Man - should I just go down to 1 guitar??

[progrmr]

So I've gotten myself a stable that pretty much covers the gamut -

1. Gibby SG Special
2. Epi LP Custom upgraded with Gibson 496R/500T pickups
3. Epi DOT with GFS Dream 90 pickups
4. Squier '51
5. Ibanez RG470

Here's the thing...when I feel like playing, I actually have to stop and think about which guitar I want to play. Inevitably I wind up playing different guitars all the time and as a result I don't bond with any of them!

After all the money, time spent buying/selling/trading/installing pickups,pots,caps myself/re-stringing to get this collection where it's at...I'm not satisfied.

I don't feel a particular bond to any of my guitars...they're all awesome but I don't have that barry_white "aaaahhhh yeeeeeaaaa...time to play my guitar".

I'm bummed! I feel like I should sell 'em all off, buy a kick a$$ strat and that's it - that's my only guitar. When I go to play, I won't have to think about which one I want to play. There's only one choice. And if it's awesome - the bonding should come naturally.

What do my you all think?? Ever think about going to just one guitar?

 

[Tig]

Ever think about going to just one guitar?

Yer askin' for it!

I think you need more rest or should see a doctor!
Seriously, you have such a nice, rounded collection. Enjoy it.

 

[ZMAN]

I bought a Gibson SG in 1968. I played for a few years then put it away. I have always owned it. I started playing again in the mid 90s and also started to collect guitars. I have owned about 30 and I now have 19. Like you, I never really had a Number 1. About 4 months ago I pulled out my SG again. I could not believe how nice it felt. It has a lovely action and plays like a dream. The only draw back is that it is a P90 guitar. Lately my tastes in tone have pushed me to an HB configuration, and I have tried most of the Gibson brand and really do like the 490/498 combo over just about all of them. After playing the SG I decided to get an HB version, and ended up getting a G400 and a Gibby SG Standard.
NOW, I could probably sell all the rest of my guitars. The SG standard is NO. 1. It sounds feels and plays like it was designed strictly for me. I always pick it up when I play and I can get so many nice tones from it. I really like the playing position with the neck set higher on the body. I guess it was the one I chose in 68 and learned on and maybe that is why. I still have lots of choices but don't really get excited by them.
I know how you feel, and I always wondered how a person can settle on a no. 1 . Now I know.

 

[progrmr]

Yer askin' for it!

I think you need more rest or should see a doctor!
Seriously, you have such a nice, rounded collection. Enjoy it.

Haha! Awesome!

ZMAN knows where I'm comin' from.

Truthfully - I can't see myself parting with my SG. The rest...well, sure they're special but not so special I couldn't get alone without them.

Tough spot to be in.

 

[Eric]

Interesting. I find myself going through this same sort of thing, but I figured most people didn't share my stance, given that so many people have so many freaking guitars. It's interesting to hear that you have some of the same sentiments I do.

I'm now down to 1 acoustic, 1 bass, and 2 electrics (Agile + Godin, both dual HB). I like it this way. My favorite guitar is the Agile, but Les Pauls can be kind of cumbersome to have on the couch or wherever for fiddling around and practicing and what not. So I have a tele-size guitar (the Godin) to use as a backup to the Agile that's also my '#1' as a grab-and-play guitar due to its size.

I think you'll find your way eventually, and I'm basically saying that it's not bad to only have one or two guitars around. If you buy a nice guitar and keep it pretty much stock, you can always sell or trade for another nice guitar if you do get bored with that one.

Spend some time with just one of your guitars for a long long time and forget that you own anything else. Maybe that will make things more clear for you.

 

[kidsmoke]

I've been in the same exact frame of mind lately. I unloaded several lesser quality pieces of gear, got one dream guitar (for me) and have passed on other opportunities recently, thinking that what i need is to become one with one single instrument and amp. Figure out all the sounds I can get from it, learn as much as possible about the sonics, develop my skill a LOT further etc. Down the road, I may find myself stalled, and that's ok, for now it's about growing in skill, not sonic palette. I do have a second electric(Idol), which can do very similar things to my Heritage 535 (a 335 style), and I justify that as a backup, should electronics or strings fail on the way out the door. I love it as well, very comfortable standing, but not as much sitting. And the 535, well, it's simply the perfect guitar. I also have a neighbors Am Std Strat on extended loan (2 yrs and counting) so I can do the Fender thing if needed, but I simply never even touch it.

