The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Based on some recent threads in the gear section, I think I am a minimalist when it comes to gear compared to many forum members. I own 3 guitars: a classical, a flamenco, and a beater. All are nylon string guitars with a similar feel (scale length, nut width etc), but each offers a somewhat different voice.

    Overall, my musical interests are fairly niche; I’m a passionate amateur that focuses on solo guitar and doesn’t gig. However, I am thinking about getting a fourth guitar, which will be another nylon string guitar (possibly a selmer nylon string or flamenco with cutaway, but over-built for stage applications).

    I have some questions for those that own many guitars (ie 10+):

    1. How do you swap between very different guitars without compromising your technique? That is, how do you keep your playing ability while swapping between, for example, a les paul / tele / ES175 (all of which have different feels: scale length, nut width, shape, weight etc).

    2. How do you maintain so many guitars? It must take half a day to change strings. How do you keep your guitars “opened-up” (for acoustic guitars)?

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    I usually focus on one guitar for a while. If I have a bunch of gigs coming up with a particular guitar I’ll just play that one a lot for instance.

    My guitars all do different jobs.

    Recently I’ve mostly been playing my Loar archtop because it sounds great acoustic and I’ve been doing a lot of solo stuff. My Gibson is much more of a ‘cutting through the mix’ jazz guitar... and so on.

    But it’s not that big a deal. It takes me a little while to warm up on a guitar, but I like being adaptable.

    The biggest jump is acoustic to electric. Muting is a big deal on the latter esp at gig volume

  4. #3

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    After a while your technique gets better and it becomes easier to play different style instruments. You learn what suits you and how to set them up to work for you.

    Maintenance, i change strings every now and then (locking tuners on all electrics), pay attention to humidity and temperature in my guitar room, fix a problem if one arises, that's it. I only change strings when they go out of tune, or completely dead, or if gigging a lot with an electric, sometimes i may go months with the same set on a guitar (i use coated strings for that reason). If locking keys were a functional thing on acoustics and nylons i would install them there too, just for the ease of string changes.

    Opening guitars up.. that is a problem. Usually i focus on guitars that i gig with atm, so some may stay unplayed literally for months or even years. But they are there when needed, and they wake up after a while..

  5. #4

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    I repair guitars not for my living but as an aside, I just don't want to hassle of having a separate work shop and all the public. It is but all word of mouth and I take what i can handle and refer to what is beyond my competence. So to answer the question I can maintain by own guitars. Changing strings is pretty fast deal if I need to be fast. The biggest problem is the break in period till they settle in. I try to stretch and do much of this as I re-string the guitar.

    I have been playing a long time so switching guitars is not a huge deal just enough to get hands accustom to the territory. In my case all my guitar are archtops so not like I am going to something really different. However I do play my son's Strat's and Tele's and his Les Paul and I find no real issue moving from one to the other. Now going to a nylon string that is a bit more after a bit of familiarity it works out. To me guitars have to be set up well and within certain parameters for me to even play them. Moving to a Les Paul I need to have string that go at least .11-48. If I had to go .09-38 that would present a problem and as such I probably could not play well on the guitar. I would like no resistance and it would be a no go.

    A Les Paul with a set of Jazz strings 12-52 with the neck pickup actually can be a wonderful jazz guitar. Feel and such for the neck almost the same as an 175. I am not Fender person and avoid playing them generally at all cost. I would have trouble going to some of the Fenders I have played that the neck narrows as it goes toward the peghead and 7.5 radius fingerboard is not my cup of tea. I can make the switch but would not do it in any situation. Sometimes the biggest problems are simply the neck being heavy and guitar does sit correct if it is a semi hollowbody. This has happen on es335 type guitars.

    To some extent technique is a function of the guitar itself. I play different with different guitars and set up. Your technique has to deal with the musical situation. One thing I have found that is true the the Joe Pass once mentioned. He said that if he worked up a solo piece on the acoustic guitar and then went out to a gig and played it on the electric, something else would come out just due to the differences. Well that tells me even Joe though about the guitar as is relates to the situation. The real difference is the he was JOE PASS and I am not. He would still work a masterpiece.

    I am probably not the person to answer the question the best because I don't gig anymore. I probably did not directly answer the question but one thing for sure at some point it pays to be able to work on your own guitars to an extent. This is more critical if you have more guitars. The analogy is: I like to ride road bikes and I don't want to ever have to take my bike to the shop to have them do things. It takes too much time so I learned be my own mechanic. Frankly being a bike mechanic pays better than repairing guitars. Over time acquire tools as you need them and be sure to practice on guitars that are expendable. The first guitar I ever did a re-fret on was a cheap overseas Epi-flattop I bought for $50. I pulled the frets put new ones in and then fixed the peghead break that was almost in two pieces. When I got done it played wonderful. I sold it for $120 a long time ago. I was on my way to other repairs and I will never forget the satisfaction I got that this cheap Epi played wonderful.

  6. #5

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    I like to play a variety of styles, yesterday I was playing my uke. I like to write and record songs, and record on a variety of guitars, and mandolin, and bass guitar etc.

    If I only had nylon guitars, I would probably buy a bass guitar next, and then an ES335 style guitar, and then a tele style guitar, and then a dreadnought acoustic guitar. At that point I'd be pretty much set. So five guitars.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tricky Fish
    Based on some recent threads in the gear section, I think I am a minimalist when it comes to gear compared to many forum members. I own 3 guitars: a classical, a flamenco, and a beater. All are nylon string guitars with a similar feel (scale length, nut width etc), but each offers a somewhat different voice.

    Overall, my musical interests are fairly niche; I’m a passionate amateur that focuses on solo guitar and doesn’t gig. However, I am thinking about getting a fourth guitar, which will be another nylon string guitar (possibly a selmer nylon string or flamenco with cutaway, but over-built for stage applications).

