Although I still haven’t seen SkyFall, the new James Bond flick, I did have the MI-5 to keep me company. No, none of the UK’s deadliest spies were here to assassinate me. I'm talking about the MI-5, Musicvox’s latest 12-string electric guitar, curiously named after Britain’s internal cloak-and-dagger intelligence agency. I can safely say the only thing undercover about this guitar is how its 12 tuners are slyly arranged on its headstock.

Last week, I attended PRS Guitars' sixth annual open-house event known as Experience PRS. If you’re a fan of PRS Guitars or just guitars in general, this free event at the Stevensville, Maryland, factory is a must-see. It truly is meant to be “experienced.” One item that struck me is the SE Custom 24 7-String, which happens to be PRS Guitars' first 7-string production instrument in their SE series of guitars.

Why? Because I was listening to The Cars the other day, and I realized that once you figure out these three quintessential Elliot Easton guitar solos, you're basically viewing a roadmap to tasteful guitar playing.

Do you know the only time most guitarists change all their strings is when they break one? I know because I’m often guilty of that. Changing strings isn’t always a matter of necessity; it can also be a matter of personal preference. Some musicians love the sound of their old strings broken-in, while others can’t live without the fresh sound of a new set.