See, it's you symphonic players that really schooled me on this. A great example is a cello player I call all the time (don't tell her but I've had a huge crush on her for 18 years) who owns one mega-buck cello for performance and one not-so-megabuck cello she keeps for back-up and rents to students. That's it. And she gets everything out of that cello from sonorous sleepy section parts to searing gypsy jazz... it's all attack, phrasing, note choice, vibrato.... and I'm telling you, I can't watch people like that play and then say, "Well, I need six electric guitars to have all the bases covered" with a straight face anymore.

It was my Martin acoustic until I got my MIM Strat last year. Now I can't put it down! Got the Martin out to play some John Hurt country blues stuff yesterday and my fingers were "trippiing" over each other because I haven't tried playing it in 3-4 months.

Cari: Sure, they come on with 3 saxes. A soprano, an alto, and a tenor.

That's like you going on with a bass, a guitar and a uke.

But you get my point. Sax players obsess more about reeds than they do horns: if we spent as much time choosing strings and picks as they do choosing reeds (and as much time running sacles as they do) we'd all be better guitar players.

Hi again SlapChop. Well, to treat it seriously, to me a sax player coming on with three horns might be more like a guitarist coming on with a single coil electric, a humbucker and an acoustic. Three distinctly different voices from broadly the same instrument - we've all seen plenty of highly respectable players do that.

It's absolutely right that most classical players only have one or two instruments. But then one violin doesn't sound that much different to another. (Though still different enough that Yo-Yo Ma thinks it's worth travelling with a Strad and a modern cello - despite what that must be costing him in airline seats, no doubt in first class).

I for one definitely have more guitars than I need, no question. On the other hand, I absolutely can't get a Les Paul sound out of a Strat or vice versa - and I want both.

For years I was preoccupied with the idea of the "versatile" guitar that could cover plenty of ground. PRS 513: that kind of thing. Yet the closer I got to it the less satisfactory it seemed.

Like those sax players I finally realised: want some different sounds? Pick up different instruments.

...On the other hand: I once saw Mike Oldfield arrive on a stage full of about 20 guitars, which he spent the whole dull evening picking up and putting down. Now that's just silly!

Cheers - C

I suspect violinists would argue the point. But I contend that one electric guitar doesn't sound that much different from another. Maybe a little more bass and low mids from this, maybe a little more brittle snap from that one... but is that the music? EQ curves? Really?

Larry Carlton left us all in the dust, playing 1,000's of sessions, showing up with the same 335 and old 5E3 that he brought to the last 1,000 sessions. He had mastered that instrument, and they called him to do that voodoo that he do.

So I have one awesome electric guitar, one bass, one fine acoustic. That's all I'm saying.

The last few days it's been my Mahalo Ukulele and my Fender Stratacoustic. But that's because they are new. I go back and forth between my American and Mexican Strats with the American having the edge. I wish I had more occasion to bring out my Danelectro Baritone.

(OK, at the risk of totally dominating this thread, just one more post...)

Just on that, in a spirit of chattiness: my old dad is a pretty good amateur voilinist and has a very nice fiddle he was given as a child. It's a late 18th or early 19th century instrument - not near as valuable as that might sound, but a period copy of a famous make, and a worthwhile violin in its own right.

It has served him well for most of his 70+ years, but just recently he announced he was looking around for someone good to make him a modern violin, to use alongside. I was curious as to why. That normally verbose gentleman had a certain reticence at explaining it - which leads me to think sheer acquisitiveness is a hefty part of it (which I can hardly criticise). But he did talk meaningfully about differences in sound and feel and wanting the opportunity for one instrument to educate his ears and fingers further about the other. And feeling that he wanted different violins for different parts of the repertoire - he also has a row of bows for music from different periods.

Which is stuff that is perfectly familiar to us all here, isn't it?

So no great insights - things ain't so different over there in the classical world. I'm just waiting for the new violin to arrive - and then see him start shopping for a specialist instrument just for Bach, or whatever. GAS - or VAS - finally strikes, late in life!


