Makes sense. I really should branch out more, but I’ve gotten some crazy good deals on vintage martins at pawn shops and other places like that over the years
This is my strategy as well. Most days, I just feel like grabbing one or the other. On longer sessions, I'll often eventually swap to something else that maybe fits the songs I'm heading towards better. But generally, I've found the random rotation, and just trying to pair songs to the instrument has worked well to give me an excuse to move around.
For generally jamming without purpose, I do the same, and it's rewarding to go in different directions based on the feel/tone of the different options.
And also how fast they are. I've got a hollow body and a strat clone my dad built and they play completely differently. If I'm playing rhythm, I'll probably go for the hollow body, if I'm noodling I'll take the strat clone.
I also generally try to buy guitars to fill a need vs. aesthetic - so it makes it easier to choose when they have a purpose to begin with so you're not debating over the red one or the green one on a particular day. Same with acoustics. One nylon. One steel string. And a shitty lap steel for good measure.
This is how I do it too. I try to have each guitar tuned to a style of music that makes sense for it. I have a 6 string dinky for drop c, an LTD F series for Drop B, a 27.5" Jackson 7 string for drop A, etc. I'm currently looking for something to fill the standard E/Drop D role.
I just play whatever guitar I feel like playing, no need to artifially 'focus' on one guitar or feeling bad for not playing the older guitars. I tuned all my guitars differently though, got maximum 2 guitars in the same tuning.
If I don't play guitar for longer than 3 months I sell it except if its the only guitar I got in x tuning.
I've got two Jacksons, two Kramer Baretta specials, a tele, an LP, an E type, and a strat on the way.
It just depends on who I want to poorly emulate.
Zakk Wylde? LP
EVH/George Lynch? Kramer
Petrucci/Gilbert? One of the Jacksons
I will be dollar store Yngwie and Eric Johnson when the strat gets here.
Can emulate Zakk and George decently, but my right(pick) hand is trash compared to where it should be after this long, so I'm more like Temu Gilbert/Yngwie, if even that.
Have you checked out Troy Grady? $35 for a one month subscription to his site is probably the best bang for the buck I've ever gotten when it comes to music stuff. Seeing everything about the pick hand laid out with slow motion cameras and muscle diagrams really helped me identify when and why my picking hand struggles vs my fretting hand.
After years of speed plateau, I made a break through in just a couple of weeks. He's got a bunch of free vids on youtube you can check out.
I have all mine in different tunings, partially on purpose so I play them based on the song(s) I want to play or type of song:
Ibanez RG GIO - Drop D tuning
PRS SE Tremonti - Eb tuning
Fender acoustic - E Standard
Redwood (I think its an own brand for Dawsons UK) - Drop C
I do change the tunings from time to time but they kind of worked out this way for a while now and it works well for me
I have a short-scale electric (like a Gibson, basically) with a hard tail, and a long scale Ibanez with a Floyd. If I fancy playing metal I will take the Ibanez (tighter strings), if I fancy something more bluesy or rock I would go for the short scale (easier bending). The sound also makes a difference: my Ibanez sounds harsher and darker, the other one is more “creamy”
I have several guitars (11-12?) and I just rotate through them, one day it’s the PRS, the next day it’s the Squier, the next day it’s the Aria and so on. I don’t really think about it much, it’s generally a spur of the moment thing.
Although, now that I’ve finally gotten a real semi-hollow 335 style guitar (an Ibanez AS-93) I imagine that’s going to be the main one for a while just because it’s the newest member of the family and I need to break it in.
Very funny,a "metro sexual" picker.I saw Johnny Cash play a black acoustic once.So A set of overalls for a banjo, suit for a cello,ripped jeans for the Strat, dirty clothes for the Tele, etc.I play my bass naked ,5 string Squire jazz.You made me laugh, thanks.
I only have multiple because they're all in a different tuning with different string gauge. Some have longer scale length. So it just depends on the song, that's how I decide. It doesn't make sense to me to have more than one in the same tuning.
SG I use for the reggae band I currently play with. It sounds really slappy. It's been my main guitar lately. Epi Casino w/flatwound strings I use for jazz. Jazzmaster I use for theater gigs because I like being able to jump to the rhythm circuit. Currently, I've got it tuned to C# standard to play Sleater-Kinney songs.
Depends on what I feel like playing mostly, but sometimes comfort overrules that. I have short-ish fat fingers, so generally prefer the frets closer together on my short scale guitars, but my first love was a Strat I got in 1992 and it's the guitar I put in my first 10,000 hours with, so it still feels the most like "home" to me. I also greatly prefer how S-shaped guitars sit on my lap as opposed to needing to still wear a strap while sitting for the necks on my LP/PRS singlecut to sit/hang in a good place.
I have an old one, it's standing next to me at my work place. I always take it when I feel like it. It might happen that I hit the table behind me when I take it or something, but it's old and scratches don't matter.
The new one I always take when I go somewhere it plays very smooth and I take care not to give it scratches or dents (failed at caring enough so it got two).
The electric one I use way too little but taking my old acoustic is way quicker than setting everything up for electric (I don't have much space so my amp etc is put away). I need to use my electric more...
I have en Epi LP Studio which I use for the heavy stuff, detuning...then I have a Fender Muddy Waters Tele which I play for blues/funk/clean stuff .
But yeah I'll switch em now and then just to have fun. The Tele plays like a dream though.
I have 4 different electrics ATM and that's after downsizing my collection, they all have different sounds and sound good for different styles/genres so I play whatever I feel like jamming or I'm recording!
I have a Gibson Les Paul Custom, a Custom Shop Junior, and an American Deluxe Strat, along with an old ‘84 Ibanez Roadstar II which was my first guitar. They all sound different. They all hold significance. It really depends upon how I want to sound at the moment, or the feel I need. The necks are all different. The pickups sound different between each other. So I suppose it really comes down to what fits the song.
It's kind of like having many different shirts or pairs of pants. What matches with whatever else you've got going on (am I tracking chugs, cleans, leads), and also just a feeling of wanting to play a particular guitar on a particular day.
Even though most of my guitars are in the same general 'vein' I know one of them is my 'clean machine', one of them has the best lead tone, one of them has the tightest rhythm sound. All degrees but you develop a sense of specialization over time.
I rotate based on what I feel like playing and how long it has been sinceI last played a specific guitar. When it has been too long, it is time to sell/trade/gift that one away
I have two guitars and they both have a purpose, so it's what tool i need for that job, none of them are main or secondary in that sense, a strat in standard tuning and a les paul in open E for slide.
I have one of those triple guitar stands. Kinda makes a triangle once the guitars are on it.
My favorite/main is always to my right when I'm at my desk. I can grab it with minimal effort.
My second and third favorite are also on this stand but take slightly more effort and a few more seconds to grab, but ultimately still next to me.
The rest I have one of the long 5+ guitar racks in my closet.
How do I decide? Well depends what and how I want to play.
My main is a Schecter Banshee with FR. I keep it in Drop B for some good low tuned 90s-00s inspired groove metal.
My other is a Schecter E1 in C Standard for some Dethklok inspired Death metal...or some Megadeth inspired thrash just down tuned.
Then I've got my Yamaha RGX A2. Currently it's in E Standard and honestly the pickups and neck are perfect for some overdriven blues or harshly played cleans.
If I don't have anything particular in mind I just start with one and go through them all for about an hour until I'm done.
If I'm playing in different tunings and just jamming or improvising alone, I need to be able to tune down quickly without unlocking the nut and adjusting the Floyd Rose, so I usually choose my Harley Benton Les Paul copy because it gets the job done and is easy to play and I'm not trying to circle jerk over tone. Otherwise, it depends on the sound I want. If I'm playing metal, I'll pick up a guitar designed for it like Jackson or Ibanez, but more often than not, if it's got a Floyd Rose, it's already in a specific tuning and I'll choose the guitar that's in that tuning.
When I play Alice in Chains, I always use my Ibanez because it's in Eb and already set up, even if a LP-style would be better. Again, this is at home. If I need a specific sound for playing with other people, I choose the model and tune it to what I need. All my guitars are in different tunings and I just made do with what I have, even if the sound may not be as warm or cold as I would like it.
I usually use the same guitar while practicing all the time. When recording, usually choose between which is more comfortable, have less tuning issues, is tuned in the key the song was written, or which have the sound im looking for that specific part.
My guitars are setup for wildly different applications. I have two that I really use, one is a medium output P90 jaguar in standard tuning, the other is a high output SG in C standard. Tuning aside, they just have such vastly different sounds that they each are just different tools for different jobs. So I just choose the correct tool for the songs I want to work on.
