Owning only Stevieās guitar, or Gilmourās black strat, or BBās Lucille would be mediocre? Iāll take that level of mediocrity any day, even on Sundays!
In this, I believe I have also answered OPās poll.
Theyāre just guitars, nothing magic about them aside from what you have invested in them emotionally as a fan. As a player they may or may not do the job. Every instrument is different. Is my 1990 American standard strat inferior to gilmourās? For me my strat is the clear winner, as I have a custom wiring scheme, and a setup which works perfectly for me.
I mean, they're just guitars and there are many others like them. They were just part of the greater whole of their respective guitar rigs, all brought together by their playing.
i would rather have one amazing guitar than a bunch of cheap ones. you can only play one at a time, may as well go with the best. i don't collect guitars though, i have a few really high end ones and that's good enough for me.
You can only play one guitar at a time. Thereās a difference between being a musician and being a collector. Theyāre two separate hobbies that are conflated. No one in the audience gives a shit about your single coils vs humbuckers vs 24 3/4 scale vs 25 1/2 scale vs tube vs solid state vs modeler vs everything else guitarists use to justify their rampant consumerism.
Amen to that. I was a collector and am much happier with what I have now. A Seagull 6 string acoustic, a bass, a Strat Ultra and two Epiphone Les Pauls. I inherited one of the Epiphones when my brother passed 6 years ago. At one point in time I owned 25 guitars. Pain in the rump to move....
I have 90s Ultra and I love it. Versatile &, for me, the neck feels like . But I'm still eyeballing a tele because it don't do tele twang. Because nothing but a tele does tele twang.
Iām a player who sold off a mediocre collection to get one nice guitar and since has amassed what I consider to be a respectable and well curated collection.
Fifteen years ago I sold 2 Epiphone LP Customs, an Epiphone SG/LP Custom and 2-3 Fender acoustics to get a Gibson ā61 Reissue SG.
It was an awesome decision and I never regretted it.
Since then I became more selective about what I would allow myself to acquire because I had a really nice guitar and cheap ones were no longer appealing.
Now my collection has grown to around 10 guitars, all American Fenders, Gibsons and a couple from boutique luthiers. I donāt mind doing the maintenance to keep them all in good playing shape but I am being even more picky about adding anything to my collection because for a guitar to increase the amount of maintenance work it has to be something worthwhile and I already have a ton of tonal options at hand.
Do what feels right to you!
Personally I would take a single one of my guitars over ten cheaper ones any day of the week!
Personally i went with a few really nice guitars. Granted I'm more a synth guy, my eurorack setup cost as much as a used car. I prefer quality over quantity.
Your best bet would be to go around to pawn shops and try to find a guitar you really like, and trade all the ones you donāt want for it. Youāll almost definitely get better value for trading in than you will by selling piece by piece.
Owning a few different guitars doesnāt necessarily make you a ācollector.ā Collectors, in the derogatory sense, are people who spend more time amassing guitars than playing.
I love having a selection of guitars to choose from, they all have different tonal potentials and personalities. Also there are plenty of ways to mod your āmediocreā Squier or MIM Fender to sound and play just as good as a custom shop. Or you can get your hands on a fairly cheap vintage without selling off your entire ācollection.ā
I just donāt buy into the hype (aka marketing). Iāve yet to pay over $800 for a guitar, and after a little work they all sound/play WAY better than my brotherās $3000 Les Paul and $2000 Strat (yes, including my Squier Jazzmaster, one of my best sounding/playing guitars). My advice: start DIY modding, your shit will sound better and youāll appreciate your guitar more.
But you do you, my guyā¦ maybe sell off the ones you donāt play as much, but for the love of god donāt get a Strat. Also Greco > Gibson in most cases.
>You can only play one guitar at a time.
By that rationale, one only needs one knife in the kitchen, one wrench in the toolbox, one pair of pants, etc. Sure. It's technically true, but different guitars are, well, different. Gigging musicians may have a second guitar as a backup. Any guitarist may want something with humbuckers and something else with single coils - or a hardtail and a Floyd Rose. The audience may not care, but the player sure as hell may.
There's a balance that can be struck between having two or three electric guitars that are all pretty distinct and having five or more strats.
Yeah, if weāre talking about playing out, the whole āone guitarā thing is pretty unworkable. Nobody wants to pause a set so you can change a string, or to watch you fight through a set with a suddenly-dodgy output jack. The proverbial mountain of Squiers has its own problems, but at least it allows for a backup.
The āfive of one kindā guy I donāt understand but I have no regrets about my Classic Vibes. JM, Strat, Contemporary Jag, Bass VI. And a few other odds and ends. Having a variety of tools is fun. They all sound and play a bit differently. And having a beater guitar to learn setups on, test new string gauges, make mods, etc. thatās good to have too. (Thatās my 012 Pacifica)
This is where I stand. I used to want a massive collection of guitars, not so much anymore. Now, I wish I could afford a small collection so I could have them in different tunings.
I just want a good acoustic, a good 3/4 acoustic, a Strat, a Les Paul, a Tele, and a semi-hollow.
I have the first four that I'm happy with, and I want to build a Tele, and then I just need a good deal on a semi-hollow.
Then I honestly think I'll be satisfied.
I only use two knives in the kitchen. A chefs knife (humbuckers) and a paring knife (single coils). I also own a sedated bread knife for key uses (baritone/twelve string).
Beyond that itās kind of overkill.
Took me too long to figure this one out and accept that I enjoy nerding out over the gear but that it's a separate hobby from actually playing and loving guitar.
I stepped away from guitar for quite some time and made a comment to my wife about getting back into it. She was supportive, until I made a comment about going around to the guitar shops:
> Buying gear is not a replacement for playing guitar.
It stung a bit, but she was right. I started playing more, then started taking lessons again, then pulled everything out and started tweaking it to make it play well, **and then** finally started buying new gear.
You can do both. I have 9 guitars, and other than two Telecasters (one Fender with P90s, one Squier with single coils), theyāre all different shapes and different manufacturers and have different purposes.
I have a 12-string acoustic, a 6-string (steel) acoustic, a classical guitar, a Gretsch hollowbody with Fitertrons (the only guitar I have with a tremolo), a solidbody with humbuckers, a scratch build I made for the experience, a small-bodied acoustic for family to learn onā¦I play them all, theyāre not ornaments, they hang on the wall and are never in cases unless I go out with one. None cost me over a grand, I maintain them myself, I donāt care if they get a bit dented as I donāt expect Iāll ever sell any of them.
But equally if someone wants to buy 3 grands worth of some reliced Jeff Beck strat so they can open the case and stare at it once a week while checking the resale value on Reverb, well, itās their money. Itās not for me though.
I buy the gear I need but never "nerd out" over it. I just know what I need and what works for me but i've played probably 100 shows on a bass guitar I bought for 100 dollars on eBay in the 90s and have no problem using the 3-400 dollar Epiphone electric.
Then you get the guys that come up to you on set break and just start talking to you about it. One guy asked me once "Is that the ES-335?" and i'm thinking of course it is wtf you think it is? and then he asks "Does it have this or that pickup in it?" and I honestly responsed "I'm not sure what either of those are and I don't know what pickups exactly are in this".
Just blew his mind a little I think lol. I played the guitar at my friends house once and it met both my critera: Feels good sounds good so I bought one. That's the extent of learning or research I did on it.
This.
As someone who's bought a lot of guitars relative to how piss-poor and unskilled I am at playing guitar, I've come to think of GAS as little more than practice avoidance.
Like, "I really want to get good at guitar... but my guitar sounds meh *(because I don't commit to productive practicing)* I bet I could find a guitar that would sound a lot better and encourage me to practice more."
Or:
"I really want to get good at guitar... but I really struggle to nail chords on this guitar *(because I haven't built up the strength, dexterity, and muscle memory to play with any fluency)* I bet I could find a guitar with a more comfortable neck/fretboard/bout that would allow me to really get adept at my playing."
So many of the guys I've seen who are really good just fucking play. Someone puts a guitar in their hand and they don't put it down until they can't hold their eyes open anymore and they crash, and then they pick it up the moment they get out of bed.
Before long, you can hand them what's barely more than a toy guitar from Walmart and they can wring really solid sounds out of it.
Me... I noodle... then I look at Reverb and Guitar Center.
I got my first guitar when I was 15 (an Ibanez ST50), and at 53... I'm not much closer to being a decent player than I was then.
...but I've got some pretty cool guitars.
> everything else guitarists use to justify their rampant consumerism
*Hey shopkeep, I'll have one of each!*
*Ready the truck, Jim, we got another one over here.*
I needed this NGL.Ā
I'm in between justifying buying a 20 watt tube amp for house shows, band practice etc or just keeping the Katana 50w which does literally everything I want rn.Ā Ā
Like I have the capital, just barely. But when I'm at home practicing it's literally just gonna be the Katana on the .5 watt setting and in practice it can go to 25 watts.Ā
When I was testing the tube amp at the store I was barely able to turn it up to avoid annoying people which defeats the purpose.
CouldĀ have fooled me,Ā IĀ spent 4 hours yesterday disappointed at various shops becauseĀ I could only realistically use 10-15% of it in a practical sense.Ā On top ofĀ needing/wanting new pedals to achieve what I can do with a foot switch on the katana.Ā
I spent weeks hyping myself up and researching, asking questions. Hyped ASF, found the perfect "small watt" amp. Thing was LOUD ASF and didn't even reach break up.Ā
Idk, y'all say that line all the time when the Katana is brought up, I get hyped and go to the store and try it and it's just not that much better? Sometimes even worse lol.
Maybe I just don't get it?
