This is why Guitarists have so many Guitars

Are you wondering why guitarists own so many guitars when they can get the job done in one? Well, without taking much of your time I will try to answer your question.

Why do guitarists have so many guitars?

Having multiple guitars makes it easier for guitarists to play songs with different tuning easily. Let say a guitarist has 3 guitars and they are tuned to standard, half step down and drop d respectively then he/she can switch between them to play a song with a specific tuning without wasting time to change the tuning. It mostly happens in live concerts and studio recordings because it saves a lot of time.

There are many more reasons why guitarists have so many guitars, some are mentioned below:

1. To keep a spare on stage in case the main guitar’s string breaks during the show.
2. Some collect guitars as a hobby.
3. Some own multiple guitars because they like to experiment with different sounds and tones as each and every guitar sounds different.

Do you have multiple guitars?

Right now I have only two guitars because I don’t need more than that. I used to have more than that when I used to do gigs on a regular basis. As I grew older I sold them and stuck to only one electric and one acoustic guitar. This helped me to know my instrument inside out.

There will be people telling you that you need a lot of guitars like a Gibson, a fender, eight-string, seven-string, etc which isn’t true at all. To your surprise guitar legends like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, BB King, Slash, and many more played different guitars throughout there career but settled only on one brand.

In no way I am advising you to play only one guitar but playing only one high-end guitar rather than trying many brands will create an intimate relationship with it and also help you to know your instrument better.

How many guitars do you really need?

If you just a bedroom guitarist then one acoustic and one electric guitar will do most of the job. But as you progress and get into recordings and playing gigs then you may need more than that. Some reasons are listed below:

1. The number one reason is you would be able to save time by switching guitars to play songs with different tuning.
2. You would be able to experiment with different tones in your recording.
3. You can keep an extra guitar as a spare in case of an emergency.

Guitarists have many reasons why they prefer to own multiple guitars but the reasons listed above are the most common and logical ones.

There are also players that spend decades playing only one guitar because they don’t need more than that. So, you must ask yourself whether you really need one more or simply want one before getting yourself a new guitar. There is a huge difference between need and want.

Pros and Cons of owning multiple guitars

Lets take a look the pros and cons of having so many guitars.

Pros

1. It will help you to switch guitars to play songs with different tuning without wasting time to change the tuning.
2. It will open possibilities to experiment with different sound and tone in recordings
3. You can switch guitars according to your mood. Let say if your Gibson feels heavy you can always grab something lighter like a strat.

Cons

1. Owning multiple guitars will cost you more in its maintenance.
2. It will take much of your time in cleaning, changing strings, upgrading, etc

Pros and Cons of owning only one guitar

Lets take a look on the pros and cons of owning only one guitar.

Pros

1. Owning only one high-end guitar will help you to know the instrument inside out.
2. You will get less distracted as you only have one guitar to look after.
3. In the case of owning several guitars you have to spend a lot of time taking care of it but if you have one, you can spend that time practicing.

Cons

1. It will take much time to play a song with different tuning as you have to change its tuning.
2. You can’t experiment with different sounds and tones.
3. There will zero flexibility as you can’t switch guitars according to your mood.

Summing Up

Musicians are addicted to gears, whenever they get a chance they go for a new one. Especially the guitarists, they never get satisfied with only one guitar. So, I hope you got the answer that you were searching for.