[j45nick]

ThemisSal, on 11 January 2019 - 06:54 AM, said:

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...

Sal, I thought he was talking about me!

It seems there are several of us in the position you describe.

It wasn't until late in life that I could afford more than one guitar, and I've spent the last decade indulging a few of those youthful wishes. As you say, it's a bit of escapism and a relatively harmless vice. The fact that I rarely play more than three of them bothers me a little bit, but not enough to rush out and dispose of the un-played ones. I have sold two in the last couple of years, and felt reasonably proud at being capable of doing that.

Maybe I'm like the alcoholic who thinks he's cured just because he can so "no" to a drink every now and then.

[E-minor7]

ThemisSal, on 11 January 2019 - 06:54 AM, said:

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...

Don't let it get you hung up - I think bbg must be referring to me.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

EA - I plain refuse to see you pass the Hummingbird further. It would tilt a series of finer balances in the universe. Don't let that happen.
Apart from that the array of acoustics here is really enjoyed - on more level than 1, , , actually say 3.
But yea, 1 type of meal is really all we need, one pair of trousers (plus a spare) etc. - but why keep everything low.
I have nothing, , , repeat nothing against the puristic angle on life and even believe I understand it from within.
But on 1 condition : That people know why they boil down and edit away - what it is that reducing gives them in life, , , and offers the planet if so.

*ave a good weekend everyone

[FZ Fan]

E-minor7, on 11 January 2019 - 07:51 AM, said:

Don't let it get you hung up - I think bbg must be referring to me.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

EA - I plain refuse to see you pass the Hummingbird further. It would tilt a series of finer balances in the universe. Don't let that happen.
Apart from that the array of acoustics here is really enjoyed - on more level than 1, , , actually say 3.
But yea, 1 type of meal is really all we need, one pair of trousers (plus a spare) etc. - but why keep everything low.
I have nothing, , , repeat nothing against the puristic angle on life and even believe I understand it from within.
But on 1 condition : That people know why they boil down and edit away - what it is that reducing gives them in life, , , and offers the planet if so.

*ave a good weekend everyone

If you want to have 10 acoustic have 10, if you want 2 go with 2. If you don't feel them sell them and get another or don't. Its your call. Your asking people on a guitar forum how many you should have. That's like asking an addict how much illicit drugs he should use. I've got 5 acoustics. I would love to have another 100, but I'm not rich. I buy them when I see one I want and can afford it, and sell them when they no longer do anything for me. I did not like my D-28 for a long time, then I put Martins new 2.0 strings on and then bam, I love really love it. I would say if you haven't touched a certain one in 6 months or so whats the point of having it.

[BDuke]

EuroAussie, on 10 January 2019 - 03:54 PM, said:

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 ....?

I'll admit right off that own 9 guitars now. 5 acoustics 3 electrics and 1 bass. That being said, 90% of my playing is on 2 guitars. A J-45 standard and a J-185. I guess I must be somewhat of a collector because I just like looking at all my guitars. would I sell any, maybe, but I'm sure I would miss it if I did. Sometime I take them all out of their cases and just strum a few cords on them then back they go. I guess not being a pro I don't look at guitars as a piece of equipment but something to admire, play, and just be around.

[E-minor7]

FZ Fan, on 11 January 2019 - 08:03 AM, said:

Your asking people on a guitar forum how many you should have.

Where, FZ Fan. .

[FZ Fan]

E-minor7, on 11 January 2019 - 08:35 AM, said:

Where, FZ Fan. .

The OP not you.

[Cougar]

EuroAussie, on 10 January 2019 - 03:54 PM, said:

...Ive been thinking of trimming my herd to my 4 fave guitars....

Guitar "collections" are an evolving thing. Actually, the mind "evolves" (matures, changes...) and the collection reflects it. I had over a dozen nice but lower-end guitars and couldn't justify putting any more money into the, uh, enterprise. So the many lower-end funded the few higher-end. Some of the lower-enders aren't even worth selling though, so I've still got 'em (and still like 'em, but don't play 'em a lot). The collection is now fairly stabilized....

[BDuke]

Lars68, on 11 January 2019 - 12:28 AM, said:

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

I totally agree with that last sentence Lars

[vacamartin]

EuroAussie, on 10 January 2019 - 03:54 PM, said:

Ive been thinking of trimming my herd to my 4 fave guitars, which I always love to play and are real keepers.

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.

Thoughts ....?

If you're like me, you can never have "enough" acoustics! The mood of the moment dictates the size, comfort, and sound I want to play....sound familiar? Keep 'em all

[vacamartin]

ThemisSal, on 10 January 2019 - 09:10 PM, said:

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

Not in my book....always like to live vicariously through your purchases and sales......you are living the good life mister!

[blindboygrunt]

ThemisSal, on 11 January 2019 - 06:54 AM, said:

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...

