Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => The Dressing Room => Topic started by: Roobubba on August 01, 2008, 06:29:33 PM
-
Obviously I'm odd in other ways, but I was wondering why so many people on here, and guitarists I know personally, seem to hanker after so many different guitars.
Am I strange for being someone who's happy with one good guitar?
I'm currently looking into the custom route - but as and when that guitar materialises, it will be my "one" guitar, and my current ibanez will be used exclusively as a gigging backup guitar.
Enlighten me!
Roo
-
Am I strange for being someone who's happy with one good guitar?
No, but you're strange for not liking Telecasters. :P
-
Nope just fortunate (despite your tele issues)
-
Well I only need one of each type of guitar so I'm not as bad as others.
-
To give a serious answer, are you mostly interested in playing guitar, so the guitar itself is just a means to an end?
I'll never be a good player but I've always been fascinated with guitars. I just like them, the way other people like cars or designer clothes. The last time I only had one guitar was 1986.
-
yes!!! i will never understand you people, i would have 1 of everything if i could - not quite like twinfan who needs two
-
Well I only need one of each type of guitar so I'm not as bad as others.
nice save! i'm gonna go with that one too. :lol:
-
No, I don't think you're odd at all (apart from the tele thing!!)
For years I was a "one guitar" man - a strat. But because I was front man of the band, I definitely needed two guitars for when a string broke. Ideally it should've been another strat, because plugging a different guitar in always produced a completely different sound out of my amp which was very off-putting and would always throw me for a few songs until I'd got used to it. But unfortunately all I had was my first decent electric as a spare (a Westone Thunder - destroyed pubs when plugged into a valve amp set for a strat!).
Then in a later band, a strat wasn't quite right for the job I was doing, so I experimented and started getting into other guitars.
Now, I don't play live, but I've got money. I don't feel any need for a really expensive guitar, or indeed a custom guitar built specially for me (really sorry Wez, Jonathan, any other makers...) What I do want is a little stable of the "classic" rock and roll guitars to amuse myself, that produce the "old" sounds that I know them for. I'm not unduly bothered whether they're "real" ones either.
I think I've almost got there, just about, and now they've all got BKPs in as well. And because I don't play live, I don't need two of each really, although I was nearly sucked into getting over excited about these Classic Vibe Squiers that are on their way in mid August, but I'm over that (I hope!).
The only thing I'm really missing now is a decent semi, but I think that might prove expensive (especially as it might mean in reality a 335 type, a Birdland type, and some sort of rock n roll Gretsch beast) so I'm not going to worry too much for the moment...
They all do different jobs, and one day you might find you want guitars to do different jobs... I reckon it's as simple as that. There is the "I love all guitars" thing that Philly and Wez touch on - you're possibly slightly different from many of us that you don't seem to have that, but probably it's more of a blessing than a cause for wondering "am I normal?" :lol:
-
I'm sort of like that. I dont feel as though I need any more guitars than my Epiphone, it does everything I want. My pearl is good for p90 tones now but I still use it way less than the mule'd epi! I was gassing for loads of stuff a while ago but right now I'd rather stop worrying about guitars and just play the stuff :P That being said the Ibanez RGA121 in dark violin finish does look REALLY appealing, I just dont think I'd get on with the neck... (its that kind of thing that I hate about buying new guitars, wondering whether I'd like it, wondering if it'd be as good as my others etc :lol: )
-
I doubt you'll be happy with one guitar for long. When I first got my Ibanez I was completely happy with it for about a year and didn't desire anything else - I'd been craving it for ages, and I'd read all about it and it was the object of all my desires. When I finally went and got it, it lived up to all expectations; it felt great, sounded great, looked great. I could get humbucker growl and single coil quack in the same guitar!
As time goes on though you might just sort of 'see' other guitars you'd like to play, and then one day you might play one, and then you might feel that it does something another guitar doesn't do quite so well, or you might just fancy a change of feel/vibe etc., your tastes could change and you'll end up wanting lots of different guitars.
If you're anything like me that is... (and tbh I don't know how alike we are; so maybe you're right, maybe you will stick with one guitar! Good luck!)
It'd be great to be a one-guitar man for a lot of reasons; the savings of money, the simplicity, the relationship you build with an instrument, the romance of it all (a lot of big guitar heroes all seem to have stuck with one guitar throughout their career, or at least had a "no.1" they use the majority of the time).
