Necessity or Desire: Is your best guitar holding you back?

[Zissou Intern]

After reading a couple recent threads, I am wondering what drives your GAS and subsequent purchasing of new guitars. Was it merely desire for something different or better, or was your guitar holding you back? Could you not make the music you heard in your head, so you just had to have a better guitar?

[NotveryGood]

The nagging feeling that the one you have just seen/read about might just be better than the one you already have

[YamahaGuy]

N + 1. The no. of guitars needed is N + 1 where N=the no. of guitars currently owned. Math is to blame.


For me, it's more about variety. Different combinations of wood, finish, better pickups: a guitar for every occasion.

[Coler]

For me, I recall about 6 years ago wanting to upgrade to a better guitar than I had, and I got a Martin D17M. That was a super dreadnought. Around that time I became strongly of the view that I was not as good a guitar player as I wanted to be, so I started to work pretty hard on improving technique, repertorie. I was coming from a perspective of primarily strumming along to accompany my own singing for the 25 years prior to that (I'm 44 now).

I made some good progress with the D17M and I started to enjoy my own playing a lot more. I decided I wanted to try a short scale 000 body guitar, so I picked up my 000-28, keeping the dreadnought too. A great pair.

I was then and am now lucky enough to have enough disposable income to pick up a guitar here and there if I wish. I was curious about the SC13E when it came out so I bought one, and I really liked it and planned to keep it.

Then, however, a D18MD came up in a local shop. Made the mistake of trying it. It was the first D18 I tried that was better than my D17M. I traded the D17M and the SC13E and some cash for it.

I was curious about resonators so I bought a new National O style 12 fretter. A great instrument but ultimately over the time I owned it (a couple of years) I didn't play it as much as I thought I would. So I part-traded that for my 12 string.

This led me in the direction of luthier Ciaran McNally (a member here). Seriously, that OM-12 string in my signature is an incredible guitar. Hard to describe how it manages to give that full 12 string sonic experience but with the beneficial elements of an OM body in terms of projection and clarity. Overall tone exceptional, playability exceptional. I was pretty set, with my dreadnought, 000 and the 12er.

But I was interested when the OM in my signature came up in another local shop. That's a real one off guitar, wouldn't come by again...so I part traded my D18MD for it.

Now, the 000-28, OM-12er and OM-F in my sig are all keepers and I think it's fair to say they are pretty distinctive. I probably play the 000-28 a little less than the other too but it's the beater/travel guitar too.

I do need a dread in my life, so I went back to Ciaran and ordered a custom and that's due to arrive in November so I'm pretty excited about that (standard build, adi on magogany if you're asking) as based on my other two guitars he built it's going to be stunning.

And that's pretty much me sorted and I don't intend to go shopping again (although who ever really knows). I think I'll have 3 six strings and a 12er that cover every possible base for me, and I have plenty of options to plug in without requiring onboard electronics.

In summary my GAS is pretty minor (relative to some) and came from a perspective of primarily wanting to own nice guitars, and wanting to own a range of different nice guitars that would help me to make the music I want to make.

[mawmow]

I came to solid wood acoustics some fifteen years ago and went from
playing chords as basic arpeggios to real melodic fingerstyle.
This path lead me to find the guitar specs that were more comfortable
to me and my hearing also lead me to acoustics and string sets that
would also sound better to my ears.
I bought some forty acoustics, including two resonators and a banjitar,
but now own ten acoustic guitars including three nylons, though I once
had twenty. So, my needs drove my apparent GAS.

[Osage]

I got my first good electric guitar when I was 16. Despite buying and selling literally hundreds of guitars, I haven't been held back since that day. At least not with an electric.

Early on I had a series of pretty bad acoustics but wasn't really an acoustic player until I was in my later 20's. Got my first decent one at 27 and haven't been held back since, despite buying and selling a bunch of them.

[musicman1951]

For me there is always a better instrument available, as my financial comfort level is short of my musical desires. top end trumpets are more affordable than top end guitars, while flutes and pianos are not - and I have them all. So compromises are made.

