How many guitars is enough?

[Adamski]

Like many on the forum, I can sometimes play the guitar reasonably well…sometimes not so.

It begs the question how many guitars is enough and what guitars does one need anyway?

I am fortunate that my wife doesn’t give me a hard time about my “hobby” but perhaps because of this I think it’s contingent on me not to go too crazy. I have in the past owned multiple instruments from the same maker and whilst of course there are differences, with such a broad range of instruments out there it seems rather pointless to me to have so much overlap.

I have owned many and varied guitars and have played hundreds of instruments from the finest builders around the globe. I haven’t played instruments from every builder (I’ve not played a Circa, I’ve not played a 1937 D28, I’ve not played a Torres) but I have owned and played enough to be pretty comfortable that I currently own a pretty good wall of sound with little duplication/overlap.

My thinking is as follows:

I could own loads of less expensive guitars…or I could sell them all and buy “the one” a Somogyi, a Walker, a Traugott…but then I have just “one sound” and I would have something that I might be afraid to take anywhere and let anyone else play, which kind of defeats the object of having a social hobby like guitars.

So I need good guitars…really good guitars. I need guitars that are good enough that I’m not always looking to change them, and I need a few (but not too many) so I have some different sounds available and can leave them in different tunings should I wish to.

Number 1 - I am a big Martin Simpson fan so I “must” have a Sobell as nothing else really sounds like him, so I have a Brazilian Rosewood Sobell New World. I have owned a Model 0, a Model 1 and have played many others besides. This one is particularly good. The only one I have played that I think rivals this as an all-round instrument is the ex-Martin Simpson scantling Model 1 that Martin used for The Bramble Briar album which was owned for a while by SteveH, that was an exceptional guitar.

Number 2 - I need to have a traditional OM as they are so flexible and they have that “woody” sort of Martin sound, hence the Martin OM28 Authentic 1931. This was a journey and I am very happy with the results of this. It’s a surprisingly good instrument for one that’s come out of a factory and it rivals many single luthier instruments I’ve played. It looks good, feels good, is as light as a feather and although quite an expensive instrument it isn’t one I need to be too precious about.

Number 3 - I need an electric and although I don’t play often when I have owned cheap ones I haven’t played at all so I need something good. I have alway preferred the elegant headstock and styling of the Telecaster (but not the rather hit or miss Fender build quality) so a Hahn 228 is perfect. It has a nice chunky neck, beautiful retro played-in feel and period vintage electrics and incredible sustain for a lightly strung solid body instrument. It was a bargain and although there are some small-shop builders who make better instruments this is more than good enough and far better than anything you might find hanging on the wall in a a local music store!

Number 4 - I need a nylon strung instrument but I can’t get on with classical guitars because of the slab like fingerboard and wide nut. Many of the high quality crossover guitars end up having “classical style appointments” (bridge, rosette, headstock) and that is the last thing I wanted so I needed to start from a clean slate. Stephen Eden, one of the UK’s top classical builders was kind enough to undertake an “interesting project” for me and it is perfect for me - sounds amazing, nice “firm” feel from the strings, a brighter sound than you might expect and none of that psudo-Spanish look that one sees with even “modern” classical instruments.

Number 5 - Lastly, or perhaps firstly, there’s my Tom Sands OMc...his first proper commission when he was still apprenticed to Ervin Sommogyi (and my first commission too) - straight grained wenge and tight grained European spruce, built with Ervin looking over his shoulder. This is, by some margin, the best guitar I have ever owned and indeed ever played. This will do everything, ultra-low buzz-free action, loud, loads of bass, articulate, great balance, great sustain beautifully clear but complex sound… as near perfect as you can get. Nobody who has played this guitar hasn’t either been blown away or commissioned a Sands immediately after playing it. If my house caught fire this is what I would grab.

So that’s it. 3 acoustic flat tops, 1 nylon strung, 1 electric. 5 in total. A great stable of very different, very good, very pretty instruments.

I could get a 12 string (and might), I could get a vintage resonator (and might), I could get an mahogany OM as a compliment to the rosewood one (and might), I could buy an archtop (but won’t), I could buy a Gypsy Jazz guitar (but won’t), I could buy a terz guitar (but won’t). Given that I’m not a guitarist and this is not my full-time job, and I have little enough time to play the guitars I already have I, I struggle to justify more space and expense to increase this collection.