All that to say, I feel ya, programmer, 'tis a very zen reality you are slipping into, and don't feel odd about it in the least.

Cheers

Edit: i've also got one quality 6 string acoustic, keeps me covered.

Man, it's a slippery slope

 

[marnold]

Well, I have one guitar and one bass. When I had more than one guitar, the other one just gathered dust. No point in it. My concern with you selling everything is that you might not know what your dream guitar is. It'd be terrible to sell everything for an expensive guitar that you don't like and can't unload without taking a big hit.

 

[aeolian]

Sure it is fine to go with just one guitar, but that doesn't mean that you will bond with the one though. Then you end up swapping your single guitar until you find one you bond with, which I guess is OK.

For me, it is almost exactly the opposite. I have 7 electrics and I like every one of them and I try to give them pretty much equal playing time. I have to admit that with every guitar I own there are time periods when I favor one for a while, and this does not necessarily happen when I first obtain the instrument. There have been guitars that I did not bond with, and those are gone.

For me to cover all the bases I have to have a minimum of single coil guitar, humbucker guitar, guitar with a whammy, semi-hollow or hollow body guitar. I have all those now. The first guitar I bought with my own money was in 1975, and the last one I bought was a year and a half ago, and I don't buy or sell often.

 

[Eric]

Well, I have one guitar and one bass. When I had more than one guitar, the other one just gathered dust. No point in it. My concern with you selling everything is that you might not know what your dream guitar is. It'd be terrible to sell everything for an expensive guitar that you don't like and can't unload without taking a big hit.

This is a very good point, and a big reason why I have never spent more than $400 on a guitar; I don't yet know what my dream guitar is. If you buy your dream guitar used, you could probably still trade or sell without much of a hit if you shop around for a good deal beforehand, but the Marnold's point remains.

 

[kidsmoke]

This is a very good point, and a big reason why I have never spent more than $400 on a guitar; I don't yet know what my dream guitar is. If you buy your dream guitar used, you could probably still trade or sell without much of a hit if you shop around for a good deal beforehand, but the Marnold's point remains.

Agreed. The reason I violated this was that A) I knew I loved my other semi(which I sold) B) I was able to play the guitar I bought several times, and couldn't sleep knowing someone else might be holding her..... C) paid a price I knew I could re coup, should the need arise, which at this point, would never happen willingly.

And, like marnold, i know what I want. I think that's huge. If you're a gigging musician, playing multiple genres, then sure NEED is actually relevant. I was moving in the direction of wanting to cover the sonic spectrum, but realized my skill rendered that irrelevant. I just want to get much better, and I think having a single guitars geometry, day in and day out, will help with that.

tangent: Eric...quite a testament to Agile that it ranks as your fave even with the Godin in the stable. I've messed with a few Godin's recently and they're damn fine guitars.

 

[Eric]

tangent: Eric...quite a testament to Agile that it ranks as your fave even with the Godin in the stable. I've messed with a few Godin's recently and they're damn fine guitars.

True. I personally think it might be due more to the LP design than the fact that it's Agile, but if the guitar sucked it would have been left in the unplayed heap long ago. It's the only Les Paul guitar I've ever owned, and every time I come back to it I wonder why I tried something else. So in that way, maybe I do know what I like/want.

Funny thing is, I've played an H150 before and the difference wasn't that huge. I wasn't A/Bing them at the time, but I really expected to be completely blown away by the Heritage. To me, that says that while I might know what I want, either the Agile really is that good or I don't have a sufficiently refined guitar palette to notice the difference. Either way, it makes it awfully hard to justify spending much money on something higher-end right now, but I'll definitely allow for the fact that it's the right course of action for most other people.

But I digress...

 

[Tig]

I unloaded several lesser quality pieces of gear, got one dream guitar (for me) and have passed on other opportunities recently, thinking that what i need is to become one with one single instrument and amp.

Um, don't you mean, "guilar"? oke

 

[kidsmoke]

got me.

can you hear the revisionist justification campaign hitting it's stride?

 

[MAXIFUNK]

I can relate to this on so many levels it took 20 plus years for me to find a numero uno a #1 bass Ibanez SR-500 solved that for its the only bass I play. One day I hope to own an IBANEZ SR-Prestige Model the current series has 2 I really like.

