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

[FuzzyAce]

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.

View attachment 8716

umm Iron... that's a 6 string guitar ^, not a bass.
And don't even try to say you're just showing it as paint inspiration. You can't fool us.

 

[itchyfingers]

Is that on the back of a truck?

Hahaha! I am not above flatbed truck gigs (done it before), but that is actually an outdoor patio stage at a brewery.

 

[Texsunburst59]

I would say one good versatile guitar is all you really need.

Back when I was gigging out, my main guitar was a ‘99 Tom A Hollow Drop Top Classic HSS.

It did great covering a lot of genres, there were songs where I really needed the neck humbucker tone to do certain songs justice.

If the PRS DGT had been available, it would have been the perfect guitar for my purposes.

The fact that you can split both humbuckers make it very versatile.

Sure wish I had My ‘09 PRS DGT back in the day.

 

[Sascha Franck]

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?

Basically the latter. I do have a bunch of guitars, but when it comes to gigs (which is what I'm mainly making my living off), it's always that I prefer to just use one guitar. Add a spare and I'm done.
I used to take more different guitars to gigs but ended up hating to change them between songs all the time. Starts with the actual process of changing guitars but I'm usually quite annoyed about the different feel, too.
Interestingly enough, that one main live guitar is still subject to change, like, hm... maybe all 2-4 years or so. And it's got pretty little to do with them being new, expensive, special or whatsoever. I once bought a Pacifica Tele (Mike Stern model) because I loved the neck for 200 bucks, modified the hell out of it and it became my main axe for around 2-3 years, replacing my Anderson (or my G&L Legacy, don't exactly remember which was my #1 before). Totally weird because I love whammy bars and I hate the Tele body shape.

Oh, acoustics are out of this equation. But I keep it simple here, too, one nylon (Yamaha) one steel string (Takamine).

 

[EOengineer]

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.

Are you using single coils on your Strat, or humbuckers? What configuration are you looking for in a tele?

 

[la szum]

Young and ambitious? As many as I can fit into whatever I am driving.

Old and with worn tread on the tires?? 1 guitar to rule them all.

 

[Achilles]

Black Sabbath Tribute Band - 1
70s-80s-90s top 40 cover band - 3
The History of Rock and Roll Broadway Musical.....

@norminal thanks!

 

[JasonE]

I always take a backup. I never really need it so I will sometimes grab it after a break just to play something different.

This is also band dependent. I was in one band where I needed to carry 5 guitars with me. I needed humbuckers and single coils in two different tunings, that made for 4 guitars. Then we had one song that was tuned differently than every thing else. I literally carried one guitar for one song. We usually played that song very early on in the gig so I didn't have to use that guitar again for the show.

 

[pipelineaudio]

Two for each tuning

 

[HotRats]

3 if you need also an acoustic otherwise 2.
I voted 2.

I used to bring a Gibson and a Strat but after few years I've decided that I don't care about variety and now only bring a Les Paul and another Gibson as a back up.

 

[greatmutah]

2 at minimum. 3 would be optimal. You always at least want a backup. My last band, most of our songs were in Standard or Drop D. So I took two and had each one tuned as needed. Made it so switching tunings meant just switching guitars. And since both were hardtail if a string broke, I could easily change tuning on the other one to take the place of the one out of action.

 

[megametal7]

I no use 1 for everything and have one in back up just in case my main one fails.

 

[ragingplatypi]

Two. One for the Country and one for the Western.

 

[jonhurleyguitar]

i tour with at least 3. Sometimes 4 depending on the set
D standard, Eb, Standard,

 

[CakeEater]

One fat-strat, or if you want to play it safe, two fat-strats.

 

[spawnofthesith]

I usually just bring one

 

[Capillatus]

Need? One, but I never gig without a backup. I’ve never needed it, but you never know what might happen..
As far as sounds go, HH with 5- or 6-way switch covers pretty much everything if you ask me. My favorite switching (5-way super switch) is neck series, neck parallel, outer coils parallel, bridge parallel, bridge series. That way every position is still hum canceling.

 

[Stratzrus]

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. T

D

I voted for two. For over a decade I've gigged with a 335 and a Strat.

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

In my mind I'd like to take my 337 Custom in addition to the 335 and Strat but in the real world when it's time to walk out the door I only take two.

...when it comes to gigs (which is what I'm mainly making my living off), it's always that I prefer to just use one guitar. Add a spare and I'm done.

On a lot of my Jazz gigs I'll play the 335 all night and not touch the Strat but if I get the sense that some of the ladies in the audience want to dance I'll strap on the Strat and play some instrumental Funk. I'll start with Black Magic Woman, then Low Rider by War and if I see people responding like they want to dance I'll slip into some Funkadelic.