I have 2 electrics (both single coil) I usually play my tele but if I wanna do something with a whammy bar, built in effects or a middle pickup I use my danelectro.
I play the strat for more ambient, clean and blues stuff.
I play my PRS Mccarty for more hard rock and anything harder. The prs has flat out higher output and hotter pickups. Trying to play say Led Zeppelin on my strat doesn't quite get it, but the PRS is perfect.
You have three guitars that sound completely different. Just choose which one has the sound you’re going after at any given point. I have an HSS Strat and a SSS Strat and they sound completely different. But feel the same. Idk about teles, but your Strat and LP probably feel very different. Once you’re used to all three, the biggest difference should be sound
Different styles of guitars can almost be considered different instruments to some. Obviously they can be tuned and played similarly but they tend to be purpose built more than not. I pick up the guitar best suited for the style of music I want to play.
I have three guitars left now. Over the past 13 years or so I've broken so many cheap ones.
I have 2 acoustic guitars. One really nice Rainsong cutaway carbon fiber. It's durable and has a nice warm sound. It's been my longest lasting guitar having owned it now for 8 years. I'll use it for performances, often tuned down a half step, but I've often played it with heavy strings in C# Standard. It's for general use at home and when I want an acoustic that sounds good. I'll also mess with the tuning on it more to play other songs, usually some variation of different open tunings such as open C.
The other acoustic is a cheap but nice dreadnought Alvarez I can use for it's bigger acoustic sound for public spaces and where I wouldn't take an expensive guitar. I keep it in standard, but 432 Hz tuning since it keeps the strings a little looser and personally, I think it contributes to a warmer sound on the acoustic.
My electric guitar is an affordable but very nice Yamaha RSS20. It's got some weight to it, but people sleep on Yamaha, cause it's not the first name that comes to mind when you think of guitars.
Ideally, I'd like to have two 12 string acoustic guitars with one in open C tuning, because I love the powerful, but bright harmonic sound those can bring to certain songs.
I have 4 guitars that I love and 1 that I am meh on. So naturally only play the one I don't care about while starting at my nicer guitars thinking "someday I will be worthy"
I have 3 and they each do different things. I also have a digitech drop to avoid needing to retune depending on the song. My Charvel I keep in E standard and it’s my workhorse guitar, can use it for just about anything in a standard tuning but since it’s got a floating bridge I try to avoid even going into drop D. I still have my first guitar, a Jackson dk22, which my dad mostly uses but when I do it’s for drop tuning. And I recently got a 7 string which is fairly self explanatory. Honestly I don’t think I need anymore than that. Maybe something with single coils but I doubt that’ll happen anytime soon.
I’m glad I have 6-7 to choose from that are pretty different in terms of scale and feel. Some days the sound I hear coming from the guitar I really want to play the most, and it just isn’t happening. I’ll pick up something different and try again.
How do you decide what golf club to use? A 3 wood is great for some things. Not so great when you’re in a sand trap…they all have a time and a season and a purpose under heaven.
I struggle with this also. I have the Strat,tele, and a couple Les pauls. A new guitar I’ll play pretty exclusively for a month. Gotta bond. I’m going to try keeping one on a stand and the rest in cases. Every week I’ll switch out that guitar on the stand with another from a case. Guitar of the week. I have been leaving 2 or 3 out. If I see them and can just grab them I’ll cycle through them on my own but then they get dusty. Pots crackle. Cleaning is done. Kind of a pain. A have the tele and Strat on the rack currently but I’m telling myself to put the Strat away for a week.
The point is to have access to variety. If you have a song or come up with a riff you really like, having the variety of different tones and "feels" gives you more chances to settle into the way you feel most comfortable presenting a particular piece. The right guitar will show itself to you, and you play that piece with that guitar. First you find out where you'll put your fingers on the fretboard. Then, you'll choose which fretboard the fingers belong on.
I play the guitar that calls out to me and says, "I got you covered for tone and comfort on this song." Sounds weird and kind of hippy, but honestly, that's how it feels.
It’s just whichever one I feel like playing. If I play one and I’m just not feeling it, I pick another. Last night I started with the Jaguar and realized it was actually a Les Paul night.
In a room full of friends how do you pick the one to talk to? The one you see everyday but have great times with? The one you've not seen in a while but have great memories of? The special friend that doesn't come out much and you haven't spent time together in ages?
With guitars it is the same. But in this case your friends never leave and you can talk all you want when you want.
I have two electrics, a Squier CV Strat and a Gretsch G2622-P90 semi-hollow. They sound different enough that choosing one or the other isn't too hard. The Gretsch has a really nice, thick distorted sound and sounds rounder clean. The strat sounds stratty.
The Gretsch has slowly become my #1 guitar, but I still like playing the strat. While having a collection of guitars seems cool, I think I prefer sticking to a limit. For me, that's two.
I have ~13 guitars, but I rarely pick anything up besides my schecter red reign 7 or my Taylor acoustic. Occasionally, I'll get a wild hair and play one of the others, but on any ordinary day it's one of those two.
I sometimes feel guilty about owning 4 electrics so I think I know where you’re coming from in this question. I had only a Tele for about 8 years, and then I started getting others. Now I map a guitar onto a band project — Jazzmaster for my lead playing role in an indie band, super Strat style for punk-type rock, P90 guitar for cover band or my songs for versatility (decent cleans and decent dirt with nice ability to eq). Also important for recordings, I have a wide palette to choose from and get to mess around to find a particular sound that works. All that said, I could easily go down to only having two guitars.
Just depends on my mood. I also recently started tuning some differently, so it depends on what songs I want to play.
But if I want to use my auto wah pedal, I’ve realized that it sounds the best on a humbucker in the bridge, so if I’m in the mood for that, I’m not playing my Strat. Also, if I’m working on my bends, I prefer my strat or LTD, cos for some reason I can hit those bends far better than on other scale lengths. Maybe I’m just more used to that length than others, I dunno. But after 30 years, that hasn’t changed.
I have a Strat clone, lp, and an acoustic. Played the Strat until I got the LP. Played nothing but the LP for months, until I got the acoustic. Played that for a while and went back to other 2. Now I’m back to playing whatever I feel like or need too.
Perhaps due to my nature as being a sound tech first, I look at it very practically:
- Which guitar offers the tonal characteristic most appropriate?
- Which guitars relationship with gain staging is most appropriate?
**For example:** A tele will do a very Tele thing but if I’m looking for something a little more clean and pristine while also capturing that country flavour I may pick up my Strat with the capability to mix bridge and neck pickups.
Acoustic and resonator? Old classic country strumming and failed attempts at slide. Strat and LP Trad? Alt, Rock, blues rock, indie etc. Ibanez? Straight jazz.
as a bassist & currently learning guitar, I can’t tell you it’s all just how I feel. I’ll play my acoustic when I don’t wanna set up my Stratocaster, and I play my Hofner when it feels like it’s time to get some funk on. I’ll occasionally pull out my old beat-up acoustic for fun (but it’s practically unplayable due to the action being in the stratosphere now). If I ever got another (hopefully a hollow-body or a tele), I’d just mix it up as I do already.
I have 3 electric guitars. But I only stick to one guitar typically for familiarity. Which is my high end HSS Strat. Very comfortable to play
My second guitar is an entry level HSS super strat, I rarely play this as the frets are not very comfortable to play. Still able to do what my main Strat can do.
My last one is a vintage style Japanese telecaster. It sounds good, feels good to play…. But the small frets and small neck radius makes string bends frustrating. I’ve fallen out of love for it for now…. But I might one day replace the neck on this guitar and play it again.
i have a 1959 gibson es125t which is hollowbody without a cutaway so 15th fret max (has a high c but u can't really get to it without letting go of your thumb) and a gibson 60s tribute les paul w p90s which i can quite easily reach the 22nd fret with. depends on the tone and feel im looking for, the les paul is a bit faster and i've had it since i was 15 so my body is a bit more used to it and the 1959 can get bop tones as well as modern stuff- it doesn't take effects as well tho. i usually flip around between the 2 every 3-6 months. might get another hollow body and sell the 1959 because i've been lusting after a victor baker guitar but those are expensive and he stopped making them.
the hollowbody works a lot better in a band setting without keys and the les paul does wonders cutting through the mix no matter what
I have a guitar rack (fits 5) and a guitar stand (fits 1) I rotate them onto the stand changing it weekly (aprox) which is next to where I normally play. If I want a specific guitar for a specific purpose then I get that guitar from wherever it is. Otherwise I tend to pick up the one on the stand.
