5 guitars isn't enough - good thing PTC is so fast

[veinbuster]

First let me confess to the possibility that I have more guitars than I need. I see the question about "which 1 would you keep" quite frequently and there is no good answer to that - 1 is NOT enough.

I work far enough from home that I keep a few guitars there and last Tuesday that few was 5: Les Paul, McCarty, CU24, acoustic and 12 string (which I didn't really count because I don't play 12 string this time of year).
I found that selection VERY limiting. Crazy, because they are all excellent guitars, but still very limiting.
Thinking about it, the 3 that had gone to PTC were the most versatile that I had: HB with piezo, SAS and signature. I was a little bit lost with them all gone.
But Shawn and the PTC team got them all back in my hands this Tuesday and life is good again.

[rugerpc]

( I don't play 12 string this time of year)

Am I playing out of season????

<---- That's a blue 12 string... (with a red 513RW hiding behind)

[]-[ @ n $ 0 |v| a T ! ©]

First let me confess to the possibility that I have more guitars than I need.

Say 100 Hail Mary's and give one away to charity. I'll send you my address.

[LSchefman]

It's funny, people are so different.

I can get all of my recording work done with one electric and one acoustic, though I sometimes have two electrics.

[veinbuster]

Am I playing out of season????
<---- That's a blue 12 string... (with a red 513RW hiding behind)

Not at all. I bought mine specifically because I like it for Christmas music and I'm too lazy to expend the effort to keep my 12 string skills up most of the year.

Say 100 Hail Mary's and give one away to charity. I'll send you my address.

Is it OK if I missed the Hail Mary's and just gave them away? 3 found new homes in the last couple of months. Not quite charity though, because I asked that if they decided they didn't want a guitar after all, they return it so I can find another new home for it.

It's funny, people are so different.

I can get all of my recording work done with one electric and one acoustic, though I sometimes have two electrics.

I could get by, but I got used to having more than I need and often walk into the music room having decided what I feel like playing - and its an odd feeling for the instrument I like for that not to be there.

[LSchefman]

I could get by, but I got used to having more than I need and often walk into the music room having decided what I feel like playing - and its an odd feeling for the instrument I like for that not to be there.

I'm not at all critical!

What happens when I have more than I need is that I get paralysis by analysis trying to decide which one to record with. And usually by the time I'm laying down guitar parts, which is one of the last things I track (vocals being the very last), the client deadline is breathing down my neck. So for me, 5 guitars has proven to be a problem in the past.

I've learned that if I limit myself to one for textures (you might say Fender family or lighter tones), and one for my solo voice, (sort of Gibson family or warmer/thicker tones), I'm home free. That way I know exactly what I'm going to use for what, and I'm ready to go.

But as I said, we're all different, and I know that lots of players find that it's inspiring to have more to choose from than me.

[kingsleyd]

It's ALL a state of mind when it comes to guitar collections/toolkits.

I've found that it's a good thing to sometimes change things up so my mind remains flexible. For someone with a bazillion choices (such as myself) it's interesting and enlightening to take a week, or a month, and only play one guitar. And not limit myself to what I would normally play on that guitar, but play everything I would normally play.

I do the same thing with my tunes. Sometimes I will work on playing a certain tune in a different style/vibe/tempo/key/meter. This is partly because I get bored easily, but as with the guitar exercise given above, there's also an element of working to make sure my relationship to the tune stays open and flexible. And gets deeper over time.

[Fox77]

It's ALL a state of mind when it comes to guitar collections/toolkits.

I've found that it's a good thing to sometimes change things up so my mind remains flexible. For someone with a bazillion choices (such as myself) it's interesting and enlightening to take a week, or a month, and only play one guitar. And not limit myself to what I would normally play on that guitar, but play everything I would normally play.

I do the same thing with my tunes. Sometimes I will work on playing a certain tune in a different style/vibe/tempo/key/meter. This is partly because I get bored easily, but as with the guitar exercise given above, there's also an element of working to make sure my relationship to the tune stays open and flexible. And gets deeper over time.

^^ Fully agree. Kingsley have you seen "It might get loud"? Your post reminds me of the part in the movie where Jack White says something like technology kills creativity (in summary).

There's another variant to your approach that I sometimes take. When I come up with a riff that sounds good with high levels of distortion, I turn down the gain and try to play it with as little overdrive as possible, just to see if I can squeeze something extra out of the guitar and amp just with my playing.

But I have only three (electrics)

[veinbuster]

It's ALL a state of mind when it comes to guitar collections/toolkits.

I've found that it's a good thing to sometimes change things up so my mind remains flexible. For someone with a bazillion choices (such as myself) it's interesting and enlightening to take a week, or a month, and only play one guitar. And not limit myself to what I would normally play on that guitar, but play everything I would normally play.

I do the same thing with my tunes. Sometimes I will work on playing a certain tune in a different style/vibe/tempo/key/meter. This is partly because I get bored easily, but as with the guitar exercise given above, there's also an element of working to make sure my relationship to the tune stays open and flexible. And gets deeper over time.

I do make a point of doing similar things quite frequently, though it's been a very long time since I considered using just one guitar for more than the length of a vacation. The most extreme switcheroos I do is too play classical pieces on a santana and SRV on my classical.

[prsrocker1988]

I'm one of those guys who has to have lots of guitars too. Pushing 30 here. 4 amps... Close to 40 pedals. For me I like simple clean amps that act as a foundation or platform and I get my tone and versatility from my guitar and pedal selection.

When I gig I take 5 guitars usually, one of them acoustic. Electrics it's usually my CU24, Telecaster, Les Paul, and Stratocaster. But now with my new switching system on my CU24 I might narrow that down to just 2 or 3 electrics at a show... CU24 and perhaps something single coil. I just got a P90 guitar I might haul out.

For gigs I take one amp - usually a 20 or 40 watt Fenderish amp... Clean and then have about 8 drive options on a pedalboard. My thing is nailing recorded tones for covers so I have every tone nailed with the pedals and pickup options on my guitars. And then of course my NASA-approved pedalboard. Sometimes in a big enough place I'll run two amps.. I've ran a Super Reverb and Twin Reverb together for some festival shows - one on each side of the stage. Also have ran my 65amps Ventura and Tweed Deluxe together. No stereo effects - just an ABY box.

[CHARISMAFIRE]

I get so many good miles from a 50 dollar nylon string pawnshop beater gtr with broken tuners that i use vicegrips on that its not funny. My point is whatever gtr is in my hands is good for that moment. Once around a campfire I busted into an acoustic "Tom Sawyer". It was a crackup when my drummer who was playing bongos at the time stopped me to exclaim, "Seriously dude?!!!" The song took on a life of its own and turned out KILLER in the end.....and that is exactly my point.