How many is too many? Too few?
 

Not sure why but it seems there has been a recent surge in threads that examine the numbers of guitars we own. How many is too many? How many is too few? Besides finances, what's the desirability of getting down to owning a single guitar? Is that even possible once you've swam in the multi-guitar ownership pool?

Over the last ten years I've owned both too many and too few guitars at various times. I knew I had too few when I purchased more. I knew I had too many when I began selling and not replacing.

GAS has been around here as long as I've been an AGF member so that's nothing new. Lately there seems to be a small movement in losing guitars in the same way that Weight Watchers strive to lose pounds. Why the recent interest in "getting down to one?" Are we seeing the beginning of an AGF Minimalist Movement???

For me, three is too many, one is too few. If I didn't gig then one would be just right.

Good question. I've sold off some guitars but all too quickly replaced them. For the longest time 13 was my break over number. Any less I'd start looking...anymore and I'd start selling. Whether myself or consigned. I think it's all about a comfort zone of sorts. A mythical number that's okay but if you surpass it then that's a whole different story. Makes no sense to me but plays into my OCD to some degree I suppose?

Minimum 4.

Yes, silly in a way but look at it this way ->DADGAD, CGDGAD, CGDGCD and standard. Yes, gad and gcd are just a few turns of the tuner from each other, but one piece could be capo 4, the other capo 2 so I leave the capos on as I practice one and then the next, back and forth. No re-tuning, no going through strings 2 weeks ahead of their time. Life is easier.

Could I do just 2? I guess if I had to, but I don't have to and don't tell my wife :D

And yes, I do realize I have more than 4. :)

That's an answer I can hang my hat on....

For recording:

ELECTRICS:

• One Strat...
• One Jaguar...
  (both with various spare quick disconnect PGs)
• One LP...
• One lap steel...

ACOUSTICS:

• One dread...
• One concert...
• One parlor...
• One soprano uke...

EITHER:

• One 12 string

Add to as "needed". :D

Guitars are like mics. Choose the right one for the song, don't fix it in the mix.

two more is too many, one less is too few

I don't necessarily see a trend here on AGF to downsize. It's more about a general comfort zone of personal belongings, which is going to be different for every person. How much "stuff" do we have to care for on a regular basis and where does it become excessive without purpose or joy.

I'm a 4 to 5 guitar kind of guy

I got up to seven after looking for the right parlor/travel guitar. So bought and sold 4 guitars over a 2 year period. I have got it down to 5 with another to be sold in a month or two. 4 seems just right.

Best,
Jayne

I really like resonators, but it doesn't work for everything. So for me, two guitars -- a reso and a standard acoustic -- is the bare minimum.

But I also like having a cheap campfire guitar, and I like having both a 12- and a 14-fret acoustic, and I like having an electric, and a bass, and a lap steel. So that's what I've got. And I don't want any more than this.

One perspective is that if you know what's in every case, you don't have enough.

I have what I think is a great guitar; problem is, I have another one that is very good, so my limited time is split between the two.

Why can’t I have that one great guitar in my hands always when I practice? I’d love to learn and explore all the nuances of the instrument.

I’m only a hobbyist who stays in standard tuning.

I don’t know of any other hobby as time consuming.

My time is limited, restricted.

Yet I just caught myself browsing for a third acoustic guitar?

Is it greed? Procrastination?

How many is too many? Too few?

I have no need to get introspective about how many guitars is too many or too few. I've noticed this topic trend too, and it did get me thinking, but not too seriously about joining the trend. If anything, I've chosen the opposite path, trending upward over the last couple of decades. But here is where I am and why.

I have two 12 strings, almost a whole separate instrument, each with different body shapes and back and side woods.

I have two laminate bodied guitars. They are not expensive, sound quite good, and serve a specific purpose. I favor large body guitars, but in times of great humidity, the solid wood guitars don't sound as good a usual, so the laminates become the go-to guitars of the day. While they share maple laminate bodies, the brands are different, the shapes are different, as are the sounds and tops. Nor do they share the same string gauge.

That leaves 5 solid wood six strings. Two Grand Concerts, two Jumboes, and a Grand Orchestra. One of the GCs is an all-mahogany, back, sides, top, and neck, and is tuned to DADGAD. The other is my only short scale, Sitka over Rosewood. The jumboes are different brands and strung with different gauge strings. One Jumbo is all walnut and has a thinner neck, the other is Sitka over Rosewood. The Sitka over Rosewood Grand Orchestra is simply the best sounding guitar I own. Overall, there is also a nearly even split between nut widths of 1+11/16" and 1+3/4", plus the 12 string nuts are 1+7/8" wide.

Not counting my preference for Taylor guitars, I have little duplication within my 'heard', and I like every one of them. While a few were bought 'new', the majority were 'used'. No, the play time is not equal, and yes, I know which one would be the last to go given the worst of circumstances. But I enjoy the differences and choices every day, and that is what matters the most to me.

Color me contented.

Don
.

VERY well said!

I think that many of us can only play in stolen moments, and so it's very hard to immerse ourselves fully into all the nuances of any guitar. And so, to make up for this lack of depth, we end up compensating for it in breadth.

Thanks. I was fumbling in the dark to the Op’s question, and you have shown the light. Excellent insight!