in your head.  So consequently
I'm a lot more comfortable with the acoustic these days.  And if you can't
play the old Who songs without an electric guitar which you can't, and I
can't play the electric guitar at a level with which I'm comfortable, then
there has to be someone else to play the electric guitar.  And it can't be
The Who in the eyes of the fans without Pete Townshend up there playing
guitar, so what other choice do I really have?

Tommy can you hear me?
AThosWhite