How many guitars is too many?

[Voodoo Marshall]

I think it totally depends on whether you're a "player" or a "collector/player." As a player, I have enough:

ELECTRIC
1982 Strat that goes from neck to bridge stock single, stock single and SD Hot Rails. Typically standard-tuned (or E flat standard tuned)
1991 Hamer USA Sunburst Archtop, double HB typically tuned drop D (or some other drop tuning)
1985 Ibanez RoadStar w/ whammy, EMG (single, single, Humbucker) Standard tuned
2021 Schecter Omen Elite 7-string double HB w/ single coil tap. Standard tuned
Guild Pilot Bass, maybe late 80s?

ACOUSTIC
2008-ish Martin HD28
1990-ish Takamine 6-string beater
1995-ish Takamine 12-string, non-beater

EDIT: OTHER
1998 Epiphone Mandolin
2020 Breedlove acoustic-electric Ukelele

Would consider getting:
A semi-hollow PRS
A great Les Paul (but my Hamer is kind of that already)
Hollow body Gretch or similar
Nylon string acoustic
EDIT: New 6-string acoustic-electric

 

[gnoll]

Im incredibly picky and notice things sellers dont. Most of what you listed can be determined from photos and asking questions though.

How are you buying a guitar with hardware you dont like without knowing it or a neck joint you dont like? If you’re picky you wouldnt even consider those guitars.

I dont buy guitars with floyds. Saw a les paul axxess for sale, still didnt buy it. Knew what would happen.

Wow bla bla?

Maybe I suck

 

[Stiman]

Knew what would happen.

What would happen?

 

[budda]

What would happen?

Play it once. Use the bar maybe 3 times during that one use. Say “that was a mistake” and relist, hoping I dont lose any money.

 

[mmr007]

Cookie is telling you to look into synthesizers and rack gear.

Cookie is telling me to stay away from a financially ruinous rabbit hole you just suggested I dive in head first. I don't even particularly like effects but I know me and if start down that path I would have a rig that would make a young Petrucci blush.

 

[DECEMBER]

I don't see things that way. Guitars are awesome objects and all, but they are just that : objects.
I don't go selling my screwdrivers if I don't use them every week. What if the thing I'm working on doesn't need that particular screwdriver ? Should I use it anyway at all cost ? Does not using it now mean that it won't be my first pick in another situation ?

A guitar is not a screwdriver. A guitar isn't a tool you might occasionally need to build or fix something. It is a work of Art that is a tool to create Art. Creating Art is a Practice, a way of life. It's not something you do occasionally. A screwdriver stays the same whether it is used or not. A guitar is a living entity, it is made of wood and has moving parts and resonates with the interaction of the player. It gets stale if it sits unused. It has Spirit, as it is used to channel and express our deepest emotions. It is an extension of our Hearts. It has a Purpose: to be an instrument of Creativity. It needs regular interaction with the Artist to keep it alive, to keep it vibrating, to keep it tuned and at proper tension, to keep the wood fresh. To keep it resonating. The fretboard needs to be touched regularly to keep it oiled (sure, people cheat and apply products, but if a guitar is actually played daily, you would never have to apply oil to the fretboard).
A guitar that doesn't get played is just a slab of wood, wasting away, neglected of Purpose.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

I’ve never agreed with the whole “guitar is a tool” idea. If I thought that way I would have much less expensive guitars. There’s nothing my Horizon-I’s or PRS do that a $1000 LTD or SE don’t do aside from being really nice pieces of craftsmanship. But guitars I resonate with and covet inspire me to pick them up more than if they were just objects that make sound.

 

[Werecow]

I'm weird, i just have a guitar for each tuning i want to use, and one extra guitar at standard tuning so i can have EMGs on one and passive on another. I've never had GAS for a guitar.
Amps on the other hand... i've bought a 100w valve head within 5 minutes of thinking about it late at night before. They give me much more reason to pick up my guitar. I slowly cycle through my amps, and changing over to a different amp i've not played for a couple months almost makes me feel like a teenager again, discovering a tone i like. It literally gives me goosebumps, and i'll play for like 8 hours straight with that feeling.