What have you got…and why…and why do you think it’s a good combination.

[warfrat73]

As I'm sure you know, the right and proper answer to this question is "One more."

But, realistically, if you play in different styles, I agree that it's important to have guitars that really suit those styles.

I have guitars that are more specialists... my Northwood for fingerstyle, and my CS D-18 for bluegrass... and more generalists like my Bourgeois and OM-21. I think, if I were a reasonable person, I could get away with just the Bourgeois and a campfire guitar... but it just doesn't sound or feel right for some of the things I try to do and I can hear the differences.

[mr. beaumont]

For me to be creatively happy, I need enough guitars to cover the sounds I hear in my head.

[Joel Teel]

There is actually a mathematical equation for this:

X + 1 = Z

X being the current number of guitars a person owns
Z being the optimum number of guitars said person should own

[RalphH]

One guitar is enough for me!

You've got a great list in terms of covering everything anyone could ever need, but for what I play - mostly strumming, with some flatpicking and some fingerpicking, and convenience being a concern, one is enough.

[RP]

I think the correct answer for most of us is fewer than we either believe or currently own...

[MThomson]

Thanks for the detail in the question, I always find it interesting to see how other people identify what they want in a guitar collection. I don't have a lot of time to play (young kids, blah, blah, blah) so what I need is something I can just grab depending on the type of music I want. I also don't like working out what fits what, so I prefer to have fewer guitars and just make the most of what I can get. For me this has reduced down to 3 guitars, 1 steel string flat top, 1 classical, 1 electric.

For many years I played a cheap Morris Tornado acoustic. But this year, I'm getting my upgrade to a Taran Tirga Mhor. This is 000ish in size and with a Swiss Spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides, I'm hoping is versatile enough to let me enjoy whatever fingerstyle or strumming I care to do on any given day.

My classical is a Yamaha G240 that I got for free from a neighbour when I was 12. In all honesty, this will be upgraded in the future for whenever I want that nylon string sound, or have a nostalgic yearning to play some classical stuff again.

Finally I have a 1998 American Roadhouse Stratocaster in 3 tone sunburst. It is one of the most beautiful looking electrics I've ever seen (in my opinion). I very rarely play it, because it takes too long to get the sound even remotely close to what I'm looking for. I harbour a suspicion that I should have gone for a Les Paul, but I've had this for over 20 years and I'm not backing out of my mistake now.

[brencat]

I currently own 6, would be just fine with 4, and they are all slight variations on a similar theme: dread body, vintage voice, primarily for bluegrass flatpicking, but versatile and responsive enough for most other styles.

[Mycroft]

A person needs one guitar if they want to be a guitar player. No more, no less. And more than that is gravy.

[rstaight]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

A person needs one guitar if they want to be a guitar player. No more, no less. And more than that is gravy.

I like lots of gravy.

[Lillis]

I’m thrilled to have the five in my signature. They cover more ground than I can and are the best I could reasonably afford.

[Rosewood99]

If only this question has been asked before.

[raysachs]

We each get to define "enough" for ourselves, in ALL aspects of life.

For me with guitars, enough is one electric and one acoustic. Luxury is two electrics and two acoustics. Any more than that I start running out of physical and mental space and it becomes a burden more than a pleasure. I have two of each at the moment and a strict one in, one out policy.

-Ray

[ghostnote]

There is, of course, no right answer. Nor is there a wrong answer. Just different strokes for different folks. I have a lot of guitars, but I didn't start out hoping that would happen - it just did. I have never bought a guitar because it fit a need I thought I had; I never got into the minutiae the way a lot of folks around here do. I mean, I know a lot of that stuff simply because of how long I've been playing. (and also how many years I've spent on music forums of all kinds) To me, it's always been "How's it feel? How's it sound? Can I afford it?", rather than "what's it made of? What's the radius? Nut width? Bracing?" I don't care about any of that, as long as it's a good guitar.

[Rev Roy]

I’m certainly not a pro. And I don’t gig. I’m a hack who took up guitar as my retirement hobby. So it’s pretty simple for me. If I can afford it and it brings me joy I buy it. I really only “need” one. The rest are just about expanding the joy.