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

[crusty philtrum]

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

Without quoting Wahwah's post, I have to say I agree with his sentiments completely .... ultimately it's about making music. Some people are happiest doing it all with one instrument, some have a rack full of guitars. The average listener doesn't care, they only know and care about what they hear and feel. When you get your car repaired, do you care how many spanners the mechanic used, what brand they were or what their reputation is ?

Personally I have a few guitars, and most of them have some kind of sentimental values to me (and i acknowledge that sentimental values in instruments means nothing to some or many people ... but to me, they're old friends that have been with me through all kinds of life experiences and issues). Ironically, those guitars are probably the least-valuable in dollar terms, and my most expensive instrument, a Hamer Studio Custom, rarely gets played, despite being an awesome instrument.

Sometimes i just play one instrument all the time, other times i jump from guitar to guitar. None of it is critical or planned, because for me, the music is the most important thing, everything else is secondary. If the music, or the performance of it, dictates that i could do better with another instrument, i can pick up another guitar. Or I can try harder with the one in my hands. Should i ever be at a point where I only had one guitar, it certainly wouldn't stop me making music and enjoying the process.

There are pros and cons to owning just one main instrument, just as there are pros and cons to owning a whole bunch. But when you put the music front and centre, those things aren't so important in the bigger picture. Ultimately, i think of it like this ... you're at a gig or jam session, and your gear has gone missing in transit ... other gear is made available to you to use. Indeed the borrowed guitar and amp may not be up to the standard you're used to, and may limit you somewhat compared to what you can usually do with your own stuff. But those excuses won't wash with an audience or those you are going to play with. An attitude is going to come your way ... "You're a musician, aren't you ? Well here's a guitar and amp, make some music and entertain us. "

Maybe it's all about perspective.

 

[Progbusters]

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

I want a gibson firebird, a unique and relatively expensive guitar, so to answer your question, yeah.

 

[tc]

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

I've gone from owning one guitar, to several, to one again, and so forth, and I've realized I don't actually rotate them on a constant basis. Even if I have 4 or 5 on the rack I'll fall in love with one and play that one for really long stretches of time, and I'll only grab the other ones to work in songs in other tunings or if I go for the acoustic.

So the answer is yes.

 

[DreX]

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

Indeed the borrowed guitar and amp may not be up to the standard you're used to, and may limit you somewhat compared to what you can usually do with your own stuff. But those excuses won't wash with an audience or those you are going to play with.

That reminds of a something I noticed when I started acquiring more guitars beyond the one I played all the time, and that is that when you only play one guitar your hands get so used to it that other guitars then feel unwieldy. I think people should not only have more than one main guitar, but make sure they sound and feel substantially different in order to keep your hands from getting too complacent with a single neck feel.

 

[ExplorersRock]

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

Just one guitar... Nope, not happenin'. I do admit to doing most of my writing on one or two. Something just feels right with my old strat or Alvarez when my creative juices flow.

 

[DreX]

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

Just one guitar... Nope, not happenin'. I do admit to doing most of my writing on one or two. Something just feels right with my old strat or Alvarez when my creative juices flow.

I know that feeling, "we did before, we can do it again!"

 

[kherman]

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

From my Squier CV to my Parker Fly Deluxe. Too many nice guitars out there in every price range to just settle for one.
If I only owned one guitar at a time, i think I would be constantly flipping guitars. Owning a variety of guitars I think has actually kept the GAS down a bit.
If I get tired of playing one, I just put it away for a while and play a different one. No sellers remorse.

 

[treyhaislip]

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

I've narrowed mine down to my 80's Charvel, Epiphone Masterbilt Advanced Jumbo, and Custom Semi-Hollow Strat...gives me a locked floating bridge, a standard strat bridge, and then a nice acoustic. I went through a bunch of guitars, both cheap and expensive...narrowed down to the 3 that work best for my needs.

 

[wahwah]

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

when you only play one guitar your hands get so used to it that other guitars then feel unwieldy. I think people should not only have more than one main guitar, but make sure they sound and feel substantially different in order to keep your hands from getting too complacent with a single neck feel.

I want to be there when you explain this to Angus Young, Brian May and Jeff Beck. If it weren't for that pesky CHS (Complacent Hand Syndrome) they might have got somewhere.

It's a cyclic argument really, because if you just play one main guitar, as many highly successful musicians have over the decades, you never have to bother with those unwieldy guitars, and the pressing matter of 'complacent hands' becomes a non-issue.

The more salient point is that there is no right or wrong in this, there is no 'should.' If you like to play one main instrument, do that. If you like to have twenty and play them all, do that. There have been ample cases of both, and all points in between, to prove this.



Cheers........................................ wahwah

 

[blueman335]

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

I want to be there when you explain this to Angus Young, Brian May and Jeff Beck. If it weren't for that pesky CHS (Complacent Hand Syndrome) they might have got somewhere.

The more salient point is that there is no right or wrong in this, there is no 'should.'

