For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

[WickedCoach]

Ok, so lets say you have 2 or 3 guitars only that you play. All are basically the same, just kept in different tunings. Do you or would you have the same pickup combination in all, so that the tone is essentially the same, or mix pickup combinations for more variety. I'm in the process of scaling back and am considering going for all the same pickups, but I want to hear other opinions first.

 

[alteredbeast]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

my two main guitars at several points had the same pickups in them, the guitars are identical as well. When i started doing more home recordings i changed the pickups again, now they have two separate pickups. i like the variety, at one point i didn't.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

I prefer having SIMILAR pickups between guitars, though not exactly the same. That way each guitar still has an individual voice, but I do not need to alter my amp EQ settings when changing guitars. So, my three main guitars all have high output ceramic mag pups (Distortion, EMG-81, Dimebucker). They sound different, but similar enough that I do not have to re EQ everything.

 

[Wallwart]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

If you are in a cover band, you might want the versatility of different sounding guitars. If you do original music you might want to find your sound and stick with it. Thus you would want your backup guitars to sound the same as your main guitar.

 

[Psykel]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

I only play in E standard tuning. I'd keep different sounding guitars for different sounds.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

There is an argument for having a near as possible back up for one's main guitar. There is another argument that you will always sound like you, regardless of exactly what instrument you are playing right now.

Case in point, on the live DVD section of the 2012 SRV/Double Trouble boxed set, Vaughan breaks a string in mid song. At the next turnaround, there is a change of guitar. Still unmistakably SRV.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

I play live and record, and I need different things from my guitars in each circumstance.

In a recording, I want each guitar to have a unique tone and/or feel. There's not much point in having multiple guitars in a session if they all sound the same.

However, in a live setting, I want to have a guitar that is a suitable backup for the one I'm playing in case anything goes wrong. This means my guitars can't be too radically different - they at least have to have some common ground.

My solution is for all of my guitars to be different, but not so different that there isn't at least a bit of overlap.

Example: I have two (soon three) Strats. They are different enough that I can sit in a recording session and say "this calls for the black Strat", but not so different that I couldn't use one as a backup for the other at a gig.

 

[Grenade]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

They are all different. A Schecter with HB-101's, Epi Black Beauty with stock pups, 5th ave. with K&K Pure, soon to be resonator.

 

[rts99]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

One of the primary benefits of several guitars is variety. Tonal variety, variety of style, variety of character, and variety of playing experience. A 12 string for a richer, fuller sound & different string response. Both single coil and HB equipped guitars for exploring electric tones & styles. Small bodied guitars for portability & comfortable playing anytime, anywhere. Concert/Venetian sized guitars for richer fuller acoustic tones. Maybe even a classical guitar for exploring completely new sounds.

What I've found is that some variety is a good thing. Other variety is a BAD thing. One thing all of my guitars have in common is a very similar neck profile & fingerboard radius w/ binding. I find that I won't play a fat neck or a tight radiused fingerboard very long, they're VERY uncomfortable. I also find necks without binding are VERY hard on my fingers so I won't have a guitar without one. The neck has to be comfortable regardless of what I'm playing. I spend a lot of time listening to the tonal quality of a guitar but what makes or breaks every sale is the neck profile & fingerboard radius. There may be other characteristics that you'll find desireable (or undesireable) as you acquire more instruments. It's a fascinating journey and one that is a pleasure to take. I'm always anxious to play something new. The more advanced the technology the better.

I hope you enjoy your adventure.

 

[Boppy]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

3 main guitars, yeah. Two Les Pauls (Standard and Custom)--one with high output pickups, and the other with vintage-style pickups--that's the main difference and probably why I think I need two Les Pauls.

My other mainstay is a Strat.

 

[sixstringsamurai333]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

I think I sound fairly similar through all my guitars... for me, what I have multiple guitars for is the FEEL of that particular guitar. My playing style will change depending on whether I'm using a Les Paul, vs a Wolfgang, or a Strat, or whatever. I guess subconsciously I'll channel slightly different influences and nuances based on what sort of style of guitar I'm using at the time.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

I find myself trying to sound homogeneous with my metal guitars. I only have three and two of them have distortions and 59's with the other being an Epiphone casino that I have hot P90's in. With my metal axes I set my Hamer the way I like it, and then tuning the G-400 to Drop Db (rather than the Drop D it's normally in), I set it up the same way using a tone knob to get the difference between the two. After that I taped it down and haven't touched it since. When I'm famous, I'll have my guitars made from the same tonewoods, pickups, and control settings. I like Dan Donegan's approach to just have every guitar the same.

