anyone ever consolidate all your guitars to one?

[Paleolith54]

Thinking of selling 5 $1500 guitars and getting a $4500 guitar anyone do this and stand pat?

I did it more gradually, but yeah. One that I play, one that's really just a gig backup that I hardly touch.

 

[ahhlou]

one guitar??? Ohh the horror...

 

[DrumBob]

I thought this was going to be another, "Has anyone sold off all their guitars and kept one?" thread. Glad it isn't.

You might be bored with just one.

 

[pattste]

I bought my dream acoustic from a local luthier and immediately sold my other two acoustics because it was obvious I would never enjoy playing them again. This was about 15 months ago and I have not regretted it for a minute. Soon after, I commissionned an electric from that same luthier and sold my other electrics except for one, my Gibson LP R0 which had been my number one for about seven years. Since taking delivery of my custom built electric, I have played my Les Paul for maybe two hours. I'm keeping it for now, even though it feels a bit strange to have a $5K custom shop guitar as a backup.

 

[moPHOmo]

I can't even bring myself to rid myself of a crappy Korean "Royce" brand Hummingbird copy. One day I will post a thread about it.

 

[WhiskeyWhiskers]

I’m down to a Tele. Got an itch for a "metal" guitar recently, returned it literally the next day. Yeah, it was fun, but I felt like I was playing a toy and I looked like a dork with the pointy headstock. I think the Tele is about as close to a "do everything" guitar as you can get. I might try some hotter pickups in the Tele to bridge the gap a little.

 

[bertramladner]

What does the 4500,- have the other 5 don't? There can't be a lot wrong with a 1500,- guitar. I personally never spent more than 700,- on a guitar. I would like to have a choice of different kind of guitars and I like to tinker and mod. With one 4500,- guitar choice and modding is out of the question. Must be a very special guitar.

1954 reissue Les Paul Custom looked nice

 

[bertramladner]

But are you going to tell us what 4500,- guitar is on your mind? Please.

I was thinking of a 54’ RI Les Paul Custom, a Dano, a vintage ES-335 something like that

 

[Dexter.Sinister]

Thinking of selling 5 $1500 guitars and getting a $4500 guitar anyone do this and stand pat?

Nope.

There was a time when I played on only one guitar. I was very (very) poor and was gifted a very (very) fine guitar by my manager (a Les Paul custom). I loved that guitar and made it do whatever I needed, imperfectly. It is worth way more than your limit, but axechewally, I am better served by less expensive instruments that cover more bases.

But I admire slim rigs, for sure. My place is like a guitar player's warehouse and would feel better with fewer instruments and amps. But they all pay their way (or get escorted out), so I accept the burden of stuffness. Admire austerity, though.

 

[Guppie]

I was thinking of a 54’ RI Les Paul Custom, a Dano, a vintage ES-335 something like that

I wouldn't do it. You already name 3 different guitars you might like.

 

[CapnRex]

I have 4 but really need 3. I have an hss and a sss strat where I could just one, but it's nice to have both!

HSS
SSS
LP
RG

 

[LagunaMan]

I would do it but consolidate them into two of the same guitars as I need one as a backup if something was to happen to the other. I really like strats with single coils over any other guitar so that's what I would buy and would be happy forever.

 

[kafka]

Just this guy. Didn't really cure his GAS, either.

Nielsen

• kafka
• Dec 4, 2019

 

[twoheadedboy]

I recently sold my last two guitars. I have a bass and my keyboard gear and that's it. I'm not sure if I'll buy another guitar. For now, I'll play my keys and bass and see if I feel compelled to get another guitar.

 

[RBH]

Wow - I was just thinking of consolidation as like one 18 neck guitar. Be a hassle to take on the bus though.

 

[AaeCee]

Consolidate into one??

That would be one heavy guitar.

 

[stevel]

Thinking of selling 5 $1500 guitars and getting a $4500 guitar anyone do this and stand pat?

Ahh, the first world problems.

 

[middlechainringguy]

I was once in a band wherein as a group, it was decided to purchase a van. Then trouble came up, and I got stuck with the bill. As a result, I had to liquidate everything I had, guitar and amp-wise, and was forced to own just one guitar, and one amp. This was from a fairly sizable collection of custom made and vintage guitars back in the 1970's.

I got back up to a nice collection aqain after about ten years, and was put in a similar situation with my wife's business partners taking off on her and leaving her stuck with a lot of debt. They were later found and thrown in jail, but the damage was already done.
I was again left with one guitar and one amp.

I am now 71, and have amassed the guitars and amps I currently use, but nothing like the collections I previously owned and used. At this point, I am happy to have the guitars I use, and am not interested in going back to the larger grouping I previously had and used.

But, I am happy that at least I did have and use the guitars I did. If I were to be able to do it again, while some of the guitars might be different, others would not be changed out.

Thanks - great story. May I ask which guitar and amp survived the first time, and which the second time?

 

[GaryMcT]

If I had to do this it’d probably be my Les Paul Special. Don’t plan on doing it anytime soon though.

 

[JMorgan]

If your guitar playing is your profession and you need the tones those other guitars give you in order to pay the bills then by no means should you sell them. However if you’re a hobbyist and play local gigs for fun, then it could be justifiable. If that one guitar really speaks to you, if you really feel that you have a bond with it, then do it. Personally I end up setting the EQ of my rig as to make every guitar I’ve owned sound as close to the others as possible. I guess I just have a sound in my head and regardless of the guitar I’m playing I try to get “that” sound. Of course a Strat will never sound like a Les Paul, but I still find myself going for a similarly bright, open, airy tone with everything. So, yeah, if you find a guitar you really love, one that you will always regret not buying, and it takes selling a few off to get it, I say do it. In fact I did the exact same thing recently and went down to a single guitar and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. It covers all of the ground I need it to, I never feel like I’m being held back by having just one guitar, and it just feels like home to me. Only you really know if you can or should do it. And like so many have said, you can always buy another one day!