Changing guitars on stage

[Ozzy the dog]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

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.

Yes, Albert Lee worked with EC when Eric was on stage in body only. When he cleaned up early 90's he seemed to find his mojo again and was good to see but I think age and former lifestyle is now catching up with him.

About fifteen years ago Albert Lee did an intimate promotion evening for Musicman guitars. It was in the function room of a pub about a mile from my home so we went along to meet him. A wonderful guy with some wonderful stories and a true talent on the guitar.

Even though he was promoting guitars he still didn't have as many with him as some of the other acts appearing in this thread.

[JayBee1404]

EC is suffering, not only from hearing loss, but also from arthritis in his hands, which I’d guess is the main reason for his stepping back from some of the soloing and leaving it to others.

My son took me to the EC/Steve Winwood/Santana gig in Hyde Park, London last Summer. At least 50% of the solo work in Eric’s set was played by Doyle Bramhall, who was superb.

On the thread topic - I use two acoustics for band gigs, one tuned EADGBE (which I also use for Drop-D), the other tuned DADGAD. I switch around according to the tuning required for each song. When I’m on my own, it’s usually a more relaxed affair, and I use one guitar which I re-tune as necessary whilst I’m introducing the next song.

[Woolbury]

I saw Tom Petty a couple of times. Part of the show is the guitar museum that he Mike Campbell play. They both rotated one incredible vintage guitar after another nearly every song. Very cool to see as a guitar fan.

[frankmcr]

And then there's Jackson Browne . . .

http://eyeonsouthflorida.com/wp-cont...-guitars-1.jpg

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

And then there's Jackson Browne . . .

http://eyeonsouthflorida.com/wp-cont...-guitars-1.jpg

Love that pic!

I remember seeing Emmylou fronting the Hot band and a roadie (dressed in uniform black t-shirt and drainpipe jeans changing her SJ200 after each number .. my dream, to have a fresh guitar for every number and a choice as large as Jackson's .... ain't gonna happen, but I can change from 6 to 12 and back REALLY quickly, using the same strap.

[Wade Hampton]

As a multi-instrumentalist, at my solo gigs I’ve always carried at least two instruments with me: a six string guitar and a mountain dulcimer (dulcimer is what I’m actually good at - I’m a former US Champion on it.) When I’ve been in duos and bands I might have or at least play other instruments as well: mandolin, five string banjo, mandocello, electric bass, and so forth. I’ve been a church musician since 1990, and there I always take a mandolin, usually a six string guitar, and often my acoustic baritone guitar, too. Then sometimes I take a guitar-banjo or the dulcimer, it just depends on the music that I programmed for that Sunday.

But I try to limit it to three instruments per Sunday. Otherwise it gets too cumbersome.

On a side note, in the past there have been some participants on this forum who’ve ridiculed the idea of using strap locking hardware on acoustic instruments. But what I have found over the years is that it’s when I’m changing instruments onstage that their straps are most likely to come loose. If you’re using just one guitar for the entire set, sure, it can stay on its strap just fine. But switching back and forth between a guitar and another instrument or two provides more opportunities for straps to come loose, sometimes with unhappy results. So being able to lock the strap onto the guitar (or the dulcimer or the banjo) is a simple safety precaution and inexpensive but effective insurance against that particular mishap.

Anyway, back in the bad old days when sound systems were more primitive and I still broke strings onstage occasionally, if a string broke on my guitar I’d grab one of the other instruments that I had onstage and play that until the set ended, when I could change the string at a somewhat more leisurely pace.


Wade Hampton Miller

[ragincajun]

I was wondering if someone would bring up Jackson Browne. I watched his NPR Tiny Desk Concert (which was awesome), and I believe he played 3 songs on 3 different guitars.

[AZLiberty]

Last acoustic concert I played I brought:

Rainsong Shorty (main guitar)
Rainsong 12-string (used for 2 songs)
Alvarez Baritone (used for 2 songs)

If I had had any songs in DADGAD or open G then I would have brought another guitar. The audience is there to see you play, not tune.