Have you considered paring back to just one or 2 guitars?

ICBM

SlopeSoarer said:

Let's say theoretically you've chosen to go down to one or two (sounds like some of you have), what would be your pickup choice/configuration (if electric)? 

Three pickups - neck like a PAF, middle like a Strat, bridge like a hotter Tele/Rickenbacker. Switching to give neck+bridge.

As was demonstrated in gringopig’s blind test thread, guitars basically sound the same apart from the difference between two pickups and three.

I could actually do that with just my Strat copy if I fitted an extra switch, I’ve already got hotter bridge and neck pickups.

Sassafras

ICBM said:

Sassafras said:

I can only play one at a time.
In contrast, I own about 10 banjos.

Since you can only play one of those at a time too, I admire your public spiritedness in keeping the other nine.

They're investments for when the banjo makes its inevitable comeback.

Freebird

No! I use a Les Paul, Tele & P-Bass for recording, and I have an old beater Strat for everything else. I sometimes wake up in bed with it next to me   

monquixote

Freebird said:

No! I use a Les Paul, Tele & P-Bass for recording, and I have an old beater Strat for everything else. I sometime I wake up in bed with it next to me   

How many times have you had to replace the jack socket?

tony99

thegummy said:

If I sold the others I'd get back a relatively low amount compared to how much I spent initially and I'd possibly just spend it on day to day things and have nothing to show for it.

I do think it's quite possible and realistic to stick to two though - a Strat and a Les Paul for example. That will do most things.

I suppose you only really need one but I think you'd be missing out on a lot of options sticking to one, even a HSS

Strat and a LP is my aim, I have the two of those that I want as well so all good

just need to sell an acoustic and another gibbo and I'm there

BahHumbug

I do occasionally think about reducing the number of guitars that I have (5 electric, 2 acoustic) but I find that the best way for me is to not waste too much effort thinking about acquiring or disposing of them and to try put the maximum effort into playing and improving as a player.

Jetfire

See, there's sometimes a logical argument to say you do "need" a certain type of guitar in your collect so having a SSS and HH makes sense and may mean you end up having more than 2. For example, I gig regularly so I need 2 similar guitars for gigging with so that's now covered with 2 x Ibanez RGAs. What I dont now need is a third guitar with HH so my plan is to cover my Blacktop strat to a SSS so that is covered. Then I will have a "proper" strat, a Tele, a baritone, 2 gigging guitars, an acoustic and a bass, everything is covered. If I wanted to go to single coils for gigging, I can use the Tele and my strat and keep my Ibanez at home. 

Amp wise, get a helix and youll never GAS for an amp again (I am joking of course, but I am a helix convert and I haven't even looked at amps in over a year)

bacchanalian

It was easy years ago to have only one guitar because there was a fairly limited amount of gear available. There were socio-economic reasons as well. Now there is just so much gorgeous stuff about and an audience of comparatively well heeled guitar players.
I would love to have only one electric and one acoustic.  The acoustic I have covered but electrics - there is just so much damn nice stuff about.   
Realistically though. I end up sounding pretty much the same regardless of what guitar it is, so probably one with hums that split.

I hate having stuff about that does not get used so having more than three starts actively annoy me and has maybe led to some unwise sales.  I had to stop reading the other thread where some have 20 and 30 + guitars as it was giving me palpitations. 

Just remembered I would still like a goldtop so might have to use CBT to allow me to have 4.

 

prowla

Maybe I could cut back to 20 or so, but it would be a wrench.

pintspiller

TimmyO said:

This has been on my mind recently. 

I, like a great many people, own far too many guitars. 
I liked the idea of having different types, and each of them is either a) great in its own way or b) something I built or had made and therefore won't recoup much outlay. 

Yet for some reason I have this urge to get shot of most of them - or rather to be someone who only has 1 or 2 guitars as having them around feels like a waste.

Maybe it's some sort of gear-focussed mid-life-crisis or something - has it happened to you? 

Thought of it. Probably unlikely to happen though.

Matt_McG

Never had to consider it. I have one electric guitar, and have never owned more than two at once.

I have one nylon string and one steel string archtop acoustic. Could happily get rid of the latter, but it is worth nothing, and takes up no space.

Matt_McG

The one electric guitar I have - T style - wouldn’t be my ‘end times’ guitar, though.

I would want:

neck single coil,
bridge humbucker.

And a vibrato that stays in tune for moderate rather than extreme wanging.

But I would want either a low output vintage PAF style humbucker, or a Filtertron style, maybe a Firebird style mini. Nothing high output, plenty of air and high end. Neck could be an S style, or maybe a P90, Staple, or CC style. 

Middle pickup: nice to have, but not a deal breaker.

mark_jwedge

I have done exactly this recently with all my gear, guitars, amps and pedals. I tried loads of guitars, hundreds of pedals and loads of amps. 

I had a couple of key realisations. First it was that out of all the guitars I tried the Les Paul was just the one for me. When I used other types of guitars I would end up just trying to make them sound like a Les Paul. 

So I decided that rather than have loads of good guitars I really liked, I would go for a couple of exceptional guitars I absolutely love.

Im now down to an R8 for my covers/function band and most dep gigs, Les Paul Standard in Drop C for my originals rock band, PRS SE tremonti as a back up to both and a Taylor 214 CE for my acoustic trio gigs.

I also got fed up of lugging a mountain of gear to every gig and trying to shoehorn pedals into songs to justify their place on the pedal board. So I’m now down to; tuner, overdrive, boost, delay, EQ. 50w plexi style amp, 2x12 and a DV mark micro 50 head as a backup.

Less than 5 mins to set up and max 2 trips to the car for load in/out.

thegummy

Jetfire said:

Amp wise, get a helix and youll never GAS for an amp again (I am joking of course, but I am a helix convert and I haven't even looked at amps in over a year)

Why only joking? I went with modeling right from the start and have never GASed for a real amp in my life.

Jetfire

That's a fair point. Real world situation dictates I can't have 4/5 amps and cabs etc. as much as I'd love them.  

skullfunkerry

thegummy said:

Jetfire said:

Amp wise, get a helix and youll never GAS for an amp again (I am joking of course, but I am a helix convert and I haven't even looked at amps in over a year)

Why only joking? I went with modeling right from the start and have never GASed for a real amp in my life.

I really missed my Orange rig when I sold it, but since I got the Katana and played with the sneaky amps pack I've got pretty much everything I need

CMW335

I’m one sale in the classifieds away from doing exactly this, cutting down to one electric and one acoustic. 

grungebob

I have one acoustic, a bass and one guitar plus one amp (Katana).  I know them all quite well. I would love to change the amp and I do want but not need another electric guitar as mine only has a bridge humbucker and I sometimes wish it had a neck singlecoil. 


At one one time I had five amps and around 11-12 electrics 

Voxman

Nope, I like having choice to play different guitars depending on my mood and what Im playing.  Makes up for all the years I only had one and then two elecric guitars plus an acoustic! 

Philly_Q

There's a fundamental difference in mindset here, isn't there?

Some say "I've got a good Strat here which I'm really happy with, so that's covered."

I think "I've got a good Strat here which I'm really happy with, so I'd like another one."