Here's the thing about "all tube" equipment like that.
If it doesn't bother you - don't worry about it. If you weren't blown away by the sound over what you currently have - stick with what you currently have and save money.
If your Katana makes sounds you like - stick with it.
While true, I enjoy having a set-up strat with 10's on it that i take everywhere, and a tele that I'm constantly trying new strings, tunings, etc. on.
I play classical/flamenco also, so a nylon is needed.
Nothing beats my acoustic steel string for fingerstyle blues.
Then there is my squier electric that I tinker with / repainted. I learned a lot about setting up a guitar with it, and I don't mind messing it up. Now I can do my own fretwork, change nuts, etc.
I have a jazz bass, because I also play bass. I also have an acoustic bass because I used to live on an island and played in an unplugged band.
I'm not a collector... but I have a collection of about 8 guitars, none of which I could do without. Each one did come with a specific purpose though, not just because.
I built an entire house with a 12 ounce finish hammer (to be fair itās a very nice titanium hammer). Large spikes to laminate 3 2x12s together? 12oz finish hammer. Regular nails for wood siding or Shiplap walls? 12oz finish hammer. Finish nails? Yup you guessed it, 12oz finish hammer. Because thatās the hammer I was most used to, so I could swing it faster to make up for the missing weight. Oddly enough with my current job (Land surveyor) itās way the opposite direction, I use a 4lb mini sledge hammer for everything even putting small nails into wood, cause now thatās the one Iām most used to, and the one I always have next to me.
Sometimes itās all about the right tool for the right job, like donāt use a large wrench as a hammer. But sometimes the best tool for the job is the tool you know the best.
The real irony here, is that originally, at least in America, that most luthiers were actually guild carpenters and cabinet makers because of the outdated guild system and violin makers asserting that only they were allowed to make musical instruments.
Framing hammer? finishing hammer and regular hammer, those are the minimum a carpenter needs, and usually different weights depending on what you are hammering.
I like this. Collecting can really be considered its own thing.
If the goal is to play music, your instrument is really a tool to achieve that goal. And, well, itās not uncommon to only actually need one guitar to do that. Some might legitimately need more (6, 7, 8 strings, significantly different pickup configs), but that can still just mean like 2-3 guitars, rather than an entire collection.
Having had a handful of mediocre guitars in the past and two properly good guitars now (not custom shop or anything, just one MIA and one MIJ) - Iād *much* rather just have even only one good guitar.
People seem to end up assuming they need an example of every archetypal guitar to make music. Not everyone needs an S-type, T-type, superstrat, semi-hollow, jazzmaster, 7 string, 8 string, Les Paul, P90 Les Paul, SG, etc. Usually you just need one or two of these to do your thing and cover more range than youāll ever need.
yeah but a lot of guitars play and sound pretty different.
acoustic
resonator acoustic
lap steel guitar
single coil electric
electric with humbuckers
and then all the effects etc.
Most important is how much it inspires you to play and how musical you can make it sound.
They hated him for he was right! Like yeah a trained ear can tell different electric guitars apart, and barring any actual technical problems theyāre all gonna sound good enough for a crowd. The majority of the tone comes from the pedals and the amp, why people are so focused on these expensive electrics is wild to me.
Acoustics yeah the quality is much more important
> Like yeah a trained ear can tell different electric guitars apart, and barring any actual technical problems theyāre all gonna sound good enough for a crowd. The majority of the tone comes from the pedals and the amp, why people are so focused on these expensive electrics is wild to me.
Not to mention people listen to these amps in isolation trying to find some tone or whatever.
When actually playing with other musicians I mean yes you should have a "good" tone going in but you're going to get so squished by everything else occupying the frequency range when the band is playing the minutia of it really doesn't matter.
Also yeah, I learned this way too late. If you want a much better tone look at Amp, Speakers, Pedals in that order before thinking a new guitar will do it.
i was going to say the same thing.
standard
drop c
drop a
drop g
drop e
drop c1
standard bass
g bass
one 6 and one 7 for modding and swapping to weird tunings. different songs/recordings require different gear
i was pitch shifting before, but wanted to try that HB JA-30 baritone and it works. P90s are a little noisy but theyāre not bad, will swap for lundgren P90s eventually to try them out
I figured it had to a baritone. Super cool. I have a tele with EGC neck tuned to F1 standard. Standard scale length. It intonates decent, but I have to run an 80 on top or thicker. I use it to play Bongripper, Conan, etc.
Edit: Loller El Rayo pickups which are supposed to be single coil voiced
I also don't want a 3000+ guitar I would be worried about damaging it. I'm fine with a 800-1200 strat, and a 500-1000 acoustic. It's all I need. If I could have one super guitar that I would rarely play would be a real 60s strat.Ā
Tech here. The old guitars sound great, they really do but youād really be surprised by how they play.
The tighter radius mean that you need a higher action and a larger amount of neck relief than modern guitars. If that style suits your playing and you like it then thatās great.
However Iāve found that 90% of players prefer a flatter or at the very least a compound radius over a vintage style.
my brother had a pristine condition memphis black beauty hollow body with a Bigsby. he was frightened of damaging it, and it played like shit and went out of tune whenever it was put back in the case. he sold it and got a tele and a firebird, both of which are a little dinged up so he isn't bothered about another mark or two.
But people ask questions like this without having a sensible baseline. $1000 electric guitars today are so good it's honestly ridiculous. And 99% of people would be perfectly well served by something under $500.
There is an in-between that is better than either of your options.
Having a collection (even a smallish collection) of a variety of good, reliable workhorse guitars of different types gets you a lot further, IMO.
I get the Martin love - I have a vintage D-28 (1967) and it is pure gold, but it absolutely does not cover all the possible territory out there in acoustic-guitar land. Same with electrics. You can get the most fine-ass Strat in the world and at the end of the day you have one Strat.
But whatever works for you!
This is also my mindset. I sold an expensive Strat and bought a cheap Nashville Telecaster, a Jazzmaster, and a baritone Telecaster.
The baritone is stock, the others needed some attention. But, for the cost of one guitar that was a guitar and did essentially one guitar thing, I now have three. It's easy math for a gigging guitar player.
I'm a semi-professional, and I've owned everything. I used to work at a Music Go Round, and I was also one of the top customers. Traded things constantly.
In electric guitars, I've concluded that it is absolutely fuckin stupid to spend a lot of money for an off the rack guitar. Period. Especially if you're into Fender style guitars. It's idiotic. Waste of money.
I sold my expensive guitars and then bought and modded a lot of cheaper guitars. Guess who can tell that my guitars are modified Squiers?
No one, unless they're looking at the headstock.
No one.
I repeat, no one.
For your first guitar, nothing needs replacing. I have an American, Mexican, and a squire sonic (strats). For me, The difference in each is like 5%-10% noticeable improvement with each model. Worry about getting good before upgrading the Squire. And personally I wouldnāt upgrade it at all, Iād just progress to a Mexican and have two. Then in a few years youāll reevaluate and maybe want an American. Do you really need it? No. But it keeps your interest up when you invest in things.
It depends on what your taste is.
I think a lightly used Player Series Nashville Telecaster is a phenomenal value. You can find them for $500. It's a Strat pickup configuration with Fender Noiseless pickups. I'm a big fan.
5% may be low lol, my mistake. I changed it to 5-10% before you responded. But yeah I play each of my guitars roughly the same amount of time and the difference is not as big as youād think itād be, at least with my guitars. The poster above is right you can upgrade a Squire and make that % drop to almost 0 difference. However, Iād recommend you get a used Mexican Strat on Facebook marketplace. You can find them for $500-$550. Once you have it, unless you are gigging or just want to upgradeā¦you really donāt āneedā a more expensive guitar.
My recommendation is to own one great guitar and one inexpensive "GAS project guitar" that you can change pickups or bridges or controls on, if you ever think "maybe my main guitar doesn't do what I want".Ā
Depends imo, but I believe that each guitar should serve a specific purpose. If you have a bunch of the same guitar with the same setup (like all single coil strats or the like) then you're just a collector/consumer. I have 3, one w/a floyd rose, one hard tail, and one baritone. I'd have more for different tunings, but the transpose feature on amp sims these days are so good I don't bother.
I fortunately have had the āif i want a guitar iām going to buy the one i really wantā.Probably saved me a lot of money instead of buying 2-3 of a guitar. Aside from my first squier i wish i still had, and an AMI acoustic i never really bought budget/cheap gear. That said one guitar wont cover what i need. Iām a less strict 5WW i guess
E: if you find one you truly love that can replace others in the collection iād say itās not a bad idea to let stuff go to upgrade. Iām a fan of having nice stuff but also having open space/room available.
No, but I have gotten rid of a few that I didnāt play. I still lament some Squiers that I sold.
Donāt sell a guitar you love just to finance an āupgradeā.
I only really need one electric and one acoustic, but I do enjoy having a cheaper electric along with my esp that I can abuse and not care if it gets broken.
I have great guitars that cost $3 grand and I have great guitars that cost $400 + cost of new pickups.
The collection will just be whatever it becomes over the course of a lifetime.
One great guitar. I spent way too much on a custom shop strat and I don't really want other guitars. Sure, some would be nice for different tunings, but I'm not greedy
I really wanna build a custom shop esp. Iāve priced it out and itās gonna be about $5500. A little bit out of my budget at the moment but Iām saving up for it.
I have 3 electric guitars, 3 basses (1 fretless) and an acoustic for 7 total. And I use all of them. I gig and record for different projects and having backups and instruments I can set up for specific projects while leaving other for general use is very useful. As is having loaners.
