How Many Guitars Do You Own?

[R Neil]

I'm a total piker around here. Ha! Had fun telling the wife she should appreciate me ... look what I could be like!

"Sekova" LP Custom knock-off. Cheap but good neck.

'68 Tele "natural" bought for $175 in '74.

Lyle L5 copy w/24.75" neck for $150 in '74 (since replaced pups, pots, dressed the frets some)

Garcia classical for about $150 (after playing 50 or more low-cost classes)

Alvarez flat-top steel string.

Sold the Sekova to keep the wife. (She thought I had too many.)

Conn 88H trombone also (my instrument for College minor) which cost more than I paid for guitars combined.

Had a couple cheap "folk" guitars along the way but they don't count I'm sure.

The wife's got a sweet classical though ... M. Hernandez y V. Aguado #300, Madrid 1966.

My first gift to her was a boxed set of LPs ... vinyl ... of John Williams doing 7 guitar concertos. Both of us in college as relatively poor music students. The head of the guitar Williams was playing on the cover looked familiar so we got hers out ... my... yeah. Her total non-musical dad had bought it through finding a classical guitar appraiser and just getting the "deal" he recommended.

That "box" is worth many times all other instruments in the house. So we do have one very fine box ... the wife's!

Stumbling fingers still need love ...

[R Neil]

I'm a total piker around here. Ha! Had fun telling the wife she should appreciate me ... look what I could be like!

"Sekova" LP Custom knock-off. Cheap but good neck.

'68 Tele "natural" bought for $175 in '74.

Lyle L5 copy w/24.75" neck for $150 in '74 (since replaced pups, pots, dressed the frets some)

Garcia classical for about $150 (after playing 50 or more low-cost classes)

Alvarez flat-top steel string.

Sold the Sekova to keep the wife. (She thought I had too many.)

Conn 88H trombone also (my instrument for College minor) which cost more than I paid for guitars combined.

Had a couple cheap "folk" guitars along the way but they don't count I'm sure.

The wife's got a sweet classical though ... M. Hernandez y V. Aguado #300, Madrid 1966.

My first gift to her was a boxed set of LPs ... vinyl ... of John Williams doing 7 guitar concertos. Both of us in college as relatively poor music students. The head of the guitar Williams was playing on the cover looked familiar so we got hers out ... my... yeah. Her total non-musical dad had bought it through finding a classical guitar appraiser and just getting the "deal" he recommended.

That "box" is worth many times all other instruments in the house. So we do have one very fine box ... the wife's!

Stumbling fingers still need love ...

Probably should clarify ... I sold the Sekova LP copy because the wife thought I had too many guitars. That could be read to think she thought I had too many wives ...

Stumbling fingers still need love ...

[rhoadsscholar]

Saw this on someones handle once.


"Beware of the man with one guitar, he can probably PLAY"

Always thought it was worthy of a tattoo and I have no ink to date.

[TKO]

Looks like I succumbed to the lure of GAS.. bought a nice strat, then got offered a trade for my PRS - a strat Model I've been wanting for years. Looks like I'll have a couple of strats from now on (+ the tele).

[Lobomov]

I got to 40

I'm currently on 5 guitars, but fighting GAS everyday.

My excuses are different flavors to have (An archtop, an LP, an SG with P90s, a Tele and a PRS) and the fact that I just like looking at my guitars.


Did you make to 40 by filling different niches or do you have a different motivation?


Current cravings are a GB10 to compliment my PM100, a ES330 type guitar of some sort and maybe something like an ES-les Paul or a ES335.


You see ... I'm scared that I'll need a bigger place

[joaopaz]

I'm currently on 5 guitars, but fighting GAS everyday.

My excuses are different flavors to have (An archtop, an LP, an SG with P90s, a Tele and a PRS) and the fact that I just like looking at my guitars.


Did you make to 40 by filling different niches or do you have a different motivation?


Current cravings are a GB10 to compliment my PM100, a ES330 type guitar of some sort and maybe something like an ES-les Paul or a ES335.