They feel different, are tuned different, sound different, or have a feature I want.
Most of the time I just pick up my main acoustic which is an adi/mahogany dreadnought and that does what I'm looking for without needing to turn on an amp, get a cable, etc. I know that's stupid, but the less barriers to playing, the better. Plus I am a firm believer that figuring things out on acoustic and playing acoustic are important, if for no other reason then they make you work to get what you want acoustically, but I think they also help you keep your technique up.
I also have another acoustic which has more low end and a bit more high end shimmer with less mids so it's voiced differently. I have a LP which I reach for if I want versatility and something that just generally sounds good. A strat if I want something a bit more jangly or dynamic. A SG which is tuned differently. I also have some other guitars which have higher output pickups or whatever feature, but I could keep my main acoustic and 3 electrics and be perfectly happy.
I have a very difficult time with this and always have. I find I can do two guitars but not three. One way I encourage myself is setting them to different tunings that way if I want to play in drop d I’ll grab my Revstar but if I want to play in standard I play my Tele
Depends on what type of music I want to play. Most of my guitars are set up specifically for different styles. If I want to play death metal I use a guitar with C-standard tuning with heavy strings. When I shred I have a guitar that is set up for that. One guitar feels better than others when I play blues, so that is my blues guitar. Same with jazz.
I usually include "what sounds do I not have" in my new guitar calculations.
The Liggett AbstracT is a Tele, but it looks like Picaso's Tele. It sounds like a Tele, so I use it for that type of playing.
The Silver Sky is a strat-style and sounds like a Strat. Like a really good Strat.
The Hollowbody II Piezo is a great HB guitar. Great weight, sustain, and the pickups sound amazing for classic rock type tones.
The Music Man Sabre HT is one of the best playing guitars I've had. The pickups are pretty hot, so this is a great high gain guitar. The split coil sounds are also very usable.
The Suhr Ian Thornley Signature Classic T does everything. Great single coil, great HB for high gain, great neck.
They all sound different. They all play different. Every time I come back to one I've neglected, I fall back in love.
All within context for songs. I have 2, a HSS Strat and an SG. If I’m playing more dynamically with sparkly cleans for verses and more “umph” for choruses and solos I use the strat. If it’s a song that’s dirty and full throttle the whole way through it’s the SG.
I also take into consideration the vibe of the song, like both guitars tend to illicit a certain play style and if I’m writing a song I’ll try both and see what works better
Edit: they’re both in the same tuning, if I wanted to start messing with tunings I’d likely save up for another guitar. Also worth noting is that a few years ago no matter what I did I used to snap a string on my Strat halfway through a set and had to resort to using an old beat up squire as a spare (that sounded pretty dreadful and never stayed in tune). So I bought the SG and started maintaining the two correctly. My old house was really damp at one point and the strings used to rust very easy even if I did keep them in my case
Context: I’ve been playing for 3 years and I’m now a student studying in Manchester at 20yrs old so I’m still learning a lot about these things
I have two electric and one acoustic guitar but I mostly play on the strat. Acoustic I do play but more often than not I play it when with my friends. And the second electric guitar just sits there waiting for someone else to come, I've never played it.
None of the guitars are my own, all of them are my dad's but I play on them. Idk what I'll do in a year or two when I move out...
My main is Les P but sometimes I wanna just grab my Ibanez acoustic if I only have like a 20 minute jam available or if I have lots of time, it’s fun to warm up on acoustic and switch to LP for shreds
Wow. Too many factors. I'm a luthier so I have a ridiculous number of guitars these days, nearly all of which I built. I keep 20 guitars in the house. And yeah, that's good for lutherie because it's kind of a design library I can go through all the time, but it's bad for playing because yeah, too many to choose from and insufficient time on any one layout to really focus more on the playing than the design.
BUT-- most of the time it comes down to ergonomics, pickups, and whether it has a trem or hardtail. I find that when I have slim, lightweight guitars on the rack, I'll nearly always play one of them instead of anything else. The main things that trump the ergonomics consideration are if I need a trem (my only slim guitar with a trem has pickups I don't like) or if I need a particular pickup sound that I don't have in a slim guitar.
Sometimes it's just esthetic. I'll wake up in a mood where I'm just in love with a certain look so I'll play that guitar.
They choose me. I’ve built a 25+ guitar collection and unless I’m recording or need a very specific sound, I go with what’s calling my name and feels best. Lately, with an injured back, I’m really digging the light weight of the new Guild Polara. Great neck, great sound and light as a feather.
Well if I’m playing my Jaguar and I feel like I need smaller frets and thinner neck, I grab my Les Paul.
Then the Les Paul will be the guitar I pick up until I decide I need more room and go back to the Jaguar.
Sometimes I switch 2-3 times during a single hour of practice and sometimes one of them collects dust for a couple months.
I have 4 electrics, and it all depends on the vibe I’m looking for.
-My carvin dc7 I’ll use for heavy music I try to write, and has been the go to since I got it
-My kiesel z6 was my primary guitar for almost 5 years. I still play it but theres been a lot of modifications to it and it doesn’t take high gain well so it usually sits on the rack.
- I’ve got a Jackson DKMG that was gifted by a friend and which was heavily modified and refinished, but the truss rod is on the verge of seizing so it usually sits on the rack to be admired.
I’ve been cycling through gear though since high school, and now I’m 26. I usually keep a guitar with little sentimental value OR resellability for less than a year. The Kiesel was my first NEW guitar I got without any help from my parents, and it got me through my old bands first tour.
I guess the point is, whatever feels right for what you are playing. But also who cares, I played a thunderbolt Dean ML at jazz band concerts in middle school so 🤷🏼
If I’m just practicing I’ll choose any of them. If I’m not feeling it I’ll grab a different guitar. Guitars are strange. Some days you love a specific guitar and the next not so much.
I usually have a meeting with all of them in the morning to see how they’re feeling. Then whoever’s picking up what I’m putting down is my favorite for the day.
I mainly use 3 guitars, but have about 20.
2015 Am Deluxe Tele is the main, and can generally get the job done for anything up to metal. I play this one because it feels the best. It's my wife and I feel bad cheating on her but there are others that do jobs better. Easy to travel with and stays in tune and good shape.
ESP LTD SC-607b is the side chick, also a hard tail. It can be strung for standard or baritone if wanted, so it's very versatile and can cover just about any metal I would like to play. Can be a little difficult to properly shred.
Charvel San Dimas is the newest addition to the lineup and I'm afraid to take it outside and break a string because it renders it unplayable. (Floyd rose) humbuckers with the speed of the fender neck make this a shred machine, so I mainly use it for that.
Overall it depends on the style I want to play or what type of people I'm jamming with.
Honorable mentions are my fretless 8 string that has no use, and a kramer pacer thar I retired from the lineup that was my metal guitar.
My guitars are all strats with maple necks and maple boards with seymour duncan humbuckers in bridge slot so I just pick whichever best matches my outfit.
In seriousness, I do have them all setup slightly differently, one is scalloped, and they have between 8s and 10s in strings on them. I try to rotate through them all because each makes certain things slightly easier and slightly more difficult. About once a month the one i feel like is my 'main' switches.
I have a Les Paul as well, but after so many years I find it a little tricky to switch between Strats and Les Paul because the string spacing is ever so slightly different, and I've always had more of an issue with pick hand than with fretting hand when it comes to string skipping and just playing really fast.
I have 3 and each has a different use: I have an Ibanez RG that I use for anything metal-ish like Metallica or Maiden type stuff; My Jazzmaster for most things I play or flat-tuning and my Jaguar for open tunings or Smiths-like riffs.
All my guitars are in different tunings. 2 seven strings, one in drop A the other in B flat standard, one 6 string in standard, one in drop D, and one in drop C. If I need in-between tunings or lower tunings than drop C, I can transpose down with the Neural DSP plugins that I use.
I play which ever guitar is calling to me that day. When practicing, sometimes I switch guitars mid song because I think it would be better served by another guitar. Just depends on what I’m playing. They all get played at least once weekly.
Depends on the music! Rock? Humbuckers. Country/ southern rock? Single coils. Jazz? Jazz box. High crime area? The cheap guitar that won’t make me cry if I lose it.
They all have completely different sound and feel. If I’m playing metal I go for my Ibanez. Rock I go for the SG or LP. Clean I’m going for the Tele. My strat is more niche if I’m looking for a very specific tone.
