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I'm wondering why archtop acquisition, in terms of holding on to one for more than 10 years, is slippery. Maybe because once you pass the $10k spending threshold (on one guitar) things get foggy. The SG is here to stay, same for the 335, Telecaster, Alhambra, Guild acoustic, and the Les Paul. But not the case for prior L-4's; L-5's; Super 400's; Ibanez, Eastman, and whatever else I've parted with over the last 7 years. I'm down to one mint Tal Farlow (purchased here). That's it. The TF is here for life. One is not enough, though, or maybe it should be.
What does a 3-5 or 7 archtop collection look like for others here? I met with a 68-year-old gentleman today in S. Florida who now has 77 guitars in his collection. I'm not in that league and don't understand how anyone maintains that number of instruments.
Any perspective is welcome. Thank you.
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02-25-2023 07:21 PM
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Roughly speaking, if you don't keep a guitar it's because you don't like it. (Alternatively, you might be a perfectionist, as self-defeating as that is, or for some reason like to churn through guitars.) Maybe archtops aren't for you. Maybe one is enough. 77 seems like many too many.
I have one carved-top archtop with a floating pickup, one semi-hollow, one amplified flattop acoustic, and one Fat Tele. I've had all of them since the mid-nineties or earlier. 'Course, my wife, er, helps me keep the body count down.
I keep trying to buy more, but honestly I don't find any other guitars that I like any better than the ones I have and am willing to pay for. At my level of playing it doesn't make all that much difference.
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Well…….as the old saying goes
How many guitars do you need ? Just one more
For me I haves chased this allusive tone in my head my whole life.
Thing is I have had that tone all along.
You are only allowed 1 wife but it is OK to be a guitar slut as long as you can afford that luxury. Too many though will become a burden.
That no. is different for everyone. 3 might be too many for a person and 20 might not be enough.
I am at the point now when one comes in one must leave and the ones I have now I love except for 1.
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It's quite the accepted norm for guitarists to have many guitars, because guitars are not only instruments to make music with (in which case you need only find "the one") but they are objects to collect.
This forum is a place where players discuss playing, but often it seems it's more about guitars.
Playing is a calling.
Buying guitars is an addiction. Collectors aren't looking for a guitar, they're looking for the one that has what they don't own. Buying is easy. It takes less work than learning to play the damn things.
Why does a dog lick himself?
Because he can.
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Tomvwash
It warms my heart that you are loving that Tal.
It really is a great guitar. It truly worked out perfectly for everyone. I didn’t sell it because I didn’t like it. I just didn’t love it as much as the 3 other guitars that I play ALL THE TIME. And that is the problem. I simply couldn’t substantiate owning it if I didn’t give it the attention it deserved. So when there was different need for the funds I had tied up in that guitar, it had to go.
I’ve told Vinny in numerous occasions, the Gibson Tal Farlow could EASILY be the only guitar I ever owned. So I totally get it.
I am so glad you enjoy it. And thanks for giving it the love it deserves.
Joe D
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Bro, you said it best, right here..
Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
Well…….as the old saying goes
How many guitars do you need ? Just one more
For me I haves chased this allusive tone in my head my whole life.
Thing is I have had that tone all along.
You are only allowed 1 wife but it is OK to be a guitar slut as long as you can afford that luxury. Too many though will become a burden.
That no. is different for everyone. 3 might be too many for a person and 20 might not be enough.
I am at the point now when one comes in one must leave and the ones I have now I love except for 1.
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I don't like the idea of owning multiple guitars that are similar in function. A flat top, 335 and an archtop is already more guitars that I've got time to dedicate to properly.