You see ... I'm scared that I'll need a bigger place

Man, stay away from me.... we should never-ever talk again, for our/our families sake!
But I'll try to reply!

48 I remember - 16 sold or traded - 32 still have - 7 are bound to go - 25 I'll try to keep - 19 of which are electric guitars..
There's little connection between the guitar's value and the ones I'll keep.

Here's by type:
Archtops - 4
Semi - 3
LP - 3
SG - 2
PRS-type - 3
Tele - 9
Strat - 5
Metal - 5
Acoustic - 7
Dreadbnought - 2
Bass - 5

About the ones I sold, some I regret, one I regret deeply as I had a story with that guitar, but times weren't always light and sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do.

Motivation, you asked? All sorts! Some I needed, some I wanted, some I tried to love, some I was crazy, some were deals, some where old, some brand new, some iconic. Other, for sure, for no reason other than pure GAS (like most of them, anyways...)
Some guitars were similar, but then you have all sorts of pickups!

You mentioned needing a bigger space, you bet! Be careful! And can you imagine string all these babies? And when the weather changes significantly, suddenly you have dozens of necks to adjust? It's crazy

The honest truth is that, considering what I want to play, I could go with just one single of these guitars... which one is a harder question, but probably a 335-type.

One thing I'm really proud is that I still have the first acoustic my father brought me 42 years ago, it's a Brazilian Reinaldo Di Giorgio, bossa-nova type (slightly smaller than a classical, but with a deeper body). This guitar went through everything... I had pickups attached to it, I broke the headstock, sun arched her back quite a bit. But I had it restored, and it didn't took much actually to have it again in good shape and ready to go! Here you have it!



And here you have the restored headstock - I wanted to leave the mark so I just used rosewood on the severly damaged part.



It's a proper way to finish this post, with my oldest friend!

[pants]

I'm at 5...
Acoustic archtop
Floater archtop
Set in pickup archtop
Semi hollow
Strat (rarely played)

I go back and forth on expanding the solid body end of the spectrum (tele, LP) but the 3 archtops see probably 90% of my attention so it probably makes more sense to put future $$$ towards upgrading instead of expanding. Or maybe expanding with more archtops (lets be honest with ourselves).

[goldenwave77]

As an avid hobbyist, I'll admit I have more instruments than I need, or can justify.

But I don't feel too guilty, a bunch of them were inexpensive.

A parts caster (i) tele and (ii) strat, that were cheap to put together and have special features (the strat has a fat neck and a fat sound--Pete Biltoft blade pu's that I got 2nd hand, and installed myself-besides for late at night or early morning apt. practice, its my (unplugged) "go to" gtr.) The tele also has great pu's (Curtis Novaks). No more than $400 invested in each of them, but they play well and sound good.

A (iii) '78 Aria Pro II 175, with a Pete Biltoft humbucker-sized single coil- pu. $650 for the guitar and case and $100 or so for the pu, which I put in myself. The binding is a little grotty and the case is not great, but the pu replacement was a noticeable improvement. Sounds better than some 1950's Gibson 175's with p90's. I really need to go A/B this against a later 175 with humbuckers.

A (iv) nylon-string Yamaha crossover gtr. that I got from Joe DeNisco...outstanding playability and sound, and again the price was right.

I have 3 guitars that are more "top shelf": a (v) Gibson 339 that I bought 2nd hand that is superb; an (vi) L4-CES (maple) that is an amazing instrument; and a (vii) Heritage 550 that again, is a super gtr. Not quite as airy-sounding as a Tal Farlow, but it gets most of the way there, and it is really versatile.

Also, have a (viii) blonde 17 inch acoustic archy with a floater. Built by a hobbyist who now sells guitars that he builds. This was one of his first, and I paid next to nothing for it...can't sell this. I'd have to pay 3 times what i'd get for it, to get anything remotely as good.

I had a good quality Carvin stat and an import tele (with Bill Lawrence pu's) that I donated to my nephews. Both were good, serviceable instruments that can take them a long way, if they decide to learn to play.

