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5K views 33 replies 26 participants last post by  Robotechnology 
#1 ·
I keep coming up with ideas for guitars I want for specific uses (i.e. a nice custom Strat for the nice neck-pickup sounds, a Les Paul that actually feels comfortable for me, a baritone 7-string, a Tele-type with a carved top and only a bridge humbucker and a Strat-type hardtail for simple rhythm/punk type stuff) and was wondering if anyone else had dream guitars that could really only be used for one thing or had a bunch of ideas for very different guitars you'd want
 
#2 ·
Well, I guess we all dream in having guitars for all styles and applications.
For instance, I wanted to have a '50's strat and a tele for Pink Floyd stuff (and also for some blues).
A Les Paul for some Zakk Wylde and rythm riffing.
A Parker Fly for the awesome playability and looks, a Steinberger for travelling, and an EB/MM JPM in every color they're availiable because I'm a JP freak!!! :roll:

:lol:
 
#3 ·
Yeah I agree, if we all admitted it, we could never have enough guitars! If it was up to us, most of us would have different guitars for different types of music and songs.

But unfortuantely most of us cannot afford that!
And I never think there will be the "ultimate" guitar as such. If there is I am yet to find it. There is no guitar so versatile that you dont need any other guitar, cos everybody would own one!

You can say what you like about some guitars, the JEM for one, but you always want something "extra" and something different. It is one of the most versatile though.

But thats the world of guitars I suppose!
Gary - The.Godfather
 
#4 ·
The quest for variety is what led me to clear out most of my Ibanez collection. If I wanted or needed a particular tone, I wanted to have a guitar that would make that possible. So I've ended up with a couple of nice Les Pauls, a nice hollowbody, a great Strat, a 7-string, a baritone, a classical, a couple of killer acoustics, electric and acoustic 12-strings, etc. I can honestly say that I'm having more fun now than I ever did when I had 20+ different JEMS/JS/J-Customs. There's a lot to be said for variety :)
 
#9 ·
Im working towards that sort of setup just now because I don't play live and have no need for multiple guitar sounds. Unlike many, I don't need my tone to be 'perfect' which is why I own a POD (gotta love these). That combined with my hopefully-to-be H-S-H + Midi Pickup with coil splits should give me a lot of tones. Versatility is the name of the game!

Joe
 
#12 ·
vaijem777 said:
The quest for variety is what led me to clear out most of my Ibanez collection... I can honestly say that I'm having more fun now than I ever did when I had 20+ different JEMS/JS/J-Customs. There's a lot to be said for variety :)
Interestingly, I've gone the other way, from incredibly varied tastes including a vintage fender to a high end PRS, I still found I was using my RG550 more than anything else. As such I only have Ibanez electrics at the moment. Maybe a variety of varieties is the key ?!?!?! ;)
 
#15 ·
Who NEEDS multiple tones? Well...I guess that it would depend on whether or not you do much studio work. If you're playing on other people's stuff, they may have an idea of what type of sound they want. If somebody wants a Strat on a particular song, then it's a good idea to have a Strat. Even though an RG might have some nice tones with the 2nd & 4th positions, I've yet to find one that sounds exactly like a Strat. Likewise with a Les Paul- a lot of guitars come close, but...sometimes close isn't good enough. There's nothing like the real thing! :)
 
#16 ·
vaijem777 said:
Who NEEDS multiple tones? Well...I guess that it would depend on whether or not you do much studio work. If you're playing on other people's stuff, they may have an idea of what type of sound they want.
I completely agree. Let me rephrase:how many of us do sessions? :D

What I do need, or at least like very much, is having 3 guitars, because I don't have or want a band, so I jam along with CDs, and I can have one in D, one in Eb and one in E.
 
#17 ·
I definately see the attraction of having multiple brands and styles of guitars. If it's within your means and it's something you love to do, why not? On the other hand, I wouldn't feel bad about owning only one kind of guitar if it's what you love. I personally can appreciate the clean jangle of a nice strat, but it's not something I want enough to spend the money. 99% of the time, my RG and JEM are everything I want. And usually, although it's not as fun, I can run some effects setup to simulate the other tones close enough.

One day when I've been discovered and millions of quivering young ladies buy my album, I'll buy more guitars and not worry. Until then, I'm just going to buy what I like within the finances I can afford.
 
#18 ·
jem7vwh said:
I definately see the attraction of having multiple brands and styles of guitars. If it's within your means and it's something you love to do, why not? On the other hand, I wouldn't feel bad about owning only one kind of guitar if it's what you love. I personally can appreciate the clean jangle of a nice strat, but it's not something I want enough to spend the money. 99% of the time, my RG and JEM are everything I want. And usually, although it's not as fun, I can run some effects setup to simulate the other tones close enough.

One day when I've been discovered and millions of quivering young ladies buy my album, I'll buy more guitars and not worry. Until then, I'm just going to buy what I like within the finances I can afford.
No truer words could be spoken :)
 
#19 ·
I've made myself a couple 9-strings at times. Don't get excited, I don't mean 9 seperate strings, rather top three strings singles, and bottom three doubled, like half a 12-string. I sold both because the offers were too good. But not before getting some good use out of them. They were fun while they lasted. You can play 12-string strums and still do solos. They both had piezo's too, so you could really simulate an acoustic 12 very well, since acoustic 12's are usually EQ'd so chimey and thin in the mix anyway. The lack of doubled high strings and octave on the G really aren't missed at all. Especially when you think about how often that octave G string breaks.

As far as having multiple guitars, I do have tons of them, and some are very specific. For me it's not so much about budget as it is facility, since I make them, or buy some of them cheap and broken, and then resurrect them. Sometimes I'll buy a cheap used junker guitar because the store doesn't see that there's three good dimarzios or duncans in there. Then I can resurrect the guitar with pooper pickups from something else and get more than I paid, left with the pickups, or other parts. And everyone is happy! So I would say that if I just had to go buy all my various guitars and pay for the customizing, I'd probably have three good "multi-purpose" electrics total.
 
#23 ·
I have 9 or 10 guitars at the moment.

What really sets a guitar apart for me (in terms of tone) is the wood, and the neck construction.

My Basswood wood guitars all sound the sameas each other, as do my alder guitars. The only gutiar I have that has a wildly different tone is my Charvel 550 xl thruneck. It is much darker, as you would expect.

That for me is one of the frustrating things about the Jem line up. Why not make a thruneck? I know that Vai doesn't play them, but you can't tell me he plays the 555 either. And lets face it there must be a market for it.

To return to the point, I built a custom strat last year, alder maple neck, schaller fr, dimarzio HSS (with bridge coil tap) and I can get virtually any sound I want. The question is in that case: why do I keep it in the bridge position, with the amp at 11 all the time?
 
#24 ·
One day when i have my own dedicated music room in my house, i'd like to have one of each flavour of guitar.

- a Strat
- a Tele
- a Les Paul
- a Danelectro
- a Gretsch
- something with P-90s
- a 12-string electric (maybe a Rickenbacker)
- an archtop
- a nylon string acoustic
- a steel-string acoustic
- a 12-string acoustic
- etc.
 
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