As today is my birthday I have the day booked off and with no kids in the house and my wife at work I have been sat playing through all my guitars. I get that it may not seem like much of a treat but believe me, its a rare thing to get a few hours of playing in.
This is my collection of guitars
https://imgur.com/gallery/EQbvZZrOver the last few months i have been buying and selling quite a few guitars, amps and pedals on a mission to find the best bits of gear i could.
I have been lucky and found some great gear.
This morning has been a huge reality check though. I have never sat and played each of my guitars back to back, one after the other. Today i have, all through the same amp - a Fender Tweed Champ as its as good of an amp to hear exactly what each guitar aounda like as i could think of.
Head and shoulders above all of the guitars is my old Sheraton, the guitar ive played for 13 years. Its had a few modifications such as Bareknuckle Missippisspi Queens in it but its still a cheap guitar.
I am now sat here questioning why i need the rest of the guitars i have (other than one back up of course). I cant see me putting the Sheraton to the back of the pack again as i have for the last month as i know it sounds better, feels better and i play better on it than indo any of the others. Ive owned loads of sheratons and played 100’s so i know its better than all of the others ive played so ive got lucky with this one.
Perhaps this is the realisation that spending a lot of money does not mean you are getting a better guitar and that a great guitar is a great guitar regardless of price.
Has anyone else ever had a moment where youve gone back to an old favourite and wondered why youve spent so much money?
Comments
Not necessarily because it's a better guitar - it has some fundamental flaws that can't be fixed within a reasonable price - but just because it's the most fun at the moment.
That'll probably change in a week or two.
It's a heady combination, and when you're in that mood your other guitars will seem lifeless in comparison, no matter what quality they are.
its pretty true true what you say. It’s the definition and the crunch combined that is such a winner.
Doesn’t mean the rest of the collection has to go......
I always gravitate to my MIJ strat and self assembled tele as I am more single coil than humbucker - however whenever I play my 100 quid harley benton semi hollow which is modded to death I can't help but grin as it sounds and plays fantastic regardless of its more modest price.
Oh yeah, happy birthday Shaun by the way : )
My friend was also round, and listening to him play the same guitars made me realise that my two best sounding guitars were my old Yamaha SA1000, and Jap 60's reissue strat (with JB jnr, and Texas Special pickups). Nothing came close to the sound of those two guitars and made me wonder why I needed the other 8........to this day i still can't sell them, lol!
It's a good point and I have bought and sold more guitars in the last year than the last 10 years combined and keep coming back to my number one LP Standard. It just sounds huge and puts most similar SG/LP to shame which is actually a bit frustrating as i'm on the hunt for a spare but unless I get lucky I know it won't be anywhere near as good...
If I’m honest I could get along fine with my telecaster +1 and be more than happy. As it stands I’ve 2 teles, 2 strats an EBMM Albert Lee and a Gretsch electromatic. Also just bought a LPJr body/neck to build up over time.
I’m sure some of them will go over the next year or so, but I’m also sure I’ll probably start the cycle again.