As far as my 6 guitars go 3 strats (2 /s/s/s & 1 h/s/s), 2 tele's (1 H/h & 1 s/s) & 1 LP h/h.

I always have either my American Special Strat h/s/s or FSR Strat direct mount pups no pick-guard s/s/s out on a guitar stand. So, I guess they are 1A and 1AB.

My 3rd Strat I rarely play its a Pink Paisley Strat the 7.25 neck is big and heck sometimes I am so worried about nicking up the axe I play it for 30 to 40 minutes and back in the case it goes. I love the sound of the clean tone it has so I won't sell it but I have considered getting a 9.5 or 10 to 14 compound radius neck for it. I guess its my one collector piece.

My HH Tele I play once every 3 to 4 months and need to sell it ASAP the neck radius 15.75 is just to damn flat for me but since it was the 1st guitar I bought I just need to get over the emotional attachment and sell the damn thing and get a another HH I'll play more often. I want another LP style or at least LP neck scale length to give my LP classic plus less wear and tear and it can be my go anywhere with me with HH axe with no fear of being damaged or stolen.

My Les Paul I play a lot as well but since its more of gift I paid only $300.00 for it and almost 20 years old I really hate to take it out of the house and it never sits out on a guitar stand unless I'm playing it. I want to make sure it last another 20 years. 1AC

My CV Thinline Tele is played often I just put some 10's on it and WOW what a big difference it made just killer just a killer axe. 2 My take to work and play at lunch time guitar.

The 1st of the year I started to rotate which guitar I play I switch which Strat stays out on my guitar stand every month. I then decide which guitar is axe b for the week. I have this all laid out on an excel spread sheet geeky I know but It assures I play and bound with all of my guitars. The only one not in my rotation is my HH Tele I really just need to sell that sucker and get another HH axe I have my eye's set on a Ibanez DarkStone DN500 but can not seem to find one that I can try out to see if I like the neck or not. the J5 Squire Tele would be a good choice as well but no tone knob and no coil tap requires me to mod it I would rather just get something that is ready to go after being setup, a HH version of my take to work lunch AXE.

So, I under stand the whole which guitar to play today issue but my spread sheet geeky as it is helped me out greatly just play whats on the sheet follow the road map. An each guitar gets used.

If I had to label my guitars it would be more like this I guess 1A H/S/S Strat, 1AB S/S/S Strat, 1AC my LP. 2 CV Tele, 3 Paisley Strat, 4 Tele H/H.

 

[Katastrophe]

My advice... Keep what you got for a little bit. You've got a good representation of different brands, types, scale lengths, a semi hollow et cetera. Take the time to learn the nuances of each instrument over time to find out what you like, and don't like about the guitars. Instead of buying and trading or selling, go to a GAS station and play a few different kinds... before buying. It'll save you a lot of time, money, and aggravation down the road.

In the last 15 years, I've bought exactly one guitar, my Strat... And that was after a considerable amount of time playing a ton of different guitars at different stores. In the last 20 plus years, I've only sold off one guitar, and that was because I needed money, not because I didn't like it.

The "one guitar" theory certainly has merit, but you seem to be the kind of person that is into a lot of different styles, from jazz to metal. Ultimately, it would be cool to have a good jazz guitar (hollow or semi), a good metal guitar (pointy shredder), and an LP or SG and a Strat. Looking at what you have, it looks like you're pretty close!

 

[Spudman]

Well...you do need to have one guitar that makes you go "wow, this is a really cool guitar. I love it and I'm sure glad that I got it."

I've probably got 15 of them that do that for me. So what would be the point of getting rid of them? No point at all. But, you certainly don't need to have just one that makes you feel that way. If you have some dogs in the stable then work at getting rid of them and replacing one or all of them with guitars that you can get your rocks off with.

If you've already exposed yourself to owning a few guitars with different feels and sounds then owning just "one" that is the supposedly "it" guitar will never satisfy you. Desires are inexhaustible.

 

[Tig]

The 1st of the year I started to rotate which guitar I play I switch which Strat stays out on my guitar stand every month. I then decide which guitar is axe b for the week. I have this all laid out on an excel spread sheet geeky I know but It assures I play and bound with all of my guitars.