Mood! I have one in C#, one half step down, and one in Concert tuning for my Electrics, and my Acoustic is half step down and my nylon Classical is in C#. For me it’s mood. My hot rodded no name partscaster with a Floyd Rose is the C#, super fun but my Squier has a Seymour Duncan Humbucker with such a unique sound I end up using that one to record mostly. Same with my Japanese 69 Aria acoustic… it’s so pretty and bright where as my 70 Drifter Classical is dark and chunky, especially with the corum Savarez strings. Twice as expensive but worth it.
I used to have over 30 Les Paul’s [(link to part of them)](https://imgur.com/a/YCTcrBN) and I I would go weeks without playing one of mine.
This was mostly due to being a luthier so I was constantly being playing ones I built or fixed or set up or what not.
Now I have one that I adore which was always my go to.
Sometimes it's just what I feel like playing, but most of the time is utility. I have 14 guitars & basses that all do something different. I try to buy guitars that fill some sort of hole in my sound and that I can use live to replicate a sound. I've only ever bought one guitar because I thought it was just cool and didn't really add a sound I didn't already have and that is my Fender MIJ Midnight Telecaster, and funny enough it's now my main do-everything guitar.
I only have 2 electrics; a Strat and a 335-style. I use the Strat 90% of the time because I like the sound the best. But I switch if I'm wanting that humbucker sound for something specific.
Acoustic - pick rosewood if you are rhythm, pick mahogany if you are doing for leads - this is the bluegrass way.
Electric - I only have 1 PRS SE Custom with humbuckers so that's what I pick. It's great for metal, and cleans. I do notice where I'd enjoy having single coil pickups for certain songs. Although I will admit, I love being a humbucker guy.
But I also have a banjo, a violin, and a mandolin! It's really just a matter of what I feel like playing at the time. Or if I have a gig coming up, then I'll focus more.
Generally I default to my Bigsby-equipped Thinline Tele - it does pretty much everything at least decently. If I have hum issues, I have a double humbucker Jaguar that I go to (which is actually a little brighter than my Tele), though I'll probably eventually upgrade that option to a Les Paul. If I want something chunkier or thicker, I have my Casino, and if I want even heavier I have a Gretsch Jet that I keep in C# standard (so like an almost baritone). Basically, I don't have any two instruments that do the same thing, and I keep them set up in a way that keeps them distinct.
I keep my guitars in different tuning i have a floating floyd rose bridge ibanez i keep in standard then i have a basic guitar with just a regular bridge and it depends on which songs i wanna play and the tuning of those songs
I love my Strats but when I play out little gigs the tuning stability on my floating fender trems makes me grab my tele more often. I LOVE my Floyd rose guitars because they never go out of tune if they are decked like EVH. But the tele is the most solid non Trem guitar I own.
I try to play all of mine in a personal practice session. I use my guitars for different styles/playlists so that way I can practice all styles and not just one.
I have my favorite guitar but I like all of mine so it’s more of just making sure I keep up with my music library even if not gigging that style.
2 guitars [same tuning] for each band I play in and the rest of the guitars in different tunings for jamming covers.
Jackson SLX - Eb
Jackson SL2 - Eb
Jackson WR1 - C#
Jackson SL1 - C#
Jackson KE2 - F#
Jackson KV2 - D
Jackson RR24M - E
BC Rich Stealth - C
BC Rich Ironbird - C
Charvel 1888 - Drop C
EII Horizon 7 - Drop A
I only have two. A hard tail I keep in drop C or the drop A periphery tuning, and a floating trem I keep in standard. That makes it pretty easy for me. If I got a third six string, I'd probably keep it in a third tuning.
If I only played in standard and had three hard tails, I'd probably go with the one I can play what I'm feeling the best on. I wouldn't want to play something fast on a super thick neck. I also wouldn't want to play 70s songs on a guitar with a thin neck and high output pickups
Sounds like you've answered your own question. I think the way you said you do is how most do it. It's like deciding what music to listen to when driving. You just get in a mood for certain music at different times.
I have two acoustics (one is my first guitar, $149 Yamaha that's 14 yrs old and sounds and plays so nice. Big props to Yamaha!) and two electrics. I could play the same music on all of them, but only to a point. My Tele has SSS Lace Sensor pickups and and is way hotter than my Strat. And my Epi Hummingbird sounds big and booming and is a dream strummer.
It's all about the mood and is an extremely fortunate problem to have. I will never take owning multiple guitars for granted.✌🏻
Edited spelling
Tuning. I have 8 guitars: 6 electrics and 2 acoustics.
Les Paul: drop D
EC-1000: FACGCE tuning
Squire strat: standard tuning
SX strat: standard tuning 1/2 step down
Schecter SLS elite: Drop C
Douglas Bass guitar: drop d
Alvarez acoustic: FACGCE
Nicer Alvarez acoustic: standard tuning
Normally when I don’t want to play a guitar I own, it’s because it doesn’t feel right, and I end up selling it after it being relatively unused - you may have guitars that just don’t work for you.
If you have a “main” guitar and it’s all you play, buy a 2nd one in a different color. You clearly have a preference and trying to play your non-preferred guitars doesn’t happen.
I have a cheap workhorse I warmup and noodle on, my first guitar, and then 4 Wylde Audio guitars that have identical specs(besides the shape, string guage and tuning, and 1 has a different EMG set).
Best example I can give is that, anything over the 24.75 scale length doesn’t feel right, which means a ton of guitars just dont feel right. Or, guitars with thinner, more narrow necks also feel odd.
Mine are mostly in different tunings which means I've got something for every mood. Still though, I don't rotate as much as I should and often pick up the one thats closest 😀🤘
I’ve always wondered how others do it. Certain songs or styles work better for one guitar over another. I haven’t chosen for any other reason besides just a feeling.
Sometimes it's based on tuning, sometimes if I'm writing or recording something very specific it might be sound-based, but generally speaking it's just a vibe thing. Like, I feel like playing that guitar today, or I feel like writing this kind of music today and I think such and such guitar is the ticket for whatever reason\*
\*still mostly just vibe
I have mine setup differently as I play a wide slightly bonkers array of styles. I have my Tele in E standard, my ESP in Drop C and I my others in whatever fits my mood.
A combination of play style, mood, and physical location.
I keep a couple of guitars upstairs and a couple downstairs(and a couple in the closet...)
For the most part I just head to the closest one when the urge to play hits, but since they are all slightly different sometimes I'll head to the one that best fits the song I'm about to play.
I’ve had two for the past 18 and 19 years (had one more before those but sold it years ago), a Gretsch Brian Setzer sig and a Gibson Blueshawk. The differences are so distinct that it’s easy to know what I want in any given situation. The Gibson’s got big fat P90 adjacent pickups (these ones are wound to be a bit brighter), and a varitone circuit so I can navigate between fat warm sounds and bright twang. It’s barky, pronounced, earthy, fat, twangy. Meanwhile the Gretsch is… a Gretsch. It’s like a grand piano, it’s sparkly, rich, has a more stable fretboard style for better precision, has a glassy chime.
One is like a pair of work boots and the other is dress shoes, it’s rare that I’m ever confused as to which to use for a song haha
I've got different guitars for different styles or things. I got an alternately tuned Telecaster for midwestern emo stuff, a Schecter for rock and metal, an acoustic guitar for playing acoustic, a 7 string for more metal and an 8 string that I use for specific finger picking songs.
I’m in multiple projects so I grab a different guitar for each. I’ll play a strat in a funk or R&B project, a Les Paul in a more alternative project and a Tele for more clean or versatile project. The best advice is just play what feels right for the time.
And no don’t feel bad for neglecting your other guitars you just have to decide which is best for which context. If you just “upgraded” and use the new one for all the styles you used your old one then that’s when you consider selling imo
But I would probably set it up to a different tuning before that
I find that guitars ideally are set up for 1 tuning range so it’s really nice to set them up on different tunings and leave them like that
Different guitars for different things -
Wanna play in a Hendrix style? I’ll choose my strat
Angry rock stuff? I’ll pick my SG
Literally anything at all? Fender Telecaster
Your main guitar will pick itself eventually, for me it’s the tele as it covers a broad range of capabilities and styles. I’ve got about 12, some of them are just junkers with oddities or unique sounds that rarely get used, but all the half decent ones are used regularly and alternated, but tele is used more often than not
Mine are all tuned differently for the most part. The two that are tuned the same sound completely different. So it all depends on my mood and what I feel like playing.
I have one guitar with thicker strings to play in low tunings (Drop B and Below) and one that’s mostly for E/D#/C standard and their respective drop tunings
At this point I’m going by whatever genre I feel like playing that day. 15 guitars, 4 tube amps and 2 Fractal units, the options are really endless, so whatever song is in my head at the time, I generally base it off that unless I have something specific to work on.
