How Many Guitars Do You Have?

**GuitaRoland** · 04-19-2010, 10:46 AM

It feels like we have lost track from the original thread here.

/R

**lpdeluxe** · 04-19-2010, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by GuitaRoland

It feels like we have lost track from the original thread here.

/R

I prefer to think of it as an example of our taking a holistic approach to issues.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 04-19-2010, 11:44 AM

I'm all for "thread drift". Threads may mutate into something more interesting.

**bkdavidson** · 04-19-2010, 03:49 PM

Here in St. Louis, it's not just accepted grammar but almost expected grammar to end a sentence with a preposition. Actually, that might be a Missouri thing. I'm not totally sure. Oh, sorry; AT!

**lpdeluxe** · 04-19-2010, 04:28 PM

I didn't realize you were in St Louis. I've spent a fair amount of time up there, visiting a musician friend who is now in the DC area. He lived in Valley Park for a couple of stretches (he's married to a LCol in the US Army, so they move around a lot).

I'm from NE Kansas, myself. I remember my 4th grade teacher telling all of us little darlings that "often" must be pronounced "offen," if we were not to be labeled as hopeless ignoramuses (she may have even told us it'd "go on your permanent record" which I recall as the all-purpose warning against bad behavior back then).

That was the first and last I ever heard anyone insist on that practice.

**bkdavidson** · 04-19-2010, 06:57 PM

Valley Park? That's about 10 minutes down the road from me!

**randyc** · 04-19-2010, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by lpdeluxe

On another topic, I think RandyC may have been acknowledging the higher price of American made instruments in Europe, rather than attacking the practices of those who live there.

Precisely.

**Retroman1969** · 04-20-2010, 06:43 AM

I had four guitars while learning and trying to find my 'niche'. But after trying and buying a Telecaster I sold all the other guitars. The tele produced such a full range of sounds for a variety of genres, that the others seemed unnecessary.
However, I did just order a Crafter Telecaster copy as a cheap practice/backup guitar. Later on, when I get better at playing and can justify having different guitars for different tasks, I can see myself getting a good jazz archtop, and a Fender Stratocaster to add to the stable.
I was also a trumpet player for many years and had only one trumpet at a time. When I got a nice quality trumpet with excellent sound/playability, I stopped buying. My dad has been a professional jazz saxophone player since 1950 and has only had one sax at a time. Actually, he's only had three saxes in his entire life.
There seems to be different factors at play for guitars and guitarists. As a horn player I just wanted something of excellent quality for a good performance experience (that was the Bach Stradivarius for me). Otherwise, they all looked and felt pretty much alike.
In guitars, I'm attracted to not only the different sounds and abilities of each, but also the artistic qualities. Beautiful woods, nice forms, decorative details, interesting historical and period references that they represent, etc. You know, the usual fanboy collector stuff.

Guitars have done that to me like no other instrument has. It's an effect that extends to non-musicians as well. As shallow as it may be, there's just something about cracking open a case to "Ooh's" and "Ahh's". In any future guitar purchases, I'm sure I'll consider that factor as much as what it can "do".

P.S.: The English language sub-thread cracks me up! I'm trying to be more easygoing about it these days, but the near complete illiteracy demonstrated by roughly 70% of the native English speakers on the internet has always driven me straight up the wall. I'm not talking about typos, obscure references, or non-English speakers using rather limited translation programs. I'm talking about ads or blogs written (usually by someone under 25, but not always) so poorly that I can't even tell what they're trying to say.
I guess English in American schools today is taught entirely phonetically, or not at all, I'm not sure. XD

**mangotango** · 04-20-2010, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by abracadabra

If China can make good quality instruments, and one day factories there will start turning out instruments to rival western ones, I see no reason to boycott products made there simply because they are not made in the West, or because they weren't played by the greats.

No, that's no reason whatsoever.

The occupation of Tibet and the appalling Human Rights situation...now those are reasons.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 04-20-2010, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by mangotango

No, that's no reason whatsoever.

The occupation of Tibet and the appalling Human Rights situation...now those are reasons.

I agree with you 100%, but have you read about attempts to live without using any Chinese products? You have to live in the woods and wear rabbit pelts.

