Why Do So Many 'Giggers' Not Play Their Good Guitars Live?

[jklotz]

I put a lot of time and effort into making my Eastman e20-om a gigging guitar. By that, I mean I found the right pickup system (dazzo and sunnaudio mic), tweaked it until it works exactly the way I want it to and paired it with a sunaudio ms-2 preamp. I spent a considerable amount of time moving the mic around inside the body, playing with the eq, trying different input impedances, installing a strap button, etc. Some folks ask me why I have those nice guitars in the house and gig my Eastman. I tell them I have different guitars for different purposes and have them set up for that. I'm not making a compromise. That guitar sounds better plugged in than anything else I have. Would I make a solo acoustic record with it? No. It's optimized for live performance. Could I have done that with my custom single luthier built guitars, my Collings or my Huss and Dalton? Sure. But what would I have for recording then? Actually, I'd feel like I was making a compromise if I took anything else to a gig. Horses for courses as they like to say on the other side of the pond.

[phydaux]

IMO it's because my best sounding unplugged acoustic guitar is not necessarily my best sounding plugged in acoustic guitar.

[Mark Stone]

Originally Posted by Wellington

I know the obvious answer I guess, they don't want them damaged, but i can never wrap my head around it, if I was a performer I can't imagine buying a cheaper guitar with a preamp to perform with and leaving my Guild (favourite guitar) at home. Why would I sacrifice my preferred tone, aesthetics, playability etc because I'm afraid of guitar scars? I realize you can buy good cheap guitars etc, but aren't you always compromising?

Different strokes for different folks, but I guess I just don't understand different folks, lol

I'm with ya - I play my premium $4,000 Taylor 814ce on 99% of my stages. The only exception is when the song selection requires me to drive the songs, and I'll use the percussiveness of the 110e in that circumstance.

Caveat? I don't play in bars and clubs and such any longer, although I do have a profitable past in those venues. I probably wouldn't take the 814ce to a rowdy bar, but nowadays I'm playing in a super-calm Lutheran fellowship that wouldn't hurt a fly and needs a lot of fingerstylin' to set the mood.

[Hoyt]

98.563% of those listening won’t know the difference, assuming one is using a reasonable guitar. Plus, one is likely playing covers for a bar crowd.

Now if one had a large following of musicians, best to show up with at least a D28, J45, etc.

Creating a song and needing inspiration is different.

[Mark Stone]

Originally Posted by Hoyt

98.563%

I thought it was 98.564% - I'll need to go check.

Creating a song and needing inspiration is different.

Good point.

[jaymarsch]

Quite a few touring singer songwriters do gig with their best guitars.
Mary Chapin Carpenter plays her Grevens and her Huss & Daltons
Eliza Gilkyson, her vintage Gibsons
Mary Gauthier, her vintage Gibson
Janis Ian, her Santa Cruz guitars
Martin Simpson, his Sobells
Mark Erelli, his TJ Thompson
Cliff Eberhardt, his luthier built guitar whose name escapes me,
Gretchen Peters, her Collings guitar
Brandi Carlile, her Collings guitar
Jackson Browne seems to tour with ALL of his guitars :-)
David Wilcox used to tour with his Olson and then played a Rainsong for a while and
Patty Larkin tours with her Olson and a vintage Strat
So, I guess that it just depends.
Best,
Jayne

[Robin, Wales]

Having run the desk at open mic's, I would have to say that most folks don't own expensive guitars (at least where I live) and turn up with $250 guitars because that's all they own. Some may have a passive p/u, some may have a cheap barn door system (inevitably with a flat battery!) but most will have no p/u at all. And as the "sound guy" you only have a couple of minutes to sort whatever act is in front of you. Many don't sing into a mic' at home, or play plugged in at home. So I saw my job to keep everything as calm and natural as possible. I'd get folks to stand or sit and play just like they do at home and then I would just sympathetically reinforce their natural sound. No more.

If someone did turn up with a nice guitar, their own pre-amp system etc and seemed to know what they were doing then I'd give them a small acoustic amp (some would bring thier own) and tell them to get exactly the tone they wanted themselves. Then I would mic' the amp (not use line out) to balance guitar and vocals as required.

Then you had those folks who turned up with a D-28 and a big voice who were used to pure acoustic campfire and session playing. They were happiest with just a single large diaphragm condenser mic' they could stand a little way back from and fill the room with sound.

I saw a sound desk in panic at Shrewsbury Folk Festival when Jonathan Byrd turned up with just a D-18 with no p/u at a 5000 seat stage. His comment was along the lines of "I don't have a pickup on my voice, why should I need one on my guitar?" Just a couple of mic's and he sounded great! I actually think that they could have done just as well with only one mic'.

I am biased towards purely acoustic music. Some weeks at the local open mic we would ditch the p/a entirely and have the small stage in the bar room free of any kit. It is a great concept and surprising how differently the audience behaves. But then again, folks in these parts are used to purely (not amplified) acoustic music events because of the eisteddfod movement.

My first post pandemic run out with my guitar is likely to be at a small local concert (50 to 80 seat size) with no amplification. I'll be taking my best (only!) guitar.

