# Chet Atkins Hears His Own Guitar

> Chet Atkins admits his guitar playing makes him feel sick when he listens to recordings of himself.
- Title: Chet Atkins Hears His Own Guitar · Guitar World | Shortify
- Summary: Chet Atkins admits his guitar playing makes him feel sick when he listens to recordings of himself. Chet Atkins felt his guitar playing was terrible when he…
- Keywords: chet atkins, guitar, mister guitar, country gentleman, tommy emmanuel, love bug crawl, rockabilly, Chet, Atkins, Hears, Own, Guitar World
- Source: Guitar World — https://guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/chet-atkins-was-his-own-worst-critic
- Published: 2026-10-02T19:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: chet atkins, guitar, mister guitar, country gentleman, tommy emmanuel, love bug crawl, rockabilly
## Recording Yourself
Recording yourself and listening back is hard for guitar players, often sounding terrible.
## Chet Atkins' Struggle
Chet Atkins, a legendary country guitarist, felt sick listening to his own old recordings.
## The Love Bug Crawl Incident
Atkins heard his 1957 recording of 'The Love Bug Crawl' on the radio and realized it was his own terrible playing.

> I remember going down the road one day and I heard a tune on the radio called The Love Bug Crawl
## Atkins' Reaction
Atkins described a visceral reaction when he realized the recording was his own playing.

> I can't even remember the artist, but I was listening to this thing and I said, 'Boy, that sounds good. Wonder who that guitar player is?' Then suddenly I realized it was me and it sounded terrible.
## The Psychological Switch
Atkins' experience shows how our perception of our playing changes when we recognize it's us.

> It's always that way when I hear myself, If I don't know it's me I think, 'Damn, that's pretty good. Wonder who that is?' Then when I realize it's me I kind of want to throw up.
## The Moral
There's a fine line between critical self-evaluation and complete self-criticism, even for great guitarists.
## Key takeaway

Chet Atkins felt his guitar playing was terrible when he heard a recording of himself, showing how self-criticism can be intense even for pros.