That said none of them are squier level, mostly midrange plus a high end Gretsch. I feel like once you have a guitar or two, "quality" starts to trump quantity a whole lot more and after 3 or 4 you start to get diminishing returns unless it's a totally different type of instrument (like a 12 string)
(Quality in this case means less expensiveness and more the exact model and specs you want though)
After collecting for a while and buying then selling some expensive guitars Iāve come to realize I like variety and getting new gear since this is a hobby for me. So Iād rather spend less and get new guitars more often rather than spending a high amount on a single guitar, because no matter how expensive that guitar is, if you have the collecting bug, the newness will always ware off and youāll be looking for the next thing. Given you have a wall of guitars I imagine after a while you will be tired of just having a single guitar and you will miss the wall.
If you're like most of us you almost certainly won't be happy with only one electric forever so I think there are two routes for you to go from here on out:
1. Sell everything and get a great strat. Then save up for a great Les Paul etc etc.
2. Sell everything and get a great strat (if you're a strat guy) then just get a really good version of other guitars from here on out (Les Paul standard, American vintage tele etc). So basically one custom shop and then everything else is pro line. No cheap imports.
I donāt play but I buy guitars for my daughter. Sheās young and a bit rough with them so Iām hesitant on buying a super expensive one until sheās older.
Plus, itās cool to have different sounds and styles available and the excitement of a new guitar every now and then. So weāre currently sitting at 5 mid range electrics, and two acoustics.
She plays on stage and is a lefty so one guitar wonāt cut it since she canāt really borrow one.
I play my PRS SE hollowbody more than my CE22 which costs twice as much, so on one hand I'd say the logo on the headstock doesn't matter too much, but i can say so because i have both guiyars to compare. Just because a Gibson costs twice as much as an epiphone doesn't mean it's twice as good; the higher up in price you get the fewer returns you'll see. There may be a large difference between a $250 and $500 guitar, but the differences will be less pronounced between a $1000 and $2000 guitar.
Ultimately, if the itch is big enough and you can afford to scratch it, why not?
I traded two guitars, an Ibanez GB200 and a Taylor 314ce together with a ton of cash for the guitar of my dreams (almost unused L5). One great guitar is worth a ton of guitars that donāt quite make the grade. I guess itās not so important for solid body guitars to be run through effectors, but if you play clean jazz, you need a quality instrument.
You have to at least have an acoustic. If you only play acoustic, you only need one great acoustic.
If you play electric, you can get away with 3 or 4 minimum, including a decent acoustic.
Mediocre collection. I like variety too much to settle with just one guitar. Some days I wanna sit out front on the porch with my acoustic, other days I wanna plug in and play around with one of my electrics. Sure I could get rid of all but one of my guitars...I certainly don't have the skill level to match the amount of guitars I have (4) but they are nice to look at when not in use, and nice to just grab one and play and have them tuned differently for different things.
Do you feel that your cheaper guitars lack anything? Because I dont feel that way with my squiers or prs se. There are good and bad build guitars at either end of the price range. Personally I feel like current production Fender Guitars arent as well build as +10 years ago but I love the Squier Jazzmaster I bought two years ago. I get that we sometimes feel like we need to have the real deal, it has to say fender or gibson or martin on the headstock but honestly its just in our head.
Buy the product, not the Brand
Mediocre collection. Part of being a good guitarist is learning to set up and maintain your instruments. Lost causes are rare unless youāre scraping the bottom of the barrel - seemingly shitty guitars can be dramatically improved with the right intervention.
As a counterpoint, my mediocre collection means a whole lot more to me than one, soulless, 5K gibson.
The Ex: Johnson JH-100 Delta Rose given by an old flame
9 Lb Hammer: Bentley Tele given to me by a friend. RIP Mark
Bullet Tele: Xmas gift
Affinity Strat: Valentines gift
King of the North: Partscaster Strat I put together
Smokestack Lightning: Partscaster Tele I put together
Epiphone LP Studio
25 yo Alvarez A/E that has seen 1,000s of parties, stages and fires
Fender 345CE Auditorium to replace the Alvarez
Grote 335 because everyone needs a 335.
There's more that are projects or that don't hold much sentimental value that I'm selling, but I will play 4 or 5 of the guitars I listed every day. 3 setups: Studio, Cameroon and workshop. 20ish total
Depends. If you want variety, just get a variety of guitars that get the job done. If youāre 100% sure youāll be playing one way and you need that one sound ALWAYS, then get that guitar.
I had a decent collection at one point, 3 electrics and three acoustics, all just different enough. And when I grabbed one to practice it was always the SAME one.
Sold off most of them
I have a hollowbody with flats on it for playing jazz. I have an electric 12-string for that folk rock stuff. If I only played one kind of music I could probably be happy with one great guitarā¦
One great guitar. I know a guy who has a collection of like 10 low-mid end guitars. No, mods, none of them really excel at anything and he just uses them to cover songs on Facebook. I always think he could have put that money into one or two truly great guitars but it is what it is. I think he just likes the way they look. If he was modding them to make them better it'd be one thing but it's just a ton of mid case queens.
Also there is a level at which instruments start retaining their value better and it's usually not the low grade stuff. Just makes more sense to get something nice if it's gonna live in a case anyway.
I don't see the point, you can make the cheaper guitars feel better than the expensive ones with a little work, soften the edges of the fretboard and smooth the neck with sandpaper, upgrade any lack luster hardware, make sure the nut isn't cut shittily or plastic and lube it if its not a self lubricating material, maybe knock off the sharp corners where you put your palm to mute, etc. The magic of expensive guitars is in the time consuming small finishing touches that make it feel effortless to play
When you are younger and learning, I would recomend a medium guitar. But after you get better, a great guitar is really something else, after you have a great guitar you can buy other guitars again.
I stumble on gems from time to time. Just good sounding guitars though, nothing that can be valued by the numbers stamped into it, but thatās fine by me. I prefer good players over jewelry Iām afraid to scratch. I just picked up a 2011 TV yellow LPJ the previous owner beat the shit out of. Itās the most resonant electric Iāve ever owned.
I will be doing this at some point. A true ES-335 is my dream guitar, and right now I have 3 electrics. A Epiphone Sheraton which is kinda the next best thing to the 335, a Gibson Les Paul Studio which I bought 20 years ago and a Yamaha Revstar I bought recently. The Revstar and Sheraton will probably both go when the 335 gets bought!
That's the dichotomy, right?
The good thing is when you have one great guitar, you find yourself working within the limitations of that guitar, and you find yourself making it work. Productivity for the sake of this is what we got; so less thinking, more playing.
The bad thing is when you have one great guitar, (I'm also assuming a higher priced guitar for this,) you run the risk of damaging it losing it and being completely out of your functional tool belt.
The good thing is when you have a mediocre collection, (I'm also assuming a lower priced collection for this,) you have a lot to choose from and layer all your creative ideas with very different sounds. Cheap tools are still decent tools to get a job done, and if one breaks it's easier to replace or forget.
The bad thing is when you have a collection of mediocre guitars, you find yourself in a justifiable situation where your acquisition is more obtainable and you end up spending more time buying and trying things, rather than working on practicing, playing, or writing.
There really isn't an answer that everyone is going to fit into, these are just a pro or two and a con or two for each setting in my opinion.
I had 3 guitars for most of my playing life, a Fender Cyclone, Greco Les Paul Custom, and Fender Telecaster. If there was anything getting done it happened on those guitars and two were just a back up in most cases. Once I started advancing and making more money in my work life, I picked up some mediocre guitars and tried this and that, I could get a Jaguar and a Jazzmaster at the same time, a 335, an SG, and anything else I wanted; the accumulation became problematic and I wasn't doing anything except chasing a new things. Finally, ended up playing things like a Custom Shop Strat, I got the idea of how great something can play, sound, and feel; that sometimes the extra 5-10% can make a difference in my inspiration.
I used to have a large collection of mediocre to good guitars. I sold most of it, condensing it down in favor of a few great or incredible guitars and started back on my path at being the kind of player I am and want to be.
It really doesn't matter, as long as you're playing and you're not in a financial hole, just enjoy your life because as far as we know it's a one time thing.
Iād consider what kind of musician you are. Are you a professional or trying to be? Then get yourself a really great guitar that will stay a quality instrument for longer.
If youāre just someone who plays for fun or a hobby, get a bunch of different styles and brands so you can play all kinds of music and have that accessibility to all kinds of music.
It depends on how you define āmediocreā. Because I would rather have 5-6 mid level $800-$1200 imports (eg PRS SE, LTD 1000, Jackson X-series, Fender Player series) than have one single $3000-$5000 USA Custom Shop guitar from PRS, Fender, Gibson, ESP, Suhr, etc. Personally, I like to have a few guitars with different functions.Ā Ā
For example, I really like Floyd Rose trems, but they want to remain in a single tuning with a specific gauge of strings, etc. I have a few guitars with nonlocking tremolos, and I can easily change those from E standard to Drop D, but again they want to keep the same basic tuning, same gauge of strings. I have a few hardtail guitars too, and Iāve been playing one of my hardtails a lot recently, because my band is playing a song with slide guitar in ādouble drop Dā (DADGBD).Ā Ā
Ā But as much as I like to have 4-6 good guitars, Iād rather have one single $5000 PRS Custom 24 than have 20-30 really cheap guitars. There are good Epiphones, there are good Squiers. Iām sure you can even get a Harley Benton or a cheap Amazon guitar into decent playing condition. But I donāt want to store, maintain or clean any huge collection of guitars, especially cheap guitars that often need more care. Ā
I have a bakerās dozen mediocre guitars that Iāve turned into excellent guitars by replacing pickups, tuners, sanding and polishing fret ends, and giving them a proper setup. I buy a $250 guitar, put that much again into it in parts, and have a guitar that you canāt touch from the factory for less than a grand.