I hope that one day I'll play one and it'll just click.
-
...They all do different jobs
That's the way I see them. You wouldn't use a Ferrari on a muddy field would you? Sometimes you just need a Tele for the right tones etc
I just like them, the way other people like cars or designer clothes.
Me too. I'm like a walking encyclopedia when it comes to guitars.
i would have 1 of everything if i could - not quite like twinfan who needs two
I just like to have a spare, that's all! :lol:
-
If one guitar covered all my needs, I would just play one guitar. But sadly it isn't so.
Is your Hardcore band the only band/project you play in? If so I wouldn't say it's odd you only want one guitar. I don't mean that to descriminate the genre or anything, but if I only played one musical style, one guitar would be plenty for me aswell. My Les Paul fulfills my needs in a 6-string electric so at the moment I don't want another 6-string electric. I supose to some extend I'm in the same boat as you then. :)
-
I've been playing for over 20 years and, much like you Roo, have never felt the need to ever have more than one main guitar, and one cheaper back-up guitar.
I have changed my main guitar a few times, but have always sold the old one, when I bought a new one.
For me, I think a lot of being (vaguely) slick on the fretboard, has to do with the familiarity of the guitar. Every time I change guitar or try a different one, I suddenly feel a bit more clumsy again. Once I've been using the same guitar for a few weeks, my brain seems to adjust to it, and I can't adjust quickly to a new guitar at all.
-
It'd be great to be a one-guitar man for a lot of reasons; the savings of money, the simplicity, the relationship you build with an instrument, the romance of it all (a lot of big guitar heroes all seem to have stuck with one guitar throughout their career, or at least had a "no.1" they use the majority of the time).
I hope that one day I'll play one and it'll just click.
Thats sort of what I'm like with my Epi, probably because it was my only good guitar for most of my time I was learning the basics. Just feels right. Other people have played it and hated it but it feels perfect to me :lol: I almost dont dare get a setup done in case it comes back and doesnt feel right any more. I also feel guilty if I play any other guitars for long periods of time, like I'm "cheating" on the epiphone :oops: :P
-
I doubt you'll be happy with one guitar for long. When I first got my Ibanez I was completely happy with it for about a year and didn't desire anything else - I'd been craving it for ages, and I'd read all about it and it was the object of all my desires. When I finally went and got it, it lived up to all expectations; it felt great, sounded great, looked great. I could get humbucker growl and single coil quack in the same guitar!
As time goes on though you might just sort of 'see' other guitars you'd like to play, and then one day you might play one, and then you might feel that it does something another guitar doesn't do quite so well, or you might just fancy a change of feel/vibe etc., your tastes could change and you'll end up wanting lots of different guitars.
If you're anything like me that is... (and tbh I don't know how alike we are; so maybe you're right, maybe you will stick with one guitar! Good luck!)
It'd be great to be a one-guitar man for a lot of reasons; the savings of money, the simplicity, the relationship you build with an instrument, the romance of it all (a lot of big guitar heroes all seem to have stuck with one guitar throughout their career, or at least had a "no.1" they use the majority of the time).
I hope that one day I'll play one and it'll just click.
I guess we might not be that alike, then - I've had the same Ibanez (which I got broken and cheap off a guy at college something like 10 years ago!), and I've been very happy with that for the poppy/rock uni band right through to the current hardcore band (although it's been BKP'd in that time, and paired with a brutal amp, of course!).
Interesting to hear other people's takes on this, and thanks hamfist for making me feel a tad more normal :)
I'll let the tele comments slide this once - you all know I'm right though ;)
Roo
-
I have three electric guitars, 2 Strats and a Tele though for years I had just one Strat.I bought a second Strat as a back in case of string breaks.I bought the Tele because it was too cheap not to buy.Nowadays, I have the Strats tuned differently and I take just one out for gigs and use the Tele as the back up plus I loan it to the other guitarist in the band as he has just spent a fair bit on a keyboard but I use the Tele if I am in the mood or if I break a string. It is a bit of a luxury having 2 Strats albeit tuned differently but it is better than having to re tune. I certainly didn't set out to buy them for the sake of it and for years was quite happy with the Strat. It is very worn though and I am going to have to do something about replacing bridge saddles as strings are breaking prematurely.
-
i still think i could build a tele to convince roo, he may not like the shape but i am fairly sure i could make him enjoy playing it
thats almost a challenge aint it!!
