If you've found a great guitar, should you continue to search greater?

[Br1ck]

I would not actively go hunting, nor would I play much beyond your comfort zone. So if you are comfortable at $3000, play that used SCGC that is $5000, but not the $7500 new one. I found happiness doing exactly that. I go to Gryphon about four times a year to stock up on strings, and play maybe two or three guitars. The Santa Cruz grabbed me by the throat.

Until that I was immune to the many boutique brands I played. A D 18 is hard to beat, but never say never. One thing is for certain, seek and ye shall find.

[H165]

If you've found a great guitar, should you continue to search greater?

Yes. This is part of what makes life interesting

[Mandobart]

This discussion is about people's personalities, not guitars.

Some folks get a guitar, like it and play it. Some people can never be satisfied and keep cycling through one guitar after another. I don't think it has much to do with skill level or playing style. It's all about how you're wired.

I have several stringed instruments that I love to play. I've never sold or traded one to get another. When I choose another instrument it's because I'm after something additional, something that can do what my current instruments cannot.

I would say do what brings you joy (without bringing sorrow to others). I do know some, however, in the revolving door guitar cycle that will never know joy (from their guitars) because they are unable to be content. Or because what they're really searching for is a shortcut to the work of learning to improve their playing.

[Steve DeRosa]

Isn't that an unofficial requirement for AGF membership...,?

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by JackC1

How did you find your great guitar?
If you were happy and totally satisfied with a previous guitar, what caused you to look?

I bought a Larrivee in 1981. I was alerted to the brand after hearing Bruce Cockburn's live album Circles In The Stream. It was the sound I had been hearing in my head for years. Took a few years to find them for sale anywhere.

In the next 35 years, the only acoustic guitars I bought were a couple of used Larrivee L bodies, to give me stage guitars I wouldn't need to worry about.

Finally, after 39 years, I bought my first Irvin guitar. It provides me with my preferred Larrivee-like tone, but with an upgrade in responsiveness and versatility. I no longer need to take my irreplaceable 45 year old guitar to gigs and rehearsals.

Unlike many (most?) here on AGF, I fuss over finding the tool I want, and then when I have it, I am done with the hunt. I move on to playing, recording and performing.

I have seen how I am susceptible to gear lust and indecision and consciously choose to avoid it so I can spend my shockingly limited time here on Earth creating music (instead of thinking about creating music).

After decades, I finally realized that the illusion of choice is like Kryptonite to me. Maybe for others it is a source of knowledge.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

“Settling” has never made me happy. I’m the curious/adventurous type. In life…and my guitar journey.

By all means, then keep searching.

[abn556]

I don’t think another guitar has to be better than the ones I play a lot now. It just needs to be different. Different size, different tone, different look, different feel, etc…

My first “the guitar” was a mid 70s LP Gold Top Deluxe. I was looking for a LP and a buddy called and said I have your guitar. Come get it. I have owned many “the” guitars since then. I have always loved guitars and I like looking at new possibilities for something else to add. Realistically I could add a good dread and that would be probably it for me. At 62 I don’t know how many more guitars I really need.

+

[ssstewart]

my search for the perfect guitar will prob never end as my wishes and music have evolved over the decades. got my first "perfect guitar when i was around 12. then at 15 with my 57 hollowbody. then at 19 with a gordon lightfoot signature 12, then again and again many dozen of times. my last "perfect guitar was around a year ago, my James Malejczuk OM custom black limba. Just turned 55 yesterday so cant wait for my next perfect guitar

[buddyhu]

Depends on who you are, and on your particular journey.


I started playing in HS, and for many years the only guitar I had much experience with was my Yamaha FG180. It was good enough for what i was doing….but i wasnt doing much: i had a friend or two that i’d jam with from time to time, and I inconsistently played for my own pleasure.

When I started taking lessons 12 years ago, and developed more skills and a broader repertoire, I started recognizing the limitations of the Yamaha. And i also got exposed to many more fine instruments: first my teacher’s guitars (he owned about 25-30), and then as I started jamming more frequently and with a wider variety of people, I heard other fine guitars.

I started exploring some of the other possibilities, and bought some guitars…and I am very happy I have done so. I have owned a Martin, a Taylor, a Guild, some Collings, some Santa Cruz, a Webber, and guitars by a few other makers. Most of the time, i have purchased used guitars, so if I didnt bond with a guitar, there wasnt a big financial loss. For me, spending $2K to $5K on a used guitar is a worthwhile expenditure.

Could I have been happy with some of the guitars that I no longer own (which included brief ownership of a D18)? Perhaps. Am I happier having gone on my guitar buying journey and trying many instruments, and now owning the kinds if guitars (Collings, Santa Cruz) mentioned by OP? Yes. Undoubtedly.

But your path might be very different from mine…

[Monty Christo]

Every now and then I like to go poke around in the shops, just to test the waters. So far, I've come up with no guitar that would replace either of mine. As much as I've enjoyed playing some of the high-end offerings, I'm fortunate in that I dislike bling, complex overtones, and exotic woods.

I enjoy these shopping outings, but mostly because it's reassuring to verify that my trusty Gibson and Waterloo are really what I prefer to anything else. So far, anyway!

[Vol46]

I love my D18. Bought it new in 2016. For traveling & some of my fingerstyle stuff, I’ve used a spruce over mahogany Blueridge OM that is a few years older than the D18.
I recently ( like other posters have suggested) started looking for something a little different to replace the Blueridge. Smaller than my dread, maybe with some different woods. Visited some nice guitar shops and tried different instruments and boutique builders.
I can definitely say that for me it was a fun experience - expanded my horizons & has me exploring some new & different songs & genres. Oh, & I ended up with a nice Lowden

[6L6]

I really enjoy owning and playing different guitars. CL is my friend when I want to sell a guitar and try something else.

[Zissou Intern]

Awhile back I realized I was just rearranging deck chairs by constantly cycling through guitars. So I decided to stay with what I have. If another guitar finds me, that's cool. I’m not looking.

[dbvirago]

Maybe better. Maybe different. My first guitar was good, but I wanted better so I got a Taylor 814Ce. I may or may not ever get or need anything better. But I got a GT because I wanted something smaller to practice on. And because it was Taylor Days, I took home a GS Mini for travel.

[Glennwillow]

I think it's fun to try out other guitars to see what's out there. Nobody has to buy another guitar if the guitar you have is already better than anything else out there.

But you never know. You might find something that is just different that you also would like to consider. So much depends on your resources.

I have about a dozen good acoustic guitars. I stopped looking in retirement because I simply can't afford to keep buying guitars now. But I'm still curious.

- Glenn