[EuroAussie]

Or is it all about the here and now ?

Thats the dilemma Ive been having as Im trying to get over my jetlag here down under.

Ive been thinking of trimming my herd to my 4 fave guitars, which I always love to play and are real keepers. (J-150, SJ, Dove, Furch OM)

Which leaves the others, and some of them Im struggling to bond with. Reason being is that I bought them thinking that I would 'mature' into them once my playing got better or my intersted in a speciic skill/ style got better. To give you an example, the Advanced Jumbo - bought it coz i thought it would be great to play lead on and also as a finger picker, same with the Mart in J-40. i find that rosewood for me doesnt do it as a strummer, but that deep resonance and sustain is gold for flat adn fingerpicking.

Except ... I didnt develop those skills, rather focused on my vocals the last 3 years.

Or the LG-2, vintage Gibson tone, amazing blues picker ...but I have not developed my blues skills, and that baseball neck is frustrating and it is hard to play that guitar cleanly.

So, Im thinking, should I focus on the guitars that give the most pleasure here and now and get rid of the others, or hold on to them, with the goal of eventually 'maturing' into them.

What is important to note, is that I do know what I like right now. Which is a punchy, woody tone, with good note seperation. Thats what the maple guitars offer, as does teh SJ and Furch guitars. They put a smile on my face each time I play them.

Im just not sure if I will ever grow to like the other ones to play them enough to give them the due time they deserve...

Thoughts ....?

This post has been edited by EuroAussie: 10 January 2019 - 04:18 PM

[Buc McMaster]

Everyone has their own way of making such decisions.....tough for anyone else to provide much input that will sway you one way or the other. All the rest of us can only comment from our own experience with similar circumstances.

When I fronted bands many years ago I kept w-a-y too many guitars and always....I mean always!.....struggled to decide which one to take to gigs......as I view that now, it was a source of unnecessary stress. These days I don't gig outside of open mic nights, and I only have two guitars. The J-35 has proven itself to be the superior live instrument, while the J-45 is the "wow-that's-very-nice" house guitar. So what more might I need? Nuttin', honey. There are no other guitar related holes that need filling and it's really nice not to agonize over which guitar to pickup on a given day. Simple is good.

[EuroAussie]

Buc McMaster, on 10 January 2019 - 04:11 PM, said:

Everyone has their own way of making such decisions.....tough for anyone else to provide much input that will sway you one way or the other. All the rest of us can only comment from our own experience with similar circumstances.

When I fronted bands many years ago I kept w-a-y too many guitars and always....I mean always!.....struggled to decide which one to take to gigs......as I view that now, it was a source of unnecessary stress. These days I don't gig outside of open mic nights, and I only have two guitars. The J-35 has proven itself to be the superior live instrument, while the J-45 is the "wow-that's-very-nice" house guitar. So what more might I need? Nuttin', honey. There are no other guitar related holes that need filling and it's really nice not to agonize over which guitar to pickup on a given day. Simple is good.

Thanks Buc. Yes, of course its a perosnal decision. Im curious about others personal experience / mindset.

ps: looks like you proved me wrong on the J-35 and still have it, I owe you a steak !

This post has been edited by EuroAussie: 10 January 2019 - 04:17 PM

[ThemisSal]

I'm the wrong guy to ask, I fear.


I could easily have two guitars. My J50 and my D18. But when I start the selling process i get weird and cold feet. I think I will sell two Gibsons, and see how it goes - a J45 standard and the AJ. Not in a rush. I think I will try and keep it local. The J45 my buddy wants, and the AJ I can sell on Craigslist if I leave it up long enough.

The sad part is they are all good. The AJ is an awesome gigger. That Trance is wonderful. The Hummingbird is great. The J45 is great....

I go on UMGF sometimes. The musicians there are a cut above (no offense to you gents!). I mean they are pros. And they have maybe two guitars.... serious guitars. And here I am... a mid level player with 6-7? WTF. Then i Get feeling dumb.

So, anyhows.. I will notch it down. Just maybe slowly. I seriously think 3 would be a great number.

I feel ya.

[EuroAussie]

ThemisSal, on 10 January 2019 - 04:27 PM, said:

I'm the wrong guy to ask, I fear.


I could easily have two guitars. My J50 and my D18. But when I start the selling process i get weird and cold feet. I think I will sell two Gibsons, and see how it goes - a J45 standard and the AJ. Not in a rush. I think I will try and keep it local. The J45 my buddy wants, and the AJ I can sell on Craigslist if I leave it up long enough.