-
i still think i could build a tele to convince roo, he may not like the shape but i am fairly sure i could make him enjoy playing it
thats almost a challenge aint it!!
No, I almost think we should admit defeat. :(
-
Roo doesn't like them ( I think) and that is fair enough. I can remember thinking they were slabs of wood with strings on when I was first starting out and they were old hat. I have just grown to love them as I have got on a bit and now I think they are just so cool. Having owned one for a while now I am well and truly besotted to the extent that if I could justify it, I would readily buy another. As I have said before, I don't care for Vees.They sound great but I just don't like them. I have played a few in my time but it just wasn't me. Gibsons generally have not turned me on in the past though again as I have gotten oldr I have grown to love the look of the Les Paul and the SG, which I once loathed ( cos of the pointy bits) I am now quite fond of as I just love the tone of them. Opinions change over time. I still see the Strat as a purdy little thing though and Strats will always be my favourites....I think.
-
and thanks hamfist for making me feel a tad more normal :)
I don't think any of us are normal around here.
Oh, and if you are ever going to like the look of any tele, being a "hard rock" guitarist, I suspect it'll be an all black one, something like the tele I had earlier this year :-
(http://www.box.net/shared/static/efmqgyjok0.jpg)
Although I think it would have looked even better with a bridge humbucker and a rosewood fretboard !
-
I'd love to be a one guitar kinda guy, I even sold a tele to bring me down to 2 just due to boredom with it. Right now i'm playing my white esquire and my MQ'd les paul equally, and almost finished putting together a cheap strat. Every time i GAS for something the sensible part of my brain tells me not to bother. Keeping it simple, though i feel boring for having a tele, les paul and a strat. I feel like an old man sometimes...
-
Hamfist, I'm glad you're wearing clothes in that picture...
I'd go with the one guitar thing. I have a single decent electric, a single decent electro-accoustic, and a cheap and nasty bass. Initially it was just economics I guess - never had enough money to pay the mortgage, let alone fritter away on luxuries...
But I think that as I'm getting older I more interested in guitars. I've always been an obsessive player, but now I have a decent income and I'm at a place where I can think about other guitars (hence my inane rambling about buying a Tele...)
But I think that you can put a lot into a single instrument. You get to know it really well, the best parts of the fretboard, nuances of the volume and tone controls.
Mark.
-
Although I think it would have looked even better with a bridge humbucker and a rosewood fretboard !
And a strat neck pickup
-
its quite easy to go from being a one guitar man, to a many guitar man. i used the same epiphone for years... it still feels so 'right' when i play it. the thing was though, i got paranoid that something might happen to it so i got a backup - an SG, but it was too nice to actually take out, so i got a second backup - a spirit steinberger. and then it was too late to be a one guitar man :)
-
Nah maple on black is perfect on teles. The only way it could be improved upon would be to have some white binding on the body and a bwb pickguard!
-
Yes, you're strange, soooo strange that you might be a WITCH!!! Time to BURN WITCHES :twisted:
:lol:
-
a matt black 'gothic'/'none more black' in the style that was in vogue a few years ago might look quite nice with the tele style body... with a reverse pointy head stock
how ironic this thread has turned into a discussion of the telecaster guitar ;)
-
a matt black 'gothic'/'none more black' in the style that was in vogue a few years ago might look quite nice with the tele style body... with a reverse pointy head stock
It's about the guitar, not the girl :D
But this one would match nicely the description
(http://www.blackmachine.net/assets/GSept24.jpg)
-
I sort of wish I'd got an SG as a 2nd guitar to compliment my LP.. I guess I could always sell the Pearl and get an SG but the pearl does look pretty cool..
-
Nah maple on black is perfect on teles. The only way it could be improved upon would be to have some white binding on the body and a bwb pickguard!
You know I can't resist :oops:
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/phillyq/IMGP2240.jpg)
-
I sort of wish I'd got an SG as a 2nd guitar to compliment my LP.. I guess I could always sell the Pearl and get an SG but the pearl does look pretty cool..
Just think how cool the MQ and MQpig will sound in a SG. It will melt faces! Faces! Melted. I want one.
-
^That's a good point Mark :P I still need to take the Pearl to this local tech for him to have a look at the slightly cracked neck join and fix it.
You know I can't resist :oops:
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/phillyq/IMGP2240.jpg)
The perfect tele!
