Changing guitars on stage

[Slothead56]

Saw Little Big Town last night in Atlantic City. They were quite entertaining, put on a really good show.

Lost track of how many guitar changes Phillip Sweet made. Not just acoustic to electric but the sheer number of each. Interesting.

I’m reminded of seeing Boston several years ago. Tom Scholz put a Les Paul goldtop on at the beginning of the show and played it all night....well over 2 hours. The only time he took it off was when he took what was clearly a bathroom break!

Not being judgy. I always take two guitars to gigs or church but it’s really because of string breaks or how either feels at the time. I rarely switch up. (And I’ve never broken a string from playing in 45 years!)

[llew]

I can see that if you're doing songs back to back in alternate tunings. Or even drop D or double drop D? Or if the song called for electric or acoustic. But lots of musicians carry a "collection" of guitars with them. Jackson Browne comes to mind. And some might play the same guitar thru an entire show. Personal preference I suppose?

[PHJim]

Maggie and I saw Paul McCartney in Toronto a few years ago and he said something like, "People sometimes ask me why I play so many guitars in a show. It's because I've got'em."

I will sometimes bring a high strung guitar to play for a song or two, but usually stick to one guitar. My friend and musical partner, Ted, plays a lot of slide and brings a standard tuned guitar as well as two Nationals in open D and G.

[815C]

I played a solo guitar gig last night and took six instruments with me and played them all....

Gibson L-5 for jazz chord solos
Dauphin Classical for Latin, classical, and some finger style
Dell'Arte steel dreadnaught for steel string finger style
G&L Legacy (basically a Strat) for blues
Gibson BR-9 lap steel in C6 tuning
Oahu lap steel in Bbdim9 tuning

When you have to have 3 - 4 hours of tunes for a solo gig like this, I've found it really helps to be able to change the texture of the music during the evening vs. staying in the same genre/sound vibe all night.

[rwmct]

I imagine if you are playing every other night for four months, changing up the guitars may be one way to keep things interesting.

I also imagine that some artists get into a song more if they think the guitar matches the song particularly well. Using a Jaguar or Mustang for a surf inspired number, a Tele for some twang, a Les Paul were that evokes the sprit of the music you are tapping into.

[gfirob]

I usually bring four, a Martin OM for fingerpicking, a Gibson slope shoulder for flat picking, a single cone national for punctuated ragtime picking and a Telecaster for some country and blues numbers. I do it for variety over the course of the performance. I would have to say, though, that four guitar cases really adds to the load and I have been questioning the wisdom of that many guitars, but I like the variety.

[Earl49]

I've had as many as three on stage, and swapped between them. I use a number of altered tunings, and switch guitars when it feels like there have been "enough" tunes in that key, just to break things up a bit. If it is only changing one or two strings, I can do that quickly enough on the fly, but some slack-key tunings change all six and that takes a couple of passes, even with practice. It is easier to grab a different guitar for F wahine tuning (CFCGCE), and one for taro patch / open G (DGDGBD), and a third for standard. I have also planned my sets so that I can re-tune a guitar during the break in those tunings for which I only have a song or two.

Otherwise, the most swapping would be between six and twelve string guitar. But I certainly understand why a player would want to use all their guitars.... as long as someone else handles load-in and load-out.

[Bob Womack]

I'm with David (815C): I take as many as the gig requires. On a blues thing that might include regular guitars, open-tuned guitars for bottleneck, and lap steel guitars. Of course, you also need the two food groups: Gibson and Fender. Most of my gigging occurs in the studio anymore but here is a typical load-out after a session:



You can't see the lap steel there. Different guitars yield different sounds. You just need what the music calls for.

By the way, Tom Scholz uses his custom preamp/amp systems to get his variety of sounds.

Bob

[alnico5]

I take two at most. I will switch at break but not mid set. Nobody at the VFW will notice the "tone change." This applies to electrics. I have only one acoustic so the choice is easy.

[roylor4]

Ever watch a Joe Bonamassa concert?

I watched him on a two night concert series on PBS - one night was electric - one acoustic. He had at least 20 guitars on stage each night.

I often take three - One acoustic, electric in E, electric in open G.

I can see how someone with stage hands and the desire to gt perfect tone for each song might do this. Grungy rockin' blues/hard rock - LP. Clean glassy tones - Strat, etc.

Most of us don't have the desire to carry more than needed, but I suppose what level of artist, pay and desire to chase tonal perfection all play a role.

[rstaight]

After being away from playing on regular basis for so long I am still knocking off the rust. But I have started play in one of the local jams. It usually last three to four hours.

When I take more than one guitar the second is a 12 string.

[Silly Moustache]

hmm, nowadays, I take a 6 string (which gets 80-90% of the work) and a 12 string for the minimal rest.

When I did longer pub or restaurant gigs, I used to take a resonator guitar as well, as a four minute bluesy slidey noodle gave my voice a rest, and always went down well.

I have broken a string during a gig, but not in this millennium, although I've changed strings for two blues stars in concert, and, strangely in the same venue -- I always get a seat in the front row if I can :

Alvin Youngblood Hart, (who also had a 12 string), and Guy Davis, who played a mouth harp boogie thing whilst I changed his g string, (sitting in the audience) and handed it back, "Wow, and it's perfectly in tune too!" he cried, (I got a round of applause ... which was nice).

[AndrewG]

When I was playing in my electric bands I took two Telecasters in case of string breaks mid-song.
With acoustics one is all I need.

[Ozzy the dog]

I've seen Steve Hackett many times and he manages to stick to one electric guitar and one classical guitar and probably gets a wider range of sound than most during the show.

I've also seen Eric Clapton many many times and he has what looks like a guitar store on stage with him. At one February concert at the Albert Hall we were taking our seats by the side of the stage and close to the exit door. An usher came up to us and asked if we could make sure the doors were kept closed at all times as Mr Clapton doesn't like the cold getting in as it makes his guitars go out of tune.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Ozzy the dog

I've seen Steve Hackett many times and he manages to stick to one electric guitar and one classical guitar and probably gets a wider range of sound than most during the show.

I've also seen Eric Clapton many many times and he has what looks like a guitar store on stage with him. At one February concert at the Albert Hall we were taking our seats by the side of the stage and close to the exit door. An usher came up to us and asked if we could make sure the doors were kept closed at all times as Mr Clapton doesn't like the cold getting in as it makes his guitars go out of tune.

I saw him at the Albert Hall when Albert Lee was working with him. What a waste; still I guess it was a nice little earner for Mr.Lee who shone throughout, leaving Clapton in the shade. Sorry to say this now, because I was a huge fan in the 60s (Yardbirds, Mayall, Cream). These days he just disappoints. Poor chap is also losing his hearing which must be devastating for him.