Oh, no. That's not geeky at all! oke
:notme

 

[otaypanky]

For me guitars are kind of like friends. Different friends can get you thinking in different ways, seeing things from different perspectives. You might joke around with one and tend to have more serious weighty conversations with another ~
Guitars are kind of like that for me. Some tend to get me to play one way and with others my style changes a bit.
So if you have the room and don't need to sell them for the $$$, maybe just tuck a couple in a closet and forget about 'em for a while.

 

[progrmr]

For me guitars are kind of like friends. Different friends can get you thinking in different ways, seeing things from different perspectives. You might joke around with one and tend to have more serious weighty conversations with another ~
Guitars are kind of like that for me. Some tend to get me to play one way and with others my style changes a bit.
So if you have the room and don't need to sell them for the $$$, maybe just tuck a couple in a closet and forget about 'em for a while.

Now this is interesting - playing differently based on the guitar your holding. That is something I could see.

I have already started cleaning some house - I traded away my Epi LP Custom last night for a MIM Strat HSS (freakin' beauty, I'll have to share some pics of it) with some type of totally silent single coils (guy wasn't the original owner and couldn't confirm the pickups were stock, personally they're too quiet to be stock but I've never owned an HSS) and a Seymour Duncan in the bridge. I became immediately aware of a few things that I liked over the LP that I'd never been conscious of before:

1. The belly bevel - I'm not a small guy and this really makes the guitar 100% more comfortable to play. Still looking to lose weight but I think the belly bevel would be nice even skinny!
2. The forearm cut - again, I always wondered why the LP felt like I couldn't get my picking hand in the right position - then it hit me, the forearm cut in the strat body makes it sooo much more comfortable to play.

Then I started considering these things with the other guitars I have and have had - IE the DOT, the SG, the Ibanez, the Squier '51, the Arbor Tele.

Of those, only the Squier has the forearm cut and belly bevel.

The DOT has edges much like the LP but the body is thinner - it's more comfortable to play than an LP but it's not as comfy as the Strat.

The SG has a very thin body - again not as comfy as the strat but probably why I have liked it over other guitars.

The Arbor Tele was something that I couldn't figure out why I didn't like it, but I think it's because of no belly bevel and forearm cut.

Being conscious of these features, I haven't sat down with the Ibanez yet to see how that one feels. It's pretty new as well and I need to spend some more time with it. Guessing it's going to be comfortable.

And the Squier '51 is another one I need to spend more time with but guessing it's going to feel a lot like the strat. The pickups need upgraded in that one and the switch converted to a 3-way instead of a knob so there's a couple of factors there that affect my perception of that guitar.

Basically I'm wondering if the physical aspects of some of these guitars, which I love the look and tone of, has turned me off of them. Maybe I *need* something more comfortable than the LP to play. But I do love the double humbucker tone.

I've listed the DOT and the SG for sale on the local CL - but I'm not going to budge on the prices. I'm going to keep doing some more recon on the guitars to see if they're just not worth trying to adapt to when something more physically comfortable seems to fit me better.

Is there anything more comfy than a Strat???

 

[Tig]

For me guitars are kind of like friends. Different friends can get you thinking in different ways, seeing things from different perspectives. You might joke around with one and tend to have more serious weighty conversations with another ~
Guitars are kind of like that for me. Some tend to get me to play one way and with others my style changes a bit.

A good way to look at things. I feel about the same, but haven't really thought it out this much. Maybe this is why I like a wide variety of guitar configurations and necks.

To take it a step further, my playing style changes a bit when using different effects and much more using different amp models in the HD500.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

I just make a point of intentionally rotating through guitars, whether in practice or gigging. Fortunately the church gig means I'll usually have at least one practice and one performance per week. Because honestly I tend not to pick them up except when playing in a band sitch.

At any rate, going down to 1 isn't a consideration for someone who performs and who hits a guitar as hard as I've been known to. I've gone through 3 guitars in 45 minutes before (fortunately at a rehearsal), so I always have at least one backup guitar, and preferably 2, at any gig.

 

[MAXIFUNK]

oh, no. That's not geeky at all! oke
:notme

yeah i know geeky as hell lmao!!

 

[DrumBob]

Ask us here and you're going to get too many opinions. Appreciate what you have and take the time to bond with each of them. First, do you play gigs?

Then, ask yourself: Do you need multiple sounds for the material you play? Do you need a separate guitar for slide? Do you play open tunings that require a separate guitar? Do you like diversity and variety?