But I've had all fine instruments for many years now, so when I upgrade it's a totally selfish gratuity, none of my instruments have been holding me back.

[rllink]

I will have to admit it is a case of wanting to fit in with the bunch I'm playing with. I bought a dreadnaught because that is what everyone else was playing and now I'm buying a more expensive made in America dreadnaught because that is what everyone else is playing.

[sinistral]

Desire. It would be hard for me to say that any of my guitars “holds me back.” That said, some are more comfortable and playable than others. If I had to be honest with myself, one of my earliest acoustic guitar purchases—a 000-18—is still the most comfortable and easiest to play of all my guitars. That hasn’t stopped me from trying other guitars out of curiosity, mainly for different tones and/or body styles.

[davenumber2]

A guitar doesn't really hold you back unless it can't be setup to play well for one reason or another. If you don't like the tone of a guitar that's one thing but if you are a good player you can do it on a $500 guitar or a $5000 guitar.

[cliff_the_stiff]

in most cases it is desire. Tone hunting.
Once I found that I really sound better on a guitar with a 1 13/16 nut I have sought those guitars out. I’ve settled for 1 3/4 nut widths for superb guitars.

[jaymarsch]

My guitar acquisition journey has been fueled by three things over the years:
Purchasing power: I earned more so could get a guitar that played and sounded better to my ears and hands.
Player Experience: I became a better player and had a better idea of what I wanted in tone and dynamics to enhance the types of music I most wanted to play.
Ergonomic needs: Old injuries (fretting hand/shoulder) had me exploring the small tweaks in neck specs and scale length that a custom build makes possible.
I am pretty much dialed in almost 30 years and 14 guitars later. :-)
Best,
Jayne

[Mr. Jelly]

Better guitar? I don't think that term means anything in the realm of making music. I.E., influencing emotions through sound.

First off there are many different reasons for GAS. To answer your question, I'd say yes. And more because it all depends on a long list of "things". Different guitars react and sound different. Think of it as they are EQd differently. I have guitars that have a type of ragtime player piano sound that some licks, notes and strings are more prevalent than they are on other guitars. I play the same things on other guitars, and I have to focus and work at the getting those same notes, licks and strings to come across. When I try to aggressively flatpack that ragtime guitar it is floppy and can't stand up to the task. Especially on stage. Almost every guitar I have ever owned had some things that worked better on it than others. When a guitar does something well you utilize it more often and become more skilled with it. That carries on to different guitars that don't do it so well. Though those guitars may do something else well and the same influence occurs. This whole process doesn't work as well if you keep buying the same guitar over and over again. Those are tweaks that have their purposes also.

[zombywoof]

Nothing like that getting in the way. Combination of I have been one lucky SOB when it has come to guitars finding me and reaching an age where it just now seems plain silly to spend any kind of real bucks on one. That leaves me with trades. I just got nothing which would bring me anything I might want that I am willing to part with. The only motivation I have which could change things is as my hands get more crippled up, I find certain specs easier to deal with. But I will cross that bridge when I absolutely have to.

[Jim Comeaux]

No, not at all, at least in my case. I will never catch up to the potential of the first guitar that I bought, a Yamaha FG-830. Yes I bought three more after that and yes they were all supposedly “better” than the previous guitar that I bought. See the list below. They are in reverse order of the way that I bought them. Time invested in diligent practice and a realistic self evaluation has brought me to the conclusion that I have overkilled on GAS. I have been on this journey for two years now. I started at the very beginning of this pandemic thing, thinking quite correctly that I was in for a looong sentence of house arrest. I am now 75 years old and have a severely compromised immune system (liver transplant patient). Even though I decided right off the bat to teach myself, I have surprised myself with some significant progress. I still need to learn how to play back up and rhythm guitar, but I am happy with what I have accomplished so far. Even considering that, I can see that I just don’t have the years left in me to outperform even my most basic instrument. They are all good instruments. In fact they are very good instruments, especially considering their price points, with the possible exception of the RDS -11. I’m just not all that impressed with it. But irrespective of that, I am a firm believer in a person having reasonable expectations and in knowing his or her limitations. So I’ll just ignore the GAS, or at least try to.