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+1, except that I've also got a strat and a bass. They all get a good amount of use. I wouldn't want more than one archtop. I want to know one archtop really well and not spread my attention too thinly. I do get interested in other stuff and I do window shop, but pull myself back from the brink. Originally Posted by burchyk
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Getting it down to 77 guitars would be great - I'm working on it! I hope that the folks here will continue to help me reach that goal. Originally Posted by tomvwash
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Paging Doctor Freud:
Freudian psychologists believe that collecting is a way of imposing order on the world. Those who collect may have suffered abandonment issues when they were children, or feel that they lack control over their own lives. By gathering and curating objects, they can reverse that feeling somewhat. In particular, those with few mementos of their childhood might compensate by holding on to anything they can. At this point, the line between collecting and hoarding becomes blurred. While many might describe the former as an addiction, it is nonetheless something done willingly. Collectors have control over their behaviour, whereas hoarders do not. Their actions may be due to OCD or anxiety disorders.
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Yes, but my initial question about was not about hoarding or collecting--the Benedetto thread hits on that theme--although I did question the 77 guitar collection. I think it gets to Vinny's comment above about chasing elusive tone in Archtops over many years, maybe most of one's life. It's harder and probably more expensive to attain with Archtops, compared to other guitars. And when we're chasing after tone in our heads, we're not really collecting things.
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For me, it's just a love of archtops. There was a time that I could go to a local music store and see cases of archtop guitars. That isn't the case by a long shot anymore. It started out chasing tone. As time passed the "tone" changed to inspiration. A combination of tone response comfort. Experiencing lots of instruments enabled me to really sort out what was important. I have a favorite but history has taught me that it could change. I still am always looking even though I've owned most of the ones I'd be interested in. If I had to whittle it down to one or two I could and most likely should.
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I just sold my Heritage Eagle, and kept the 575. The Eagle is an amazing guitar but I always had the feeling I wasn’t able to get the most out of it, lacking context and skill. When a well known local pro came by and played it for two hours, it was obvious the guitar belonged with someone of that caliber. He walked away with the guitar and I’m making do with the strat, the 575 and the Lowden.
He brought a thinline L5 for comparison. Both guitars held their own, very different spaces.
I guess this post explains, in my case, why one wants archtops but doesn’t keep them. They are very beautiful, distinct guitars. But you have to be able to pull the tones you want from them, and play the right kind of music.
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How many people here fell in love with a guitar because of music they heard on it? Guilty. I wanted a 175 because I loved the music Joe Pass (and Steve Howe) and because in guitar magazine interviews those players raved about them.
Same with falling in love with the Telecaster because of Ed Bikert.
Imagine the disappointment when living with a tele clone that sat in a corner because every time I picked it up it sounded NOTHING like Ed Bikert. :-(
When they sell you a guitar, it should come with a money back guarantee that it does what your imagination thinks it should do.
I did find out over the course of time that the better a player I became, the less the actual guitar mattered.
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It could break down to several main attributes. Something like:
1) Tone chasing
2) Status signalling
3) Bargain Hunting
4) Profit Making (speculation/gambling).
5) Boredom
6) Intrique
7) Idolisation
I've bought based on all 7 instincts.
So when you find yourself buying that next Archtop, you can simply jot it down to one of the above '7 Sins'.
My last purchase which I haven't even done a NGD for yet, is a Tacoma 'Jazz King'. That was a due to No 6, mixed with a bit of No 3.
I was intrigued and it was cheap. Deadly!
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How about Fantasy? It's much stronger than Intrigue. It's imagining a state of perfection unattainable in this version of reality. When one imagines a perfectly fantastic guitar, as a part of a perfectly musical existence, and all you need is a guitar you don't have... that's good motivation. I know. I worked in a guitar store. Best salesmen knew this. Originally Posted by ArchtopHeaven
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I am back up to 19 guitars (6 electric archtops, 4 acoustic archtops, 6 solid body guitars, 2 Gypsy guitars and a classical). I have pretty much abandoned semi-hollow, flattop, bass guitars and guitars with more than 6 strings (time spent on those was spreading my musical growth too thin and I want to concentrate on what I do well with the time I have left on the planet). I was up to 22 guitars at one point and found that even rotating them, my bond was weakening with them as too much time had passed since I last saw them. I trimmed down to 13 and am now heading back up it seems. Perhaps I will want to trim down again at some point. Not today.