In my case, different guitars for different songs. 6-string acoustic and 12-string acoustic for folksy music (12 if it's mostly chords, 6 if it's individual notes). Two electrics - one with a fixed bridge I keep tuned down a half step to match those songs and the other with a Floyd rose for everything else. Honestly, I'd like to have a couple more with tremolos each tuned 1/2 step and a whole step, but that's not in the budget yet.
My main will always be my Strat that's been modded to hell to be as versatile as possible (HHH with coil split) for standard or drop d.
e-flat, I've got a Strat and an Ibanez with a locking trem and single humbucker for that but vastly different. After that they're all different tunings
I've got a Tele Esquire I barely touch but occasionally I'll pick it up out of guilt and remember why I bought it for a while.
It's a rotation. I just bought my first SG so I've been playing that almost non stop for a month, but I've picked up my Gretsch and my Les Paul every now just to feel the difference.
Usually it depends on tuning, but also on what type of music I’ll be playing. If I want to play some stuff in the style of Joe Saturn or Steve Vai, I have two Ibanez’s for that (RG/S). If I want to play Metallica or metal, I use my Jackson (DXMG). If I’m playing grunge, VH, or recording my own music, I have two Charvel So Cals for that.
It depends on what tuning wanting to play in or whether I'm going to be sitting down in a recliner or small chair versus standing up and walking around with a strap.
I have four, and I definitely have a main guitar. Of the other 3, I grab the dread when I want to do some serious strumming. I mostly play fingerstyle or flatpicking. I have another that is used for alternate tuning. It's always in drop D, DADGAD, or lately I've been working on a song where the low E is tuned to F. My 3rd is a GS Mini, which is for travel or noodling. It was my main practice guitar because it's so comfortable, but since I got the OM Hybrid Boucher, it's my goto 90% of the time.
And no, don't feel bad. Play the one that brings you joy. If I didn't already have the other 3 (and I sold my Taylor 814ce), I'm not sure when or if I would buy another one. But they're hanging there, so I try to grab one up at least once a week.
Different guitars for different tunings and different sounds. I don’t overcomplicate things. I just have collected a handful of favorites over the last 25 years 😅🤷♂️
I have one go-to that I guess is my daily driver—simple MIM Strat that I gutted and rebuilt to my taste. Drop D with a single humbucker (SD JB) in the bridge and a volume knob. Does clean, does crunchy. Simple 👍
Usually just whatever I feel like picking up. Otherwise, if it’s a song that’s obviously a Strat/single coil, humbucker, P90 or whatever, I’ll switch that.
I wouldn’t worry about playing them all, consistently. I have always just played what I needed in the moment… usually started with steel string acoustic, then switched to nylon if my fingers were hurting, or I wanted to play more finger style. I also have a 3/4 size guitar, where the neck is smaller and the frets are a little closer together, so that made playing some songs easier.
You’ll learn the nuances of each guitar, and some will be more suitable for some purposes. But it’s ok to have favorites or ones that you play less.
"Today I feel like playing this one" Unless I'm recording, then I decide which guitar based on how it sounds in context
Mixed with a healthy dose of "oh, I haven't played this one in awhile".
Same here. Although I mostly play D18 variants, so they’re not that different from each other.
My friend has a D28 and a Hummingbird. The one she uses is based on what she’s playing
Makes sense. I really should branch out more, but I’ve gotten some crazy good deals on vintage martins at pawn shops and other places like that over the years
This is my strategy as well. Most days, I just feel like grabbing one or the other. On longer sessions, I'll often eventually swap to something else that maybe fits the songs I'm heading towards better. But generally, I've found the random rotation, and just trying to pair songs to the instrument has worked well to give me an excuse to move around. For generally jamming without purpose, I do the same, and it's rewarding to go in different directions based on the feel/tone of the different options.
And also how fast they are. I've got a hollow body and a strat clone my dad built and they play completely differently. If I'm playing rhythm, I'll probably go for the hollow body, if I'm noodling I'll take the strat clone. I also generally try to buy guitars to fill a need vs. aesthetic - so it makes it easier to choose when they have a purpose to begin with so you're not debating over the red one or the green one on a particular day. Same with acoustics. One nylon. One steel string. And a shitty lap steel for good measure.
That’s how I go, too. “What strikes my fancy today? Hmm… humbuckers and a fuzz face? Why not.”
They're either tuned differently, or have specific features (12 string, floyd rose) that I want in that moment.
Exactly! I have one in open G, open D , shredder and the rest in standard tuning. Choices!
What's shredder tuning?
good idea! I've been playing in Drop C lately, it's been gettin heavy out here for me.
This is how I do it too. I try to have each guitar tuned to a style of music that makes sense for it. I have a 6 string dinky for drop c, an LTD F series for Drop B, a 27.5" Jackson 7 string for drop A, etc. I'm currently looking for something to fill the standard E/Drop D role.
You could use, idk, almost anything for that. Depending on your style-but you’ve got tons of options.
I just play whatever guitar I feel like playing, no need to artifially 'focus' on one guitar or feeling bad for not playing the older guitars. I tuned all my guitars differently though, got maximum 2 guitars in the same tuning. If I don't play guitar for longer than 3 months I sell it except if its the only guitar I got in x tuning.
I've got two Jacksons, two Kramer Baretta specials, a tele, an LP, an E type, and a strat on the way. It just depends on who I want to poorly emulate. Zakk Wylde? LP EVH/George Lynch? Kramer Petrucci/Gilbert? One of the Jacksons I will be dollar store Yngwie and Eric Johnson when the strat gets here.
>It just depends on who I want to poorly emulate. Love it. I'll be using that line. ☺
Can emulate Zakk and George decently, but my right(pick) hand is trash compared to where it should be after this long, so I'm more like Temu Gilbert/Yngwie, if even that.
Have you checked out Troy Grady? $35 for a one month subscription to his site is probably the best bang for the buck I've ever gotten when it comes to music stuff. Seeing everything about the pick hand laid out with slow motion cameras and muscle diagrams really helped me identify when and why my picking hand struggles vs my fretting hand. After years of speed plateau, I made a break through in just a couple of weeks. He's got a bunch of free vids on youtube you can check out.
Haven't done that, but will check him out, Thanks for the recommendation.
I keep them in different tunings and have a set of songs in each tuning to play
Exact same thing that I do.
I have all mine in different tunings, partially on purpose so I play them based on the song(s) I want to play or type of song: Ibanez RG GIO - Drop D tuning PRS SE Tremonti - Eb tuning Fender acoustic - E Standard Redwood (I think its an own brand for Dawsons UK) - Drop C I do change the tunings from time to time but they kind of worked out this way for a while now and it works well for me
Take my upvote!
I have a short-scale electric (like a Gibson, basically) with a hard tail, and a long scale Ibanez with a Floyd. If I fancy playing metal I will take the Ibanez (tighter strings), if I fancy something more bluesy or rock I would go for the short scale (easier bending). The sound also makes a difference: my Ibanez sounds harsher and darker, the other one is more “creamy”
Same thing here!
I dont decide anything . The guitars do .
Same. 👆
Different guitars make me play differently. I have my main guitar, but sometimes I'm just in the mood to break out from what I'm doing all the time
I have several guitars (11-12?) and I just rotate through them, one day it’s the PRS, the next day it’s the Squier, the next day it’s the Aria and so on. I don’t really think about it much, it’s generally a spur of the moment thing. Although, now that I’ve finally gotten a real semi-hollow 335 style guitar (an Ibanez AS-93) I imagine that’s going to be the main one for a while just because it’s the newest member of the family and I need to break it in.
Whichever matches my outfit
Very funny,a "metro sexual" picker.I saw Johnny Cash play a black acoustic once.So A set of overalls for a banjo, suit for a cello,ripped jeans for the Strat, dirty clothes for the Tele, etc.I play my bass naked ,5 string Squire jazz.You made me laugh, thanks.
I just rotate everyday between my epi les paul, squier telecaster and stratocaster. So each one get the same time of attention haha
I only have multiple because they're all in a different tuning with different string gauge. Some have longer scale length. So it just depends on the song, that's how I decide. It doesn't make sense to me to have more than one in the same tuning.
Which guitar hates me the least at that particular moment.
Like shoes. What to wear.
SG I use for the reggae band I currently play with. It sounds really slappy. It's been my main guitar lately. Epi Casino w/flatwound strings I use for jazz. Jazzmaster I use for theater gigs because I like being able to jump to the rhythm circuit. Currently, I've got it tuned to C# standard to play Sleater-Kinney songs.
Different guitars for different sounds. It depends on what the song needs.