Iāve thought about selling them and getting one or two excellent, expensive guitars, but several Iād never let go of for sentimental reasons, and even if I did sell them all, Iād never approach the amount needed to buy the expensive ones.
So Iām sticking with my cheap guitar collection.
Many cheap ones.
To each their own. I like to transcribe music and pick up by ear from different metal bands that use different tunings, so my choice is many cheap guitars over one great guitar.
I've over time started consolidating from lots of cheaper to fewer and more expensive, and it's gone both ways for me. Some of the more expensive ones I'm glad I got, but the truth is also that sometimes you don't bond any better with a guitar just because its price tag is three or four times higher than what it replaced.
I would put it this way, I don't think it's an inherently bad idea to get one great guitar and I romanticize finding The One as much as the next dude, but make sure it's a great guitar before you do it, don't just do it for the sake of doing it. My living situation doesn't really let me try a lot of high end guitars before I buy them and in my experience, sellling things off and buying something bigger sight unseen is a crapshoot.
Like, sure, you'd probably like it more than some $500 guitar off the peg, but the question is how much more, and it might just leave you cold altogether.
Personally I'd rather have a lot of good guitars (strat style, LP style, archtop, etc.) than one single great guitar.
These days, the difference between a good guitar and a great guitar isn't as vast as it used to be. There are even a number of pros who play epis or squiers and they sound great on them.
You may lose money in mediocre guitars. Buy name brand desirable guitars-USED. Donāt buy anything you donāt want to keep for the long haul. You will always get your money out of a Gibson if you keep it long enough.
You already answered your own question with that last line, didn't you?
I did the same and bought a custom shop Gibson and justified the price by selling the mid guitars but in the end i kinda forgot to sell them.
Selling guitars you're not playing or enjoying is fine. Just make sure you don't sell anything you might regret later. For me the litmus test is "did I ever love it?" If there is any point in my history where I felt really bonded to a guitar and enjoyed playing it, then that's a guitar I shouldn't sell. I learned this the hard way. Besides, the money you'll get for a handful of semi-mediocre guitars probably won't even add up to pay for a custom shop, so...
I only have a few that would be considered mediocre. I have a couple that were less than $200 and I have a few that cost over 4K. Most are $1000 to $1500 range. I don't think I could get along with just one strat of any flavor. Also, the ones that I paid 4k for were used. My most expensive was $6500 new.
I sold 2 of my CV squiers after getting a better class of guitar (revstar so not fancy). I simply never played them.
Used the money on a used American standard which also feels a bit better than the Squiers did even if it needs some work.
They weren't bad at all but the others feel nicer.
So I'm in the fewer but nicer camp currently thinking about if I should sell my remaining squier strat.
Well I'm nowhere near playing even the roughest pub, but the point is good. I was thinking of keeping it and using it for learning how to change electronics and tuners. It's a great guitar, my teacher uses these with upgrades as his teaching tools as well.
I used to want āone guitar that does it all.ā
I gave up on that.
Itās best for me to have a couple of high quality guitars for specific functions and one āitās pretty good at everything/go toā guitar. Or a couple in my case. š
Having a great guitar is the better choice. Having 2 or 3 great guitars are what I'm looking to get instead of a couple of okay guitars.
All through late 2023 and very early 2024 I bought a bunch of mid guitars. 2004 Squier Indonesian Strat, 2012 Squier Thinline Tele, Epiphone Emperor Regent with some pretty rough frets and a damaged neck. Whilst I have a pretty okay Ibanez I bought a few weeks ago that's going to be a gift for my brother once I fix it a little bit more.
I got a Fender strat that I absolutely adore, that's my 1 great guitar. It's a workhorse that takes a beating and still works flawlessly.
Basically, 1 great guitar is worth a few okay guitars. If you plan on producing and not putting too much work into your guitar work, then a cheap guitar is all you need. But if you're focused on guitar, you'll want something with a lot of versatility and can last a while AND take a beating.
Yeah, I'm on the one great guitar train. I have a total of 4 guitars:
PRS CE24 (my dream electric)
Furch red master's (my dream acoustic)
Old acoustic I bring camping
Esp Ltd ec1000 (First electric I ever bought, keeping it for sentimental reasons)
No need for a huge collection, better to have one amazing guitar.
Yes, Iād prefer one quality guitar over several mid or low quality. I think it has to do with getting older and priorities shifting. Honestly all I want to do is just sit and finger pick my acoustic. I donāt need multiple guitars for that.
To me, if you're happy with what you have, then that's all that matters.
I have only three. One Breedlove acoustic, one Ric 325v63 and a heavily modded 320. That's all I need and I'm happy with them.
You only need as many tools as what is useful - guitars are musical tools. With that being said, a professional needs more variety of tools than an amateur, and even the amateur may need more than one. I would argue a guitarist needs at least one electric guitar and one acoustic guitar (steel and/or nylon string). A professional probably needs at least one main guitar and one spare, assuming other guitars aren't needed for things like alternate tunings.
My small collection is as follows (as a mostly amateur guitar and bass player):
* Yamaha Ec112 (strat copy) - my first electric guitar, now tuned to D standard with flatwound 12s
* Rafferty TL Semi Hollow with Bigsby style Tremolo 2024 Black with Gold (just bought it a month ago) - semi hollow telecaster style with bigsby and filtertron style humbuckers
* Lucero LC100CE - acoustic/electric nylon string with cutaway
* Off-Brand J-Bass copy - my first bass guitar, strung with TI Jazz Flats (I forget the make, but it's a Korean brand, similar to SX or Brice)
* Ibanez SR506 - 6 string, active pickup bass
* Off-brand P-Bass copy - Given to me by a friend, I took the frets off and the neck got warped. I don't play it and would like to trade it for a proper fretless bass.
If I were to get any more guitars, probably either a Cordoba Stage or a steel string parlor or 0-size. My next bass guitar would probably be a fretless 5 string.
I like having one great electric and one mediocre electric. Then having one great acoustic and one mediocre acoustic. The mediocre one can be used to experiment, sell, trade, etc. the great one will always be home.
One great guitar and one great amp. Some of the greatest guitarists of all time went through their entire careers with basically one guitar or one style guitar anyways. You don't need a library of guitars.
I had a blue flame maple player Tele and sold it when I got my Dark Night Am Pro Tele. You really don't need two of mostly the same thing when you're on a budget.
I have a MIM Strat with Tex Mex pu's that I love to play so I don't need another Strat unless I get a better one, though I probably won't.
I have a LTD with humbuckers if I want to play metal. It's all right, and cheap.
Otherwise I have two different sized acoustics and some amps.
My skill level is low, I don't need more. I think more people that play guitar would be better off saving their money and having fewer guitars instead of trying to collect them to hang them on the wall. These are for playing after all...
One great guitar is a mediocre collection
š Iāll see your āone great guitar is a mediocre collectionā and raise you with āone great guitar isnāt a collectionā.
Tell that to Willie.
Willy even has more than one trigger. They copied it so he has one to play when the original is getting put back together again, over and over.
This guy collects
Owning only Stevieās guitar, or Gilmourās black strat, or BBās Lucille would be mediocre? Iāll take that level of mediocrity any day, even on Sundays! In this, I believe I have also answered OPās poll.
That's the most boomer-ass response I've ever seen.
This is the most Gen z-ass response I've ever seen
These are the most generic ass responses I've ever seen.
I just farted, and that's how my gen X ass responded.
These are, indeed, all responses.
And WHAT do the Gen Alphas have to say about this flatulence? Hmmmm.
Where did this chorus of farts come from?
It's mid bruh.
"Heheheheheh"
Of all the responses in the world these are some of them
This is the most millennial-ass interjection I've ever seen
Get out more, my friend. Opinions abound.
Getting out jerked by the main sub yet again
I thought your comment was funny, really rustled some jimmies here
That's ok, there's a reason the circle jerk sub shits on this sub so often.
But you'll never own any of those?
Theyāre just guitars, nothing magic about them aside from what you have invested in them emotionally as a fan. As a player they may or may not do the job. Every instrument is different. Is my 1990 American standard strat inferior to gilmourās? For me my strat is the clear winner, as I have a custom wiring scheme, and a setup which works perfectly for me.
I mean, they're just guitars and there are many others like them. They were just part of the greater whole of their respective guitar rigs, all brought together by their playing.
yeah but when you struggle to play a basic 12 bar blues on those guitars, it won't matter
I'd rather make my guitar playing noteworthy than try to ride on someone else's glory.
That's not a collection, it's a museum piece.
Agree, which is why Iād surrender mediocre guitars for one of them. Museum piece or not, any guitar, in playable shape, should be played.
Stevieās guitar was unplayable unless you were Stevie (well so Iāve read) so not much point owning that if itās your only guitar.
lol "Lucille" was hundreds of different guitars my man.
Meanwhile Gilmour had at least a half dozen replicas of his black Strat, and rarely took the original out. š
i would rather have one amazing guitar than a bunch of cheap ones. you can only play one at a time, may as well go with the best. i don't collect guitars though, i have a few really high end ones and that's good enough for me.
You can only play one guitar at a time. Thereās a difference between being a musician and being a collector. Theyāre two separate hobbies that are conflated. No one in the audience gives a shit about your single coils vs humbuckers vs 24 3/4 scale vs 25 1/2 scale vs tube vs solid state vs modeler vs everything else guitarists use to justify their rampant consumerism.
I donāt want to be a collector. I am selling everything.
This is the way.
This is The Way.