It's always good planning to have a spare guitar on the gig in case something goes wrong. I brought a Strat to a gig once and the wiring shorted out rendering it unusable. Good thing I had my Gretsch.

 

[deeaa]

These days, you only really need a second or more guitars for those reasons DrumBob gave here: slide, different tunings, spare. Plus acoustic and of course bass.

It's not like you *need* a different guitar for different sounds, though, IMO. I have many guitars but I use the same pickups in all of them. One guitar with a bucker and a single is pretty much all you need and with some effects or especially multiFX and PODs and whatnot you can make it sound just as well like a strat or a les paul or whatever. Of course in a big fine studio you might want subtle nuances and use various guitars for real sounds off them, but live, nobody cares or can hear any differences anyway. You can even fake acoustics quit easily with just the one electric. I have a friend who's rebuilt one of those Line6 guitars to his liking and uses it extensively and he plays even synth parts with it, acoustics, mandoline,

I would quite easily live with just one guitar, I played and gigged with just my Les Paul for over a decade and never even brought a spare guitar. I modded it so that the neck pup had a switch that made it dual single and it could sound just like a strat in 2nd position that way. Also had an EMG PA-2 preamp in it to make it a metal beast when need arose. It was all I needed from pristine cleans to rootsy rock to metal. I also used a few different tunings, but being so used to the guitar I could just change the tuning on the fly without even thinking about it, even while already playing a song.

BUT these days, if I gig, I always bring them two strat-based bastards. Mainly use the sturdy trusty 2-pickup one, but sometimes the lively Squire backup with just an 85 bridge bolted on w/no pickguard etc, kinda VH style, especially for the end of the gig where I play leads.

I also have a 'metal' guitar for recording, with preamp and all, real slick, and a V I don't know for what use, just always liked how they look, and my best guitar I tend to only use in studio/recording really. If I gigged much, I might start using my best guitar - the Davette - as my main axe and one of the strats as backup for it.

 

[Duffy]

I might sell off some of my lower quality, less great sounding guitars or give them away, but I will never move to just one guitar.

The reason I think this way is because every guitar I have sounds different and the best ones sound great but different from each other. Another factor is that I have a few good amps and each of them sounds different, some of them very different from each other and each amp seems to sound best with certain guitars.

Recently I bought a real high gain Peavey 6505+ combo and I like it more all the time. None of my other amps sound anything like this amp and certain guitars sound really good thru it, while others are just apparently not made for ultra high gain applications. Humbuckers and active humbuckers sound great thru this amp and even my noiseless Fender tele pickups.

So, while now you apparently only have the small Fender Mustang amp, you might some day get another bigger amp or a tube amp, or even a couple different type amps. At that point it might be enjoyable to have a few different guitars to use and it looks like you have some pretty nice ones that you are thinking of or trying to sell.

Obviously it is all up to you and what you want to do. But times change.

Myself, I really enjoy playing my strats and have a couple good ones, but sometimes that isn't the sound that satisfies me and neither does a single coil tele. During those times almost always I will be satisfied and groove on the sound of an HH LP or other humbucking or noiseless guitar. I even like having a good HH strat with a whammy bar. Sometimes I just want to play a guitar that has a tremolo no matter what pickups it has on it. I get a thrill out of the variety of vibes and sounds.

Some of my stuff needs to go, for sure. But I have the room for it and I'm not in any rush. Like I said, I might even give some of the ones I never play away. Some of my guitars don't sound that good relative to my other guitars and my current idea on hot rodding a guitar is to start with a real decent guitar to begin with before hot rodding it. So I'm cool with getting rid of some of my not so decent guitars. But it seems like your guitars are pretty decent guitars already.

It's your decision, but I have read so many times where guys sell guitars and later really regret getting rid of them, especially if they are real decent guitars to begin with. It might be years before you feel this way, but if you have some real decent guitars you may eventually wind up regretting getting rid of them and then find that it isn't easy to regain the past. In fact, sometimes it's impossible. Then again, if you are positive that you can't and won't bond with them, they are essentially useless and you shouldn't regret getting rid of them.

I can see where you are trying to figure out the best thing to do. It is rarely unwise to take your time and think things thru; and then maybe you'll be more sure to make the right decision. Not that we all haven't made a lot of the wrong decisions in our lives. It's definitely wise to try to keep those wrong decisions to the minimum.