 

[Wiltonauer]

Amps on the other hand... i've bought a 100w valve head within 5 minutes of thinking about it late at night before. They give me much more reason to pick up my guitar. I slowly cycle through my amps, and changing over to a different amp i've not played for a couple months almost makes me feel like a teenager again, discovering a tone i like. It literally gives me goosebumps, and i'll play for like 8 hours straight with that feeling.

This is one of the best reasons to own multiple amps. Even if you have a world-class amp that delivers all your favorite tones whenever you want them, it can be great to plug into something totally different to blow out the cobwebs.

 

[Emperoff]

I've got 6 (soon to be 7) at the moment. One of them is for sale, though.

I can understand people having multiple guitars for multiple sounds, like Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, superstrats, etc. They do sound and feel different enough to justify their place.

Me? They're all superstrats so I have no excuse

 

[Crungy]

Even if they're all superstrats they're probably sort of different, right?

 

[crankyrayhanky]

6 & 7 string models, different types (LP, strat, etc), different tunings, duplicates on the most popular tuning, several acoustics, 4 & 5 string basses, a fretless or 2

Then my wife and 2 kids like to play too so they all have 1-2 each

It adds up fast!

 

[MetalDestroyer]

Even if they're all superstrats they're probably sort of different, right?

Imagine trying to explain to your non-guitar friends why your 4 ESP Horizons are different

 

[John]

Imagine trying to explain to your non-guitar friends why your 4 ESP Horizons are different

In all fairness, even explaining that to the guitar friends and gear collectors turns out to be an exercise in futility.

 

[Emperoff]

Even if they're all superstrats they're probably sort of different, right?

Imagine trying to explain to your non-guitar friends why your 4 ESP Horizons are different

Exactly this

 

[RikuFF]

I don’t understand the question!

 

[odibrom]

I don’t understand the question!

Me neither...

 

[Wildebeest]

I'm going nuts with this question because I have a really nicely curated collection of about 15-20 guitars. There are lots of different build styles, scale lengths, pickup configurations. The problem is, I barely play most of them. Some will stay in their case for years. I simply don't use all of them, and that bothers me. I am also drawn to the idea of selling a bunch of them to fund something really nice, like a Tom Anderson. Something that plays a notch above MIJ Ibanez's and Kiesels.

 

[narad]

A guitar is not a screwdriver. A guitar isn't a tool you might occasionally need to build or fix something. It is a work of Art that is a tool to create Art. Creating Art is a Practice, a way of life. It's not something you do occasionally. A screwdriver stays the same whether it is used or not. A guitar is a living entity, it is made of wood and has moving parts and resonates with the interaction of the player. It gets stale if it sits unused. It has Spirit, as it is used to channel and express our deepest emotions. It is an extension of our Hearts. It has a Purpose: to be an instrument of Creativity. It needs regular interaction with the Artist to keep it alive, to keep it vibrating, to keep it tuned and at proper tension, to keep the wood fresh. To keep it resonating. The fretboard needs to be touched regularly to keep it oiled (sure, people cheat and apply products, but if a guitar is actually played daily, you would never have to apply oil to the fretboard).
A guitar that doesn't get played is just a slab of wood, wasting away, neglected of Purpose.

I think capitalizing certain words unfortunately doesn't make the argument any more true or reasonable...

Unrelated but because of this thread I've gone from 55->47 guitars in 2 weeks, with 45 in sight. Beyond that, it's going to get real painful for me.

 

[Thesius]

A guitar is not a screwdriver. A guitar isn't a tool you might occasionally need to build or fix something. It is a work of Art that is a tool to create Art. Creating Art is a Practice, a way of life. It's not something you do occasionally. A screwdriver stays the same whether it is used or not. A guitar is a living entity, it is made of wood and has moving parts and resonates with the interaction of the player. It gets stale if it sits unused. It has Spirit, as it is used to channel and express our deepest emotions. It is an extension of our Hearts. It has a Purpose: to be an instrument of Creativity. It needs regular interaction with the Artist to keep it alive, to keep it vibrating, to keep it tuned and at proper tension, to keep the wood fresh. To keep it resonating. The fretboard needs to be touched regularly to keep it oiled (sure, people cheat and apply products, but if a guitar is actually played daily, you would never have to apply oil to the fretboard).
A guitar that doesn't get played is just a slab of wood, wasting away, neglected of Purpose.

Brother it ain't that deep