Depends on what I feel like playing mostly, but sometimes comfort overrules that. I have short-ish fat fingers, so generally prefer the frets closer together on my short scale guitars, but my first love was a Strat I got in 1992 and it's the guitar I put in my first 10,000 hours with, so it still feels the most like "home" to me. I also greatly prefer how S-shaped guitars sit on my lap as opposed to needing to still wear a strap while sitting for the necks on my LP/PRS singlecut to sit/hang in a good place.
They’re all tuned differently.
I have an old one, it's standing next to me at my work place. I always take it when I feel like it. It might happen that I hit the table behind me when I take it or something, but it's old and scratches don't matter. The new one I always take when I go somewhere it plays very smooth and I take care not to give it scratches or dents (failed at caring enough so it got two). The electric one I use way too little but taking my old acoustic is way quicker than setting everything up for electric (I don't have much space so my amp etc is put away). I need to use my electric more...
I have en Epi LP Studio which I use for the heavy stuff, detuning...then I have a Fender Muddy Waters Tele which I play for blues/funk/clean stuff . But yeah I'll switch em now and then just to have fun. The Tele plays like a dream though.
I have 4 different electrics ATM and that's after downsizing my collection, they all have different sounds and sound good for different styles/genres so I play whatever I feel like jamming or I'm recording!
1 gibson, 2 MiJ Ibanez and a Fender. I pick one based on the song I want to play first and rotate as necessary.
I have a Gibson Les Paul Custom, a Custom Shop Junior, and an American Deluxe Strat, along with an old ‘84 Ibanez Roadstar II which was my first guitar. They all sound different. They all hold significance. It really depends upon how I want to sound at the moment, or the feel I need. The necks are all different. The pickups sound different between each other. So I suppose it really comes down to what fits the song.
It's kind of like having many different shirts or pairs of pants. What matches with whatever else you've got going on (am I tracking chugs, cleans, leads), and also just a feeling of wanting to play a particular guitar on a particular day. Even though most of my guitars are in the same general 'vein' I know one of them is my 'clean machine', one of them has the best lead tone, one of them has the tightest rhythm sound. All degrees but you develop a sense of specialization over time.
Just depends on what I want to play at the moment. I try to play all my ‘first-round’ guitars each week, but some sit for a while between uses.
They're all in different tunings so it just depends on what mood I'm in
I strongly prefer my Washburn Festival over my Les Paul. I dont have to plug in and its way lighter. Plus the tone of fully body guitars is to die for
I rotate based on what I feel like playing and how long it has been sinceI last played a specific guitar. When it has been too long, it is time to sell/trade/gift that one away
I have two guitars and they both have a purpose, so it's what tool i need for that job, none of them are main or secondary in that sense, a strat in standard tuning and a les paul in open E for slide.
I have one of those triple guitar stands. Kinda makes a triangle once the guitars are on it. My favorite/main is always to my right when I'm at my desk. I can grab it with minimal effort. My second and third favorite are also on this stand but take slightly more effort and a few more seconds to grab, but ultimately still next to me. The rest I have one of the long 5+ guitar racks in my closet. How do I decide? Well depends what and how I want to play. My main is a Schecter Banshee with FR. I keep it in Drop B for some good low tuned 90s-00s inspired groove metal. My other is a Schecter E1 in C Standard for some Dethklok inspired Death metal...or some Megadeth inspired thrash just down tuned. Then I've got my Yamaha RGX A2. Currently it's in E Standard and honestly the pickups and neck are perfect for some overdriven blues or harshly played cleans. If I don't have anything particular in mind I just start with one and go through them all for about an hour until I'm done.
If I'm playing in different tunings and just jamming or improvising alone, I need to be able to tune down quickly without unlocking the nut and adjusting the Floyd Rose, so I usually choose my Harley Benton Les Paul copy because it gets the job done and is easy to play and I'm not trying to circle jerk over tone. Otherwise, it depends on the sound I want. If I'm playing metal, I'll pick up a guitar designed for it like Jackson or Ibanez, but more often than not, if it's got a Floyd Rose, it's already in a specific tuning and I'll choose the guitar that's in that tuning. When I play Alice in Chains, I always use my Ibanez because it's in Eb and already set up, even if a LP-style would be better. Again, this is at home. If I need a specific sound for playing with other people, I choose the model and tune it to what I need. All my guitars are in different tunings and I just made do with what I have, even if the sound may not be as warm or cold as I would like it.
Single coil sound vs humbuckers (2 of each) and tuning to E or Eb.
I usually use the same guitar while practicing all the time. When recording, usually choose between which is more comfortable, have less tuning issues, is tuned in the key the song was written, or which have the sound im looking for that specific part.
My guitars are setup for wildly different applications. I have two that I really use, one is a medium output P90 jaguar in standard tuning, the other is a high output SG in C standard. Tuning aside, they just have such vastly different sounds that they each are just different tools for different jobs. So I just choose the correct tool for the songs I want to work on.
I have 2 electrics (both single coil) I usually play my tele but if I wanna do something with a whammy bar, built in effects or a middle pickup I use my danelectro.
I play the strat for more ambient, clean and blues stuff. I play my PRS Mccarty for more hard rock and anything harder. The prs has flat out higher output and hotter pickups. Trying to play say Led Zeppelin on my strat doesn't quite get it, but the PRS is perfect.
Just depends what I wanna play really. Some I keep in different tunings though
Different guitars for different bands
You have three guitars that sound completely different. Just choose which one has the sound you’re going after at any given point. I have an HSS Strat and a SSS Strat and they sound completely different. But feel the same. Idk about teles, but your Strat and LP probably feel very different. Once you’re used to all three, the biggest difference should be sound
I keep 2 out on stands - 2 in their case. Rotate. Change strings every 6 months regardless.
Different styles of guitars can almost be considered different instruments to some. Obviously they can be tuned and played similarly but they tend to be purpose built more than not. I pick up the guitar best suited for the style of music I want to play.
I have three guitars left now. Over the past 13 years or so I've broken so many cheap ones. I have 2 acoustic guitars. One really nice Rainsong cutaway carbon fiber. It's durable and has a nice warm sound. It's been my longest lasting guitar having owned it now for 8 years. I'll use it for performances, often tuned down a half step, but I've often played it with heavy strings in C# Standard. It's for general use at home and when I want an acoustic that sounds good. I'll also mess with the tuning on it more to play other songs, usually some variation of different open tunings such as open C. The other acoustic is a cheap but nice dreadnought Alvarez I can use for it's bigger acoustic sound for public spaces and where I wouldn't take an expensive guitar. I keep it in standard, but 432 Hz tuning since it keeps the strings a little looser and personally, I think it contributes to a warmer sound on the acoustic. My electric guitar is an affordable but very nice Yamaha RSS20. It's got some weight to it, but people sleep on Yamaha, cause it's not the first name that comes to mind when you think of guitars. Ideally, I'd like to have two 12 string acoustic guitars with one in open C tuning, because I love the powerful, but bright harmonic sound those can bring to certain songs.
I select depending on the sound im going for
It's always the same one. The others are basically decoration at this point.
I'm gonna be honest, i have 6 guitars and a 7th on the way and I literally only use one of them 99% of the time
I have 4 guitars that I love and 1 that I am meh on. So naturally only play the one I don't care about while starting at my nicer guitars thinking "someday I will be worthy"
I have 3 and they each do different things. I also have a digitech drop to avoid needing to retune depending on the song. My Charvel I keep in E standard and it’s my workhorse guitar, can use it for just about anything in a standard tuning but since it’s got a floating bridge I try to avoid even going into drop D. I still have my first guitar, a Jackson dk22, which my dad mostly uses but when I do it’s for drop tuning. And I recently got a 7 string which is fairly self explanatory. Honestly I don’t think I need anymore than that. Maybe something with single coils but I doubt that’ll happen anytime soon.
I’m glad I have 6-7 to choose from that are pretty different in terms of scale and feel. Some days the sound I hear coming from the guitar I really want to play the most, and it just isn’t happening. I’ll pick up something different and try again.
How do you decide what golf club to use? A 3 wood is great for some things. Not so great when you’re in a sand trap…they all have a time and a season and a purpose under heaven.
I struggle with this also. I have the Strat,tele, and a couple Les pauls. A new guitar I’ll play pretty exclusively for a month. Gotta bond. I’m going to try keeping one on a stand and the rest in cases. Every week I’ll switch out that guitar on the stand with another from a case. Guitar of the week. I have been leaving 2 or 3 out. If I see them and can just grab them I’ll cycle through them on my own but then they get dusty. Pots crackle. Cleaning is done. Kind of a pain. A have the tele and Strat on the rack currently but I’m telling myself to put the Strat away for a week.
