How many do you really need (again...I know)

TinLip

So I've just met up with a mate of mine who is a songwriter/ producer/ performer in Melbourne. We went to school together and played in a band. He's a shit-hot guitarist and has done heaps of session work in Oz and I remember him having a fair amount of kit around when we were younger. 

Now he tells me he has one guitar. Literally, one. An American Standard Tele. That's it. No humbucker, noiseless, P90 anything, Just a stock Tele.

Which got me thinking again, do I really need (want?) more than 10 guitars?

axisus

I realised that I am a one guitar player. I only ever play my favourite. I built a midi tele, loved it, it was the only guitar i played. I built a strat and loved it, didn't touch any other guitars. 2 years later I built my Angel tele and didn't touch any other guitars. This year I bought the Feline and, you guessed it ..... None of the others get played. I should flog a bunch of guitars, but I get emotional attachment to them.

underdog

Honestly I need none, I don't gig, don't write, record, jam or anything. So zero would probably be the correct number for me

TinLip

/\ Ummm....hate to state the obvious but I think you might be on the wrong forum. I hear mumsnet has an interesting Centerparcs thread though.

lloyd

I need one, I just want the others....I love having them hanging on the wall, looking at them, playing them and owning them if I'm honest.

Even if I didn't play them any more they'd be on the wall.

underdog

TinLip;453389" said:

/\ Ummm....hate to state the obvious but I think you might be on the wrong forum. I hear mumsnet has an interesting Centerparcs thread though.

I said it was probably the correct number that I need, I actually own 9

Corvus

One will do but life is short enough and there's many fine guitars with different voices & characters to be experienced, so f*k that!  Got 7 I think with two in build, and one more on the way early next year.

fretfinder

lloyd;453390" said:

I need one, I just want the others....I love having them hanging on the wall, looking at them, playing them and owning them if I'm honest.

Even if I didn't play them any more they'd be on the wall.

I'll second that.

Iamnobody

If you gig then I'd say you 'need' 2. Just in case of a problem - if I'd paid to see a band and they had to cut the gig short due to a guitar failure I'd feel let down.

That said who takes a spare amp!? The result could be the same...

If you play at home then you probably only need 1 - or 2 if you also play acoustic.

There's nothing wrong with wanting more though.

mart

I like the idea of just having one, and I could kind of believe that I only need one, but the problem is I don't know which one. I cling to the hope that if I play enough (which means buying enough) then I'll figure out which one is the "one" for me. Your mate that used to have tons but now has just one suggests this strategy might actually be viable.

Rox

...at least one more...

rockmonster

I don't need more than one but I MUST HAVE LOADS!

speshul91

Surely you need one of every type. One of each with singles one with noiseless one with p90s one with humbuckers and one combos plus one in each tuning plus an acoustic

Deijavoo

lloyd said:

I need one, I just want the others....I love having them hanging on the wall, looking at them, playing them and owning them if I'm honest.

Even if I didn't play them any more they'd be on the wall.

This.

suspiciousminds

I love the fact that all my guitars are different in sound.
I do find that i go through phases playing a particular one but then its great "rediscovering" the ones i havent played for a while.

grungebob

Since I play mostly the same style all the time and even if I do dabble I don't stray away too far from my core sound I don't need guitars that have different voices, what I do need however is one with a slightly more aggressive/percussive sound than the McCarty I've got for the odd times I want that sound easily. I can get it out the McCarty but it takes more tweeking of amp and effects that takes time that I don't always have, so I have a need for one more. I don't play out I only play and record at home.

MattFGBI

I've got 9, but really only play 2.  One for covers and one in C# for my originals band. However I feel I need a back up for those so can probably justify 4 of the 9....

monquixote

I just need a main and a backup.

Like others I just play my favourite 90% of the time.

I have two others but one is sentimental and the other is very pretty.

lloyd

lloyd said:

I need one, I just want the others....I love having them hanging on the wall, looking at them, playing them and owning them if I'm honest.

Even if I didn't play them any more they'd be on the wall.

I might add that I play a lot of open G tunes-mainly Stones/Black Crowes a bit of slide and I try and write stuff in it too, so it's nice to have one in that tuning rather than re-tuning every time I fancy blasting out Brown Sugar.

As is having one tuned down a half step to play along to the records of Smashing Pumpins/Nirvana etc but you don't really need that....

Bucket

I need as many as I can afford and fit in the space I have.

DrBob

lloyd;453390" said:

I need one, I just want the others....I love having them hanging on the wall, looking at them, playing them and owning them if I'm honest.

Even if I didn't play them any more they'd be on the wall.

Yep, same