2 guitars to cover every Genre

Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

Mandroid said:
If you could buy 2 guitars + 1 acoustic to cover every genre, what would they be?



(no lap steels)




I'm sure there's several of you out there that say any guitar will do. I just think some guitars can do a specific style better than other guitars can.
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Damn, that was too easy for you guys.

Could we change the criteria a bit some?
My (personal) end goal from the beginning though was to find out which 2 guitars + 1 acoustic could you round up with a budget of $1,000
I've noticed that most of what you guys have selected is already over a grand for just a single guitar, let alone three. While it's fun to imagine and speculate what would be the go-to axes for this thought exercise I just need something more grounded as money is a huge underlying factor for me. Which I should have mentioned in the first place but just assumed that everyone was in the same boat as me.
 
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Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

Mandroid said:
Damn, that was too easy for you guys.

Could we change the criteria a bit some?
My (personal) end goal from the beginning though was to find out which 2 guitars + 1 acoustic could you round up with a budget of $1,000
I've noticed that most of what you guys have selected is already over a grand for just a single guitar, let alone three. While it's fun to imagine and speculate what would be the go-to axes for this thought exercise I just need something more grounded as money is a huge underlying factor for me. Which I should have mentioned in the first place but just assumed that everyone was in the same boat as me.
Click to expand...

Getting an acoustic and 2 versatile electrics for $1,000 is a HUGE ask.

With that in mind, I'd start with a Yamaha acoustic as you can get a decent one for ~$300. After that I'd look for a single really versatile electric like a HSS Strat or SSS with rail pickups. longcat has a Strat with a Blue / Silver / Red Lace Sensor set that covers a ton of ground, and the SD Hot / Vintage / Cool Rails set is even more versatile. If you're into Gibsons instead, look for a used SG Special or maybe a higher end Epi and install a P-Rails / Triple Shot setup. My #1 these days is an SG Standard with that setup, but you'd be looking at around $1K for just the guitar.
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

Ive given alot of thought to this over the last couple years as I keep telling myself I need to thin the heard.. Plus, As lame as I am as a player, I really dont need but one or maybe 2 guitars if I choose ones that will cover alot of ground.
I know if you can play a plethora of styles with most any type of guitar..
I figure it would be good to keep one of my Washburn MG130s as it is one of the only guitars I have that is s/s/h and the bucker has a coil tap.
As far as the second one.. Not really sure.. Possibly my white Charvel as its a great player, has versatile pups, Dtuna, ect.

But, I cant imagine selling my Explorer or my LP
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

I can make an argument to keep all my guitars
This is my blue one
This is my green one

Truth is I play only one or two most of the time
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

The only guitar I've ever played that gave absolutely superb chunky Les Paul tones and jangly single coil tones was a high end PRS McCarty HH with spilt coil.
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

Van Noord said:
The only guitar I've ever played that gave absolutely superb chunky Les Paul tones and jangly single coil tones was a high end PRS McCarty HH with spilt coil.
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My RG2EX1 with the jazz neck split is jangly and huge when full on humbucker

Edit
In fact with the out of phase and the jb split and both in series I get a convincing Tele twang as well
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

It depends on how accurately you want to do every genre. As Clint says....an HSH with perhaps a little switching will probably do most genres if you're not too fussy on the accuracy of every tone - especially if your audience is quite drunk. I've seen plenty of bands attempt a wide range of songs with 1 guitar with enough success to suit most audiences.

I'd quite frankly look to spending the money on a quality amp - some of the more modern modellers will give you a much larger palette of tones than the same amount spent on a guitar but into a more 1-dimensional amp. And its this end of the signal chain that will do more for genre hopping than the guitar.
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

Van Noord said:
The only guitar I've ever played that gave absolutely superb chunky Les Paul tones and jangly single coil tones was a high end PRS McCarty HH with spilt coil.
Click to expand...

Thats all well and good if you are content with a jack-of-all trades/ master of none guitar.

Nothing sounds like a Tele but a real Tele, nothing sounds like Paul but a real Paul, nothing sounds like a devastating crushing modern metal guitar but a dedicated modern metal guitar ( nO, not a Jackson- they are 80's /shred machines)...so on, so forth. Waht is impossible to fake is a high end true hollow large Jazz box. Spare me about how your Jackson or stock Tele plays such true old school jazz.( or modern metal for that matter)...PLEASE!

I think a lot of these replies looked past the OP criteria of a guitar that does EVERY genre.

So, like I said, 4 guitars. I hope your entire life has enough game where you can eventually end up with 4 dedicated guitars to cover every genre... till then, sure, make do...A Tele is great for that with high gain 'buckers can do modern metal and with low output pckups can do good classic and jazz.
 
