Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

This is even more so when using Floyd Rose guitars. They stay in tune, but you need a separate one if you want to switch tuning, and better have one to spare in case a string goes.

Still... they stay in tune.

I use hardtails though.

 

[Gunsmith1971]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

My problem is that I have two acoustic 12 strings, 1 acoustic, 1 electric acoustic, 1 signed electric guitar that I can't play that the wife won and 1 electric guitar that I just bought to play metal on and I don't practice enough lol. I am just getting back in to playing again and plan on sticking with it this time. My best years were when I was in my 20's, had a nice small setup and was practicing every night. I got in to singing in my band and put the guitar down for awhile and then because of a back surgery, I have not played for more than 15 minutes at a time for over 6 years. For the first time in my life, I got blisters and sore finger tips! I didn't even get them when I started taking lessons when I was 12 years old. I got married, my back got destroyed and my hands went all soft on me lol. Now I am having to use the grip master and a callus building hand tool to build up my fingers again. But it seems like all the gear was so much easier to use back then. No plugging in to your computers and the hardest thing was learning how to set your cheap rack system or few pedals you had. Life was a lot easier then! But like many others on here, we are our own worst enemy. I already want to buy 5 more electric guitars, a steel guitar, a drum machine and like 3 different amps lol. I have 63 fishing rods, fly rods, Spey rods, surf casters and built 1/2 of them. I also have a large collection of firearms and bows........And yes I need every one of them lmao. I am like a kid in a candy store again when it comes to guitars. I am now looking at buying one of those cheap DIY final finish guitar kits and just looked up how to start building my own effects pedals since it would be something fun to learn. The kits only needs minimal work done to them like doing the frets, some sanding, finishing and swapping out the parts for better quality stuff. If they seem good then I will probably be building multiple guitars. But for now I should probably stick to practicing on my new Dean till I get good enough again.

 

[Sirion]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

I use hardtails though.

Yeah, I suppose that is one solution as well, just not one I'd like to consider.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

True story... I have a few RGs lying around. And changing tunings == changing guitars... period. You can't even drop the low string to D without throwing everything out of whack.

I have a guitar that originally came with a floating Floyd and a D-tuna installed. Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought this was a bad combination, as the D-tuna was long gone by the time I bought it on the used market.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

I had 14 guitars and 4amps-it was nice seeing all the guitars hung up on the wall, until they all needed string changes, cleaning and setups- so I decided the ones collecting dust needed to go, and traded them in towards a recent Les PaulStandard- so now I have 2 Les Paul's- an 86 and 2015, with my EVH Striped, EBMM Axis and PRS. That covers all my bases, though I'm thinking of a Jazzmaster.

My 7 amps- Orange Tiny Terror, Marshall Slash SL5, EVH 5150 III 50 watt, EVH 5150 III LBX. I needed all those amps to get the tones I wanted. I got tired of juggling amps, so traded them all in towards a Mesa Boogie Mark V combo, which had the best aspects of all those amps, and then some, plus a superior clean sound.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

I strongly disagree about the vintage guitar thing. Guitars in general are being made much better and more consistent than they were back in the day (certain companies notwithstanding) and you can get 100% authentic reproduction pickups from a number of manufacturers. I completely reject the notion that old guitars have some kind of voodoo.

Also, you can get modern sounds from vintage pickups with intelligent use of outboard gear. You can't do it the other way around.

My 1986 Les Paul Custom is now 30 years old. I just bought a 2015 Les Paul Standard.

The 86 has a warmth that the 15 can't get- and I put the same Duncan Alnico 2 pros in each. The 15 has a cold, sterile sound compared to the 86, which I've just come to accept as it's tone - for a vintage tone I turn to the 86, for modern high gain I turn to the 15.

The 86 is broken in from years of playing, so it plays like butter but is difficult to keep in tune. The 15 plays like my PRS, it's built with a lot more precision and with the Plek setup from the factory it plays like a high end sports car.

The 86 is more organic and feels like broken in set of gloves. The 15, with its titanium parts, robot tuners, feels more like if you put on Tony Stark's Iron Man gauntlet. However, as a tool , the 15 is more reliable, built better, stays in tune much better.

Vintage guitars have their place for that mellow tone, but with drawbacks such as tuning stability. New modern guitars are built better and more solid, but have a colder tone.

I end up playing my 15 more since it's more reliable to stay in tune, and after 15 minutes my ears adjust- adjusting amp settings helps too

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

I wonder if I'd be happy with a CS Strat, Historic LP and CS Charvel....

 

[2ndhandband]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

My 1986 Les Paul Custom is now 30 years old. I just bought a 2015 Les Paul Standard.

The 86 has a warmth that the 15 can't get- and I put the same Duncan Alnico 2 pros in each. The 15 has a cold, sterile sound compared to the 86, which I've just come to accept as it's tone - for a vintage tone I turn to the 86, for modern high gain I turn to the 15.