The sad part is they are all good. The AJ is an awesome gigger. That Trance is wonderful. The Hummingbird is great. The J45 is great....

I go on UMGF sometimes. The musicians there are a cut above (no offense to you gents!). I mean they are pros. And they have maybe two guitars.... serious guitars. And here I am... a mid level player with 6-7? WTF. Then i Get feeling dumb.

So, anyhows.. I will notch it down. Just maybe slowly. I seriously think 3 would be a great number.

I feel ya.

I was looking forward to your response actually Sal, you are the master guitar flicker on this forum.

[J185cat]

Almost two years ago I sold a Koa J185 that was a gorgeous guitar to look at as you can imagine and had a beautiful but delicate sound that didn't suit my less advanced playing. I loved to hear others play the guitar and hoped that one day we would connect. Owned it seven years before finally pulling the trigger and it was a tough decision. Now, I am glad I made the decision and it gave me a new perspective on holding onto guitars you don't play. I have since bought two J45's and play one or the other almost every day. It was the right decision for me.

[QuestionMark]

Having played 56 years so far, yes, one’s playing can mature into playing a specific guitar. It can also outgrow a specific guitar (meaning, it gets boring to play and no longer sparks creativity), but, on the other hand, I’ve had it where I’ve retired a guitar, only to find after not playing it for ten years, suddenly it feels new again and filled with sparking creativity. Likewise, I have had it where a guitar at first (for about 10-20 years), doesn’t bond with me and then voila, it becomes my favorite guitar (for awhile at least, but a keeper none-the-less to spark me every once in awhile.). Then, I also have some guitars that I really did outgrow (my 1965 Epiphone FT Caballero), but I still play it once a year and it’s fun for me to do that, so I keep it around (still in its fake alligator case.)

But, some here have made a good case that if a guitar doesn’t do it for you, sell it to someone who it does something for. And, that case is often a good one.

But, I sold one once about 46 years ago and never stopped missing having it my collection, but what can I do? It’s the one I traded in for a Gibson I couldn’t otherwise afford at the time and needed to trade that one and borrow the difference. So it all worked out. (25 years later or so, I bought one to take that one’s place to have in my collection. Actually, I think I bought 3 different guitars that kinda take its place.)


What I’ve learned over the years of playing is it’s about being a lifelong player. And, that means reaching new heights, then plateauing for awhile and then taking a leap to be a better player. That cycle keeps occurring. So different playing needs arise and change.


The only flaw I see in the approach you took, based on my playing experience, is in your thinking that a specific guitar is the only one that’s good for fingerpicking or blues or strumming, etc etc.

After awhile of playing (years and years) they all actually work great for every kind of playing. And, different guitars begin then to equate to different volume levels, different comfort levels, different weight levels when standing, slower playing or faster playing attributes, etc etc. And, attachment to each. And, maybe value appreciation (or depreciation) over the years.

It’ll be interesting to see how others weigh in on this topic.

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

[zombywoof]

I think you have answered your own question. My take is you have bought guitars that you liked the idea of more than the guitar itself. Somewhere down the road you believed these were the ones that would help you get there. Now that you have been down the road you found they did not come along for the ride.

But you can also "rediscover" guitars. I have had a couple which for whatever reason I had discarded over the years only to find myself muttering what the heck was I thinking . There is absolutely nothing, as example, about an LG-2 that makes it an amazing blues picker. If you have what Rev, Gary Davis once referred to as a sporting right hand it really does not matter what guitar you are holding in your hands. But it just might become one of your favorite throw over your shoulder strummers.

This post has been edited by zombywoof: 10 January 2019 - 06:19 PM

[ThemisSal]

EuroAussie said:

1547159887[/url]' post='1971603']
I was looking forward to your response actually Sal, you are the master guitar flicker on this forum.

An honor to be ashamed of, truth be told. Shows lack of focus and discipline. There... that’s honest.

[Dave F]

If I gain five more pounds, I'll grow into my Super 400

[FZ Fan]

If I do not like my guitars I dump them. Your choice your guitars.

[Buc McMaster]

EuroAussie, on 10 January 2019 - 04:16 PM, said:

.......looks like you proved me wrong on the J-35 and still have it, I owe you a steak !

Ha! Indeed you do! Don't reckon I'll be in Prague anytime soon to collect on that though.........dammit.