[Doug Young]

I do gig with my best guitar - the best guitar for that gig! (at least I try, sometimes I misjudge.) If it's a very quiet gig in a great room playing thru mics to a listening audience, I'll take a guitar that sounds good thru a mic (which may not be the guitar that sounds best acoustically to me at home). For an unamplified gig, I'll take a guitar that projects well in the room. At the other extreme, for a gig that may be loud and feedback-challenged I may take a guitar that's less resonant and has a feedback-resistant pickup in it. Lots of in-betweens. Some guitars are best for playing on the couch, some are best for recording, some for playing amplified, and some look pretty :-)

[Malcolm Kindnes]

Originally Posted by Italuke

Because when you play out, you plug in. And when you plug in your pure acoustic tone goes out the window.

Precisely, the requirements for a good gigging guitar are quite different from those you would require at home or for recording. Also there is the risk of transportation, where I'm gigging at the moment required plane travel. If I was playing in a small quiet venue that I could travel to by car I might well bring a hand made instrument.

[Peter Z]

I want a good amplified tone and a guitar that is comfortable to play.

My Gibson SJ-200 and Guild D-55 have the best amplified sound, but the first is a little big for playing when I stand and the Guild has a 1 11/16” nut. While that doesn’t bother me much at home, I don’t like it live. Most of my guitars are 1 3/4” so I’m more used to that. Both have a factory installed Anthem.

The CEO-7 is little small on my shoulders and with a Lyric a little prone to feedback.

My Hummingbird has the right size and an Anthem SL that sounds almost as good as the full Anthem guitars. So I use the Hummingbird most of the time.

The CEO-7 is played by the other guitar player in the band, since he fell in love with it.
The fiddleman and the banjoplayer play guitar on some songs and love my D-55e.

[packmule]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

Quite a few touring singer songwriters do gig with their best guitars.
Mary Chapin Carpenter plays her Grevens and her Huss & Daltons
Eliza Gilkyson, her vintage Gibsons
Mary Gauthier, her vintage Gibson
Janis Ian, her Santa Cruz guitars
Martin Simpson, his Sobells
Mark Erelli, his TJ Thompson
Cliff Eberhardt, his luthier built guitar whose name escapes me,
Gretchen Peters, her Collings guitar
Brandi Carlile, her Collings guitar
Jackson Browne seems to tour with ALL of his guitars :-)
David Wilcox used to tour with his Olson and then played a Rainsong for a while and
Patty Larkin tours with her Olson and a vintage Strat
So, I guess that it just depends.
Best,
Jayne

Two more to add to that list: Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings touring with their Preston Thompson guitars.

[SalFromChatham]

This is a debate that I can, and maybe even have, easily advocate for each side.

I’ve played my nice Martins, my J45-TV, and expensive Birds in crowded dive bars, where friends in the audience come up for a song and you hand them your guitar. And yes there are scars to prove it.

I’ve also played my D15 which is beat to hell, a Farida OT22, and cheaper guitars. The folks in the audience do NOT know the difference. Just as long as it’s in tune. The tone is jumping from a magnet to a pedal through wires into big boom boxes and over loud people drinking and singing. And trust me there is a lot of stuff for a guitar to bang into (ps my Farida pictured below)

So sometimes I do enjoy bringing a nice guitar, and sometimes I love pulling my light D15 out of a gig bag and getting right to it.

Lastly, there is as pretty decent middle ground. I think Taylor is great at it. The $1000 ish price point where you find 110e’s to 214s to AD17s. It is a great sweet spot. I may take my J45TV out if it’s an outdoors gazebo chill gig, but not to the bars anymore; I’m a grab the Taylor.

Anyways this is where I stand today. It may be different tomorrow!

[k_russell]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

When you're playing in the ballroom at a firehouse who cares what you're playing?

Yep, we get very few gigs in acoustically sound, built for music, auditoriums.

[CarlE]

Here are the reasons I told my wife I needed to buy another guitar (Taylor 214ce) for performing in my acoustic duo even though I already have a Martin:

1. The Taylor has an onboard preamp with controls for bass, treble, and volume so that I can fine tune my sound on stage without having to walk over to the PA. (the Martin has a K&K with no controls)

2. The Taylor has durable laminate back and sides construction that will hold up better to the rigors of the road (carrying back and forth from the back seat of the car to the local open mic)

3. The Taylor has a high-tech modern UV cured finish to protect it from spilled drinks, finish checking, and scratches if knocked off its stand. (The Martin has a delicate old-fashioned lacquer finish)

4. The Taylor has a cutaway for all those songs where I play above the 14th fret. (The Martin completely lacks this feature)

5. The Taylor has the more petite GA body shape that is much more comfortable to play while seated. (The Martin has that awkward Dreadnaught shape, which will never catch on )

6. Nobody is going to steal a Taylor.

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by k_russell

Yep, we get very few gigs in acoustically sound, built for music, auditoriums.

Yup. Couple that with “a stage will be ready as soon as we move a few tables,” a throw-and-go setup and a noisy environment, there’s your answer. However, the next time I get called by NPR to play a Tiny Desk concert, I’ll use my HD-35 unamplified.