And that I'll leave you to arm-wrestle with others over!


It's a fine and respectworthy approach.

Cheers - C

Right now it's:

1. Strat
2. Ventura
3. ESP

I still can't decide which is best, but they are different tools for different tools, but the Ventura falls somewhere between the strat and ESP.

Guitarist do need more than one guitar, partly because guitar has become the most popular instrument, therefore the developement of them is lightyears ahead of most other instruments. Especially the electric guitar. If we were all still playing acoustics, and there were no electrics, we probably would not need more than one or two either

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

I can't get enough of my CIJ Tele, been that way for some time now. Q the guilt trip, so at the mo I have my Les Paul Studio, Tele Deluxe, and acoustic out And of course the CIJ Tele

Right now, I'm playing my Squier Affinity Strat, because I just can't get over how awesome that sound is....

I sometimes go back to my Fender acoustic, though, if I want to play some song that is just begging to be played with the tenderness of an acoustic feel.
I also use that guitar to build up my finger strength.

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

I tend to go back and forth between a '52 reissue Tele and a 1960 reissue Les Paul. Go figure. I maybe getting a '62 reissue Hotrod Strat this weekend, so I imagine I'll be stuck to it for a while.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Gotta disagree on that one, at least somewhat. For any of you who haven't done any studying of these instruments, you will probably find it very interesting. Take a minute to look over an upper line (or even mid range) horn, any wind instrument. With the person who plays that horn there to point the little nuances out to you would be even better. Then if you can find them, look at some older versions of the same instrument (probably have to look them up online). You don't have to be a player of said instrument to see the leaps that even they have taken.

Example:
My French horn is a Holton H289 Merker-Matic series w/ detachable bell. Every connection of every piece of tubing was meticulously checked for excessive vibrations before it left the factory. The point at which the bell screws into the rest of the horn has to be perfectly crafted, or just as soon as i lift it off my knee and start causing the music stands around me to rattle, the bell would be pinging and buzzing in a God-awful way, and my tone and sonic presence would be devastated. Now let me clarify, the bell rattles anyway when an accomplished French horn player puts it to the wall, but the difference between a good hearty thick bell rattlin' tone and the sound of something about to come loose is very easy to hear. Also, the tolerances inside the rotary valves of that thing are incredibly small, again, to avoid undesirable vibrations and to keep the air moving only in the manner it is supposed to. All this is why my particular instrument retails for six grand. This is a very different animal from the original, round, valveless horns. A pretty similar rundown can be given of any other wind instrument.

Now I just said a whole lot to really not say all that much. Point being, there have been huge advancements on these instruments as well, though not electronic. In that aspect, firstrat, I do agree with you. There simply isn't a place for electronic equipment in syphonic/orchestral instruments, like there is in guitars. A few exceptions of course.

As far as the original subject matter, I bet we can all agree that with a little know-how and knob-spinnin' we can get just about every tone we need out of one or two electrics, but it's just a lot of fun having so many different cosmetic options! Which is something you just don't have with any other instrument, certainly not to the extent of guitars.

As my collection has grown I find it hard to play them all. My favorite is my Sienna burst Strat. I've tinkered with it so much my setup is perfect the pups are just the right height and she smokes thru the Twin clean or dirty.

That being said I do rotate the Strats weekly on my Sunday gig at Church. I play my Gadow often but it is more the Les Paul or PRS sound with the buckers. I am beginning to see the wisdom of Slapchop's decision to wean his down. String changes can be expensive. I buy em by the 12 pack now... but I can change em quickly, lots of practice...

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I'm not slow... and I'm not fast... just sort of halffast...

I've been playing the SG Standard. I went to see my friends perform, and they always ask my brother and I up there to play a few songs. (We were all in a band together a long time ago). Usually I bring the Tele, but I wanted to see how the SG sounded live, so to make sure I was used to it, I played it for a few weeks.

The next time, I may bring the Deluxe Players Strat...

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"...The final truth is, there is no truth..." - (from "Nice n' Neat" by the Boomtown Rats)