When I was gigging I would bring one of my Strats as the main guitar and my Guild S100SC as a backup and for songs where humbuckers were an advantage.I also brought my Vox Phantom XII for certain numbers that needed a 12 string such as Feel a Whole Lot Better by The Byrds/Tom Petty and As Tears Go By by The Stones.I also brought my Yamaha FG346SB that I converted to electric/acoustic myself just in case someone wanted a ballad/folk type of song.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Since I can't play any slide (tho I'd love to learn), and I've got a track record of never breaking a string at a gig, I hardly see a need to bring more than just the Strat. A couple things did come to mind-for a while when I had a G&L Asat, that thing would hum so badly at some bars we played at, due to the neon lights, stage lighting, poker machines, anything. That's when I brought the Les Paul as a backup. My Strat now has a set of noiseless pickups, so that's one more thing not to worry about, that single coil hum. The few times I did bring a backup and set it on the stage "just in case", there would always be some drunk getting up on stage when our stupid singer would invite him up, and they would always go for it. I just had to stop that practice of setting up a spare. Theres also been a couple of bars in our area that had a bad rep for people grabbing and runnin out the back door with whatever was reachable from the stage that was located too close to the backdoor.
thanks, but I'll make one guitar work. What better axe to use than a Strat anyway?

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

I palyed dance clubs in SoCal for 12 years. I alway took one guitar. Either a Pre-CBS Jazzmaster with a Firebird sized Seymour humbucker in the neck position, a Dan Smith era Strat, or a 1971 Gibson LP Custom with single coils (alnico in the neck with the rectangular pole pieces). I never broke a string at a gig. I always put on new strings the day of the gig unles it was a Friday/Saturday situation. Then I just rolled with one set for both nights.

We had enough equipment to move without bringing another guitar I didn't need.

Thats Right Nevin, I'm all for bringing as many as possible, mine, and even my friends, but only if someone else loads them in for me. otherwise its one!

Very "Spinal Tap" of you

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Out of the 500 or so gigs I have played in my lifetime, I have only brought more than one guitar once and that was about 2 months ago ... Never had a problem... But also I don't break strings and keep in mind I mainly play big band jazz...

All your focus should be on how you perform... Technical difficulties are very rare with a well cared for guitar and a good set of strings... I find pure nickel strings with 10's (or thicker) never break...

Having a line up of guitars on stage IMHO doesn't look cool... When you make sounds that I like to hear, is when I think you are cool... In fact, if you don't play well the guitar lineup would just make think your more of a moron...

Keep it simple is what I say... Make your playing speak not your equipment...

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In Reference to Blues Legend RL Burnside:
After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.

I read once where during an Eagles concert Joe Walsh had 22 guitar changes.

That's just nuts!

I usually bring two (sometimes three) but mainly due to different tunings (Standard, Open G, Open D and variations thereof). If it's just a jam, I usually bring just one guitar.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I play slide extensively (but not exclusively, LOL) and I have yet to break a string playing slide; if you do, you need to check your fretting hand (play more gently) or check your slide for burrs.



Anybody touching my guitar without permission better have the last name of Gibbons, Vaughan, or Henderson (Bugs), otherwise we might have bloodshed...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

One per song!

I aways have 2. I usually only play one. We have a third guitarist sometimes and I play something with humbuckers so that I don't confict tonally with the other guitars. The last gig we played our lead guitarist broke a string and he used my backup for half the night. He usually plays an Ernie Ball Luke and I usually play a heavily modified Oscar Schmidt OE-30 through an SCXD. My back up is usually an Agile Harm-1 with P-90s. He played my Agile and it was nice to hear it played through his amp and system, bunch of effects into a Traynor YCV40WR. Our third guitarist either plays Acoustic or a Strat through a Mesa Boogie Lonestar. I have rarely broken a string but occasionally it happens. It's a lot easier to just swap guitars than change a string on stage.

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I'm with you fellers!
www.thissideup.us

Neil Young used to bring as many as 2 dozen guitars on the road when he played solo concerts.He used the same guitars for certain songs on the road as he used in the studio and also for different tunings.Rick Neilson of Cheap Trick brings a plethora of guitars on the road and his 59 Les Paul takes up more than half of their tour gear insurance premium. Compared to these guys my 4 or 5 gig guitars is travelling light.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I guess I can't grasp the thing of having to bring more than "a" guitar to a gig. Some of us poor musicians that only have one or two guitars are feelin some pain reading some of these stories. I started this thread because I had read here on the forum that someone took two or three Strats for a 1/2 show. Then there's the shredder who will take a Marshall full stack to a teenie tiny bar to play for 50 people. Don't laugh, I see it done all the time. Hey, if you got the time, money, and abilities to haul around all that gear, go for it. Theres no argument from me that it doesn't look cool. At my age, it's down to a single 12" combo amp and a Strat, one in each arm, set up in 5 minutes, then out the door I go when I'm done.

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

I always bring a back up to gigs, when I broke the neck on my back up I would borrow a bass from my Bro, now that I replaced the neck I don't have to think about it anymore.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

I am lacy. Although I bought a backup for my tele a while ago I don't bother to bring it to the gig. It doesn't take much longer to change a broken string with a winder than to change the guitar.