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

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

AlexR said:
There are quite a few things that are not quite the same now as in days gone by. The 2 key criteria of chassis and pickups have elements which cannot easily be reproduced with modern manufacture.
Having had 'identical' pickups made using modern and 50's wire it is clear that this parameter is certainly key to tone. Plus in the a/b-ing of modern pickups with vintage magnets installed versus modern mags, plus modern mags vs vintage mags in vintage pickups there are certainly tonal differences in both cases.
Then there is the wood. Maybe your type of music doesn't highlight small differences as referenced by your other thread. My type does. In this case I have found the chassis does indeed influence how any low output pickup works.

In my qualification as a horticulturalist I also know the growing condition of wood from the time where virgin forest could be harvested will produce a different structural outcome to ones force grown in plantation where the 3 main conditions for growth are all altered. This is not to say that you will not find an overlap, as there are not 'specs' for wood like you would find in a man made item. More that the average is 'tweaked'.

The main thing that modern manufacture has given is consistency and accuracy to physical dimension. As neither of these are in any way a tonal attribute, and more effect playability, I cannot see as a major contributor to 'better tonality'

I would of course welcome your thought on what actually has become a slight diversion to the main thread.
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that's kinda the core of the matter. New techniques allow for instruments with better build and fit and finish. not perse better tone. that's why I so persistantly b!tch about wood. I discard almost 70% of what I can get my hands on.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

Yeah, switching around can be distracting to actual playing sometimes. Everytime I switch; pedals, eq's, playing style changes a bit an nd write a bit of time is in the adjustment ... for me at least. Is kinda prefer to stick with one but I feel like my others are neglected children if they don't get time.

Keep in mind the Edge uses 20 of his guitars in concert. Different one on nearly every song. Pretty cool when you think about it.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

Silver said:
How about one those guitars with the motorized bridges or a hipshot trilogy?

Something like this: http://axcenttuning.com/
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Robot tuners don't make up for intonation issues though. It's not a huge deal going from say E standard to Drop D, but going from E Standard to Drop C would introduce intonation and tension issue for me.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

Johnny the Kid said:
Robot tuners don't make up for intonation issues though. It's not a huge deal going from say E standard to Drop D, but going from E Standard to Drop C would introduce intonation and tension issue for me.
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That's exactly why I have as many guitars as I do. All my strats are basically identical but if tonight's gig calls for 1/2 step flat I need guitars I can just grab and go... I can't be constantly doing setups for different scenarios.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

I did it with women and learned my lesson, so I sure as hell am not gonna do it with guitars.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

I've always had a small stable of guitars. I can't justify tying up much money in things that aren't going up in value. Very few guitars fall in that category. I've gigged all my adult life and have really only needed two nice guitars...a PRS and a Taylor. I've pretty much been a $100 a night man. I've always had to lug the PA along with the back-line. I/we always used some pretty decent PA stuff so that left little dough for redundant guitars.

Also ..to do a little math. If you've got $10,000 dollars of guitars sitting around your whole life, in 30 years that chunk of change could have easily grown to $75,000-$100,000 if invested wisely. So ask yourself, is that 1000 dollar Ibanez, Jackson etc going to be worth 10,000 in 30 years? Food for thought.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

SlyFoxx said:
I've always had a small stable of guitars. I can't justify tying up much money in things that aren't going up in value. Very few guitars fall in that category. I've gigged all my adult life and have really only needed two nice guitars...a PRS and a Taylor. I've pretty much been a $100 a night man. I've always had to lug the PA along with the back-line. I/we always used some pretty decent PA stuff so that left little dough for redundant guitars.

Also ..to do a little math. If you've got $10,000 dollars of guitars sitting around your whole life, in 30 years that chunk of change could have easily grown to $75,000-$100,000 if invested wisely. So ask yourself, is that 1000 dollar Ibanez, Jackson etc going to be worth 10,000 in 30 years? Food for thought.
Click to expand...

$100 a night? You gotta get some better gigs, dude.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

SlyFoxx said:
I've always had a small stable of guitars. I can't justify tying up much money in things that aren't going up in value. Very few guitars fall in that category. I've gigged all my adult life and have really only needed two nice guitars...a PRS and a Taylor. I've pretty much been a $100 a night man. I've always had to lug the PA along with the back-line. I/we always used some pretty decent PA stuff so that left little dough for redundant guitars.

Also ..to do a little math. If you've got $10,000 dollars of guitars sitting around your whole life, in 30 years that chunk of change could have easily grown to $75,000-$100,000 if invested wisely. So ask yourself, is that 1000 dollar Ibanez, Jackson etc going to be worth 10,000 in 30 years? Food for thought.
Click to expand...

I don't mind putting money into things that aren't going up in value. It's all about the enjoyment I get out of them. I have investments. Guess what? I can't play revved-up high-gain blues on them.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

beaubrummels said:
Economy is not the same in every town everywhere, dude.
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Can't be afraid to drive a little bit. I have a basic rule of thumb... I can basically get as much work mixing sound as I want. So for me to justify taking a playing job I have to at least get my bottom dollar price for mixing.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

2ndhandband said:
That's exactly why I have as many guitars as I do. All my strats are basically identical but if tonight's gig calls for 1/2 step flat I need guitars I can just grab and go... I can't be constantly doing setups for different scenarios.
Click to expand...

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

They might not be going up in values but a lot of mine arent exactly descresing either. 80-90's Mij charvels, kramers, ibanez etc all seem to hold their value.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

This thread reminds me of a Saturday morning about twelve years ago when I was at home playing my Kramer Focus 1000 through my Marshall half-stack. I was playing well and sounding really good, and I remember being bummed out because I had to leave soon to pick up another guitar I was buying. Sometimes I wish I'd never left, that I just stayed and kept playing that single-pickup Kramer through that Marshall crunch channel.
 
Re: Ever get sick of acquiring gear and just want one great guitar?

Sirion said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

I have more guitars than I have talent or need for. I have often thought of down sizing.. But, as Boogiebill said, they all offer me something. I flipped alot of guitars over the last 10 years and can say that I love everyone I have now. So, I dont think I could pick just one. Ive even tried to narrow down to: one Tele (only have one, easy choice), one LP, one strat and one floyd guit.. But I cant decide..

I do think from time to time, as crazy as this may seem.. If I absolutely had to sell all but one, Id keep the Michael Kelly . It plays and sounds great and would probably have the lowest resale value aside from my Squiers... Its all the guitar Im skilled enough for.

But,I love all my babies
 
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
 
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