Does anyone own “duplicate” guitars?

[PFDarkside]

What I mean by duplicate is the same exact guitar, model, pickups but maybe a different color. I’ve seen some players that will have duplicate or triplicate guitars (like Soloist with JB/Jazz) just different finishes.

I own a lot of Strats and Strat type guitars, but they’ve got different bridges, neck shapes and most importantly, pickups. I see each as a new opportunity for different tones. How about you?

 

[ICTGoober]

Yes, but they are all budget stuff bought at garage sales, etc.

 

[Mincer]

I own 2 Music Mans...same shape but different models, and different electronics. They sound very different from each other. That's about as close as I come.

 

[ErikH]

My 2 Frankenstrats have the same body wood, same neck material/profile/nut width/fret size, same hardware, but different pickups. My Les Paul is actually closer electronically to one of them since I use it and one of the Strats with my current project. Gotta keep it consistent. I *might* get another Custom Custom / WLH for the other Strat and wire it up the same.

 

[beaubrummels]

Two near-identical Melody Makers (different shapes, same wood and electronics.) The other 'duplicates' have more differences; different wood, different electronics, different hardware, etc..

 

[Securb]

I do for redundancy on stage, the electronics vary on the different models but are close enough for horseshoes in most cases.

2 Strats with humbuckers
2 Teles with Humbuckers
2 Iceman
4 Les Pauls

I typically use the Pauls for gigging

 

[GuitarStv]

Kinda?

I have a maple neck alder body SSS strat with 50's style neck + middle pickups and an overwound bridge and a floyd . . . and a maple neck ash body SSS jazzmaster with 60's style neck + middle pickups and an overwound bridge and a floyd. They sound a different from one another, but close enough that one is a good backup for the other when gigging.

 

[PFDarkside]

I mean like two American Standards with the same pickups...

 

[Edgecrusher]

I do, I own a pair of Ibanez RG750's that are identical other than 1 is black and the other is silver. Set up 100% identical too. Story goes years ago when I was still chasing the dream of making it big I was in a band that played 3 sometimes 4 nights a week and we were on the road a ton. I was having issues that if i had to swap guitars quickly the guitars I was using before needed my amp and pedals to be redialed in to be right.

So i thought the solution would be 2 identical guitars. I went with the RG's cause at the time they were common as dirt and if something broke finding parts was easy. One time we played a gig in Butte Montana which is close to nowhere and I broke a string holder on the Kahler that was on my Jackson, My backup was an SG that meant any songs that needed a trem were going to need some "improvising"

So i bought the RG's and quickly learned that 2 identical guitars can sound different. I spent a lot of effort to try and make them sound the same but at the end I just dealt with it and didnt worry if my sound wasnt perfect after a guitar swap. I could wait until the set break to swap settings.

Funny enough I still have both guitars and even though i played them a ton particularly the black one, I never really liked them. I got good sounds out of them but the feel just never quite jivved with me. The strings feel to me like they are really close to the body that the neck sits really low in the pocket compared to like a strat.

 

[NegativeEase]

No perfect matches

2 Rick 4003s that are identical except color
2 Teles that are pretty similar except pickups
2 Taylor 314ce except one is 6 string and one 12 string -but feel identical

 

[EmiAba]

My nice to have is same model/different pickups. For example I own 3 les paul (one with emg 81/85, one with 59A4 and C8, one with P490R/HB-L). I am planning to get a second prs se custom 24 and swap the pickups in favor of Alnico pro II and custom custom.

 

[jeremy]

i have a lot of strats of various stripes but they all have their little differences

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I have many each of Les Pauls, Strats, and Teles. All rather different from each other.
A number of korina slab guitars, same deal - similar feel but tones vary a lot for disparate styles.

The sole exception is one of my PRSs. I replaced the original Dragon One pickups in my '97 CE with a "1985" reissue set so it could sound pretty close to a longtime favorite, my #1 since '87. I don't travel with the old favorite anymore, but this gives me a very similar palette of tones in a guitar that isn't so irreplaceable.

Another plus is that the CE is quite pretty. This is Spitfire.


Most of my guitars get a name to suit their character and many are named for birds or aircraft. This one's full name is Aquamarine Spitfire; it was a happy confluence of a volatile personality & unusual color with the iconic Supermarine fighter.

 

[GuitarStv]

That's up on my list of nicest blue guitars ever seen.

 

[Mincer]

Yeah, that's one hell of a blue. Is there a filter on that? I wish my blue Brian Moore was that color, but the dye faded to a milky purple.

 

[jeremy]

ever thought to refin the brian moore?

 

[ehdwuld]

I have three LP shaped guitars with F holes
different manufacturers
Different pickups
Different control layouts

One is super heavy
the others are light but not super light

 

[eclecticsynergy]

That's up on my list of nicest blue guitars ever seen.

Thanks man.

Yeah, that's one hell of a blue. Is there a filter on that? I wish my blue Brian Moore was that color, but the dye faded to a milky purple.

Can't be 100% certain since the pic was taken by the original owner. I don't think it was filtered or enhanced though. The blue is quite brilliant and really comes alive in sunlight. Here's a low-res image I took with my phone. There is some difference in the shade of blue compared to the other but I think my $30 cellphone just can't equal the color saturation of a decent camera.



Mine doesn't look to have faded at all. Some of PRS' blues are very sensitive to UV, I know. Certain ones - Whale Blue especially - can also vary wildly in intensity even when brand new. Still, plenty of older blue PRSs have gone greenish or purple and I've seen a couple that went pretty much grey. Maybe by '97 they'd switched formulas, or it might simply be that this particular color uses a (synthetic?) pigment less prone to fading. I believe the shade's official name is Royal Blue.

 

[JamesPaul]

No exact duplicates. I do have some that are close enough I can use them as backups.

2 Black SSS Stratocasters. One has a Rosewood board and a Kahler. The other is Maple with the stock Fender trem.

Mutt '81 Lead II and Player Series Lead III when split.

Custom/Jazz and Distortion/Jazz Les Pauls. The Custom is standard and the Distortion is normally my Drop D.

'59/'59 Les Paul and an Epi LP with the Epi '57s in it.

 

[Aceman]

My Cadillacs all have different Pickups: PG, JB, Distortion, Custom, Srock....but all different finishes

I do have Two Les Pauls with SuperD's - but 73/74, Standard/Custom so not the same