Who has had the fewest guitars?

[FrankHS]

Curious about those who may have a low rate over a lifetime. Add up all the guitars you've owned, if possible. (Dont count the quick returns, if any.) Subtract from that number the number of years you've been playing.

What's your non-GAS rating?

[lt20dbl]

What a strange question.

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by lt20dbl

What a strange question.

And I've failed miserably

[MThomson]

I think I'm on -27. I've only ever had 4 guitars (of which I only bought 2). I've been playing for 31 years. The last guitar I bought was in 1997 (I think). Please excuse me if I'm in the wrong place.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by FrankHS

Add up all the guitars you've owned, if possible. (Dont count the quick returns, if any.) Subtract from that number the number of years you've been playing.

I don't know for sure what that number would be, but it's way lower than zero.

[RP]

Originally Posted by MThomson

...The last guitar I bought was in 1997 (I think). Please excuse me if I'm in the wrong place.

You're not in the wrong place, but you're definitely an outlier....

[FrankHS]

Originally Posted by lt20dbl

What a strange question.

And from a strange person.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by MThomson

Please excuse me if I'm in the wrong place.

I like it that you're here.

I've had more than four, and I really appreciate nice instruments, but I've never felt the need to own a lot. Even the one Martin I have, good as it is, is a bit of a one trick pony. I'm thinking about cashing it in for something more versatile.

[PHJim]

I recall owning 14 guitars over the 60 years I've been playing, so I guess that puts me 46 in the hole.

(I have owned a number of banjos, mandolins, a bouzouki, a tiple, a banduria, some autoharps and a gang of ukuleles, but still not enough to get me outa the hole.)

[Bob from Brooklyn]

If you take number of guitars divided by number of years playing I'm at 0.2777777

[jaymarsch]

Okay, here are my stats:
I have been playing guitar for 55 years and over that time period, I have owned 15 guitars. I currently still own 5.

But here is where things get interesting:
From 1965 to 2003, I owned only 4 different guitars during that time, never owning more than one at a time.
From 2003 (the year that I went to my first guitar festival and started hanging out on guitar discussion forum sites) - 2020, I have owned 11 guitars over those 17 years, at times owning a total of 7 at one time.

So my GAS rating went from 38 years - 4 guitars = 34 to
17 years - 11 guitars = 6

Surprise, surprise, hanging out in guitar discussion forums with guitar nuts and hanging out at guitar festivals with more guitar nuts increased my GAS.
Shocking, absolutely shocking.

Another interesting stat is that I purchased my first higher end guitar (Martin M-38) in January of 1992. I had had a steady full-time job for 5 years, had paid off my student loan debt, and actually had a savings account. Before that I was pretty much living paycheck to paycheck and playing the same Yamaha F-140 that I saved up for and bought new in 1972. Back then, I had bouts of GAS, I just had no means to act on it!

Best,
Jayne

[drive-south]

I currently have about 30, but I've been playing for almost 60 years so I'm in good shape number wise. Don't even ask how many I've owned over the last 30 years. It's an obscene number.

[donlyn]

Originally Posted by FrankHS

Curious about those who may have a low rate over a lifetime. Add up all the guitars you've owned, if possible. (Dont count the quick returns, if any.) Subtract from that number the number of years you've been playing.

What's your non-GAS rating?

OK, I'll bite.

So I've got 9 in my sig plus a couple of electrics I kept, plus about a half dozen gone (electric and acoustic), comes out to (17-55) = -38.

Any results would seem to be skewed by a large number of years. Especially since I think my buying choices improved as I gained more experience. Haven't parted with a guitar in years, actually since I gave my son a Gibson LP Custom I had since the 60s.

I would submit that dividing the number of guitars by the years played might yield a better picture. Thus (17/55) = .309, which is a good baseball batting average too.

Don
.

[MThomson]

Originally Posted by RP

You're not in the wrong place, but you're definitely an outlier....

That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever called me. I'm currently in the process of getting a guitar custom built for me so hopefully it brings me back toward the mean a little. Although the fact that I've not bought a guitar for 20 years and then go all in might confirm that outlier viewpoint...

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by FrankHS

Curious about those who may have a low rate over a lifetime. Add up all the guitars you've owned, if possible. (Dont count the quick returns, if any.) Subtract from that number the number of years you've been playing.

What's your non-GAS rating?

You, first.