The 86 is broken in from years of playing, so it plays like butter but is difficult to keep in tune. The 15 plays like my PRS, it's built with a lot more precision and with the Plek setup from the factory it plays like a high end sports car.

The 86 is more organic and feels like broken in set of gloves. The 15, with its titanium parts, robot tuners, feels more like if you put on Tony Stark's Iron Man gauntlet. However, as a tool , the 15 is more reliable, built better, stays in tune much better.

Vintage guitars have their place for that mellow tone, but with drawbacks such as tuning stability. New modern guitars are built better and more solid, but have a colder tone.

I end up playing my 15 more since it's more reliable to stay in tune, and after 15 minutes my ears adjust- adjusting amp settings helps too

You are of course aware that tuning stability issues can generally be corrected...

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

No


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Silver]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

In a way I do get what Silver is saying. At times I do have a bit of envy for some artists that have spent their whole lives with one Telecaster, e.g.

You see those naturally reliced guitars and the sweat and DNA just embedded into the wood...the countless gigs, the beer and the smoke, every ding a memory. The BOND between artist and instrument. I get it. Only have that with a select few of my guitars, and I can be somewhat sad about not having that.

But...doing what I do...playing mostly covers my whole career...I need access to a variety of sounds. So having a Legacy, a Paul, a 335, a Martin, a banjo, a bass and both electric and acoustic 12-strings is a good thing for me.

I've done several gigs where I have taken a Legacy, a backup Legacy, 2HB, acoustic, banjo, and acoustic and electric 12-strings...and use every one of them.

But The Edge takes 20 guitars? I'd love to, but The Roadie would divorce me!

Bill

But, couldn't you do covers without all those guitars?

When Hendrix covered 'All Along The Watchtower', he didn't try to copy the guitar Dylan used. I've seen Vai, Satriani, etc... all cover songs in G3 using their standard guitars. In fact, whenever I've seen a famous artist cover a song live then 90% of the time they just use their standard gear and make the sound their own.

One of the best players I know plays a Suhr. It's a humbucker-single-humbucker guitar with (i presume) some fancy 5-way switch wiring. He plays a Bogner Ecstasy half stack and has a few pedals. He plays professionally, everything from weddings to bar gigs to studio work, in addition to his own original stuff. He does it all with just that one guitar (I think he has two of them actually, one for backup) and one amp and a few pedals. It might not sound exactly like it does on the CD, but it sounds good all the same.

20 years from now, he'll have a relic'd Suhr... with all the bond and memories you mentioned.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

When we found out that we were going to have another baby I thought about it but in the end it just wasn't a viable option... I did manage to go from close to 30 electric guitars and 9 amps to about 6 guitars & 3 amps though!!! Well 3 amps in the living room, I've got a few others that I keep in storage???

 

[2ndhandband]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

But, couldn't you do covers without all those guitars?

When Hendrix covered 'All Along The Watchtower', he didn't try to copy the guitar Dylan used. I've seen Vai, Satriani, etc... all cover songs in G3 using their standard guitars. In fact, whenever I've seen a famous artist cover a song live then 90% of the time they just use their standard gear and make the sound their own.

One of the best players I know plays a Suhr. It's a humbucker-single-humbucker guitar with (i presume) some fancy 5-way switch wiring. He plays a Bogner Ecstasy half stack and has a few pedals. He plays professionally, everything from weddings to bar gigs to studio work, in addition to his own original stuff. He does it all with just that one guitar (I think he has two of them actually, one for backup) and one amp and a few pedals. It might not sound exactly like it does on the CD, but it sounds good all the same.

20 years from now, he'll have a relic'd Suhr... with all the bond and memories you mentioned.

This. I do almost all gigs regardless of content with Strats. All of them have more or less identical electronics. The only time I change guitars during a show is for different tunings (it's been over a decade since I broke a string onstage). I don't try to replicate recorded tones.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

But, couldn't you do covers without all those guitars?

When Hendrix covered 'All Along The Watchtower', he didn't try to copy the guitar Dylan used. I've seen Vai, Satriani, etc... all cover songs in G3 using their standard guitars. In fact, whenever I've seen a famous artist cover a song live then 90% of the time they just use their standard gear and make the sound their own.

One of the best players I know plays a Suhr. It's a humbucker-single-humbucker guitar with (i presume) some fancy 5-way switch wiring. He plays a Bogner Ecstasy half stack and has a few pedals. He plays professionally, everything from weddings to bar gigs to studio work, in addition to his own original stuff. He does it all with just that one guitar (I think he has two of them actually, one for backup) and one amp and a few pedals. It might not sound exactly like it does on the CD, but it sounds good all the same.

20 years from now, he'll have a relic'd Suhr... with all the bond and memories you mentioned.

