Maybe playing guitars is not just about the function, but the passion. Maybe there’s no such thing as too many guitars. When I started, I was just trying to justify a set where I needed three different guitars and now I’m at 10 plus. Hell, what do you think I am? I’m a collector! Unless you’re on tour, if you have more than one of the same guitar in same tuning, you’re probably a collector. And, I’m willing to take a bit of heat on this. Now, I know I’m going to get a ton of heat for saying that everybody who has more than 7 guitars is technically a collector. Either case, this category is for those guitars that will do what a standard 6-string electric can’t. Or, you might need an acoustic so you can get the lighters going. You might need a 7-string to sound like a thunder god. #5, 6, 7, 8, & 9: Acoustics, Basses, Classicals, and Extended Range So, if you want to keep it in tune, you’d better get those guitars set-up for whatever tuning you’re using.
Even if you’re not, guitars don’t intonate the same at different tunings. If you are a Floyd user, you’ll likely want at least 3 guitars to accommodate alternate tunings, only because it’s a pain in the ass to retune a Floyd. There are many songs that have alternate tunings. It’s a special one that you’ll always look back on. This is more about nostalgia than anything else. So, here’s a list of how many guitars you’ll want to keep around. Most bands will have a minimum of one guitar per tuning at the ready, but what about the rest of us working stiffs?Īfter talking to The Tone King’s Facebook friends, I saw a trend in the answers. E Standard, D Standard, Down ½ step, Drop ‘D’, and that doesn’t even cover open tunings, if you’re into that sort of thing. There are songs in a ton of different tuning. How many guitars does a guitarist really need? Sounds like a joke (how many ? does it take to change a light bulb) But it’s not a joke, rather an important So, that brought me to Facebook to ask the question: Luckily for me, I hooked up with another guitarist that was able to loan me a few axes for the night. But, it would be much easier to use three different guitars instead. Sure, I could look like a goof as I change my tuning in-between each song, holding up the set and killing the vibe. Remembering the fact that I still had a set to perform with three different tunings. So, it should feel good under your fingertips) (I suspect the electronics work based on a core note that is tuned properly. Plus, it only works if the guitar is in perfect tune. Will I now need to spend $100 on a battery? That would suck. We all know it too well what happens when we tuck that guitar away for hibernation for a few years and revisit it as a lost love. Plus, you have to play it through an amplifier, otherwise your guitar will just be in standard. If it’s grossly out of whack, you’ll feel it in your fingertips. The only thing that concerns me is that if the guitar is ‘really’ out of tune, it may feel odd to play. The Peavey seems the most ideal, let the electronics do it for you. If it didn’t work in the store, how can I be assured that it’s going to work between sets. String tension the way it should be, making the playing comfortable. Either way, I wasn’t getting a good vibe from these ‘multi-tuning’ guitars, so I checked them out on my own. Makes me wonder, on this topic, are they hiding something? Too fragile to put in the hands of a reviewer of gear? I don’t know, but I almost always hear back from these dudes, especially when it comes to gear that can help players solve real life situations. Gibson’s awesome PR replied, but the guy behind loaner/evaluation gear didn’t reply at all. I actually reached out to Gibson, Peavey and Line 6 to give their ‘multi-tuning’ guitars a spin. Quickly, I realized that gimmicks don’t work and are never dependable. Even when they found the ‘little card,’ it still didn’t make much sense to us. Although they were friendly, the salesfolks didn’t know how the Min-ETune worked. I tried out the Gibson Min-ETune in GC in Orlando. There have been lots of let downs, like the Gibson Robot that took lots of criticism for not working properly. That got me thinking about a guitar that I could use where I could switch quickly between different tunings. That can be a pain in the ass, especially if I wanted to travel with just one guitar. When I was heading down to Orlando to play a show with SKNN, I knew I would have to play a set in three different tunings.