Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

[Brian Griffin]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Absolutely not. A guitar is like woman, can't live with only one.

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

You're basically saying "If you ever have to wear somebody else's glasses and they have a different prescription than you, everything will look blurry!"

And they're saying "Why would I ever have to do that??"

No, he was saying that his technique is so superior that even if he only ever plays one guitar, someone could hand him a rusty old beater and he'd have no problem because, after all, he plays bass guitar and it has higher action than any beater. It doesn't work that way.

[Brian Griffin]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

High end guitar today is not like high-end in the 70s or even 90s. For a fraction of a Gibson you can get a Les Paul copy with brand-name pickups and superb craftsmanship. The only one that makes a high-end guitar high end boils down to pretty much brand name and bragging right. You can also go the DIY route.

[Brian Griffin]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Someone on this board recounted a story about Slash having the chance to play EVH's guitar and rig once. His conclusion - "I still sound like Slash."

Sure, the guitar and the wood (and the strings and pickups and air temperature and humidity and color of the stage lighting) all affect your tone. The point is that you won't sound like Slash just because you use the same gear he does. You will sound like yourself trying to sound like Slash.

Slash sounds like himself playing EVH gear cause he plays the notes he would play. If he plays Eruption note-to-note using Eddie's gear, applying the same exact whammy-bar tricks and all, and record it, you wouldn't be able to tell.

[jon the art guy]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

No, he was saying that his technique is so superior that even if he only ever plays one guitar, someone could hand him a rusty old beater and he'd have no problem because, after all, he plays bass guitar and it has higher action than any beater. It doesn't work that way.

Maybe your technique is just inferior to everyone else's. No inference necessary on that one. No need to slippery slope it; it's plain as day. You need to practice more and strengthen your hand. Is it a tendon thing you have a problem with? A PT would be able to help you with those small joint flexor/extensor issues.

It might be carpal tunnel. Watch out.

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Slash sounds like himself playing EVH gear cause he plays the notes he would play. If he plays Eruption note-to-note using Eddie's gear, applying the same exact whammy-bar tricks and all, and record it, you wouldn't be able to tell.

I'd be willing to bet that EVH could sound more like EVH playing Slash's rig than Slash could sound like EVH playing EVH's rig - tremolo or not.

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Maybe your technique is just inferior to everyone else's.

The funny thing is that you accused me of "seeking argument" in another thread, and here you are doing your best to fan the flames.

[jon the art guy]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

The funny thing is that you accused me of "seeking argument" in another thread, and here you are doing your best to fan the flames.

yea, pretty much. It's like some crazy thought experiment; "will a person with nothing to gain and no real reason to continue the fight choose to walk away or jump on the bait?" I haven't even been trying or thinking very hard.

I'm starting to feel bad about it though. Would you calm down if I said You Win?

[Myaccount876]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

yea, pretty much. It's like some crazy thought experiment; "will a person with nothing to gain and no real reason to continue the fight choose to walk away or jump on the bait?" I haven't even been trying or thinking very hard.

I'm starting to feel bad about it though. Would you calm down if I said You Win?

"You Win" isn't enough. You're supposed to prostrate yourself before him.

[Jocelyn]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

A while back I started a thread very similar to this.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?266738-How-many-Guitars-do-you-need

That friend of mine though he uses just that one electric guitar ( a very nice MIJ), easily switches between that and any guitar given to him. When he picked up my guitar he displayed the same skills with out any effort.
What I think is this, your skills is what matters, most. I admit I lack a lot of it. I dont think having just one guitar is going to limit what you play and what you can play, or your skills. I also know another guitarist not a friend but an acquaintance. Very talented and skilled. He switches between his strat/ tele and a 335 and he sounds good with them all. I believe it is up to you, if you feel the need heck go for it.

[aleclee]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I had trouble switching guitars back in the day. I sold a Strat partly because I couldn't get on with its string spacing.Over the past 5 years, I've been playing a goodly bit with a very narrow range of guitars. Over the last 18 months, I've played my Parker Fly almost exclusively. When I broke out my EBMM to prep for an event where I had concerns about the Parker being ill-received, I had no issues adjusting to the different nut, fretboard, and neck.

While I have had issues in the past, at this point, playing an unfamiliar guitar is like driving an unfamiliar car. I might have to search for the switch is to turn on the headlights and the seat might not adjust the way I'd like but I can drive safely to my destination. At the end of the day, I get back to my familiar car and I'm more comfortable.

[wishUwerehere]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I'm late to the party it looks like, but I'll throw in my two cents as someone who, for a long time, has owned only one moderately-priced guitar at a time.

I would say it depends on how wide a range of music you play, how much modification you want to do, and how quickly you move between genres/sounds that you want to get out of your guitar. If you like and actively play a bunch of different genres and styles, multiple guitars will be more conducive. And by a bunch, I mean like if you're playing country, classic rock, funk, blues, and metal all on a regular basis, you'll be better off with a few guitars each suited to one or two of those genres, rather than one super guitar that has been modded to a massive extent to get all of those sounds, since you'll drive yourself crazy trying to find the right combination of mods to suit each of those.