Lastly, a (ix)Heritage 445 acoustic dreadnaught that has a lacquer scratch....absolute cannon of an instrument. Again, super super sound and the scratch scared away a lot of casual buyers. (It would buff out readily.)

It's a little bit of a pain to keep them all in strings and properly humidified. I don't change strings much.. I find if the guitars are properly humidified, then they'll retain pitch without having to constantly crank the tuners tighter, which stretches out strings and seems to shorten the string life considerably.

[EllenGtrGrl]

Up until several years ago, I never had more than two guitars. You kids in the online guitar forums, and your cool GAS inducing guitars you have put paid to that! I still sort of feel subconsciously like I have too many of them, but compared to some players, the quantity of guitars I have, is peanuts. At the present time, I have 4 guitars (a Taylor GS Mini Koa acoustic, a Tele, a Gretsch Country Club, and a Gibson ES-135). I might get another acoustic (maybe a 12-string again), and another electric (maybe another 7-string?) down the road as finances permit, but that'll probably be it. Having to deal with the cost of refretting guitars, due to a nickel allergy, can be a real GAS kiler.

[Bach5G]

I have between 4 and 7.

I still have an old Harmony Sovereign that I got for my 11th birthday back in 1966. Mostly unplayed and unplayable. Also a 3/4 size classical bought for a son and an inexpensive Yammy classical that I intend to sell when I can figure out how to restring a nylon string guitar.

Otherwise, I have 4 serious guitars which, for me, is maybe a maximally optimal number, as I tend to play my FSR MIM Strat and my Kirn Tele to the exclusion of my 339 and my RS Jim Hall. Occasionally I get GAS for something like the FrameWorks, but I know that if I wait, the interest will pass, only to be replaced by a desire for something else. Before the FrameWorks there was a Danocaster. Luckily, the order list was closed.

[Lobomov]

I just sold of couple of guitars and I'm down to four .. surprisingly enough I feel fairly GAS free (but for how long? )

[fep]

14 including bass and uke. I could part with 5 of them due to some not being played and/or redundancy.

For me this is an age thing, I'll turn 59 this month. I've had maybe 19 guitar purchases in my life and have sold or given away about 5 leaving me with 14. Got my first guitar at 14 years old. 59-14 = 45 years as a guitar purchaser. 45/19 = One guitar every 2.4 years... that hardly seems excessive, right?

[pants]

14 including bass and uke. I could part with 5 of them due to some not being played and/or redundancy.

For me this is an age thing, I'll turn 59 this month. I've had maybe 19 guitar purchases in my life and have sold or given away about 5 leaving me with 14. Got my first guitar at 14 years old. 59-14 = 45 years as a guitar purchaser. 45/19 = One guitar every 2.4 years... that hardly seems excessive, right?

Age is definitely a factor. I can't imagine maintaining the 5 number I'm currently at up to age 60, even if I don't NEED any more gear. I also have a hard time parting with things, so I don't honestly imagine myself doing too much selling/trading. Maybe as time goes on and my needs/wants shift...

[wharriso]

I don't think I ever listed my guitars. I have a set that I accumulated when I first started playing, and a newer set that were accumulated much later.

Old ones:
Ibanez Stratocaster copy
Ibanez Les Paul copy
Gibson classical
Gibson ES-125 (1957)
Suzuki Threes acoustic
Newer Ones:
Ovation Celebrity
Washburn J-6
Godin 5th Avenue CWII
Heritage H575

Older ones, except for the ES-125, are sitting in a storage locker that I wonder why I keep. The rest are at home where they all get played occasionally.

[Lobomov]

I just sold of couple of guitars and I'm down to four .. surprisingly enough I feel fairly GAS free (but for how long? )

Turns out that I'm full of it .. we are only 3 weeks down the road and the bass is gone, a second tele has been in and out of that stand and I just bought a another guitar today

[EllenGtrGrl]

Turns out that I'm full of it .. we are only 3 weeks down the road and the bass is gone, a second tele has been in and out of that stand and I just bought a another guitar today

Join the club! I wimped out several days before Christmas, and bought another Gibson J-35 (I had to sell my first one two years ago, to help pay for some dental work). The thing is, my playing time with it is limited, until I get it refretted with nickel and stainless free frets (ya gotta love having a nickel and chromium allergy).

