My Best Playing Guitar...

[Arnie Guitar]

I am fortunate to own many guitars...33 to be exact, and something very odd happened to me the other day.
With so many guitars, some go unplayed for a long, long time. I have a PRS Custom 22 Soapbar that I always considered to be one of my best playing guitars...well I pulled the old girl from the case the other day, and it played like junk, plus it didn't feel very comfortable wearing it either. I was totally confused...the action looked good...nothing looked "wrong", but it felt like a stranger, and when I first bought it, and every time I oplayed it after that, it felt like an old friend, like it had been my number one guitar forever.
It made me rethink having so many guitars...leaving them unplayed is obviously not a good thing. By the by, I always thoroughly clean my guitars before they go in the case, so that wasn't it. Maybe it's because I've been playing a vintage BCR exclusively for the past 4 or so years...I dunno...So maybe it's like a Strat guy picking up his old LP and thinking, "I played this?"

Any one else with lots of guitars ever had the same experience where a guitar that always felt good, didn't feel so good after sitting in the case for a long time?

[JoeNewbie]

My analogy isn't entirely accurate but I have a piano which I used to play every day. On certain days, it sounded great. On other days, it sounded like crap.

Same with my guitars. On certain days, I just can't seem to keep them in tune or I just feel like they sound too thin.

I'd say give your guitar a few more chances before drawing a conclusion.

[metheniac]

With so many choices out there these days, its hard not to find a good combination of guitars and hardware to suit my playing style.

[Telecaster62]

In my case I find that having fewer instruments that do exactly what I want is better than having lot's that I can't spend quality time bonding with. Lot's of guitar heroes have a very few select instruments and some guys have arsenals that are mind boggling. You have to decide where you stand. I'm so OCD that it drives me crazy to have an instrument lying around that I don't feel like playing. I think it's pure brain chemistry. After 22 years with my wife she is very familiar to me. Another woman might be temporarily exciting but just wouldn't feel right in the long run. I guess maybe I'm just nuts.....LOL

[CRAIG4FSU]

Originally Posted by Arnie Guitar

I am fortunate to own many guitars...33 to be exact,

I dig looking at collections.Let's see them.

[Tone_Terrific]

I've done that pull out an oldie thing and had similar results.
Plus, it didn't sound as good as it should.
Yet, keep playing it and it seemed to renew itself, both the tone and the feel.
It's kind of like they go rusty and dull just from sitting there.

[Griz]

Originally Posted by Arnie Guitar

Any one else with lots of guitars ever had the same experience where a guitar that always felt good, didn't feel so good after sitting in the case for a long time?

Yes, especially acoustic guitars. I have a lovely old D28 Martin that remains cranky with me for a couple of days if I try playing it after a lengthy hiatus. Not just the feel, but the voice of the instrument doesn't seem right at first.

Electric-wise, it seems to be mainly a matter of whether there's a big difference between instruments in neck contour or string spacing.

I think that your hands and ears automatically adjust to these differences; so if an instrument hasn't been played in a long time, you will have unconsciously adjusted away from its feel.

[Presc]

Some days just aren't the day for a certain guitar.

I really only have two electrics - a G&L Legacy and a Heritage 535. Both are great, but on any given day the G&L might feel totally unsatisfying in my hands and the Heritage great or vice versa. If I play one exclusively for too long the other one sometimes feels kind of weird because of the different scale, nut width, and neck shape.

[usc96]

I have no where near the number of guitar you have, but i think it's normal to prefer one over another on a given day due to the sound. For example, this week I've been playing my nocaster and am wondering why I haven't played it in a while. The honk on the E and A strings sound amazing.

Sometimes I wonder if it has something to do with the humidity or air pressure that affects they way we hear?

Comfort is also a factor. My strat is my most comfortable guitar by far. The 9 lb LP is the least comfortable. However, the LP has a unique sound so it stays in the rotation.

[bsteff666]

I know exactly what you mean. It happens to me too.

I also have lots of guitars...like sixty-some guitars (I think 67 guitars but I'm not sure) and I go through phases of being really into certain guitars....or certain types of guitars (such as a big Tele or SG kick).

A couple of years ago...I was so into my early strat-head Charvels. That was all I played. But for the last two years or so...I've been playing in a rockabilly/punk kind of band & playing Teles & Gretsches. I still love my Charvels...but it feels kind of weird when I pick one up these days.

There is a small handful (like 4 or 5 guitars) that always feel like home no matter what happens or how long I get away from playing them for.

[Bo Faulkner]

Hmm sounds like a classic case of your old favorite being mad at you for not playing it. If you take it out to a few gigs it will come around...

[gixxerrock]

I have noticed the same the same thing with acoustics. After about 45 minutes of playing it opens up and sounds much better. Obviously, the change could also be fully attributed to technique.

[mildperv]

I was on a Strat kick for awhile. Played it so much I needed to change strings but didn't have any. Pulled out the 335, easily the best sounding of my dozen or so gits. It was cold and stiff and didn't want to do anything I asked it.

Took about half a day before everything loosened and opened up. She was just being a biotch...

[GuitarsFromMars]

The guitar hasn't gotten played syndrome is familiar,sometime it's more(instrument needs a set up/intonation),sometimes it really is a matter of not playing the guitar in question.I have 7 instruments I use on a semi-regular basis.

[Zero_]

Sounds like a "bad tone day" ... I experience this regularly, and it sucks. The problem seems to lie mainly in our ears, not in the gear.

Try playing a guitar in the morning or in the evening.. it can sound completely different.