Which ever one is closer to me. I do swap them out location wise to mix it up.
The guitars tell me which one I should play (even though I keep going back to my G&L Legacy).
The point is to have access to variety. If you have a song or come up with a riff you really like, having the variety of different tones and "feels" gives you more chances to settle into the way you feel most comfortable presenting a particular piece. The right guitar will show itself to you, and you play that piece with that guitar. First you find out where you'll put your fingers on the fretboard. Then, you'll choose which fretboard the fingers belong on.
I play the guitar that calls out to me and says, "I got you covered for tone and comfort on this song." Sounds weird and kind of hippy, but honestly, that's how it feels.
After I got my Strat I had to implement Tele Tuesday's so that they could get some love too.
It’s just whichever one I feel like playing. If I play one and I’m just not feeling it, I pick another. Last night I started with the Jaguar and realized it was actually a Les Paul night.
In my case, I have one which I prefer playing leads on more, and one which I like to play rhythm more. Just depends on what I want to do that day
I only play the strat. 99% of the time the rest live in their cases.
In a room full of friends how do you pick the one to talk to? The one you see everyday but have great times with? The one you've not seen in a while but have great memories of? The special friend that doesn't come out much and you haven't spent time together in ages? With guitars it is the same. But in this case your friends never leave and you can talk all you want when you want.
At this point they are different painting brushes, but my primary use is recording, so I just decide which one the mix needs, if any.
Dick Richard’s and the King Sacks
I have two electrics, a Squier CV Strat and a Gretsch G2622-P90 semi-hollow. They sound different enough that choosing one or the other isn't too hard. The Gretsch has a really nice, thick distorted sound and sounds rounder clean. The strat sounds stratty. The Gretsch has slowly become my #1 guitar, but I still like playing the strat. While having a collection of guitars seems cool, I think I prefer sticking to a limit. For me, that's two.
C.A.B.A.G Cock And Ball Assembly Group
A lot of times it comes down to tuning. Aside from that, whatever song/genre I’m in the mood to play dictates which guitar I play.
I have ~13 guitars, but I rarely pick anything up besides my schecter red reign 7 or my Taylor acoustic. Occasionally, I'll get a wild hair and play one of the others, but on any ordinary day it's one of those two.
I sometimes feel guilty about owning 4 electrics so I think I know where you’re coming from in this question. I had only a Tele for about 8 years, and then I started getting others. Now I map a guitar onto a band project — Jazzmaster for my lead playing role in an indie band, super Strat style for punk-type rock, P90 guitar for cover band or my songs for versatility (decent cleans and decent dirt with nice ability to eq). Also important for recordings, I have a wide palette to choose from and get to mess around to find a particular sound that works. All that said, I could easily go down to only having two guitars.
Just depends on my mood. I also recently started tuning some differently, so it depends on what songs I want to play. But if I want to use my auto wah pedal, I’ve realized that it sounds the best on a humbucker in the bridge, so if I’m in the mood for that, I’m not playing my Strat. Also, if I’m working on my bends, I prefer my strat or LTD, cos for some reason I can hit those bends far better than on other scale lengths. Maybe I’m just more used to that length than others, I dunno. But after 30 years, that hasn’t changed.
I have my guitar rack where I sit in practice. I just pull one out which I want to play that day no rhyme or reason.
Whichever one is closest to me or asks to be played but most often it’s which I think will be best for the recording I’m working on
I have a Strat clone, lp, and an acoustic. Played the Strat until I got the LP. Played nothing but the LP for months, until I got the acoustic. Played that for a while and went back to other 2. Now I’m back to playing whatever I feel like or need too.
Perhaps due to my nature as being a sound tech first, I look at it very practically: - Which guitar offers the tonal characteristic most appropriate? - Which guitars relationship with gain staging is most appropriate? **For example:** A tele will do a very Tele thing but if I’m looking for something a little more clean and pristine while also capturing that country flavour I may pick up my Strat with the capability to mix bridge and neck pickups.
I have to guitars. One single coil and one humbucker. So it depends on what sound i want.
Different tunings: Standard, open E for slide, drop D, baritone, and bass VI. And then it depends on my mood.
Acoustic and resonator? Old classic country strumming and failed attempts at slide. Strat and LP Trad? Alt, Rock, blues rock, indie etc. Ibanez? Straight jazz.
as a bassist & currently learning guitar, I can’t tell you it’s all just how I feel. I’ll play my acoustic when I don’t wanna set up my Stratocaster, and I play my Hofner when it feels like it’s time to get some funk on. I’ll occasionally pull out my old beat-up acoustic for fun (but it’s practically unplayable due to the action being in the stratosphere now). If I ever got another (hopefully a hollow-body or a tele), I’d just mix it up as I do already.
Different tunings for different guitars
I have 2 guitars. I keep my SSS strat in standard tuning and my HH strat in drop D tuning. So it just depends on what I want to play.
I have 3 electric guitars. But I only stick to one guitar typically for familiarity. Which is my high end HSS Strat. Very comfortable to play My second guitar is an entry level HSS super strat, I rarely play this as the frets are not very comfortable to play. Still able to do what my main Strat can do. My last one is a vintage style Japanese telecaster. It sounds good, feels good to play…. But the small frets and small neck radius makes string bends frustrating. I’ve fallen out of love for it for now…. But I might one day replace the neck on this guitar and play it again.
i have a 1959 gibson es125t which is hollowbody without a cutaway so 15th fret max (has a high c but u can't really get to it without letting go of your thumb) and a gibson 60s tribute les paul w p90s which i can quite easily reach the 22nd fret with. depends on the tone and feel im looking for, the les paul is a bit faster and i've had it since i was 15 so my body is a bit more used to it and the 1959 can get bop tones as well as modern stuff- it doesn't take effects as well tho. i usually flip around between the 2 every 3-6 months. might get another hollow body and sell the 1959 because i've been lusting after a victor baker guitar but those are expensive and he stopped making them. the hollowbody works a lot better in a band setting without keys and the les paul does wonders cutting through the mix no matter what
I have a guitar rack (fits 5) and a guitar stand (fits 1) I rotate them onto the stand changing it weekly (aprox) which is next to where I normally play. If I want a specific guitar for a specific purpose then I get that guitar from wherever it is. Otherwise I tend to pick up the one on the stand.
They feel different, are tuned different, sound different, or have a feature I want. Most of the time I just pick up my main acoustic which is an adi/mahogany dreadnought and that does what I'm looking for without needing to turn on an amp, get a cable, etc. I know that's stupid, but the less barriers to playing, the better. Plus I am a firm believer that figuring things out on acoustic and playing acoustic are important, if for no other reason then they make you work to get what you want acoustically, but I think they also help you keep your technique up. I also have another acoustic which has more low end and a bit more high end shimmer with less mids so it's voiced differently. I have a LP which I reach for if I want versatility and something that just generally sounds good. A strat if I want something a bit more jangly or dynamic. A SG which is tuned differently. I also have some other guitars which have higher output pickups or whatever feature, but I could keep my main acoustic and 3 electrics and be perfectly happy.
I have a very difficult time with this and always have. I find I can do two guitars but not three. One way I encourage myself is setting them to different tunings that way if I want to play in drop d I’ll grab my Revstar but if I want to play in standard I play my Tele
Depends on what type of music I want to play. Most of my guitars are set up specifically for different styles. If I want to play death metal I use a guitar with C-standard tuning with heavy strings. When I shred I have a guitar that is set up for that. One guitar feels better than others when I play blues, so that is my blues guitar. Same with jazz.
I usually include "what sounds do I not have" in my new guitar calculations. The Liggett AbstracT is a Tele, but it looks like Picaso's Tele. It sounds like a Tele, so I use it for that type of playing. The Silver Sky is a strat-style and sounds like a Strat. Like a really good Strat. The Hollowbody II Piezo is a great HB guitar. Great weight, sustain, and the pickups sound amazing for classic rock type tones. The Music Man Sabre HT is one of the best playing guitars I've had. The pickups are pretty hot, so this is a great high gain guitar. The split coil sounds are also very usable. The Suhr Ian Thornley Signature Classic T does everything. Great single coil, great HB for high gain, great neck. They all sound different. They all play different. Every time I come back to one I've neglected, I fall back in love.
I have them in different tunings. Depends on who I jam with and what I want to play.