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

I have a few go-to pickups but I'll first see what the guitar wants, ya know?

That creates my variety.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

Unless I was a pro doing gigs, where I'd want to have one or two backups of the same guitar, I don't see the point in having the same thing. So each guitar I have has different pups and combos: HSS and HH. HSS is kind of vintage voiced, while the HH is hot bridge/vintage neck. I do prefer milder pups in general for the way I play but hot ones are fun too.

 

[Mincer]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

I have a few guitars with similar, but not exactly the same pickups. I figured out a long time ago that, for me, no matter what I play, it sounds essentially the same. My guitars can each get a handful of useful sounds, and they are pretty different from each other. But when I play them, they sound the same- so figure.

 

[blueman335]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

I only play in E standard tuning. I'd keep different sounding guitars for different sounds.

+1. Everything's in E std; I have an assortment of PU's in my guitars: vintage, medium, and high output. I don't understand why some guys put the same PU's in all their guitars, what's the point in having more than one guitar? Variety is the spice of life.

 

[Matt42]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

If you are in a cover band, you might want the versatility of different sounding guitars. If you do original music you might want to find your sound and stick with it. Thus you would want your backup guitars to sound the same as your main guitar.

I have to disagree with the bolded statement. My main band is an original band, and I use way more variety in my playing in that band then the cover band I play with. For the cover band, I pretty much just play my Gretsch all the time. For the original band, I mix my acoustic, my Strat and my Gretsch pretty much evenly.

Of course, that depends on the type of music you are playing. We are pretty eclectic in our sound, a little country, a little rock, a little folk, so I need a lot of variety of in my instruments. If I were playing in an originals blues band, I might have a different opinion.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

Well I have multiple Custom Customs in my guitars if that answers the question.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

Same basic sound for me. For example, these are my main live guitars (aside from the G&L, which I've only had a short time):

I will usually take both Esquires or both LPs to a gig. The green home-built Esquire is a backup for the tan Custom Shop one; the yellow LP is a backup for the sunburst one. Both Esquires have early-'50's-style pickups (original Fender CS in the main, and S.D. Broadcaster in the backup). Both LPs have their original Gibson P-90's.

 

[Shadow1psc]

Re: For those of you that play 2 or 3 main guitars...

Ok, so lets say you have 2 or 3 guitars only that you play. All are basically the same, just kept in different tunings. Do you or would you have the same pickup combination in all, so that the tone is essentially the same, or mix pickup combinations for more variety. I'm in the process of scaling back and am considering going for all the same pickups, but I want to hear other opinions first.

That's an interesting question. I actually prefer different pickup setups in my guitars with different tunings, because as you go lower you're going to want something different anyway. It also depends on what you're playing through though. You're going to hear much more of a difference in your pickups if you're just keeping the same settings on a tube amp and switching guitars, but if you're playing through something like a POD or an Axe-FX they're going to suck a lot of the life and individual character out of your pickups, for lack of a better description.

In my current setup, my top three guitars are a 7 string in B-E standard, my Ibanez S570 in E standard, and my Ibanez RG470 in Eb standard get me through 80% of stuff I want to play, and all have very similar pickups actually (all geared towards progressive/power metal). I think if you find a set of pickups that covers the range of sounds you like, then you can easily get by with all guitars having the same things. However, to be exactly contrary, I have my Charvel in D standard to play some more of the shred type stuff of Symphony X, Children of Bodom, and others, and I find that active pickups have a little more leeway with shredding due to compression and not needing to be quite as expressive with my picking technique, so I've never switched to passive on that guitar. I'm going to put my last Ibanez in C or C# standard I think, and pair it with a mightymight motherbucker (probably upgrade it at later date to an invader or d-activator) to give the lower tuning on a standard scale neck a little more oomph.

Just my experience and 2c.