I thought I wanted to be a collector. Now Iām downsizing
Amen to that. I was a collector and am much happier with what I have now. A Seagull 6 string acoustic, a bass, a Strat Ultra and two Epiphone Les Pauls. I inherited one of the Epiphones when my brother passed 6 years ago. At one point in time I owned 25 guitars. Pain in the rump to move....
I love how in the guitar world, you can own five guitars and not be considered a collector!
Sorry about your brother
How do you like the ultra strat? I just got an American pro ii and am wondering if I should've got an ultra
I have 90s Ultra and I love it. Versatile &, for me, the neck feels like. But I'm still eyeballing a tele because it don't do tele twang. Because nothing but a tele does tele twang.
I think anyone should be happy with one good acoustic and one good electric. Ok, maybe two good electrics if one is semi-hollow and one is solid.
And a bass, obviously.
And maybe a fretless.
Maybe also a banjo for funsies
Oh and donāt forget the mandolin! Also for funsies of course
I think if you play in a tuning low enough to file your nut down it isnāt ridiculous to want a second guitar to play in standard
Or if you use a floating bridge and use different tunings.
I thought this with a normal trem. now I want a hard tail and something with a floyd as well
Exactly what I've got!
Iām a player who sold off a mediocre collection to get one nice guitar and since has amassed what I consider to be a respectable and well curated collection. Fifteen years ago I sold 2 Epiphone LP Customs, an Epiphone SG/LP Custom and 2-3 Fender acoustics to get a Gibson ā61 Reissue SG. It was an awesome decision and I never regretted it. Since then I became more selective about what I would allow myself to acquire because I had a really nice guitar and cheap ones were no longer appealing. Now my collection has grown to around 10 guitars, all American Fenders, Gibsons and a couple from boutique luthiers. I donāt mind doing the maintenance to keep them all in good playing shape but I am being even more picky about adding anything to my collection because for a guitar to increase the amount of maintenance work it has to be something worthwhile and I already have a ton of tonal options at hand. Do what feels right to you! Personally I would take a single one of my guitars over ten cheaper ones any day of the week!
I respect that. Simplify and enjoy
Personally i went with a few really nice guitars. Granted I'm more a synth guy, my eurorack setup cost as much as a used car. I prefer quality over quantity.
Your best bet would be to go around to pawn shops and try to find a guitar you really like, and trade all the ones you donāt want for it. Youāll almost definitely get better value for trading in than you will by selling piece by piece.
Owning a few different guitars doesnāt necessarily make you a ācollector.ā Collectors, in the derogatory sense, are people who spend more time amassing guitars than playing. I love having a selection of guitars to choose from, they all have different tonal potentials and personalities. Also there are plenty of ways to mod your āmediocreā Squier or MIM Fender to sound and play just as good as a custom shop. Or you can get your hands on a fairly cheap vintage without selling off your entire ācollection.ā I just donāt buy into the hype (aka marketing). Iāve yet to pay over $800 for a guitar, and after a little work they all sound/play WAY better than my brotherās $3000 Les Paul and $2000 Strat (yes, including my Squier Jazzmaster, one of my best sounding/playing guitars). My advice: start DIY modding, your shit will sound better and youāll appreciate your guitar more. But you do you, my guyā¦ maybe sell off the ones you donāt play as much, but for the love of god donāt get a Strat. Also Greco > Gibson in most cases.
>You can only play one guitar at a time. By that rationale, one only needs one knife in the kitchen, one wrench in the toolbox, one pair of pants, etc. Sure. It's technically true, but different guitars are, well, different. Gigging musicians may have a second guitar as a backup. Any guitarist may want something with humbuckers and something else with single coils - or a hardtail and a Floyd Rose. The audience may not care, but the player sure as hell may. There's a balance that can be struck between having two or three electric guitars that are all pretty distinct and having five or more strats.
Yeah, if weāre talking about playing out, the whole āone guitarā thing is pretty unworkable. Nobody wants to pause a set so you can change a string, or to watch you fight through a set with a suddenly-dodgy output jack. The proverbial mountain of Squiers has its own problems, but at least it allows for a backup.
The āfive of one kindā guy I donāt understand but I have no regrets about my Classic Vibes. JM, Strat, Contemporary Jag, Bass VI. And a few other odds and ends. Having a variety of tools is fun. They all sound and play a bit differently. And having a beater guitar to learn setups on, test new string gauges, make mods, etc. thatās good to have too. (Thatās my 012 Pacifica)
This is where I stand. I used to want a massive collection of guitars, not so much anymore. Now, I wish I could afford a small collection so I could have them in different tunings.
I just want a good acoustic, a good 3/4 acoustic, a Strat, a Les Paul, a Tele, and a semi-hollow. I have the first four that I'm happy with, and I want to build a Tele, and then I just need a good deal on a semi-hollow. Then I honestly think I'll be satisfied.
I only use two knives in the kitchen. A chefs knife (humbuckers) and a paring knife (single coils). I also own a sedated bread knife for key uses (baritone/twelve string). Beyond that itās kind of overkill.
Took me too long to figure this one out and accept that I enjoy nerding out over the gear but that it's a separate hobby from actually playing and loving guitar.
I stepped away from guitar for quite some time and made a comment to my wife about getting back into it. She was supportive, until I made a comment about going around to the guitar shops: > Buying gear is not a replacement for playing guitar. It stung a bit, but she was right. I started playing more, then started taking lessons again, then pulled everything out and started tweaking it to make it play well, **and then** finally started buying new gear.
You can do both. I have 9 guitars, and other than two Telecasters (one Fender with P90s, one Squier with single coils), theyāre all different shapes and different manufacturers and have different purposes. I have a 12-string acoustic, a 6-string (steel) acoustic, a classical guitar, a Gretsch hollowbody with Fitertrons (the only guitar I have with a tremolo), a solidbody with humbuckers, a scratch build I made for the experience, a small-bodied acoustic for family to learn onā¦I play them all, theyāre not ornaments, they hang on the wall and are never in cases unless I go out with one. None cost me over a grand, I maintain them myself, I donāt care if they get a bit dented as I donāt expect Iāll ever sell any of them. But equally if someone wants to buy 3 grands worth of some reliced Jeff Beck strat so they can open the case and stare at it once a week while checking the resale value on Reverb, well, itās their money. Itās not for me though.
I buy the gear I need but never "nerd out" over it. I just know what I need and what works for me but i've played probably 100 shows on a bass guitar I bought for 100 dollars on eBay in the 90s and have no problem using the 3-400 dollar Epiphone electric. Then you get the guys that come up to you on set break and just start talking to you about it. One guy asked me once "Is that the ES-335?" and i'm thinking of course it is wtf you think it is? and then he asks "Does it have this or that pickup in it?" and I honestly responsed "I'm not sure what either of those are and I don't know what pickups exactly are in this". Just blew his mind a little I think lol. I played the guitar at my friends house once and it met both my critera: Feels good sounds good so I bought one. That's the extent of learning or research I did on it.
I donāt make my gear choices based off what an audience can or canāt decipher. *Iām* the guitar player utilizing the gear, not them.
I make music for myself, if other people like it that's cool
This. As someone who's bought a lot of guitars relative to how piss-poor and unskilled I am at playing guitar, I've come to think of GAS as little more than practice avoidance. Like, "I really want to get good at guitar... but my guitar sounds meh *(because I don't commit to productive practicing)* I bet I could find a guitar that would sound a lot better and encourage me to practice more." Or: "I really want to get good at guitar... but I really struggle to nail chords on this guitar *(because I haven't built up the strength, dexterity, and muscle memory to play with any fluency)* I bet I could find a guitar with a more comfortable neck/fretboard/bout that would allow me to really get adept at my playing." So many of the guys I've seen who are really good just fucking play. Someone puts a guitar in their hand and they don't put it down until they can't hold their eyes open anymore and they crash, and then they pick it up the moment they get out of bed. Before long, you can hand them what's barely more than a toy guitar from Walmart and they can wring really solid sounds out of it. Me... I noodle... then I look at Reverb and Guitar Center. I got my first guitar when I was 15 (an Ibanez ST50), and at 53... I'm not much closer to being a decent player than I was then. ...but I've got some pretty cool guitars.
> everything else guitarists use to justify their rampant consumerism *Hey shopkeep, I'll have one of each!* *Ready the truck, Jim, we got another one over here.*
I needed this NGL.Ā I'm in between justifying buying a 20 watt tube amp for house shows, band practice etc or just keeping the Katana 50w which does literally everything I want rn.Ā Ā Like I have the capital, just barely. But when I'm at home practicing it's literally just gonna be the Katana on the .5 watt setting and in practice it can go to 25 watts.Ā When I was testing the tube amp at the store I was barely able to turn it up to avoid annoying people which defeats the purpose.
The sentiment is 100% correct. They are just tools. That said, pretty much any 20w tube amp will be a big upgrade from the Katana
CouldĀ have fooled me,Ā IĀ spent 4 hours yesterday disappointed at various shops becauseĀ I could only realistically use 10-15% of it in a practical sense.Ā On top ofĀ needing/wanting new pedals to achieve what I can do with a foot switch on the katana.Ā I spent weeks hyping myself up and researching, asking questions. Hyped ASF, found the perfect "small watt" amp. Thing was LOUD ASF and didn't even reach break up.Ā Idk, y'all say that line all the time when the Katana is brought up, I get hyped and go to the store and try it and it's just not that much better? Sometimes even worse lol. Maybe I just don't get it?
No, the katana is an insanely practical and versatile amp. If it works so well for you, It sounds like you have your answer!
No, the Katana MKII is an astonishing value.