I do believe the 35 is the better guitar for me......its' tone is crisp and very present, it's much louder than the 45 and the neck is noticeably beefier and more comfortable to play. As cool a piece as it was, you might remember I got off the 12-fret 45 after realizing it was a skinny neck carve putting me off.......the 35 came from that trade-in. Cosmetically, I love the rectangular bridge, the flat-sided headstock, the odd-shaped tiger guard and the blonde top is slowly turning amber. Though they are apparently identical dimensionally, the 35 just feels better hanging on a strap than the 45.......can't explain that at all but it certainly seems quite real. It ain't going nowhere.

[Lars68]

Can the money you can get from selling those guitars be used in a way to give you more long term satisfaction than keeping the guitars would?

I have more guitars than my skill level justifies. One would be enough, but they all give me great pleasure, even though some are favorites (Banner J-45, SJ Sheryl Crow) I cycle through all of them, and sort of rediscover them over and over. A guitar might go a few months without being played, but it does not bother me. The guitars as physical objects are a very big part of the music hobby for me. I see them as objects of art.

So if you

This post has been edited by Lars68: 11 January 2019 - 03:41 AM

[dhanners623]

I'd say two guitars. One main one and a spare.

Then again, sometimes when I lay awake at night, I think of the guitars that I've owned and sold that I wish I still had. It is a pretty decent list.

On the other hand, I'm still alive and the guitars I have now suit me just fine and I get pleasure from them. I'm not sure if it is a matter of "maturing" into a guitar, but finding the guitar that suits your style. It's a two-way street. You shouldn't expect a guitar built for one style to sound great in another style. That's why guitars like a J-45, J-35, D-18 and D-28 have been around so long. They are very versatile.

On the third hand, for the past few years my life has been about paring down. I had too much stuff. A guitar built for me by Twin Cities luthier/repairman Kevin Schwab is, literally, the most expensive item I own. My J-35 is the second-most expensive item I own. We always collect too much stuff.

[Murph]

I usually get a good one and play it for decades. If I like it I keep it and buy another when it's getting excessive wear. I still own the 61 Melody Maker I got when I was 11, my 79 SG (NOS) I got when I was 34, a Jazz bass I bought over 20 years ago, etc.

I don't sell many, I did swap the Custom Shop ES339 for the J-15.

I'd say the answer for me would probably be no. If I didn't play it and love it I'd probably dump it.

[blindboygrunt]

truth is that one guitar is all that is needed

Not saying a person is a bad or less a person for having 100 , and I much rather here him/her say that they have them because they are able to buy them and that’s that .

We’ve lately seen evidence of a man in this forum who is obviously using guitars to fill a void in his life. Becomes bad for the soul eventually

Offload your shackles EA. You’ll feel freer and much better for it

Here endeth the lesson

[blindboygrunt]

And can someone
Check on lars. He seems to have keeled over mid sentence

[countrybluespicker]

I like having one guitar. I have had various small stables over the years, but for whatever reason I like the way it is now - me and my guitar. I have really bonded with her. It works for any and all kinds of music I like to play. The only other guitar I would maybe want would be a cool vintage instrument from the 30's but that's probably not gonna happen.

[OldCowboy]

When I played for $ (because I needed money), one guitar was all I could afford. The questions of maturing as a player or suiting a particular style to a specific guitar were the least of my concerns at that time. Later, when music became more a matter of spending than of earning money, the luxury of multiple instruments came into play (sorry😨) and the quest for musical maturity and such did, too. I've owned many guitars and sold many as well - there are a few I wish I'd kept, and a lot that left the nest because something better crossed my path. The current accumulation admits of no selling or trading potential. Each makes me happy in its own way. My point is that when you arrive at that situation, you'll know, and the notion of parting with a certain instrument becomes invalid. There may be a couple you'd still like to attain - I'd love to own a Martin that didn't inspire me to sell/trade it, for example - but the comfort level with what's in the stable now is excellent.

[ThemisSal]

blindboygrunt, on 11 January 2019 - 05:40 AM, said:

truth is that one guitar is all that is needed

Not saying a person is a bad or less a person for having 100 , and I much rather here him/her say that they have them because they are able to buy them and that's that .

We've lately seen evidence of a man in this forum who is obviously using guitars to fill a void in his life. Becomes bad for the soul eventually

Offload your shackles EA. You'll feel freer and much better for it

Here endeth the lesson

Errrr... I am not sure about the void in life stuff.... I dont see myself has having a void, as much as being impulsive with discretionary dough. A bit of escapism into a (harmless) vice maybe...