How many guitars do you really need as a live player?

[dk_ace]

So here’s my conundrum, I’m probably about to buy a new guitar. It will be something I’ve wanted for many years. Years of live work has helped me dial in what I really need from a guitar.

In short, I’m beginning to think I only really need two with one of them being a great humbucker guitar with a tremolo and the other being a strat. There’s not much (if anything) I need to do for live work that I can’t do with those two.

I have six electrics right now, with a build in progress and I’m about to buy something new. The PRS McCarty and the strat get 85%+ of the work. If the McCarty had a trem, there would be no reason for me to use anything other than those two except to change it up for fun.

It’s a fair amount of work to keep all these guitars playing their best between strings, action, frets, dialing in sounds that are optimized for the different guitars, etc. I’m thinking I might should simplify. I have all the others for different sounds, but the differences aren’t all that profound between them honestly and especially not if I dial the sound in around each guitar (because I’m going to take them to where my ear goes so they won’t end up being all that different). If I was doing a lot of recording this would be different because the subtle differences between the guitars translate better there, but I’m not and I don’t plan to.

For those that do a lot of live work, have you found it worth the trouble to keep a bunch of guitars or do you just narrow it down to a few great ones and focus there?

D

 

[sleewell]

only one in my current project. pack of strings on top of my amp just in case.

i bought another guitar recently to leave at the practice spot just bc i am lazy af and dont want to bring one back and forth each time haha.

 

[the-trooper]

One.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Need? Operating under the assumption that the audience is there to enjoy the music and not give 2 shits about how perfect your tone is...

One. Assuming you know you can get through playing it for a total of 6-8 hours without it/you breaking a string, once a new set is stretched and settled in. Put new strings on a day before every gig.

If you must have varied tones, get PU's that can be coil-tapped. The amp/effects/cab/IR will get you the tonal variations much more than different guitars. Get a rig that gives you tonal options.

Use some sort of pitch-shifting for up/down tunings. The tech has arrived, again, maybe not perfect enough for you, but certainly enough the audience won't care.

Need drop tunings? Get a D-tuna.

Acoustic tones? Piezo.

1 guitar. This is all my own opinion, but absolutely no fun whatsoever.

When I did play live, I used my LP for the heavier songs/more sustain, and my PRS Std 24 for more single-coil tones, since it had coil taps. The PRS was a floating trem, so it stayed in E-std, the LP started in Eb, then got tuned up to E for the next set.

 

[mbenigni]

Very much to my chagrin, zero.

 

[itchyfingers]

Utah, gimme two.

 

[dk_ace]

Ok, need might not have been the right word. Of course you can play a gig with just one guitar.

How many are optimal is probably the better question.

I’m thinking 3 would probably do it all for me, and 2 would be close enough. The HB guitar with a trem and good split sounds covers the majority. The strat covers low output stuff and the things a strat does that nothing else really does well. And then a high output HB (little more compressed HBs) guitar for higher gain rock work.

D

 

[dk_ace]

Added a poll..

 

[metropolis_4]

It’s totally dependent on the gig.

I’ve had gigs where I just need one. I’ve had other gigs where there’s no way I could do it with less than 4-5.

2 is my bare minimum though. I won’t gig without a backup.

 

[norminal]

 

[Eagle]

3, two different and a versatile backup.
Two is almost as good but one is just unprofessional if you break a string.

 

[PBGas]

I really only need to use one. If I change the strings the night before then usually all is good.
However, it all depends upon how long the gig is. I do like to bring a second one just in case.

 

[dk_ace]

Afraid to type this a day before a gig… I don’t remember the last time I broke a string, it’s been years.

I used to always bring two, sometimes I’m lazy and take one.

The thing with having a variety of guitars was that I would pick the one that was best suited to the gig plus a backup unless I really needed to switch guitars for songs. I always pick from the same 3 though, which makes me question if I ever needed more than 2 or 3. The baritone never gets taken to the gig, ditto for the tele and the LP.

D

 

[laxu]

At minimum two. Your main and its backup.

 

[AutomationBias]

If the McCarty had a trem

DGT, brother.

 

[Iron1]

I literally bought a second bass just last night so I had 2 for gigging. While I've only broken 3 or 4 guitar strings ever in decades of playing (High Es and Floyd Roses... every. single. #%#%#W$W% time.), breaking one in a gig and having that interrupt the show is, like @Eagle said above, totally unprofessional. So, I'd rather have the second just in case.

The odds of breaking a bass string are crazy low (only played bass on stage once, but...) however, I have seen guitars malfunction at shows - most famously a fan came over the crowd onto the stage and kicked in the front man's humbuckers accidentally.

In the end, it's showbiz, expect the unexpected to happen, and be ready for "the show must go on", is how I look at it.

Needing variety like mentioned above (a single coiler and a humbucker guitar for instance) serves the songs, having a backup guitar ready to go in a pinch serves the show/audience.

The second bass is pearl white, so I'm going to lightly sand the face, then splatter blood red paint on it, which fits the motif of the band. Then it's not only a good backup but a prop too.

 

[dk_ace]

DGT, brother.

95% sure that’s what the new addition is going to be…

D

 

[TSJMajesty]

Utah, gimme two.

Is that on the back of a truck?

 

[EOengineer]

I answered 1, but I might have been sweating when I did it. My last 3 gigs have me waltzing into the venue with my #1 tele and a Helix. I can’t say I’ve been experimenting with minimalism and keep a straight face with all the gear I have laying around getting used once a year, but I am trying to limit myself live. I know I’m playing with fire.

Utah, gimme two.

Whelp this is pretty much me in a nutshell. If I’m bringing 2 guitars, it’s a tele and a LP and I’m shoving it all through either an old Marshall circuit or my Helix doing it’s best impression of one of those circuits.

If it can’t be done with those combinations, it can’t be done. I love seeing people using setups like this.

 

[JT]

My gigging guitars are a strat and a V. Once I started hauling around a traditional amp rig as well; hauling 2 different guitar cases when I am only using one was the straw. I have been looking for a tele that can fit in my dual mono gigbag. I'll let that get me back to carrying 2 guitars but otherwise; ehh.