**mangotango** · 04-20-2010, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

I agree with you 100%, but have you read about attempts to live without using any Chinese products? You have to live in the woods and wear rabbit pelts.

I know, you're absolutely right. I even have 3 Chinese guitars and so the above seems like rank hypocrisy. Having to compromise morality for the sake of practicality........

**abracadabra** · 04-20-2010, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by mangotango

I know, you're absolutely right. I even have 3 Chinese guitars and so the above seems like rank hypocrisy. Having to compromise morality for the sake of practicality........

But you have to do this, to some extent, with almost anything that you buy. You, or someone else, can think up a moral argument against buying a product from pretty much anywhere, well, if historical issues are considered anyway.

China's oppression of Tibet is terrible but it also gets a relatively large amount of publicity and, as it is far from Western responsibility, is an easy target for Westerners. You could quite easily make, and I'm sure many worldwide would make, the same remark about not buying US products based on the US/UK-led horror of invading and occupying Iraq.

I would not agree with that, but I make the comparison to illustrate my point.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 04-20-2010, 06:01 PM

On the other hand, you're free to try to vote with your wallet. While you can think up a moral argument against buying a product from pretty much any place, some companies and countries will be worse than others in your view. All we can do is try, and it's better to try than to be cynical and give up.

**Doctor Jeff** · 04-20-2010, 06:32 PM

I tried to think of a moral argument against buying a Godin guitar because it was made in Canada, and I couldn't think of any. So I bought it.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 04-20-2010, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

I tried to think of a moral argument against buying a Godin guitar because it was made in Canada, and I couldn't think of any. So I bought it.

A seal goes into a bar. "What'll it be?" asks the bartender. "Anything but a Canadian Club".

**Squint** · 04-20-2010, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

I tried to think of a moral argument against buying a Godin guitar because it was made in Canada, and I couldn't think of any. So I bought it.

Well, they DID steal the men's hockey gold medal away from us!

Archie · 04-21-2010, 03:23 AM

An American tourist is visiting Nova Scotia, and he sees a fisherman walking across the wharf carrying a bucketful of lobsters. He calls over, "Hey, you better put a lid on that bucket, or the lobsters will climb out!" The fisherman replies "No, they're Canadian lobsters; whenever one reaches the top, the others pull him back down."

**brad4d8** · 04-22-2010, 07:52 AM

i can identify with the post about how many instruments a reed player had. Back in the day, I fooled around on flute. When I saw the horn players showing up with just a couple of cases and I always had a couple of guitars plus an amp, I decided to concentrate more on the winds. Then it got to the point where I was showing up with a flute, alto and soprano sax, AND a couple of guitars and an amp.
As to the number of guitars I have, I just like different guitars for different things, and I can afford them these days, I couldn't when I was trying to make a living at it. My signature list is just the tip of my list.
Brad

**P.J.** · 04-22-2010, 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by rbdeli

As a trumpet player, I've had a couple of horns at one time in the past, not counting my flugelhorn, which I sold like an idiot when I was in college.

Guitar players seem to need 5 or 6 instruments, minimum.
Even high school kids these days are playing 3 or 4 different guitars.

What is it with you guys that you need so many axes?

For a long time I had just one electric and modified it to be able to do almost anything. As I got older and made more money I bought specific guitars for specific purposes. I definitely miss the simplicity of just having one guitar (it is still my #1) but find it really cool to have a bunch of guitars to choose from depending on what kind of sound I am looking for. My Danelectro baritone sounds very different from my resophonic which sounds different than my 2 hb Parker Nitefly. It's all good! (And don't even get me started on effects...)

=-) PJ

**takefive** · 04-24-2010, 12:56 AM

I currently have:
A Squire Stratocaster
A really old Silvertone electric, sunburst with two lipstick case pickups and the case with an amp in it.
An old acoustic steel string I got out of a music stores junk bin
An old nylon string I bought for a dollar at a yard sale.

In the past I've had:
A late 60's Stratocaster
An electric archtop, brand unknown
A Roland GR-303 guitar synth w/the GR-300 module
A Les Paul Custom which I never cared for too much
My first electric, which was a Sears model I paid $10 for and painted it to look like Eddie Van Halen's guitar.
Various cheap no name acoustics
A plethora of Fender amps that could be traded for a nice car at the prices they go for now