    I have some questions for those that own many guitars (ie 10+):

    1. How do you swap between very different guitars without compromising your technique? That is, how do you keep your playing ability while swapping between, for example, a les paul / tele / ES175 (all of which have different feels: scale length, nut width, shape, weight etc).

    2. How do you maintain so many guitars? It must take half a day to change strings. How do you keep your guitars “opened-up” (for acoustic guitars)?
    Changing is a challange always, and exactly that is why it is good excercice for both the hand and the brain. Long term it improves all abilities. I always had different scale length and nut width and neck profile intruments in many combinations, even baseball formed neck vintage Levin, and I used to live with this, I mean after a few minutes I am adopting without noticing, it do not impact my technique in any way (because I have no such a thing) I suppose I learned to adopt, from the beginning which is also an ability itself. Maybe the mindset, "do not blame the neck" helps

    Of course you never will have monogamic and intimate love relationship with "the only one" like Jim Hall, who insisted to transplantation of the old neck to the new instrument... but I really do not miss that deep feeling...for a neck

    Regarding maintainig, if you change to the same set of strings, it should take less than a half hour. If you change the gauge, or the brand it may involve some truss rod adjustement, in rare cases bridge adjustement, but this also should not take more than an hour, in case you have routine. The way is the usual: practice it :-)
    Last edited by Gabor; 09-05-2020 at 10:30 AM.

  8. #7

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    I've been playing 60 years, 50 of them pro and semi pro. I also used own a full line retail music store and cabinet building operation plus building my own Telecasters for about the past 35 of those years.

    I am also a minimalist - I don't, as a rule, keep guitars that don't make me $$$. My Teles (4 at the moment) serve that purpose. I have 3 acoustics: Martin 000-18, Brook Torridge and Godin Multiac Koa (for sale). I bought the Godin for gigging purposes and that's not happening any time soon so it's going away - I can always get another one if the need arises. The Martin and Brook are my 'house' guitars although the Martin has gigged on occasion.

    I've been doing this so long that changing guitars/nut widths/scale lengths is a non event - I can switch from a Tele to the Godin in mid song, if necessary, and never really notice a difference. IMHO, I think a lot of the concern over these things is a 'mental' thing and not a physical thing. If you worry about the difference or are concerned about it, you'll have a problem. I, many times, go for a month without playing at all unless there's a rehearsal for my duo and we learn new material. When I get to the gig, the muscle memory/experience sets in and I have no problem getting back in the swing of things.

    Changing strings? 15 minutes at the outside for the Martin and Brook; that or a little less for the Teles and 20 or 30 minutes for the classical because of tying those silly knots and stretching the strings a little.

    ....YMMV

  9. #8

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    I have guitars with 24.75", 25", aand 25.5" scales, and nut widths from 1-5/8" to 1.75", as well as some mandolins and mandolas of various scale length and neck sizes. I just don't notice any problem with switching between them in any order, at any time. The beauty of frets is that you don't have to press the strings at a precise point like you must on a fretless, such as a violin. I tend to play one at a time, but it's not that unusual to play several in a day. I'm frankly surprised that anyone would have a problem with it. As for string changes, I do that as needed, and almost never multiple changes in one day. The guitars that live in the closet don't get theirs changed very often.

  10. #9

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    Warren Nunes recommended playing only one guitar. He felt that allowed you to maximize your technique. He played an L5.

    I regularly play two very different guitars. As far as I can tell, that hasn't affected my technique. But, then again, technique-wise, Warren was a Maserati and I'm an old Chevy.

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
    Warren Nunes recommended playing only one guitar. He felt that allowed you to maximize your technique. He played an L5.

    I regularly play two very different guitars. As far as I can tell, that hasn't affected my technique. But, then again, technique-wise, Warren was a Maserati and I'm an old Chevy.
    compared to Warren Nunes, we are all old Chevys. And Vegas at that.

  12. #11

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    I actually find it harder to swap between picks than between guitars ...

  13. #12

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    The idea of single guitar is bogus. I played a single Les Paul Custom for years and it was not until I got a second, third and so on, that I could tell the first guitar was setup to sound like crap. One needs to get to know as many guitars as possible to know what each can do. Same goes for amps.

  14. #13

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    My favorite varies. Depends on what I'm working on somewhat though mostly it's about constellations and tide and the overall strength of earth's magnetic field. Don't notice scale too much but takes longer to get used to a skinny neck or something extra wide. Flat wounds, phosphor bronze, chromes.. doesn't matter much to me on technique. Does on tone. As far as maintenance, I watch out for humidity and keep most guitars in their case. I change strings when they need changing as opposed to an arbitrary master schedule. I maintain my own guitars so there's not a bill for fixing the minor stuff that comes up. I will have a couple of neck resets before too long and that will be expensive.

    I enjoy guitars and gear. It's part of the hobby. Having a rotating list of favorites adds to the music and a satisfying sense of avarice and greed. Also includes trying new electronics, picks, strings, bags, and straps. If it's not your thing, that's fine. I don't judge those that fail to appreciate the art and craft of guitars and a sense of wonder at the capabilities of technology too harshly.

  15. #14

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    I have been keeping 20+ guitars here for the past few years. I no longer gig, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the fruits of my labor at my leisure. I change strings when they are no longer tuneable or otherwise exhibit anomalous performance, or when I want to try something new, or because I feel like it. Switching from one guitar to another takes a few seconds, the number of which depends on the extent of the differences. I've put in many, many hours of practice with each of my instruments, and the specific feel of each is soon recalled. I do my own basic set-ups and maintainance and save my money for the hard stuff (soldering, etc).

    I love guitars. And amps. And the sounds they make.