-
I've been having a think about this thread, and I've figured out how I turned from "one guitar man" into "not enough space in the living room man"...
I can lay the blame squarely on
1) Line6
2) BKP
3) BKP user forum members :wink:
in that order...
A couple of years ago, getting back into music, starting to do some song-writing again and some home-recording, I needed a versatile guitar solution, and when I found the Variax, that was it. Old gigging guitars went back (or stayed) in the attic.
But I was always tweaking the Spank (strat) models, trying to get the strat sound I really wanted. The other models are pretty good, but the strat seems a bit weak - probably because there are so many variations on "strat" tones in the real world and they modelled a single instrument.
So my wife bought me a strat as a present last year...
That led to Irish Tour BKPs (I'd heard of them ages ago), which seemed a large outlay for "just pickups". I delayed and delayed, and I suddenly had some "spare money" so I bought them January this year. Obviously I felt this "large outlay" justified itself once the ITs arrived :D
BKPs speak for themselves, so I started upgrading my old guitars, but then add to that the "problem" that with a Variax I've heard what my playing sounds like through a lot of very different guitars and pickup combinations. For example, I knew about the tele "both pups in series sound" because you can do things like that on Variax (and that particular option is one of the factory defaults before you start fiddling).
Because I can afford it at the moment, I got sucked in to "lets get the geetar that does the job..." The Variax is good at what it does, but for any model you're using, put a real one with BKPs in next to it, and there's no comparison...
After buying a Dano yesterday, and thinking about this thread, I've realised that the Variax models are what is driving the shopping list!!!
The BKP forum members part in all this is just that we all seem to be feeding each other's GAS - except for lucky guys like Roo and others who seem to be immune (at least on guitars). Personally, I'm immune on amplifiers, but that's probably only because I don't play live any more...
-
Roo, you aren't odd, just lucky!
I enjoy having another LP in reach :)
-
If required, I could make do with just my Les Paul as it does everything I need.
However, I also have my Explorer which has a nice fast neck for metal moments, my Tele for the twang and Les Paul junior for the rawest rock & roll raunch possible (my current fave too).
If Roo is odd for not liking Teles, I'm probably in the same camp with regard to Strats - just can't get away with them.
I would like a Ricky 330, a Gretsch Duo Jet and a 335 to fill out the collection and I'd have every tone I'd ever need.
-
You aren't odd - just someone I can't relate to :? I started with one guitar but quickly moved to 2 (acoustic and electric), and then 3 (bass), then a backup electric, then a 12-string acoustic. From there it grew to about 12, which it held steady at for a long time. but then in around 1990, I was just divorced and had moved back to the US, and started playing in a band again, and thinking it would be great to get a Les Paul once more, so that was my change over. I also met someone who made me 3 guitars, so I thought that I could get one electric made to cover all the bases for live work (with HSMiniH), but that didn't work. Next thing you know it is 20 guitars and still getting more. I really don't know how many guitars I have now. I should be able to say, but some are in storage because my house is up for sale. I know it is around 60. Do I play all of them, in a 6 month period I will, and set them up and restring them, but I have to say that there is a core of about 20 that I play much more than the others. However, even if I don't play it all the time, if I wanted a smooth jazzy sound, my first choice would be my Ibanez GB10. The same with the Sivertone hollowbody, for the rockabilly sound it can't be touched, though the solid guitar with the same deArmond pickups is much more early Cure! Do I play rockabilly or early Cure - that doesn't matter - I have the guitar for it if the call ever comes!!!
-
Yes, is the simple answer.
A mate of mine has been trying to play for a couple of years. He plays/practices highly sporadically at best and can just barely play enter sandmans riffs, but he has 3 guitars already anyway.
-
Hmmm been thinking about this.
I have 3 guitars:
One lives in the attic (it was my sole guitar for over 20 years) and is now essentially retired
So that leaves a Ric 12 string (which I adore) and the regular 6 string.
Due to the 12 strings somewhat individual nature I would say that it would be impossible to go back to one single guitar these days.
If I was forced to I suppose it would mean going back to the white SG in the attic that my father and I ressurected when I was 18 as those times are mocu more important to me than any pievce of woord or metal.
-
Just to clarify - I do have an acoustic guitar, and I have a backup electric (on permanent loan) which is only there for gigging backup purposes. I wasn't counting the acoustic, because it's not something I *could* gig our music with, short of an unplugged set!! (hmm, hardcore unplugged...).