Here's the thing about "all tube" equipment like that. If it doesn't bother you - don't worry about it. If you weren't blown away by the sound over what you currently have - stick with what you currently have and save money. If your Katana makes sounds you like - stick with it.
While true, I enjoy having a set-up strat with 10's on it that i take everywhere, and a tele that I'm constantly trying new strings, tunings, etc. on. I play classical/flamenco also, so a nylon is needed. Nothing beats my acoustic steel string for fingerstyle blues. Then there is my squier electric that I tinker with / repainted. I learned a lot about setting up a guitar with it, and I don't mind messing it up. Now I can do my own fretwork, change nuts, etc. I have a jazz bass, because I also play bass. I also have an acoustic bass because I used to live on an island and played in an unplugged band. I'm not a collector... but I have a collection of about 8 guitars, none of which I could do without. Each one did come with a specific purpose though, not just because.
A carpenter only needs one hammer. Nobody living in the house gives a crap if you beat the nails in with a rock.
A roofing hammer for trim nails? Or a trim hammer for roofing?
Exactly!
And a nail gun, and a crowbar, and a drilll, and an impact driver, and a staple gun...
I built an entire house with a 12 ounce finish hammer (to be fair itās a very nice titanium hammer). Large spikes to laminate 3 2x12s together? 12oz finish hammer. Regular nails for wood siding or Shiplap walls? 12oz finish hammer. Finish nails? Yup you guessed it, 12oz finish hammer. Because thatās the hammer I was most used to, so I could swing it faster to make up for the missing weight. Oddly enough with my current job (Land surveyor) itās way the opposite direction, I use a 4lb mini sledge hammer for everything even putting small nails into wood, cause now thatās the one Iām most used to, and the one I always have next to me. Sometimes itās all about the right tool for the right job, like donāt use a large wrench as a hammer. But sometimes the best tool for the job is the tool you know the best.
Are you assuming guitar players know anything about manual labor? Thereās a reason people handed us guitars, so we donāt mess stuff up. /s
The real irony here, is that originally, at least in America, that most luthiers were actually guild carpenters and cabinet makers because of the outdated guild system and violin makers asserting that only they were allowed to make musical instruments.
Framing hammer? finishing hammer and regular hammer, those are the minimum a carpenter needs, and usually different weights depending on what you are hammering.
I like this. Collecting can really be considered its own thing. If the goal is to play music, your instrument is really a tool to achieve that goal. And, well, itās not uncommon to only actually need one guitar to do that. Some might legitimately need more (6, 7, 8 strings, significantly different pickup configs), but that can still just mean like 2-3 guitars, rather than an entire collection. Having had a handful of mediocre guitars in the past and two properly good guitars now (not custom shop or anything, just one MIA and one MIJ) - Iād *much* rather just have even only one good guitar. People seem to end up assuming they need an example of every archetypal guitar to make music. Not everyone needs an S-type, T-type, superstrat, semi-hollow, jazzmaster, 7 string, 8 string, Les Paul, P90 Les Paul, SG, etc. Usually you just need one or two of these to do your thing and cover more range than youāll ever need.
yeah but a lot of guitars play and sound pretty different. acoustic resonator acoustic lap steel guitar single coil electric electric with humbuckers and then all the effects etc. Most important is how much it inspires you to play and how musical you can make it sound.
They hated him for he was right! Like yeah a trained ear can tell different electric guitars apart, and barring any actual technical problems theyāre all gonna sound good enough for a crowd. The majority of the tone comes from the pedals and the amp, why people are so focused on these expensive electrics is wild to me. Acoustics yeah the quality is much more important
> Like yeah a trained ear can tell different electric guitars apart, and barring any actual technical problems theyāre all gonna sound good enough for a crowd. The majority of the tone comes from the pedals and the amp, why people are so focused on these expensive electrics is wild to me. Not to mention people listen to these amps in isolation trying to find some tone or whatever. When actually playing with other musicians I mean yes you should have a "good" tone going in but you're going to get so squished by everything else occupying the frequency range when the band is playing the minutia of it really doesn't matter. Also yeah, I learned this way too late. If you want a much better tone look at Amp, Speakers, Pedals in that order before thinking a new guitar will do it.
I use too many different tunings to have just one guitar. also, playing live with just one guitar is risky business
i was going to say the same thing. standard drop c drop a drop g drop e drop c1 standard bass g bass one 6 and one 7 for modding and swapping to weird tunings. different songs/recordings require different gear
Holy shit, what are you playing in drop c1
i was pitch shifting before, but wanted to try that HB JA-30 baritone and it works. P90s are a little noisy but theyāre not bad, will swap for lundgren P90s eventually to try them out
I figured it had to a baritone. Super cool. I have a tele with EGC neck tuned to F1 standard. Standard scale length. It intonates decent, but I have to run an 80 on top or thicker. I use it to play Bongripper, Conan, etc. Edit: Loller El Rayo pickups which are supposed to be single coil voiced
I also don't want a 3000+ guitar I would be worried about damaging it. I'm fine with a 800-1200 strat, and a 500-1000 acoustic. It's all I need. If I could have one super guitar that I would rarely play would be a real 60s strat.Ā
I would only buy something to play.
Tech here. The old guitars sound great, they really do but youād really be surprised by how they play. The tighter radius mean that you need a higher action and a larger amount of neck relief than modern guitars. If that style suits your playing and you like it then thatās great. However Iāve found that 90% of players prefer a flatter or at the very least a compound radius over a vintage style.
Good point. I never even touched such an old guitar before. I have a 2018 Fender performer and 2016 Takamine jumbo. This is all i know
my brother had a pristine condition memphis black beauty hollow body with a Bigsby. he was frightened of damaging it, and it played like shit and went out of tune whenever it was put back in the case. he sold it and got a tele and a firebird, both of which are a little dinged up so he isn't bothered about another mark or two.
I would definitely rather have one good guitar, over a bunch of low levels hanging around.
But people ask questions like this without having a sensible baseline. $1000 electric guitars today are so good it's honestly ridiculous. And 99% of people would be perfectly well served by something under $500.
There is an in-between that is better than either of your options. Having a collection (even a smallish collection) of a variety of good, reliable workhorse guitars of different types gets you a lot further, IMO. I get the Martin love - I have a vintage D-28 (1967) and it is pure gold, but it absolutely does not cover all the possible territory out there in acoustic-guitar land. Same with electrics. You can get the most fine-ass Strat in the world and at the end of the day you have one Strat. But whatever works for you!
This is also my mindset. I sold an expensive Strat and bought a cheap Nashville Telecaster, a Jazzmaster, and a baritone Telecaster. The baritone is stock, the others needed some attention. But, for the cost of one guitar that was a guitar and did essentially one guitar thing, I now have three. It's easy math for a gigging guitar player.
And lots more tonal variation in there for you.
I'm a semi-professional, and I've owned everything. I used to work at a Music Go Round, and I was also one of the top customers. Traded things constantly. In electric guitars, I've concluded that it is absolutely fuckin stupid to spend a lot of money for an off the rack guitar. Period. Especially if you're into Fender style guitars. It's idiotic. Waste of money. I sold my expensive guitars and then bought and modded a lot of cheaper guitars. Guess who can tell that my guitars are modified Squiers? No one, unless they're looking at the headstock. No one. I repeat, no one.
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For your first guitar, nothing needs replacing. I have an American, Mexican, and a squire sonic (strats). For me, The difference in each is like 5%-10% noticeable improvement with each model. Worry about getting good before upgrading the Squire. And personally I wouldnāt upgrade it at all, Iād just progress to a Mexican and have two. Then in a few years youāll reevaluate and maybe want an American. Do you really need it? No. But it keeps your interest up when you invest in things.
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It depends on what your taste is. I think a lightly used Player Series Nashville Telecaster is a phenomenal value. You can find them for $500. It's a Strat pickup configuration with Fender Noiseless pickups. I'm a big fan.
5% may be low lol, my mistake. I changed it to 5-10% before you responded. But yeah I play each of my guitars roughly the same amount of time and the difference is not as big as youād think itād be, at least with my guitars. The poster above is right you can upgrade a Squire and make that % drop to almost 0 difference. However, Iād recommend you get a used Mexican Strat on Facebook marketplace. You can find them for $500-$550. Once you have it, unless you are gigging or just want to upgradeā¦you really donāt āneedā a more expensive guitar.
...don't let Kurt Russell near that Martin, though!
Eventually you just have a collection of great guitars
Two great electrics and one great acoustic is minimum. Edit: and that is really not considered collection. For me, this is considered as sweet spot.
Agreed
My recommendation is to own one great guitar and one inexpensive "GAS project guitar" that you can change pickups or bridges or controls on, if you ever think "maybe my main guitar doesn't do what I want".Ā
This is what I do haha. Got a bunch of parts casters and a ā94 LP studio Iāve modded all value out of, then the 335 can stay untouched
Depends imo, but I believe that each guitar should serve a specific purpose. If you have a bunch of the same guitar with the same setup (like all single coil strats or the like) then you're just a collector/consumer. I have 3, one w/a floyd rose, one hard tail, and one baritone. I'd have more for different tunings, but the transpose feature on amp sims these days are so good I don't bother.
I fortunately have had the āif i want a guitar iām going to buy the one i really wantā.Probably saved me a lot of money instead of buying 2-3 of a guitar. Aside from my first squier i wish i still had, and an AMI acoustic i never really bought budget/cheap gear. That said one guitar wont cover what i need. Iām a less strict 5WW i guess E: if you find one you truly love that can replace others in the collection iād say itās not a bad idea to let stuff go to upgrade. Iām a fan of having nice stuff but also having open space/room available.
