When you have multiple guitars that are very similar...

pintspiller

It makes sense if you are a professional musician with a part ocular sound to have backup(s). Not sure about non-professionals. Sometimes I think some people have more money than sense. However, I'm probably just jealous.

There are players who are obsessed with getting the right sound, ie songs played on Strats should only be played on Strats. And I get it. I really do. But there are also guys like The Edge who is that obsessed that he can only play a song on the guitar it was written on!

I got an SG to pair up with my Gordon Smith. But they sounded nothing alike. I have never got beyond rehearsals with any band were I played guitar (bass is a different story). So I only pick the other guitar up if I break a string or if the other is away for a routine setup... And then I just stick with the other guitar until that breaks a sting, etc.

skullfunkerry

Mine all sound pretty similar, and I don't need many sounds for the stuff I play... my pickup comparison thread showed how similar my guitars sound; even more so now that I've upgraded the pickup in my Jackson.

I have a hardtail and two Floyds, but even that isn't really an issue since I don't use any alternate tunings, so I could probably get rid of one of the Floyds... I really don't want to though, so I won't! For now, anyway...

Creed_Clicks

If I were a pro/gigging/touring musician (who is these days??!) I'd probably have a spare or backup of my "main" guitar. But I wouldn't be too precious about it. If I were playing a single coil guitar and had another single coil guitar as a backup, but a different brand, type etc, it wouldn't bother me too much. Also if you get into alternate tunings, then it makes sense.
But currently I have a Dano 59, a single humbucker strat partsocaster and an Epi SG. They all sound a bit different, but if pushed, they could all do the same thing for me. I'd nearly swap out the Epi SG for a JM just to have something with a trem bar.

ICBM

The only time I’ve really had nearly identical guitars, they were just different enough that it was useful to have both, but they could easily cover for each other... if that makes sense!

Two PRSs, a Custom 22 and a Standard 22 - the Custom was sharper and more aggressive-sounding - when I was recording I used each on purpose for different parts, and you could hear the difference in the mix - but the biggest difference for playing live was that the Custom had a very flash flame maple top, so I only used it for festival-type gigs on big stages with lights etc where I didn’t look like a complete knob playing it, which I would have in a little bar gig . So I used the Standard about 95% of the time...

guitars4you

Bill_S said:

I go back to one thing - the joy of ownership. 

can't fault that simple policy

steer

I have 2 strat type guitars: My first ever guitar - a cheap Hondo that I have owned for 25 yeears or more, that I have tweaked and changed. It's not worth anything, and I may as well keep it.  The other Strat I have is a charity shop Squire that was even cheaper and is a much better guitar than the Hondo. I did a lot of tidying up work on it and I love the way it plays. Again, it is not worth any money, so I may as well keep it.  Maybe I would get rid of the Squire if I ever bought a top class Fender Strat or similar, but I cant see that happening any time soon.

All my other guitars are very differen indeed. A P90 equipped Jaguar, a Tele, a Gretsch, a resonator and an acoustic. 

skullfunkerry

tony99 said:

If the missus is having a pop then ask her why she needs more than one pair of shoes.

I used to work with a girl who had “somewhere around 70 but not sure of the exact number” pairs of shoes. She and I had an argument one afternoon when she announced to the office that it was ridiculous that I had 11 guitars, as I could only play one at a time.

My explanations of them all being different (there was an acoustic in there, a Variax, and some different tunings as I was in two bands at the time) cut no ice, and when I dared to mention her shoes and that she could only wear one pair of them at a time she got really annoyed and said it wasn’t the same thing at all...

Boromedic

Shit man, I've thought about this times and I've had a variation of guitars thinking I need one of each, but when push comes to shove I always pick up a humbucker guitar. I can't really get on with Strats although I've gigged them, so I've only got one HSS strat shape now, everything else is dual humbucker. Including another super strat I have that I rarely play and should sell!!

I have 2 Les Pauls, both sound more or less identical through my usual setup, I don't need 2 but I like them so I've kept them. I also have a DGT which in reality is a mix of Les Paul and Fender, but again aside from the trem at my normal level of gain it sounds more or less like the Gibson's. 

For me, I like the choice, but I wouldn't be unhappy with just one Les Paul either. It's a strange hobby, especially now I'm just a home player (at the mo), I have some high end gear yet all I do is jam along to rock songs. It's massive overkill, but I also know if it sounds shit it's me not the gear which for me is also important. I'm well aware Joe Satch, Pete Thorn, EVH etc. could smash their tunes through a Spider and sound like they always do, for mere mortals like me I never find that to be the case!!

pintspiller

skullfunkerry said:

tony99 said:

If the missus is having a pop then ask her why she needs more than one pair of shoes.

I used to work with a girl who had “somewhere around 70 but not sure of the exact number” pairs of shoes. She and I had an argument one afternoon when she announced to the office that it was ridiculous that I had 11 guitars, as I could only play one at a time.

My explanations of them all being different (there was an acoustic in there, a Variax, and some different tunings as I was in two bands at the time) cut no ice, and when I dared to mention her shoes and that she could only wear one pair of them at a time she got really annoyed and said it wasn’t the same thing at all...

What you should have said was you need a different one for each outfit. Which is probably the point she was trying to make with her shoes.

Fez

I have 6 strats but I have collected or built them over many years. One I have had 44 years, I play all of them and enjoy maintaining and modifying them and it's a much better hobby that gambling on the interweb.