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Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

If you're talkin' $1,000 for just the two electrics, I'd say a great Tele or Les Paul Studio type and an SSS Strat with a well set-up wiggle stick. With that setup, you could even cover some very "acoustic-ish" sounds as well! The best acoustic type sound I've ever gotten (in a full volume live situation) was with a Les Paul Studio, with P-94 pups in the middle switch position, dialed in "just" right, direct lined into the PA!
Just Sayin'
Gene
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

I'd say a great player transcends the gear used to create the sounds.
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

MetalManiac said:
Thats all well and good if you are content with a jack-of-all trades/ master of none guitar.

Nothing sounds like a Tele but a real Tele, nothing sounds like Paul but a real Paul, nothing sounds like a devastating crushing modern metal guitar but a dedicated modern metal guitar ( nO, not a Jackson- they are 80's /shred machines)...so on, so forth. Waht is impossible to fake is a high end true hollow large Jazz box. Spare me about how your Jackson or stock Tele plays such true old school jazz.( or modern metal for that matter)...PLEASE!

I think a lot of these replies looked past the OP criteria of a guitar that does EVERY genre.

So, like I said, 4 guitars. I hope your entire life has enough game where you can eventually end up with 4 dedicated guitars to cover every genre... till then, sure, make do...A Tele is great for that with high gain 'buckers can do modern metal and with low output pckups can do good classic and jazz.
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Jerry's got a point
a 335 or a Gretsch Chet Atkins
its hard to get that woody semi hollow tone

Jerry has a uniquely wonderful example of the former

it does sound transcendant
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

Mandroid said:
Damn, that was too easy for you guys.

Could we change the criteria a bit some?
My (personal) end goal from the beginning though was to find out which 2 guitars + 1 acoustic could you round up with a budget of $1,000
I've noticed that most of what you guys have selected is already over a grand for just a single guitar, let alone three. While it's fun to imagine and speculate what would be the go-to axes for this thought exercise I just need something more grounded as money is a huge underlying factor for me. Which I should have mentioned in the first place but just assumed that everyone was in the same boat as me.
Click to expand...

I'll bend a rules a bit... I don't think one needs two electrics to cover the bases. A HSS loaded strat can get you into pretty much every genre, especially if you can split that humbucker. Could even be a single coil-sized humbucker. You won't capture perfect tonal authenticity in every genre, but this question has always been about some amount of compromise. You're looking for versatility, and no other configuration does that better than the HSS strat, IMO.

I've not been very active in keeping up with the latest gear, but I gotta think that as long as you're willing to shop used that there's no reason why one couldn't find a reasonably good playing HSS strat and acoustic for under a grand.
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

Mandroid said:
If you could buy 2 guitars + 1 acoustic to cover every genre, what would they be?
Click to expand...

Ok, but that's 3 guitars.

If leaning more pop/rock/metal in the set, I'd get a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Strat and a Gibson J-45 or Taylor acoustic
If leaning more folk/country/pickin' in the set, I'd get a Fender Telecaster, a Fender Strat and a Martin D-28

Personally, to cover everything from pop/rock/metal/country/jazz/whatever, I'd get
Fender Ash Telecaster, solid maple neck, string-through-body, Broadcaster bridge, TexMex/Twisted or stratty-sounding neck pickup
Fender Stratocaster with HSH route (so I can rewire as needed), maple/rosewood neck
Gibson Advanced Jumbo or J-45 acoustic with Fishman pickup

Amps and speakers matter, so this experiment only works if you have the right amps and cabs to get the sounds out of these guitars.
 
Re: 2 guitars to cover every Genre

Thanks for you guys's input and all the different combinations you guys thought up. It definitely opened up my eyes to a lot more possibilities.

I asked the question because I wanted all ground to be covered when it came to recording in the future. If it wasn't for the need to buy studio gear then I think I'd be able to buy myself a decent all-rounder. But I guess I just need to save up more and increase my budget.

This thread got me thinking and interested in the idea of a semi-hollow telecaster with the usual ashtray pickup in the bridge but the neck pickup changed for something else, like a humbucker. I just think that's a super sexy and versatile guitar. I keep reading that the f-hole doesn't make any difference though.


If I could bump up the guitar count to 3 guitars, I think I'd go with a:

Baritone --- I think if you're going for the hard and heavy stuff, a high quality baritone would always give the boot to a Les Paul.
semi-acoustic (semi-hollow, or hollow)
Tele

and of course an acoustic, which makes it 4, but an acoustic is a given, and a must, so I didn't count it in.
 
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