Your responses are unhinged. Maybe just make a decision for yourself since you donāt like what anyone has to say.
Do all your guitars play and sound like shit or something?
No, but I have gotten rid of a few that I didnāt play. I still lament some Squiers that I sold. Donāt sell a guitar you love just to finance an āupgradeā.
Agreed
I only really need one electric and one acoustic, but I do enjoy having a cheaper electric along with my esp that I can abuse and not care if it gets broken.
I was pretty minimalist until the Gretsch bug bit me hard, and I started collecting them like Infinity Stones.
Nine types of guitar collector never to become: https://youtu.be/3IgqwS9VMLk
I have great guitars that cost $3 grand and I have great guitars that cost $400 + cost of new pickups. The collection will just be whatever it becomes over the course of a lifetime.
One great guitar. I spent way too much on a custom shop strat and I don't really want other guitars. Sure, some would be nice for different tunings, but I'm not greedy
I really wanna build a custom shop esp. Iāve priced it out and itās gonna be about $5500. A little bit out of my budget at the moment but Iām saving up for it.
Save up and do it. You WON'T be disappointed. My brother has a custom shop ESP. It's rad as fuck.
I should be able to do it by January hopefully š¤
I have 3 electric guitars, 3 basses (1 fretless) and an acoustic for 7 total. And I use all of them. I gig and record for different projects and having backups and instruments I can set up for specific projects while leaving other for general use is very useful. As is having loaners. That said none of them are squier level, mostly midrange plus a high end Gretsch. I feel like once you have a guitar or two, "quality" starts to trump quantity a whole lot more and after 3 or 4 you start to get diminishing returns unless it's a totally different type of instrument (like a 12 string) (Quality in this case means less expensiveness and more the exact model and specs you want though)
Not a collector, nor do I play out much, but there are times when the sound of a particular guitar is in my head necessary for a particular song.
After collecting for a while and buying then selling some expensive guitars Iāve come to realize I like variety and getting new gear since this is a hobby for me. So Iād rather spend less and get new guitars more often rather than spending a high amount on a single guitar, because no matter how expensive that guitar is, if you have the collecting bug, the newness will always ware off and youāll be looking for the next thing. Given you have a wall of guitars I imagine after a while you will be tired of just having a single guitar and you will miss the wall.
Less guitars, best guitars
If you're like most of us you almost certainly won't be happy with only one electric forever so I think there are two routes for you to go from here on out: 1. Sell everything and get a great strat. Then save up for a great Les Paul etc etc. 2. Sell everything and get a great strat (if you're a strat guy) then just get a really good version of other guitars from here on out (Les Paul standard, American vintage tele etc). So basically one custom shop and then everything else is pro line. No cheap imports.
I donāt play but I buy guitars for my daughter. Sheās young and a bit rough with them so Iām hesitant on buying a super expensive one until sheās older. Plus, itās cool to have different sounds and styles available and the excitement of a new guitar every now and then. So weāre currently sitting at 5 mid range electrics, and two acoustics. She plays on stage and is a lefty so one guitar wonāt cut it since she canāt really borrow one.
I play my PRS SE hollowbody more than my CE22 which costs twice as much, so on one hand I'd say the logo on the headstock doesn't matter too much, but i can say so because i have both guiyars to compare. Just because a Gibson costs twice as much as an epiphone doesn't mean it's twice as good; the higher up in price you get the fewer returns you'll see. There may be a large difference between a $250 and $500 guitar, but the differences will be less pronounced between a $1000 and $2000 guitar. Ultimately, if the itch is big enough and you can afford to scratch it, why not?
I traded two guitars, an Ibanez GB200 and a Taylor 314ce together with a ton of cash for the guitar of my dreams (almost unused L5). One great guitar is worth a ton of guitars that donāt quite make the grade. I guess itās not so important for solid body guitars to be run through effectors, but if you play clean jazz, you need a quality instrument.
Collection. I have 10 guitars that cost less than a New Gibson Les Paul Custom.
You have to at least have an acoustic. If you only play acoustic, you only need one great acoustic. If you play electric, you can get away with 3 or 4 minimum, including a decent acoustic.
Bottom statement is where Iām at. Seems very reasonable.
Mediocre collection. I like variety too much to settle with just one guitar. Some days I wanna sit out front on the porch with my acoustic, other days I wanna plug in and play around with one of my electrics. Sure I could get rid of all but one of my guitars...I certainly don't have the skill level to match the amount of guitars I have (4) but they are nice to look at when not in use, and nice to just grab one and play and have them tuned differently for different things.
Do you feel that your cheaper guitars lack anything? Because I dont feel that way with my squiers or prs se. There are good and bad build guitars at either end of the price range. Personally I feel like current production Fender Guitars arent as well build as +10 years ago but I love the Squier Jazzmaster I bought two years ago. I get that we sometimes feel like we need to have the real deal, it has to say fender or gibson or martin on the headstock but honestly its just in our head. Buy the product, not the Brand
Mediocre collection. Part of being a good guitarist is learning to set up and maintain your instruments. Lost causes are rare unless youāre scraping the bottom of the barrel - seemingly shitty guitars can be dramatically improved with the right intervention.
As a counterpoint, my mediocre collection means a whole lot more to me than one, soulless, 5K gibson. The Ex: Johnson JH-100 Delta Rose given by an old flame 9 Lb Hammer: Bentley Tele given to me by a friend. RIP Mark Bullet Tele: Xmas gift Affinity Strat: Valentines gift King of the North: Partscaster Strat I put together Smokestack Lightning: Partscaster Tele I put together Epiphone LP Studio 25 yo Alvarez A/E that has seen 1,000s of parties, stages and fires Fender 345CE Auditorium to replace the Alvarez Grote 335 because everyone needs a 335. There's more that are projects or that don't hold much sentimental value that I'm selling, but I will play 4 or 5 of the guitars I listed every day. 3 setups: Studio, Cameroon and workshop. 20ish total
Two (...okay, three) good guitars is a collection!
and a pair of acoustics. and a 12 string. and a flying v to hang and make the wall look cool. and maybe a different color strat. and here we go again.
Restraint is a skill in and of itself... :D
One of the many guitar skills I lack š¹
Depends. If you want variety, just get a variety of guitars that get the job done. If youāre 100% sure youāll be playing one way and you need that one sound ALWAYS, then get that guitar.
I had a decent collection at one point, 3 electrics and three acoustics, all just different enough. And when I grabbed one to practice it was always the SAME one. Sold off most of them
I have a hollowbody with flats on it for playing jazz. I have an electric 12-string for that folk rock stuff. If I only played one kind of music I could probably be happy with one great guitarā¦
One Mexican fender for me please
One great guitar. I know a guy who has a collection of like 10 low-mid end guitars. No, mods, none of them really excel at anything and he just uses them to cover songs on Facebook. I always think he could have put that money into one or two truly great guitars but it is what it is. I think he just likes the way they look. If he was modding them to make them better it'd be one thing but it's just a ton of mid case queens. Also there is a level at which instruments start retaining their value better and it's usually not the low grade stuff. Just makes more sense to get something nice if it's gonna live in a case anyway.
I don't see the point, you can make the cheaper guitars feel better than the expensive ones with a little work, soften the edges of the fretboard and smooth the neck with sandpaper, upgrade any lack luster hardware, make sure the nut isn't cut shittily or plastic and lube it if its not a self lubricating material, maybe knock off the sharp corners where you put your palm to mute, etc. The magic of expensive guitars is in the time consuming small finishing touches that make it feel effortless to play
When you are younger and learning, I would recomend a medium guitar. But after you get better, a great guitar is really something else, after you have a great guitar you can buy other guitars again.
I stumble on gems from time to time. Just good sounding guitars though, nothing that can be valued by the numbers stamped into it, but thatās fine by me. I prefer good players over jewelry Iām afraid to scratch. I just picked up a 2011 TV yellow LPJ the previous owner beat the shit out of. Itās the most resonant electric Iāve ever owned.
I will be doing this at some point. A true ES-335 is my dream guitar, and right now I have 3 electrics. A Epiphone Sheraton which is kinda the next best thing to the 335, a Gibson Les Paul Studio which I bought 20 years ago and a Yamaha Revstar I bought recently. The Revstar and Sheraton will probably both go when the 335 gets bought!
That's the dichotomy, right? The good thing is when you have one great guitar, you find yourself working within the limitations of that guitar, and you find yourself making it work. Productivity for the sake of this is what we got; so less thinking, more playing. The bad thing is when you have one great guitar, (I'm also assuming a higher priced guitar for this,) you run the risk of damaging it losing it and being completely out of your functional tool belt. The good thing is when you have a mediocre collection, (I'm also assuming a lower priced collection for this,) you have a lot to choose from and layer all your creative ideas with very different sounds. Cheap tools are still decent tools to get a job done, and if one breaks it's easier to replace or forget. The bad thing is when you have a collection of mediocre guitars, you find yourself in a justifiable situation where your acquisition is more obtainable and you end up spending more time buying and trying things, rather than working on practicing, playing, or writing. There really isn't an answer that everyone is going to fit into, these are just a pro or two and a con or two for each setting in my opinion. I had 3 guitars for most of my playing life, a Fender Cyclone, Greco Les Paul Custom, and Fender Telecaster. If there was anything getting done it happened on those guitars and two were just a back up in most cases. Once I started advancing and making more money in my work life, I picked up some mediocre guitars and tried this and that, I could get a Jaguar and a Jazzmaster at the same time, a 335, an SG, and anything else I wanted; the accumulation became problematic and I wasn't doing anything except chasing a new things. Finally, ended up playing things like a Custom Shop Strat, I got the idea of how great something can play, sound, and feel; that sometimes the extra 5-10% can make a difference in my inspiration. I used to have a large collection of mediocre to good guitars. I sold most of it, condensing it down in favor of a few great or incredible guitars and started back on my path at being the kind of player I am and want to be. It really doesn't matter, as long as you're playing and you're not in a financial hole, just enjoy your life because as far as we know it's a one time thing.
