Why having lots of guitars is a bad idea

zedhex

Right now I own 10 guitars. I try to cover the bases with a couple of Les Pauls, and Eastman SB59 (basically an 59 LP replica), a 335 clone (Yamaha SA1100), a Strat, a Telecaster, an SG, and a few less easily categoriseable oddities (acoustics, PRS etc.). I play them thru 3 different amps: a black star S1 45, Fender HotRod, and a Laney TT20 valve head (a real secret gem that very few seem to know about). 

The problem is that each guitar requires different settings on the amps. When playing at home and recording, I tend to use the Laney. It's much easier to get a really decent saturated valve distortion sound at the kind of volume settings that don't get through my rather badly soundproofed walls. Getting a great sound isn't such a problem - the problem is going back to that sound after I've put a different guitar through the amp, and I want to overdub something I recorded earlier. Setting it up for an LP is one thing, but every time I have to change to my telecaster or to my strat, I have to completely reset the tone stack, change the input channel, change just about everything. In the frenzy of tone creation, I often forget to write down exactly what the settings were. Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier just to cut down my options, and sell stuff. 

As a partial solution I've started to run the Fenders thru the Hotrod, and all the LP-style guitars through the Laney, and everything else through the Blackstar. That way at least the tone stack is almost in the correct ballpark for each. The problem is volume - the Blackstar is louder than Fender, which is louder than the Laney. Which causes no end of problems with miking and recording.

I think there's only 2 real solutions - cut down to 3 guitars (one for each amplifier), or buy another 6 Laney heads - but they seem to be unobtainable these days, and I don't think SWMBO would be very happy about the cost.

This is why I have a bad GAS problem.

rze99

Nah. Have lots of guitars and enjoy the variety. You are making hard work of it.

Hattigol

Sounds like you're trying to get them all to sound the same....

Don't. Enjoy the differences.

maltingsaudio

Just buy an amp or preamp on which you store presets

Whitecat

The biggest problem I have with lots of guitars is the volume and expense of setup work in either time or money. A guitar that gets ignored for a long time might need a lot of work to be made playable again if there’s been a few changes of season in the interim. But other than that, the variety is cool.

Snags

The actual solution is to take notes when recording, or photo the amp controls.

And buy more stuff, obviously.

phil_b

yes you just need a separate amp to go with each guitar

zedhex

I like the suggestion of taking photographs of the controls - definitely gonna try that. 

But how Hattigol imagines that you can even try to get a Stratocaster to sound like a Les Paul, I have no idea. If you put a Telecaster into the same tone settings that give you a great sound with a Les Paul, it will sound like someone is trying to ram an icepick into your ears. One of the main reasons for having a good range of guitars is the wide range of sounds you can get. Trying to get them to sound the same would be completely pointless.

Also, I've tried the programmable preamp idea using a Boss GT100, but it just doesn't work. The sound is okay-ish, but it just doesn't have that clarity that I'm looking for. 

I think I should just get as many small valve heads as I can find, and then figure out a way of switching the output as quickly as I can. 

God only knows how I am going to sort this out when we come to playing this stuff live (if that ever happens again)

stickyfiddle

Hattigol said:

Sounds like you're trying to get them all to sound the same....

Don't. Enjoy the differences.

This for me. I rarely touch my amp’s controls, and use combinations of guitars and pedals to make different noises.

I do prefer to have guitars that all similar "hotness" of pickups so no one instrument is significantly quieter or louder than the others, but otherwise the whole point is that they sound different

Hattigol

zedhex said:

I like the suggestion of taking photographs of the controls - definitely gonna try that. 

But how Hattigol imagines that you can even try to get a Stratocaster to sound like a Les Paul, I have no idea. If you put a Telecaster into the same tone settings that give you a great sound with a Les Paul, it will sound like someone is trying to ram an icepick into your ears. One of the main reasons for having a good range of guitars is the wide range of sounds you can get. Trying to get them to sound the same would be completely pointless.

Also, I've tried the programmable preamp idea using a Boss GT100, but it just doesn't work. The sound is okay-ish, but it just doesn't have that clarity that I'm looking for. 

I think I should just get as many small valve heads as I can find, and then figure out a way of switching the output as quickly as I can. 

God only knows how I am going to sort this out when we come to playing this stuff live (if that ever happens again)

I said it sounds like you are trying to get them to sound the same. If not, then that's fine. No need to get shirty. 

And as for Teles not being capable of sounding like LPs, listen to Led Zep's early stuff and tell me where the Tele stops and the LP starts...

Oh, and if you do start playing live, worrying less about it would be a good tip. Honestly, the crowd really won't know the difference.

zedhex

Sorry - Hattigol, that wasn't the intention. oh, and I can tell where Page switches to an LP - to me it's very very clear.

Teflon

I currently have 4 electrics, but they're all variations of the same guitar at heart, so no settings issues - easy peasy. Of course, you could ask why buy numerous similar guitars, and the answer is err,  hang on, I'll get back to you on that one 

Hattigol

zedhex said:

Sorry - Hattigol, that wasn't the intention. 

No worries, buddy 

duotone

One useful thing with an Amp/FX unit (like Helix) is the ability to be able to save different tones for each guitar. 

Don’t for Gods sake sell anything!

Sassafras

I had no idea it was so hard to adjust amp settings.

normula1

EQ pedal?

axisus

My problem is where to keep them all. I have .... er ... around 25 I think???

UnclePsychosis

I just don't see the point in having loads of guitars. It's not worth the expense or the hassle (in terms of storage). 

Unless you're a session musician (a proper one, not a "my mate once asked me to play an 8 bar solo on his home recorded EP" one) or a collector then no-one "needs" more than about three or four guitars tops. Any more and you're getting into "spending more time fannying around than playing" territory in my experience.

Fully aware that this opinion will not be popular in these parts but I'm always amazed when guys with families and full time non-musical jobs own dozens of instruments, how on earth do they spend enough time with them to really understand how to get the best from them?

Guitarists like to moan about the death of guitar music. Personally I wonder if the "death of guitar music" has come around because in the last twenty years guitarists in general are now more interested in collecting than they are in playing and writing.

Not a dig at anyone in particular, and of course everyone is free to spend their hard earned any way they like. I just really dislike the constant "must have more guitars" theme these days. 

Lestratcaster

I have 6 electrics but only 3 of them get played alot. I can get most tones I need from those 3 but I always hanker after more.

Usually I don't have to tweak the amp settings too much with those and they will all sound different in their own way.

scrumhalf

I have quite a few guitars. I also have quite a few shirts.

I play/wear some of them a lot and rarely play/wear others.

I could function with fewer of each, but nobody has ever asked me why I need so many shirts, only why I need so many guitars. 

UnclePsychosis

scrumhalf said:

I have quite a few guitars. I also have quite a few shirts.

I play/wear some of them a lot and rarely play/wear others.

I could function with fewer of each, but nobody has ever asked me why I need so many shirts, only why I need so many guitars. 

I'm going to hazard a guess its because shirts, as a general rule, in comparison to guitars take up a fraction of the space at a fraction of the cost.