Any players here with only ONE guitar and no GAS?

[blacknblues]

I'm currently down to 7: four acoustics and 3 electrics. If I were forced to sell all but one I would probably keep the '34 Martin 00-17.

[fitness1]

That ended in 2002 when I found this forum.
No. Really.

[Slinky]

Is that even a " Thing"?

[magnawing]

I'm the oddball that only owns one guitar and don't want another one. Of course, my one is a dreadnaught that I built myself, to fit me. It's an Indian rosewood body with Sitka spruce top and is built close to Martin pre-war specs. I say "close to" because I tweaked the neck size to fit my hands...its my guitar so why not.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[SFCRetired]

For years I had 3 guitars but really only played one. But it was not a top of the line guitar although it suited my sit on the couch stay at home needs quite well.

But now that money isn't as tight as it once was and I have stepped up to better guitars, I haven't found the one. There are 2 that I could be happy with but I think they are over priced and I can't get myself to buy them. Personally I think as you go up the food chain of guitars they do get better, but how much is the question. I suppose the answer is different for all of us.

[KDepew]

I have been playing one acoustic guitar for 10 years. A Martin DR-1. Would love to eventually move up to a Martin D-28.

I also have one electric guitar. A Mexican tele. Between those 2 guitars I get pretty much all I need.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[menhir]

I suppose I'm a one-guitar person who is immune to GAS.

I play my Seagull M6 almost exclusively. It's the same guitar I played when I first joined the forum, and I had it well before then.

I have an old Hummingbird copy beater...my "campfire" guitar, and my Stromberg-Voisinet, both which are rarely used. The Stromberg was just recently made playable, so it will be getting a workout soon.

If I were to consider adding another horse to the stable it would be to satisfy my yearning for a nylon string guitar. Yes...that would be nice. :-)

[Ed-in-Ohio]

I have not gotten to the "one and only acoustic guitar" point. In terms of play time and preference, I keep fluctuating between dreadnoughts, my 000, and my 0.

Interestingly, I eventually settled into "one and only" for my electric guitar, bass guitar, and mandolin. Also interestingly, the ones I settled into were not the most expensive instruments I had in those categories.

Even now that I am pretty much playing acoustic guitar exclusively, I find that I tend to "prefer" instruments based on a hard to define chemistry and "fit" instead of what most folks would call "quality".

[DocHolliday]

I have one acoustic and one electric. I am going to buy a better acoustic if I can ever figure out what I want.

[ChrisE]

I had only one guitar for about 30 years (mid 80's Sigma with a cracked neck).

Then I got a nice (to me) acoustic electric Alvarez about 9 years ago to play at weddings. I laid out a whopping $300 for it. I eventually sold it for what I paid and got a Martin X-Series for the same price to use as a beach/beater guitar.

My "nice" guitar now is a Taylor 314ce which I play at home, at church, at gigs. I pretty much play it every day and have really come to appreciate it and have bonded with it. As of now, it would be "the one" if I had to get rid of the others. Well, that and my Telecaster would both be "the one' but I could probably live without the Tele.

I have been gassing pretty hard for a D-18 but lately I've been thinking a Martin 000-28 might be cool but I've never played one before.

So yeah...what was the question?

[ttuck]

I've been trimming down my collection for the past five years or so, from a high of about 10 total down to what I have now - three electrics, one acoustic. I've owned many different acoustics and electrics, all kind of high end stuff as well as not so high end stuff! Been on a quest for the right guitars with that special "feel" and tone, been getting rid of instruments that were very nice but just didn't get played much. On the electric side, I'm down to my Baker Crucible (one of 23 made. best LP style guitar I've ever played bar none, has been in my collection for >10 yrs and is a true keeper), a custom Strat/tele hybrid that was built by Bob Coleman in Texas(another definite keeper, Bob does excellent work for a great price!), and an R6 (lightweight, very resonant , the best LP reissue I've played, these can be hit and miss). On the acoustic side, I recently acquired an Edwinson Falcon, and although I'm still clearly in the honeymoon stage, I've never had a guitar that I bonded with so quickly or has brought me so much instant joy when I play it - might be the most perfect guitar for me that I've ever owned. Just amazing crafstmaship and features, excellent ergonomics and playability(short multiscale/fanfret 24-24.5), wonderful tone , and on top of all of that it's a work of art. I'll post a separate review /discussion once I've had it for a while, but it's an amazing guitar- Steve is a master and a really nice person on top of that. Other than possibly the R6, don't see myself parting with any of these, they pretty mcuh more than meet my needs!

