Multiples of the same style guitar

[jklotz]

I've currently got 3 OM/000's in my stable. Simple logic would dictate that I really don't need 3 of the same style guitar. So it got me thinking. Do you guys have multiples of the same guitar with slight differences, or do you choose others for different body shapes/scale, etc?

[RP]

For a while I had multiple Taylor Grand Auditorium models from the various series...

[Lakewood_Lad]

All quite different now. For a while I had 2 Ibanez dreadnoughts and the only difference between them was low / hi gloss, pickguard / no pickguard and the colour of the tuning buttons. I sold one of them. I still have the concert size version of the one I sold but it doesn't have a cutaway or a pickup and it sounds quite different from the dreadnoughts.

I am currently considering a parlour and aching over two. Both are spruce over rosewood but by different manufacturers. I'd have both if I could afford them but I can hardly afford one so that's not going ot happen.

[rstaight]

Personally I do not own multiples of the same models. But I can understand why someone would. Even though they are the same models they are not exactly the same. There will be slight differences between them.

I have known folks with motorcycle collections. One gentleman owned several makes and models, no duplicates. Another gentleman only owned 750 Honda's. All single overhead cam models.

We all have our preferences, and if yours is multiples of the same model, my hat's off to you.

[Rosewood99]

That doesn't make any sense to me. If there are differences, they would be minimal. I would much rather have bigger variety, whether it be tone wood, body shape, scale, etc.

[Norsepicker]

I began classical and steel string at the same time. My fingers got confused with the narrow neck of the steel string dreadnaught and wide neck classical. I discovered the Martin OOO vs 28 and it’s classical width neck and the finger confusion was gone. I was struck by the beauty and value of the Martin so that I didn’t want to take it out of the house. I found on eBay a luthier built clone of the Martin for about half the price, only to discover that I liked it as much - and that it had quite a different and unique “voice”. So almost everything I have is that size - several classicals, a resonator, a 12 string. I think I’m better navigating different body styles now (ukulele, banjo, tenor guitar), but that 000/classical shape is what I’m most at home with.

[warfrat73]

I don't think it's terribly uncommon. And I know that there are people on here that have way more than 3 OMs.

Different wood combos do different things. You can cover a lot of range with 3 OMs configured differently... Englemann top, Adi top and Cedar top, for example, would cover a pretty broad range of tonality and playing styles.

Lots of people also have varying degrees of quality/expense to have a beater in a familiar style.

I'm about to be up to 4 dreads, all somewhat different configurations:
EIR and Sitka Bourgeois for bluegrass rhythm, folky stuff and basic all-arounder.

CS D-18 with Adi top for more lead punch and headroom, still a decent all-arounder, but a definitely different character.

My Sigma DR-7 which is all-laminate, but still sounds decent enough... veteran of barroom and campfire jam sessions and singalongs when I didn't want to take a more expensive instrument.

En route in an Eastman E6D sitka over mahogany, which i hope will add a little quality to my "beater" guitar range.

[jaymarsch]

The only time that I had multiples was when I was trying to find a lower budget parlor guitar for travel. I had 3 in different tone woods. I finally decided the the all-mahogany Alvarez was the one that I liked the best and sold the others. I have 2 Kramer Prairie Grass models with different tone woods but one is on consignment.
So now, my 4 guitars are all different sizes as well as tone wood combos. I can completely understand why someone would own the same size/shape guitar in different tone woods.

Best,
Jayne

[Dwight]

It's OK to buy what you like.

[llew]

I have a bunch of dreads. Mostly standard but a few slop shoulder and one 12 fret. Rosewood, mahogany, maple and Adirondack, Sitka, Cedar.

[Ncbandit]

I only have 2 with the same body shape but different tone woods with completely different sounds. I like to mix it up.

[Rosewood99]

Originally Posted by Dwight

It's OK to buy what you like.

Of course it is. But that doesn't mean we have to understand why.

[Goat Mick]

One upon a time I was gigging with two identical Martin 000X1AE guitars. Both with JJB pickups. I played a large venue one night and the sound engineer asked me about my backup guitar after we did the sound check. I said “oh it’s exactly the same as this one, same make model and pickup”. His eyes got really wide and he thanked me profusely. I reckon his past experience was having to set sound on the fly when someone switched to their backup. LOL. Now the majority of my gigs are with my 000-17e and I can’t afford to have two of those.

[egordon99]

I have two dreads and two OMs.

[Methos1979]

I don't play a wide variety of styles (sort of a one-trick-pony, as the saying goes) so I don't need a wide variety of guitars. Truth be told I really only need one guitar but since I do gig semi-regularly I firmly believe in having a backup. So after I finally found my gigging guitar of choice - a Cole Clark Angel 2, which is a GA size body - I quickly bought a Cole Clark Little Lady 2 which is their small, 3/4 size travel guitar. I liked that it had the exact same pickup system as the Angel and it's smaller and comes in a great gig bag so I can throw it in the trunk as a backup guitar should I suffer some sort of catastrophic guitar failure at a gig. Then we started playing a song that I needed to capo up around the 9th fret (Christmas tune) so I used that as an excuse to buy a third Cole Clark, this time their Fat Lady 2 (dread) but with a cutaway and of course the same pickup system as the other two. Note that all three guitars are made from the exact same tonewood which is all Australian blackwood. But due to body sizes they are somewhat different sounding. Then I added a custom Martin D-1 in all mahogany just because I wanted something huge sounding for home, unamplified play.

I don't think it's wrong to have multiple guitars of the same anything. Buy what you want. Who cares? It's your business, no one else's!