If you're into modifying a guitar and you don't play a ton of different styles, or you move between them slowly enough that modification won't get super expensive all at once, one well-built guitar is fine. That's kind of the road I went...I have a PRS SE Custom. I love that thing, it's got great sustain for how light it is, and when I needed some different tones, I did some modifications. It's not what I would consider a high-end guitar, since it's only about a $600 guitar or so. A good low-end-of-the-high-end guitar will give you a solid, well-built foundation for you to build your tones off of without breaking the bank or making you reluctant to open it up.

For me, the ultimate example would be the Les Paul Studio (I'm gunning for an Epiphone in the near future to do some work on, but the Gibson is the same idea). It's a no-frills, no-extra-gimmicks, but still-well-crafted guitar that gives you a platform to start from. Between that and my PRS, I should be able to nail all the tones I need. A buddy of mine has around a dozen guitars, but he really only plays like three of them. I'll never be that guy.

Just my thoughts.

[jon the art guy]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I had trouble switching guitars back in the day. I sold a Strat partly because I couldn't get on with its string spacing.Over the past 5 years, I've been playing a goodly bit with a very narrow range of guitars. Over the last 18 months, I've played my Parker Fly almost exclusively. When I broke out my EBMM to prep for an event where I had concerns about the Parker being ill-received, I had no issues adjusting to the different nut, fretboard, and neck.

While I have had issues in the past, at this point, playing an unfamiliar guitar is like driving an unfamiliar car. I might have to search for the switch is to turn on the headlights and the seat might not adjust the way I'd like but I can drive safely to my destination. At the end of the day, I get back to my familiar car and I'm more comfortable.

Now this I agree with. String gauge means little to me except dem 3 shtep bennz, but nut width really throws me off sometimes. I've got big, doughy fingertips so skinny nut widths make it difficult to get in the groove when I'm hitting two strings. I'm destined to not play a mandolin very well.

[jon the art guy]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I'm late to the party it looks like, but I'll throw in my two cents as someone who, for a long time, has owned only one moderately-priced guitar at a time.

I would say it depends on how wide a range of music you play, how much modification you want to do, and how quickly you move between genres/sounds that you want to get out of your guitar. If you like and actively play a bunch of different genres and styles, multiple guitars will be more conducive. And by a bunch, I mean like if you're playing country, classic rock, funk, blues, and metal all on a regular basis, you'll be better off with a few guitars each suited to one or two of those genres, rather than one super guitar that has been modded to a massive extent to get all of those sounds, since you'll drive yourself crazy trying to find the right combination of mods to suit each of those.

If you're into modifying a guitar and you don't play a ton of different styles, or you move between them slowly enough that modification won't get super expensive all at once, one well-built guitar is fine. That's kind of the road I went...I have a PRS SE Custom. I love that thing, it's got great sustain for how light it is, and when I needed some different tones, I did some modifications. It's not what I would consider a high-end guitar, since it's only about a $600 guitar or so. A good low-end-of-the-high-end guitar will give you a solid, well-built foundation for you to build your tones off of without breaking the bank or making you reluctant to open it up.

For me, the ultimate example would be the Les Paul Studio (I'm gunning for an Epiphone in the near future to do some work on, but the Gibson is the same idea). It's a no-frills, no-extra-gimmicks, but still-well-crafted guitar that gives you a platform to start from. Between that and my PRS, I should be able to nail all the tones I need. A buddy of mine has around a dozen guitars, but he really only plays like three of them. I'll never be that guy.

Just my thoughts.

I had my sights set on the Epiphone Nighthawk because of the crazy switching that thing has. I also think it's muay suave...
Luckily SD makes a slant humbucker for it too! It's one of the reasons I joined the forums, actually.

[TimmyPage]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I come from a different circle of musicians, mostly jazz players. Most jazz guitarists I know (and the ones I listen to) treat their instrument as if it were a saxophone, or a drum kit, or a trumpet: they invest the money to have one custom made, one that feels and sounds the way that best represents their voice.

Through most of my jazz career I used a hollowbody guitar made of cherry, with a mahogany neck and a single P90 in the neck. The guitar had this massive baseball bat neck that felt absolutely at home in my relatively giant, spindly fingers. No matter whether I was playing trad gigs, modern gigs, samba, dixieland, even a few pop gigs, that single guitar served me, and I could rely on it. All of my fellow jazzers ended up having custom made instruments made for them as well, all drastically different from one another, but the universal idea was 'this is MY guitar, I might own others but this one is the representation of me.' I think that's a really cool idea.

Versatility is much more about what is in YOUR fingers than what your instrument is made of. My perfect idea of an instrument is a semi-hollow with two humbuckers, but I'm still searching for one with the right feel (I've found plenty with the right look and sound). I'm willing to drop money on it because I know, within myself, that I'm the sort of player that only requires one good instrument with a small handful of sounds.

That's not saying that that idea might switch in a few years either. If you take that route, you'll probably end up with 5-6 really nice, high end instruments down the road that really fit you. Slash may have a full room of Les Pauls, but they are all set up like his, they all sound like his, functionally he only really has one 'guitar' because he knows his sound so well.

Disclaimer: This is my side of things, based on my experience, might not be right for you, might not be right for anyone else in this thread.