You manage to get a few digs in for someone so unbiased.

 

[wahwah]

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

You manage to get a few digs in for someone so unbiased.

I have my own bias, of course. If somebody tries to suggest that their way is the way everyone 'should' approach things, I'm happy to provide examples of other approaches that work.



Cheers......................................... wahwah

 

[DreX]

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

I want to be there when you explain this to Angus Young, Brian May and Jeff Beck. If it weren't for that pesky CHS (Complacent Hand Syndrome) they might have got somewhere.

It's a cyclic argument really, because if you just play one main guitar, as many highly successful musicians have over the decades, you never have to bother with those unwieldy guitars, and the pressing matter of 'complacent hands' becomes a non-issue.

The more salient point is that there is no right or wrong in this, there is no 'should.' If you like to play one main instrument, do that. If you like to have twenty and play them all, do that. There have been ample cases of both, and all points in between, to prove this.

Did I say you couldn't be a rock star if you only ever played one guitar? Nope. Besides we don't know what they played when they weren't on stage.

I can think of several reasons you don't want to not have complacent hands. For one, low action and high action have pros and cons. Being experienced handling high or low lets you exploit the advantages of both. Same with varying string gauges and neck shapes. If you approach a guitar and you're versatile, you'll be uncomfortable with the guitar at best and your performance will suffer at worst. Then there are times when you're at a friends house, the friend has a guitar but isn't very good, so the guitar isn't set up at all and the strings are brown, but they know you play and ask you play a song. You're going to sound like **** if you're not prepared for adverse conditions.

 

[sosomething]

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

You manage to get a few digs in for someone so unbiased.

I didn't read any digs.

Some incredulity, maybe a little snark, sure.. but there was nothing personal against DreX in there.

 

[wahwah]

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

I didn't read any digs.

Some incredulity, maybe a little snark, sure.. but there was nothing personal against DreX in there.

Yes, and maybe a wry smile thrown in for good measure.



Cheers................................ wahwah

 

[Agileguy_101]

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

Then there are times when you're at a friends house, the friend has a guitar but isn't very good, so the guitar isn't set up at all and the strings are brown, but they know you play and ask you play a song. You're going to sound like **** if you're not prepared for adverse conditions.

If playing someone else's guitar is a problem for you, no matter how badly it is set up or how long you've been playing the same guitar, you have issues that playing other guitars won't fix.

 

[DreX]

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

If playing someone else's guitar is a problem for you, no matter how badly it is set up or how long you've been playing the same guitar, you have issues that playing other guitars won't fix.

I'm guessing you play a lot of chords.

 

[Dr.K]

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

A good set up, fret's leveled and rolled and some other tweaks by someone that knows what they're doing can make an otherwise mediocre guitar outstanding.

 

[wahwah]

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

Did I say you couldn't be a rock star if you only ever played one guitar? Nope. Besides we don't know what they played when they weren't on stage.

I can think of several reasons you don't want to not have complacent hands. For one, low action and high action have pros and cons. Being experienced handling high or low lets you exploit the advantages of both. Same with varying string gauges and neck shapes. If you approach a guitar and you're versatile, you'll be uncomfortable with the guitar at best and your performance will suffer at worst. Then there are times when you're at a friends house, the friend has a guitar but isn't very good, so the guitar isn't set up at all and the strings are brown, but they know you play and ask you play a song. You're going to sound like **** if you're not prepared for adverse conditions.

Past a certain point in a guitar player's experience, it is possible to pick up pretty much any guitar and play it proficiently. The acquired skills will translate to any individual instrument, even those that are set up completely differently to your chosen instrument(s). In the early stages of our development, your point would make more sense. However, it is not an argument that holds weight for an advanced player. Once you have found the style(s) and setup(s) you prefer, it is unlikely that you would put yourself in a position where you are having to deal with wildly variant actions, unless it was for a specific purpose (e.g., slide).

A busy professional really doesn't get a chance to have complacent hands, regardless of how many guitars they own or use. Touring provides ample 'adverse conditions' above and beyond getting used to a different neck profile or action. There are many obvious reasons why a player would choose to have different types or instances of guitars, including tonal variations, spares for string breakage and other failures, stylist considerations, etc. But none of them qualify as a 'should.' As my examples show, one main guitar can also work. Thus it is a matter of personal taste and requirements.




Cheers.......................................... wahwah

 

[sosomething]

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

This is a silly argument.

Everyone is different.

Some people struggle more with unfamiliar guitars and some don't, and I don't think that fact necessarily has to say anything more about either player than that they are just different.

I feel like I play worse when I think the tone isn't good. What does that say about me? Nothing besides what has been said.

 

[DreX]

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

A good set up, fret's leveled and rolled and some other tweaks by someone that knows what they're doing can make an otherwise mediocre guitar outstanding.

I wish that were true, but sometimes necks develop dips and twists in them that trust rod adjustments won't fix. Maybe you can make them playable, but it won't be outstanding.