Hell no! Cause we'are amateurs and amateurs are the ones who whine the most.

I remember Billy Sheehan told a story about some dude complaining about his gear and when asked how many gigs he had played, he said 'two'. Billy has done numerous gigs with the same pickups, same amp, same bass, etc. This was probably before he was famous.

I don't even gig, playing at home my whole life, yet I have more than 12 guitars right now and have started to lose interests in them, having played since 1989. These days I spend more time teaching myself piano. Yet I want 12 more and am thinking about getting a Laney Ironheart and another Ibanez RG655 but in black. I acquired 2 guitars last year and one this past February that I don't even enjoy playing but I like having lotsa stuff around...ha..ha.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

My problem is that I have two acoustic 12 strings, 1 acoustic, 1 electric acoustic, 1 signed electric guitar that I can't play that the wife won and 1 electric guitar that I just bought to play metal on and I don't practice enough lol. I am just getting back in to playing again and plan on sticking with it this time. My best years were when I was in my 20's, had a nice small setup and was practicing every night. I got in to singing in my band and put the guitar down for awhile and then because of a back surgery, I have not played for more than 15 minutes at a time for over 6 years. For the first time in my life, I got blisters and sore finger tips! I didn't even get them when I started taking lessons when I was 12 years old. I got married, my back got destroyed and my hands went all soft on me lol. Now I am having to use the grip master and a callus building hand tool to build up my fingers again. But it seems like all the gear was so much easier to use back then. No plugging in to your computers and the hardest thing was learning how to set your cheap rack system or few pedals you had. Life was a lot easier then! But like many others on here, we are our own worst enemy. I already want to buy 5 more electric guitars, a steel guitar, a drum machine and like 3 different amps lol. I have 63 fishing rods, fly rods, Spey rods, surf casters and built 1/2 of them. I also have a large collection of firearms and bows........And yes I need every one of them lmao. I am like a kid in a candy store again when it comes to guitars. I am now looking at buying one of those cheap DIY final finish guitar kits and just looked up how to start building my own effects pedals since it would be something fun to learn. The kits only needs minimal work done to them like doing the frets, some sanding, finishing and swapping out the parts for better quality stuff. If they seem good then I will probably be building multiple guitars. But for now I should probably stick to practicing on my new Dean till I get good enough again.

Yet you have time to write a post this long... :lmao:

 

[2ndhandband]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

Yeah, I suppose that is one solution as well, just not one I'd like to consider.

I WILL NOT go onstage without a whammy. That said none of my stage guitars have Floyds, but nevertheless I need the bar. It's an integral part of the way I play an electric guitar.

 

[2ndhandband]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

I have a guitar that originally came with a floating Floyd and a D-tuna installed. Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought this was a bad combination, as the D-tuna was long gone by the time I bought it on the used market.

A D-tuna only works if the bridge is decked and then you get no upbend. What kinda bull**** is that?

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

I had 14 guitars and 4amps-it was nice seeing all the guitars hung up on the wall, until they all needed string changes, cleaning and setups- so I decided the ones collecting dust needed to go, and traded them in towards a recent Les PaulStandard- so now I have 2 Les Paul's- an 86 and 2015, with my EVH Striped, EBMM Axis and PRS. That covers all my bases, though I'm thinking of a Jazzmaster.

My 7 amps- Orange Tiny Terror, Marshall Slash SL5, EVH 5150 III 50 watt, EVH 5150 III LBX. I needed all those amps to get the tones I wanted. I got tired of juggling amps, so traded them all in towards a Mesa Boogie Mark V combo, which had the best aspects of all those amps, and then some, plus a superior clean sound.

Mesa is known for their distortion, but their cleans are some of the best out there.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

Yeah, I would LOVE to be a guy that can play anything and everything on one guitar. Or have one hard tail and a floyd. Having just turned 50, being hard of hearing and having NO natural talent, And a very bad back, (3surgeries so far), I doubt Ill get to the level Id like to be. So, another reason I struggle with having so much gear. So, perhaps Ill be able to cut thru the extras down the road a bit..

 

[waltschwarzkopf]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

I have two guitars. I'm modifying one of the m the have it do everything I want and then sell the other. The reason I boutght the sencond one was to experiments with different pickups and freatboard AND to have a guitar to play while the other one isdismantled.

 

[Silver]

Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

Yeah, I would LOVE to be a guy that can play anything and everything on one guitar. Or have one hard tail and a floyd. Having just turned 50, being hard of hearing and having NO natural talent, And a very bad back, (3surgeries so far), I doubt Ill get to the level Id like to be. So, another reason I struggle with having so much gear. So, perhaps Ill be able to cut thru the extras down the road a bit..

Ever played a Parker Fly?

I played the Parker Fly Deluxe a while ago and it was very very lightweight and comfortable. Played great too and is definitely a very versatile guitar.

If I had a bad back I'd get something like that.