Wasn’t you and not was it the narcissists that assumed it was them after your post either 😂


I did state in my post that I thought no less of a man who had 100 !
Besides. Nick em and Sal , well .... I’d be sad if any of you left the planet regardless of how many guitars you owned

[countrybluespicker]

The one guitar I do miss and wish I still had was an f-hole chambered tele with humbuckers. When I got this guitar on eBay it was largely unplayable and I took it to my local shop for a setup. The guitar tech did an absolutely magnificent of setting it and it played like absolute butter, just perfection. One day I had it in a Fender gig bag over my back and the plastic strap connector broke. I can still remember the sickening sound when that chambered body hit the ground. I never bought another electric, and don't even have an amp anymore. But I would take that blonde tele back in a heartbeat.

[Lars68]

blindboygrunt, on 11 January 2019 - 05:41 AM, said:

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

I’m back. My head hurts. What day is it?

Lars

[FZ Fan]

countrybluespicker, on 11 January 2019 - 11:02 AM, said:

The one guitar I do miss and wish I still had was an f-hole chambered tele with humbuckers. When I got this guitar on eBay it was largely unplayable and I took it to my local shop for a setup. The guitar tech did an absolutely magnificent of setting it and it played like absolute butter, just perfection. One day I had it in a Fender gig bag over my back and the plastic strap connector broke. I can still remember the sickening sound when that chambered body hit the ground. I never bought another electric, and don't even have an amp anymore. But I would take that blonde tele back in a heartbeat.

They still make them. Get another one.

[rustystrings]

I don't assume blindboygrunt's comments about me, but I AM a narcissist with an emotional void, so I'll have a go at the OP's question ...

As far as trimming the herd or keeping the lot - that is entirely up to you, and cases can be made for either choice. Life and other circumstances have helped me to trim my herd down to one nice steel string, one beater steel string, one classical guitar and one soprano ukulele, and I am generally at peace with it - though I still think I will pick up an LG-2 AE to see if it fills the hole left by letting go of my 1960 LG-2 all those years ago ...


As far as maturing into a specific guitar, that's another matter. My experience was that I once collected solid-body electrics at a dizzying pace, then went through a phase where I had bunches of vintage acoustics including a variety of archtops and a steel-bodied National. Having the National Duolian was nice, but I only mastered three slide songs, and I am just not, ultimately, a blues guitarist. The archtops (and especially the battered and much-repaired but exquisite roundhole L-4) taught me discipline, because nothing makes a clam stand out like an archtop, and they helped me work in new voicings and hear things differently - but I am not a jazz guitarist. .

The experience of having and playing those guitars for a while was nice, but what they ultimately taught me is how to find what I really like in a guitar - which is a state you have already reached. You like "a punchy, woody tone, with good note separation," and you find that in maple-bodied guitars.

[Hall]

* "Can one 'mature' into a specific guitar?"

I can't. But, if I could, it would be a Southern Jumbo.

This post has been edited by Hall: 11 January 2019 - 01:25 PM

[MissouriPicker]

I don't know if I'm maturing into any of my guitars. I do know that my Hummingbird is very easy to identify with and the Dove is right up there with it. I can say the same for the J45TV. Of the "Magnificent Seven," I'd say those three are my favorites. Ask me tomorrow and I might say the J100. Who knows? I just play which one calls to me on that day. Skill and ability wise, some would say the guitars are better than me. If the kind of guitar we own was determined by our skill and ability they are likely right and I should own a bunch of Rogues (which really are decent for the price). However, my Gibsons feel like they're an extension of who I am, so that's the only reason I need. Besides, "mature" tends to indicate that one is growing-up and who-in-hell wants to do that?

[EuroAussie]

Thanks for all the replies folks, a lot of insight and food for thought.

[PatriotsBiker]

This was an interesting thread to read. I've often wondered how I might have progressed had I not divided my focus into so many guitars and different aspects to music. I was, and still am intoxicated by all things music. But what if I was not? I can certainly hyper-focus with the best of them. I can also jump from topic to topic with the best of them. In the case of music, it is that I am an insatiable learner.

That is where my buying and keeping habits begin. I buy a guitar type to learn how to add a particular sonic attribute or skill to my skill-set. As I grew, I replaced the gear for the aspects of music that most interested me as they happened. Do I sell the old? Only if I do not like it. I sold a Taylor 314 to help fund my Hummingbird. I did not sell a Squire Affinity Tele to help fund the USA Tele.

The one time I did sell gear that I liked and functioned well in order to get that next sound was when I sold a low-mid range Ibanez metal type guitar with non-active pickups. It was a $400 guitar. I was no longer trying to play the type of music it was great at. I've since wished I had kept it, though it's never been a strong enough sentiment in me to actually replace it directly. Still, that was the last time I sold a guitar because I migrated to the next thing.

That said, I've learned that I will almost always re-visit a particular topic as if it were some revolving door. Years will pass sometimes between learning something once and doing it again. Especially when I make music as eclectic as my listening tastes are(originals and covers).

That does not explain why I keep that Squire Affinity Tele, though.