The fact is that I love guitars. They are my art collection and I enjoy owning them, looking at them and playing them. I have the space to store them and live in a climate where I do not have to spend much time maintaining them. And I don't need the money that is tied up in them. In fact, guitar collecting is the only hobby where my toys sometimes appreciate and I don't lose a fair amount of money. Sporting goods, vehicles and women (the other hobbies that I have enjoyed as an adult) all have cost me plenty!
I don't begrudge others who may have more valuable guitars than I do or simply more guitars. My philosophy in life (and it has served me well) is to work hard/smart to acquire what I may want rather than covet my neighbor's stuff. And since I have been true to one woman for the last 25 plus years, I am OK with being true to more than one guitar.
Life is short. Getting to the end of this existence with regrets seems like a bad idea. Get the guitar or guitars of your dreams. And most importantly, play them while you can!
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Maybe it's because you spend $10,000 on a guitar and the tone is basically the same as any other humbucker guitar. Joe Pass sounded just like Joe Pass on his Ibanez and Epiphones as well as his vintage ES175.
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Originally Posted by Hammertone
LOL……Enablers R Us
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This is absolutely true BUT different guitars give you different feedback. If you are liking what you hear, maybe what you see, maybe how it plays you give a better performance. You at your best. That's the key. Inspiration for whatever your personal reason is. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
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…wow, Hammer. Seriously? I’d love to see a group pic. Of course, you’ll need to use the panoramic setting on your camera. Originally Posted by Hammertone
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All of those reasons listed about are legit and most of them have influenced me over the years. I have 7 guitars right now and could get by with fewer. As for archtops, I have a nice carved 17” with a floating CC p/u, a nice carved 16” with a built in p/u, and a carved (I think) 15” Eastman El Ray 7 string. Theoretically, I could part with either the 16” or the 17”, but I never will. I am as interested in Spanish classical and flamenco guitars as I am in archtops, and I have 2 nice luthier built flamencos from Granada, a negra and a blanca. I could get by with one, but I’ll never part with either. And, I have a nice cedar/rosewood classical that was built for me. Again, it’s never going anywhere. I also have one steel string flat top.
In the past I did a lot of chasing the “ideal” archtop. Two things have changed: 1) I think I have now found them; 2) I’m at a point in life where I don’t have to sell one to get one. Now, it’s all about the aesthetics - the sound and looks of my instruments. I appreciate them all greatly. Every time I pick one of them up I think it’s my favorite, until I pick up the next one.
I’m heading to Spain in a couple of days, and I know I’ll be tempted to bring home another fine flamenco or classical if one speaks to me. If not, I may commission another build in the future.
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when I lived for a year at Mount Madonna in the Santa Cruz mountains, I had to turn the heat on, obviously because it gets cold there. 2000 feet up, you pretty much have to have propane delivered. now that I am in my own house in the Sacramento Valley, I have yet to turn the heat on in this house I can tolerate 55 to 60°F inside. When I lived in Chicago, I set the thermostat to 60° in the winter and still had to pay lots in terms of heating bills. Here, I only pay PG&E for cooking gas lol . I’m curious as to your experience living here in this climate in terms of not turning the heat on and do the guitar necks don’t warp as much. Do you still take some guitars in for a set up occasionally? I imagine of people turn the heater on in the winter time like they do in large part of the bay area. Still, it would still affect the guitars. But I’ve only been here a few years. I’m curious to hear specifically about the benefits of this climate for guitar maintenance. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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Nav, while I turn the heat on in the winter (to 68 degrees), the air is moist enough by the coast that the humidity in my homes never gets to a level where I am worried about the guitars being damaged. My setups do not change. If I lived in Sacratomato, I would be more concerned. It gets colder there in the winter and WAY hotter in the summer. Furthermore it is almost always much drier there. I think that if I lived there, I would have a humidifier in every case. HTH Originally Posted by NSJ
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Good point. I put 'intrigue' because 'fantasy' is closely related to 'tone chasing'. Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
Intrigue is when you don't want or need that type of guitar and you don't think it will sound that good anyway but you still want it.
A good example being this:
No one needs a custom agent but you have to own one, at least once in your life.
I don't disagree with you however. We can throw it in if you like?
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