-
so your really a 3 guitar man.... i see!!
not that odd at all then
-
This whole thread has been conducted under false pretences! :o
Tell us, Roo... this "backup electric" which you seem quite keen to disown... not a Telecaster by any chance is it?
-
:lol:
-
i bet its a pink paisley tele :twisted:
-
I bet he sleeps with it.
-
Oh, I'm with roo on the tele thing, btw.
The only one of the major Axe Groups I really uniformly dislike.
Youre not a lone buddy! Dont listen to them! They probably have status quo albums under their pillow!
-
They probably have status quo albums under their pillow!
Nah, makes the vinyl warp.
-
What is this vai-nill of which you speak?
Is that like those big black CDs?
-
The backup one is almost as bad, but no, it's not a tele!! It's a red strat by, I think, Marlin! To be fair, it is my brother in law's guitar from when he was 15 or something. Just needed a backup for the gig, and I think I've only played it twice (ever!).
Oh dear, now it sounds defensive..
But it's NOT a tele, you cheeky, cheeky monkeys :)
Roo
PS Thanks MDV :)
-
Looks like he needs a better backup guitar, surely Mr Wez can build a nice one and I bet he would give you a discont in the price if it's a Tele :lol:
-
I have 1 guitar, and no backups, or anything!!!! (do I win?!)
and I like tele's (based off a drunken experience of them, can't stand fender strats though)
but secretly I want 5 guitars for different tunings and ones with more strings
-
If its any consolation Roo, I love how Fenders look but hate how they play (from the ones I've been on) so I dont think I'll own one unless I find a really good one to convince me. I cant get them to sound good when I play em either.
-
I have 1 guitar, and no backups, or anything!!!! (do I win?!)
and I like tele's (based off a drunken experience of them, can't stand fender strats though)
but secretly I want 5 guitars for different tunings and ones with more strings
Different tunings was my theory too, but I always seem to end up having them in the same tuning to use the different tones if I want.
5 out of my 8 electrics are in C#/Drop B. The others are E (for teaching with), drop A and a 7 in B. Needless to say, my bass and acoustic are in C# or drop B as required.
-
Looks like he needs a better backup guitar, surely Mr Wez can build a nice one and I bet he would give you a discont in the price if it's a Tele :lol:
if i built roo a guitar it had better not be his bloody back up!!
i was working on a tele today that he might be interested in :wink:
-
Looks like he needs a better backup guitar, surely Mr Wez can build a nice one and I bet he would give you a discont in the price if it's a Tele :lol:
if i built roo a guitar it had better not be his bloody back up!!
i was working on a tele today that he might be interested in :wink:
No offense, wez, and I'm sure your guitars are lovely and all, but please don't build me a tele!
:)
-
[Different tunings was my theory too, but I always seem to end up having them in the same tuning to use the different tones if I want.
haha, that happens me too. maybe we need to take a leaf out of twinfan's book? :oops:
-
I have 1 guitar, and no backups, or anything!!!! (do I win?!)
and I like tele's (based off a drunken experience of them, can't stand fender strats though)
but secretly I want 5 guitars for different tunings and ones with more strings
Different tunings was my theory too, but I always seem to end up having them in the same tuning to use the different tones if I want.
5 out of my 8 electrics are in C#/Drop B. The others are E (for teaching with), drop A and a 7 in B. Needless to say, my bass and acoustic are in C# or drop B as required.
if I had 5 guitars I'd tune my main one to C standard, the others would be drop D, 7 string in B, 8 string meshuggah style! and a dean ML accoustic in E standard
-
I have 1 guitar, and no backups, or anything!!!! (do I win?!)
and I like tele's (based off a drunken experience of them, can't stand fender strats though)
but secretly I want 5 guitars for different tunings and ones with more strings
Different tunings was my theory too, but I always seem to end up having them in the same tuning to use the different tones if I want.
5 out of my 8 electrics are in C#/Drop B. The others are E (for teaching with), drop A and a 7 in B. Needless to say, my bass and acoustic are in C# or drop B as required.
if I had 5 guitars I'd tune my main one to C standard, the others would be drop D, 7 string in B, 8 string meshuggah style! and a dean ML accoustic in E standard
yeah, that sounds a lot like what I was going to do too ;) Doesnt really work out that way.