[raggedymike]

I have one guitar, a Lowden O32c. I have had this guitar (as my only guitar) for 15 years and I still love it. Mind you, it is not possible to hang out in this forum for any length of time and not have your head turned. Most of the time I find my head being turned by ideas rather than guitars. After all, we do very little in actually sharing guitars around here, but the ideas are thick on the ground.

I like the idea of a multiscale guitar. I like the idea of a soundport facing me. When I encounter these ideas in a guitar, however, I find they make far less difference in my guitar playing experience than they do in my head.

[Jambi]

When I first started getting into reading and participating here at AGF I began getting the itch for a new guitar. So much learning about the intricacies about acoustics made me yearn for my own personal 'next step up'.

There was a couple of threads a while back that tackled playing out/ recording and mics/pickups. Someone (can't remember who) said if you have a guitar that's good and you like unplugged at home, it doesn't need to be amazing to be a great gig/recording guitar... getting good sounds with mics and pickups becomes the goal. I sat back and realized I loved my current guitar and it was just yearning for something new and different that I sought.

So now I'm very much into upgrading hardware and getting preamps/effects working together well for a great tone live/recorded. That has become my GAS.

[Shades of Blue]

I don't think I'll ever own just 1 acoustic, but I can say that my favorite all time guitar is my 814ce. Anytime I get another (yes even my 000-28), I start comparing it to my 814ce. Then I start pitting them against one other and start doing back and forth "tone battles."

One day, the 814 will sound better and then the next, the 000-28 wipes the floor with the 814. I can never truly enjoy multiple guitars because I start thinking "well, I've got $xxxx tied up in the 814 and this Martin sounds just as good or better", or maybe I'll say "Man, nothing can touch my 814, so why did I spend $xxxx on this Martin?"

It's very difficult for me to enjoy multiple expensive acoustics. Plus, I don't get but maybe 2 hours a week to play, so spending it trying to give love to two nice guitars is difficult.

[Muddslide]

Originally Posted by Jim_G

I remain mystified by folks who own a dozen or more, often similar type guitars, and even then it isn't enough for them. Seems it about something other than music going on there. Or maybe they play in alot of different styles and have the chops where slight differences matter.

Hey, I believe people should do what makes them happy. Some may be content with one inexpensive instrument that covers all the ground they feel they need. Others may wish, and be able to afford, to commission a new high end boutique luthier build every three months, and good for them! Guitars are cool and I love seeing folks' NGDs and big "family pics."

I do have a theory, though, about GAS and the (seeming, to me) increase in non-pro musicians and bedroom pickers who own dozens of guitars: it's the internet!

Clearly there have always been major guitar collectors... Steve Howe, Pat Metheny, Steve Miller, etc., and private collectors as well.

But in the past 20 years I've seen a big uptick in regular old guitar players like you'd find in any neighborhood who have walls and stands packed full of guitars. (I've spent time on many guitar and bass forums, and forums for other string instruments.)

Maybe part of it is due to being able to see and communicate with more players more quickly online. But I don't think that's the bulk of it.

All through the late 70s to late 90s I don't remember ever meeting anyone who owned more than 2 or 3 guitars. For several years in there I worked at a radio station and booking shows at some clubs and got to meet and interview a ton of well-known touring musicians.

Being a gearhead geek, the conversations would turn to equipment frequently.

I can't recall anyone, even among the fairly famous, who owned more than 5 or 6 guitars. Often they'd tell me they toured with three and had a couple of vintage case queens they left at home, or something similar.

I honestly think the availability of guitar cheesecake, seeing other people's guitars, being able to see and hear reviews, keep up with new models and developments, look at online catalogs, ebay, craigslist, forum marketplaces, discuss with others globally in real time, and the fact we are to a large degree, consumers in a society of consumption has driven a lot of this.

It's not a problem, but to me an interesting correlation.

Originally Posted by fitness1

That ended in 2002 when I found this forum.
No. Really.

Case in point!

I think of some famous players' iconic guitars... Maybelle Carter was rarely seen with anything other than her trusty The Gibson from the late 1920s to the 1960s... Willie Nelson and Trigger... Muddy Waters' red Telecaster... though thay isn't to say these players and others known primarily for one guitar didn't own others.