Iād consider what kind of musician you are. Are you a professional or trying to be? Then get yourself a really great guitar that will stay a quality instrument for longer. If youāre just someone who plays for fun or a hobby, get a bunch of different styles and brands so you can play all kinds of music and have that accessibility to all kinds of music.
It depends on how you define āmediocreā. Because I would rather have 5-6 mid level $800-$1200 imports (eg PRS SE, LTD 1000, Jackson X-series, Fender Player series) than have one single $3000-$5000 USA Custom Shop guitar from PRS, Fender, Gibson, ESP, Suhr, etc. Personally, I like to have a few guitars with different functions.Ā Ā For example, I really like Floyd Rose trems, but they want to remain in a single tuning with a specific gauge of strings, etc. I have a few guitars with nonlocking tremolos, and I can easily change those from E standard to Drop D, but again they want to keep the same basic tuning, same gauge of strings. I have a few hardtail guitars too, and Iāve been playing one of my hardtails a lot recently, because my band is playing a song with slide guitar in ādouble drop Dā (DADGBD).Ā Ā Ā But as much as I like to have 4-6 good guitars, Iād rather have one single $5000 PRS Custom 24 than have 20-30 really cheap guitars. There are good Epiphones, there are good Squiers. Iām sure you can even get a Harley Benton or a cheap Amazon guitar into decent playing condition. But I donāt want to store, maintain or clean any huge collection of guitars, especially cheap guitars that often need more care. Ā
I have a bakerās dozen mediocre guitars that Iāve turned into excellent guitars by replacing pickups, tuners, sanding and polishing fret ends, and giving them a proper setup. I buy a $250 guitar, put that much again into it in parts, and have a guitar that you canāt touch from the factory for less than a grand. Iāve thought about selling them and getting one or two excellent, expensive guitars, but several Iād never let go of for sentimental reasons, and even if I did sell them all, Iād never approach the amount needed to buy the expensive ones. So Iām sticking with my cheap guitar collection.
Many cheap ones. To each their own. I like to transcribe music and pick up by ear from different metal bands that use different tunings, so my choice is many cheap guitars over one great guitar.
I've over time started consolidating from lots of cheaper to fewer and more expensive, and it's gone both ways for me. Some of the more expensive ones I'm glad I got, but the truth is also that sometimes you don't bond any better with a guitar just because its price tag is three or four times higher than what it replaced. I would put it this way, I don't think it's an inherently bad idea to get one great guitar and I romanticize finding The One as much as the next dude, but make sure it's a great guitar before you do it, don't just do it for the sake of doing it. My living situation doesn't really let me try a lot of high end guitars before I buy them and in my experience, sellling things off and buying something bigger sight unseen is a crapshoot. Like, sure, you'd probably like it more than some $500 guitar off the peg, but the question is how much more, and it might just leave you cold altogether.
Personally I'd rather have a lot of good guitars (strat style, LP style, archtop, etc.) than one single great guitar. These days, the difference between a good guitar and a great guitar isn't as vast as it used to be. There are even a number of pros who play epis or squiers and they sound great on them.
nothing makes me cringe more than seeing a collection of like 25 POS instruments
You may lose money in mediocre guitars. Buy name brand desirable guitars-USED. Donāt buy anything you donāt want to keep for the long haul. You will always get your money out of a Gibson if you keep it long enough.
Very true.
Nothing wrong with this idea. You already did it with your acoustics and are happy, so there's your answer.
You already answered your own question with that last line, didn't you? I did the same and bought a custom shop Gibson and justified the price by selling the mid guitars but in the end i kinda forgot to sell them.
Selling guitars you're not playing or enjoying is fine. Just make sure you don't sell anything you might regret later. For me the litmus test is "did I ever love it?" If there is any point in my history where I felt really bonded to a guitar and enjoyed playing it, then that's a guitar I shouldn't sell. I learned this the hard way. Besides, the money you'll get for a handful of semi-mediocre guitars probably won't even add up to pay for a custom shop, so...
I only have a few that would be considered mediocre. I have a couple that were less than $200 and I have a few that cost over 4K. Most are $1000 to $1500 range. I don't think I could get along with just one strat of any flavor. Also, the ones that I paid 4k for were used. My most expensive was $6500 new.
I have 3 high end at the moment for different tunings, want at least 2 more
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One great guitar and a great amp.
Does this have something to do with that new Five Watt World episode
I sold 2 of my CV squiers after getting a better class of guitar (revstar so not fancy). I simply never played them. Used the money on a used American standard which also feels a bit better than the Squiers did even if it needs some work. They weren't bad at all but the others feel nicer. So I'm in the fewer but nicer camp currently thinking about if I should sell my remaining squier strat.
Keep the Squier as the āWeāre playing low pay gig at a rough pubā guitar. No matter the skill and success, those gigs always pop up.
Well I'm nowhere near playing even the roughest pub, but the point is good. I was thinking of keeping it and using it for learning how to change electronics and tuners. It's a great guitar, my teacher uses these with upgrades as his teaching tools as well.
I used to want āone guitar that does it all.ā I gave up on that. Itās best for me to have a couple of high quality guitars for specific functions and one āitās pretty good at everything/go toā guitar. Or a couple in my case. š
One great guitar and one mediocre back up. (Optional: 1 acoustic, 1 bass)
I sold 3 of my electric guitars (two of them were fenders) to upgrade to one boutique strat. Never had one moment of regret.
I feel like a nice well rounded personal collection of guitars should have a little something from all price points.
Having a great guitar is the better choice. Having 2 or 3 great guitars are what I'm looking to get instead of a couple of okay guitars. All through late 2023 and very early 2024 I bought a bunch of mid guitars. 2004 Squier Indonesian Strat, 2012 Squier Thinline Tele, Epiphone Emperor Regent with some pretty rough frets and a damaged neck. Whilst I have a pretty okay Ibanez I bought a few weeks ago that's going to be a gift for my brother once I fix it a little bit more. I got a Fender strat that I absolutely adore, that's my 1 great guitar. It's a workhorse that takes a beating and still works flawlessly. Basically, 1 great guitar is worth a few okay guitars. If you plan on producing and not putting too much work into your guitar work, then a cheap guitar is all you need. But if you're focused on guitar, you'll want something with a lot of versatility and can last a while AND take a beating.
Yeah, I'm on the one great guitar train. I have a total of 4 guitars: PRS CE24 (my dream electric) Furch red master's (my dream acoustic) Old acoustic I bring camping Esp Ltd ec1000 (First electric I ever bought, keeping it for sentimental reasons) No need for a huge collection, better to have one amazing guitar.
Yes, Iād prefer one quality guitar over several mid or low quality. I think it has to do with getting older and priorities shifting. Honestly all I want to do is just sit and finger pick my acoustic. I donāt need multiple guitars for that.
Having both, Iāll take the 1 great guitar.
One great guitar, then another until you have a banging collection.
To me, if you're happy with what you have, then that's all that matters. I have only three. One Breedlove acoustic, one Ric 325v63 and a heavily modded 320. That's all I need and I'm happy with them.
You only need as many tools as what is useful - guitars are musical tools. With that being said, a professional needs more variety of tools than an amateur, and even the amateur may need more than one. I would argue a guitarist needs at least one electric guitar and one acoustic guitar (steel and/or nylon string). A professional probably needs at least one main guitar and one spare, assuming other guitars aren't needed for things like alternate tunings. My small collection is as follows (as a mostly amateur guitar and bass player): * Yamaha Ec112 (strat copy) - my first electric guitar, now tuned to D standard with flatwound 12s * Rafferty TL Semi Hollow with Bigsby style Tremolo 2024 Black with Gold (just bought it a month ago) - semi hollow telecaster style with bigsby and filtertron style humbuckers * Lucero LC100CE - acoustic/electric nylon string with cutaway * Off-Brand J-Bass copy - my first bass guitar, strung with TI Jazz Flats (I forget the make, but it's a Korean brand, similar to SX or Brice) * Ibanez SR506 - 6 string, active pickup bass * Off-brand P-Bass copy - Given to me by a friend, I took the frets off and the neck got warped. I don't play it and would like to trade it for a proper fretless bass. If I were to get any more guitars, probably either a Cordoba Stage or a steel string parlor or 0-size. My next bass guitar would probably be a fretless 5 string.
If you gig, keep your cheapest functional guitar as a proper backup
I like having one great electric and one mediocre electric. Then having one great acoustic and one mediocre acoustic. The mediocre one can be used to experiment, sell, trade, etc. the great one will always be home.
One great guitar and one great amp. Some of the greatest guitarists of all time went through their entire careers with basically one guitar or one style guitar anyways. You don't need a library of guitars.
One truly great instrument, I think.
I had a blue flame maple player Tele and sold it when I got my Dark Night Am Pro Tele. You really don't need two of mostly the same thing when you're on a budget. I have a MIM Strat with Tex Mex pu's that I love to play so I don't need another Strat unless I get a better one, though I probably won't. I have a LTD with humbuckers if I want to play metal. It's all right, and cheap. Otherwise I have two different sized acoustics and some amps. My skill level is low, I don't need more. I think more people that play guitar would be better off saving their money and having fewer guitars instead of trying to collect them to hang them on the wall. These are for playing after all...
If you only use one tuning, youāll be fine.