Do you gig with your best guitar?

DulcetJones

The last few years I was gigging with electric guitar I started using my Squier Tele because it is a very good guitar for a cheapo and things were getting a bit scary out there for musicians.  Crazier people at gigs, vehicles being broken into etc....

Sassafras

In the days when most people only had the one guitar, we used to have to gig it whatever its value.

DrBob

Not that I’m gigging at the minute (or indeed for the past 16 years....) but the only one that would make me nervous is the Heritage 535, not just because it’s the most expensive but I perceive it as being somehow more fragile than the solid bodies 

Dominic

HAL9000 said:

Dominic said:

Get the point but it's a bit like having a Ferrari in the garage and being too scared to take it out for a spin because there are other cars on the road .
 Or people who have very expensive jewellery but are too scared to wear it
There becomes little point owning it in the first place if it can't go out and do it's job 

Slightly different though, as you can still use your expensive guitar indoors or for recording.

Yes but lots of people with those kind of Ferraris could probably afford to build Brands Hatch in their back garden !
In fact , that Goodwood bloke made a nice little earner out of it

Bill_S

I wouldn’t take a very expensive guitar gigging, but 95% of what I do these days is recording in my home studio. If you don’t gig, there is still a point to owning great guitars - the only other option apart from gigging is definitely NOT limited to putting guitars in a glass cabinet and bragging rights. There is also the pure joy of owning a thing of beauty, which is perfectly legitimate in my book, although in my case I play, record and produce almost every day.

jamjarman

I have instruments I designate "studio" and "gigging". The studio instruments being the "nicer" instruments. The "studio" instruments do get gigged but only at nicer venues rather than dive bars... i.e. has a green room. 

Musicwolf

jamjarman said:

 but only at nicer venues rather than dive bars... i.e. has a green room. 

Green Room????!!!! Round here the 'nice' venues are the ones where the punters go to the toilets to do drugs, most of the time it's on the tables in the open.

JayGee

If I’m gigging with it, it’s because I consider it the best guitar Ive got for that particular job, that said the most expensive thing Ive got (early PRS Mira) barely made it into 4 figures when I bought it, and is worth a lot less than that now,

On the subject of Ferraris, its actually quite surprising how many of the less fashionable things, like 308 GT4s or Mondials turn up with proper working car mileages, and the PistonHeads listings have currently got two 550 Maranellos with over 90,000 on the clock and a 308 GTS with 126,500 miles...

Hmmm.... Maybe my Mira is the Ferrari Mondial of PRSii... :-)

Mark1960

Always gig with my best guitar. Having said that it's value is probably <£1,000.00.

HoraceB

Some great guitars out gigging here. I should have asked for pictures I usually gig with the best guitar I have for the job, the only problem is I never hang on to them long enough! Currently my Don Grosh rules but alas no gigs.

Voxman

And just to show that I did regularly gig with my 69 hardtail Strat before  I retired it:

skikdi53

Voxman said:

And just to show that I did regularly gig with my 69 hardtail Strat before  I retired it:

Nice sound. 
This is not a song for women

greggreg66

I've gigged all of mine, inc my 59 junior which is the most valuable for me. I remember going to one gig around 18 years ago and this kid had taken his dad's early 60's red strat and played it on stage. It sounded amazing. He switched guitars and the next one, his one, sounded awful. I spoke to him after and he said he'd borrowed his dad's "old guitar" - don't think he had any idea it was so expensive, even back then!

designerseye88

For me half the pleasure of owning nicer guitars is playing them live and generally hearing how good they sound (when played by someone else). I get people don't want to gig expensive guitars but for me if it doesn't get played often then it goes. I am guilty of owning a Porsche a couple of years ago and I used it as my daily driver. Yeah I put a couple of miles on it and probably knocked a few quid off it but whats the point of owning something unless you use it and enjoy it. 

Voxman

skikdi53 said:

Voxman said:

And just to show that I did regularly gig with my 69 hardtail Strat before  I retired it:

Nice sound. 
This is not a song for women

Lol! Thankd. That's my eldest daughter, Lydia at her very first gig ever with us (or anyone!) when she was only 15. 

skikdi53

Voxman said:

skikdi53 said:

Voxman said:

And just to show that I did regularly gig with my 69 hardtail Strat before  I retired it:

Nice sound. 
This is not a song for women

Lol! Thankd. That's my eldest daughter, Lydia at her very first gig ever with us (or anyone!) when she was only 15. 

I spoke about the tone(don't know if it's the right word, E I think) it is hard for a woman. 

Voxman

skikdi53 said:

Voxman said:

skikdi53 said:

Voxman said:

And just to show that I did regularly gig with my 69 hardtail Strat before  I retired it:

Nice sound. 
This is not a song for women

Lol! Thankd. That's my eldest daughter, Lydia at her very first gig ever with us (or anyone!) when she was only 15. 

I spoke about the tone(don't know if it's the right word, E I think) it is hard for a woman. 

Ah, you mean key!  No, it was actually fine for her.  I think the key was C major from memory. 

PolarityMan

yep

fretfinder

Definitely, bought them all to play and they’ve all been out with me one time or another.

Jalapeno

Definitely, I have some mildly pricey gear, but nothing historic/silly money.  I insure them. Biggest fear is theft tbh. 

For Jazz - Sadowsky Jim Hall Special / John LeVoi Maccaferri

For covers/Rock - Tom Anderson Hollow Body Drop Top, and one of Les Paul / Tele / PRS