).

[Lobomov]

Join the club! I wimped out several days before Christmas, and bought another Gibson J-35
).

Hey .. That is a nice looking guitar - Congrats!

[Moon River]

I'm at thirteen right now -- eleven solidbody electrics, one classical, and one archtop electric. I can think of only three guitars that I need in the immediate future: a Fender Hendrix Strat, an Epiphone Broadway in natural, and a D'Angelico EXL-1 in burst. I mean these are just the ones that are medically necessary.

[MaxTwang]

I'm at thirteen right now -- eleven solidbody electrics, one classical, and one archtop electric. I can think of only three guitars that I need in the immediate future: a Fender Hendrix Strat, an Epiphone Broadway in natural, and a D'Angelico EXL-1 in burst. I mean these are just the ones that are medically necessary.

Is GAS considered a pre-existing condition?

[Alter]

Between how fun it is to play them, and how easy it is to hunt for deals now days, were it not to avoid financial doom, but mostly on account of being lefty , i 'd be Rick Nielsen II (archtop/acoustic/classical version) or something..

i think of it this way: i DONT have a 12string acoustic, no gypsy acoustic these days(traded it for a floater archtop), no resonator(would love a tricone!), no Martin , no maple fretboard electric (both my strat and tele are rosewood), not a great Les Paul, not a really great classical guitar, not a short scale archtop, the list goes on and on ......

And lets not forget amps.. and pedals....

[Skip Ellis]

One nylon string couch guitar, one Tele for country/swing/misc, one Tele with Strat trem for surf, and one hollow Tele for chord melody. They pretty much cover whatever I'm likely to do.

[Skip Ellis]

I just sold of couple of guitars and I'm down to four .. surprisingly enough I feel fairly GAS free (but for how long? )

Good lookin' bound Tele!

[Runepune]

I'm at 13 stringed things now...methinks. But they're all needed to make a living! If anything, I'll add more. A weissenborn would be nice

Strat
Tele
SG (for slide)
Archtop jazzbox
Solid jazzbox
Baryton guitar
Jazz bass
Shortscale acoustic
Dreadnought
Nylon
Dobro
Mandolin
6-string banjo

[rio]

I counted them up and although students often ask seeing everything on the wall and on stands "how many guitars do you have??" I don't think I have too many all things considered since I play bass and guitar. I have 11 guitars if you count bass guitars and 1 upright bass since I sold my other one. There are 5 archtops, one semihollow, one solidbody and one nylon string. Two solidbody electric basses (one six string and one five string) and two hollowbody fretless electric basses (Godin and a Hofner copy). I would like more though because I can't seem to get enough guitars. If I still had the ones I had to sell when I got separated I would have 17 altogether and I need to get some of those back eventually.


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[stringmaster]

Ok I admit it--I suffer from GAS like many others here do. My pattern is that I have had a tendency to gravitate towards "more of the same"--and it's only natural to want to collect what you like! (at one point I had 3 Strats and 4 Teles) Then I tell myself I've got too much overlap in my collection so I sell off the redundancy and diversify. Right now I'm pretty happy with what I have--fairly diverse, and honestly all are pretty much "number ones" that might see different gigs for various reasons. So the other problem is now when I pick my next piece for the arsenal I go for something diverse from what I already have--and in many cases doesn't get played much--so I move them on.

So I'm at that crossroads now--have some $$ in the fund, most attracted to instruments that perhaps overlap too much of what I already have, yet I fear that if I get something a little different I'll regret my purchase as it won't get gigged much, but rather be something that I really like and is nice to have! Then at some point I'll be tempted move it on!! What to do!! (buy nothing is usually not the answer lol).
Vent over