Thinking about dropping down to one guitar

[Floyd Rosenbomb]

I was thinking about this today. The thought was: If I had just one guitar, could that make me a better player? Just focusing ones effort in one direction. I think I'd kind of like to have just one guitar.

The question for me then becomes HSH or SSH?

[DaleH]

I'm down to two from seven. I could drop to one no-problem but I don't want to.
Both are sss strats but very different. My warmoth is tough and raw. My VM stat has a smooth, with vintage tone and feel.

Nice amp is where I'm heading now. Looking for a warm clean amp.

[jrockbridge]

I haven't gigged since 2010. I'll pick up one guitar and play it for months. Then, I pick up a guitar I haven't played in months and get hooked on that one.

 

I could probably get away with one but I'd never consider less than two. I'd always want backup. You need a backup even if you don't gig. That way, if you need to get a fret level done on one guitar, you can still play the other one.

[fretmonster]

If you have one guitar that you like more than others, it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

 

Therein lies the rub, finding one you like best. I've been able to slim down from twelve to eight just based on duplication. But even still the last few stung a little. I spent so much time finding what I have, setting them up and squeezing the last ounce of performance out of them, the guys that got them were pretty happy and only interested in playing them not flipping them. I mean every guitar has something a little bit different about it tonewise.

[Folky_Grunge]

I think it's a good idea ... for someone other than me. I like too many of mine to get down to just one. Why get married to just one woman when you can have a harem?

 

This actually made me think a little bit; with all the talk about whether someone can get by with only one guitar or not, maybe it's an issue of personality. Maybe some people can be happy with only one and other need more (kind of like women, in a way).

 

I'm happy sticking with one, because I don't feel the need for another guitar. I have one I like, I'm really happy with it, and when I play others, even if I like them, they don't really feel right. Even if I ended up getting something else, I'd still play that one more than the others. Other people probably think I'm crazy and need variation. This thread might be an answer of what the OP can live with, not what's practical.

[kayd_mon]

I do gig, but I've thought a lot about selling off most of my collection. The problem is that I love rotating my guitars, and I know I'd miss my guitars, save for one or two.

[Guitar Heel]

I think it's a good idea ... for someone other than me. I like too many of mine to get down to just one.

Same here. I went from 30 to 8. I think, after all these years of buying and selling, I'm down to what I'll never sell, which was my goal. No way I get down to one, but I have a lot of respect for those who do.

[Longhair]

I put all the guitars & basses in their cases except for 1 of each. Then I placed all of the cases in a hard to reach corner of the room so it would act like they didn't exist. After a couple of months passed, I pulled them all out and made my decision which were keepers and which were sellers by memory only.

Now when I get GAS, I stop and think about how many instruments I bought only to realize that I didn't want them once they were in the house.

[notjonahbutnoah]

I'm starting to feel the need to downsize as well, the problem is which ones.



The Charvels are my main gigging guitars. They're what I reach for 90% of the time. Having two is a near essential for me since I set the bridges to float and gig them all the time. Our band's sets are like 25 minutes so you know, a string install would be a disaster.

The Fapocaster is pretty much worthless, and it has sentimental value. That's krylon over the roughed up black poly finish, and the back of the neck is sanded raw and impregnated with my own finger cheese.

The Cyclone II was a pain to track down, expensive, and sounds amazing.

The white tele has almost no resale value because it's a no name, but I've got some money in it becuase I've had a fret dressing and the neck worked on a bit. That and the pickups in it are a SD Jazz, and an older Custom Custom with the "CCJ" sticker on the back. It's tonally redunant to me, but still oh so fine. I usually have it in C# Standard or Drop B for when I just wanna muck around with high gain nastiness.

The bass is a bass. It stays.

The Xaviere is kind of a rarity because it plays so perfectly, but it's tone is completely redundant in my arsenal, and although it looks cool, it's rather expendable to the herd.

The 50's Strat is probably the most expendable one of them all. I like the way the Cyclone sounds more, and I have three other strats.

But even if I sell the Xaviere and the 50's Strat, that still leaves me with 6 electrics. Hardly minimalist... so I guess I'll stick with having a nice little collection.

[smorgdonkey]

I have one that I reach for first every time and only pick up the others because they're there and I feel like I should. If they weren't I wouldn't miss them.

 

 

If that were my situation and I thought that I could get decent value for selling them, I would sell them.

[chuck1016]

I don't play much, or well. I don't gig or ever plan to. I've got a good amp and enough pedals to make whatever sounds I want from a SSS Strat. I love guitars, love buying and selling them, love tinkering with them and fixing them for others, but I really don't see the need for me to have 5 electric guitars taking up space around here. I have one that I reach for first every time and only pick up the others because they're there and I feel like I should. If they weren't I wouldn't miss them. I do want to learn to play better and I really believe that between all the buying/selling/tinkering and all the hours spent on boards like this I'm wasting a crapload of time better spent. Maybe I should just put them in the back of my closet instead and rotate them out.......

This is the correct answer. Don't sell them off! Just pack them up nicely and put them in the closet. Play the one that feels right until you get bored with it (and you will eventually), then dig through the closet and rediscover what you had.