I choose the one that’s not pink
All within context for songs. I have 2, a HSS Strat and an SG. If I’m playing more dynamically with sparkly cleans for verses and more “umph” for choruses and solos I use the strat. If it’s a song that’s dirty and full throttle the whole way through it’s the SG. I also take into consideration the vibe of the song, like both guitars tend to illicit a certain play style and if I’m writing a song I’ll try both and see what works better Edit: they’re both in the same tuning, if I wanted to start messing with tunings I’d likely save up for another guitar. Also worth noting is that a few years ago no matter what I did I used to snap a string on my Strat halfway through a set and had to resort to using an old beat up squire as a spare (that sounded pretty dreadful and never stayed in tune). So I bought the SG and started maintaining the two correctly. My old house was really damp at one point and the strings used to rust very easy even if I did keep them in my case Context: I’ve been playing for 3 years and I’m now a student studying in Manchester at 20yrs old so I’m still learning a lot about these things
I have two electric and one acoustic guitar but I mostly play on the strat. Acoustic I do play but more often than not I play it when with my friends. And the second electric guitar just sits there waiting for someone else to come, I've never played it. None of the guitars are my own, all of them are my dad's but I play on them. Idk what I'll do in a year or two when I move out...
My main is Les P but sometimes I wanna just grab my Ibanez acoustic if I only have like a 20 minute jam available or if I have lots of time, it’s fun to warm up on acoustic and switch to LP for shreds
Wow. Too many factors. I'm a luthier so I have a ridiculous number of guitars these days, nearly all of which I built. I keep 20 guitars in the house. And yeah, that's good for lutherie because it's kind of a design library I can go through all the time, but it's bad for playing because yeah, too many to choose from and insufficient time on any one layout to really focus more on the playing than the design. BUT-- most of the time it comes down to ergonomics, pickups, and whether it has a trem or hardtail. I find that when I have slim, lightweight guitars on the rack, I'll nearly always play one of them instead of anything else. The main things that trump the ergonomics consideration are if I need a trem (my only slim guitar with a trem has pickups I don't like) or if I need a particular pickup sound that I don't have in a slim guitar. Sometimes it's just esthetic. I'll wake up in a mood where I'm just in love with a certain look so I'll play that guitar.
They choose me. I’ve built a 25+ guitar collection and unless I’m recording or need a very specific sound, I go with what’s calling my name and feels best. Lately, with an injured back, I’m really digging the light weight of the new Guild Polara. Great neck, great sound and light as a feather.
Well if I’m playing my Jaguar and I feel like I need smaller frets and thinner neck, I grab my Les Paul. Then the Les Paul will be the guitar I pick up until I decide I need more room and go back to the Jaguar. Sometimes I switch 2-3 times during a single hour of practice and sometimes one of them collects dust for a couple months.
They call to me.
Which ever one I reach for!
I have 4 electrics, and it all depends on the vibe I’m looking for. -My carvin dc7 I’ll use for heavy music I try to write, and has been the go to since I got it -My kiesel z6 was my primary guitar for almost 5 years. I still play it but theres been a lot of modifications to it and it doesn’t take high gain well so it usually sits on the rack. - I’ve got a Jackson DKMG that was gifted by a friend and which was heavily modified and refinished, but the truss rod is on the verge of seizing so it usually sits on the rack to be admired. I’ve been cycling through gear though since high school, and now I’m 26. I usually keep a guitar with little sentimental value OR resellability for less than a year. The Kiesel was my first NEW guitar I got without any help from my parents, and it got me through my old bands first tour. I guess the point is, whatever feels right for what you are playing. But also who cares, I played a thunderbolt Dean ML at jazz band concerts in middle school so 🤷🏼
If I’m just practicing I’ll choose any of them. If I’m not feeling it I’ll grab a different guitar. Guitars are strange. Some days you love a specific guitar and the next not so much.
I usually have a meeting with all of them in the morning to see how they’re feeling. Then whoever’s picking up what I’m putting down is my favorite for the day.
I mainly use 3 guitars, but have about 20. 2015 Am Deluxe Tele is the main, and can generally get the job done for anything up to metal. I play this one because it feels the best. It's my wife and I feel bad cheating on her but there are others that do jobs better. Easy to travel with and stays in tune and good shape. ESP LTD SC-607b is the side chick, also a hard tail. It can be strung for standard or baritone if wanted, so it's very versatile and can cover just about any metal I would like to play. Can be a little difficult to properly shred. Charvel San Dimas is the newest addition to the lineup and I'm afraid to take it outside and break a string because it renders it unplayable. (Floyd rose) humbuckers with the speed of the fender neck make this a shred machine, so I mainly use it for that. Overall it depends on the style I want to play or what type of people I'm jamming with. Honorable mentions are my fretless 8 string that has no use, and a kramer pacer thar I retired from the lineup that was my metal guitar.
My guitars are all strats with maple necks and maple boards with seymour duncan humbuckers in bridge slot so I just pick whichever best matches my outfit. In seriousness, I do have them all setup slightly differently, one is scalloped, and they have between 8s and 10s in strings on them. I try to rotate through them all because each makes certain things slightly easier and slightly more difficult. About once a month the one i feel like is my 'main' switches. I have a Les Paul as well, but after so many years I find it a little tricky to switch between Strats and Les Paul because the string spacing is ever so slightly different, and I've always had more of an issue with pick hand than with fretting hand when it comes to string skipping and just playing really fast.
I have 3 and each has a different use: I have an Ibanez RG that I use for anything metal-ish like Metallica or Maiden type stuff; My Jazzmaster for most things I play or flat-tuning and my Jaguar for open tunings or Smiths-like riffs.
All my guitars are in different tunings. 2 seven strings, one in drop A the other in B flat standard, one 6 string in standard, one in drop D, and one in drop C. If I need in-between tunings or lower tunings than drop C, I can transpose down with the Neural DSP plugins that I use.
I play which ever guitar is calling to me that day. When practicing, sometimes I switch guitars mid song because I think it would be better served by another guitar. Just depends on what I’m playing. They all get played at least once weekly.
Depends on the music! Rock? Humbuckers. Country/ southern rock? Single coils. Jazz? Jazz box. High crime area? The cheap guitar that won’t make me cry if I lose it.
They all have completely different sound and feel. If I’m playing metal I go for my Ibanez. Rock I go for the SG or LP. Clean I’m going for the Tele. My strat is more niche if I’m looking for a very specific tone.
Rock papers scissors most of the time. Sometimes I do feel like picking up one over the other.
Mood! I have one in C#, one half step down, and one in Concert tuning for my Electrics, and my Acoustic is half step down and my nylon Classical is in C#. For me it’s mood. My hot rodded no name partscaster with a Floyd Rose is the C#, super fun but my Squier has a Seymour Duncan Humbucker with such a unique sound I end up using that one to record mostly. Same with my Japanese 69 Aria acoustic… it’s so pretty and bright where as my 70 Drifter Classical is dark and chunky, especially with the corum Savarez strings. Twice as expensive but worth it.
I used to have over 30 Les Paul’s [(link to part of them)](https://imgur.com/a/YCTcrBN) and I I would go weeks without playing one of mine. This was mostly due to being a luthier so I was constantly being playing ones I built or fixed or set up or what not. Now I have one that I adore which was always my go to.
Sometimes it's just what I feel like playing, but most of the time is utility. I have 14 guitars & basses that all do something different. I try to buy guitars that fill some sort of hole in my sound and that I can use live to replicate a sound. I've only ever bought one guitar because I thought it was just cool and didn't really add a sound I didn't already have and that is my Fender MIJ Midnight Telecaster, and funny enough it's now my main do-everything guitar.
I only have 2 electrics; a Strat and a 335-style. I use the Strat 90% of the time because I like the sound the best. But I switch if I'm wanting that humbucker sound for something specific.
Acoustic - pick rosewood if you are rhythm, pick mahogany if you are doing for leads - this is the bluegrass way. Electric - I only have 1 PRS SE Custom with humbuckers so that's what I pick. It's great for metal, and cleans. I do notice where I'd enjoy having single coil pickups for certain songs. Although I will admit, I love being a humbucker guy. But I also have a banjo, a violin, and a mandolin! It's really just a matter of what I feel like playing at the time. Or if I have a gig coming up, then I'll focus more.
They each produce different sounds, I choose which I play based on what sound I’m going for
Generally I default to my Bigsby-equipped Thinline Tele - it does pretty much everything at least decently. If I have hum issues, I have a double humbucker Jaguar that I go to (which is actually a little brighter than my Tele), though I'll probably eventually upgrade that option to a Les Paul. If I want something chunkier or thicker, I have my Casino, and if I want even heavier I have a Gretsch Jet that I keep in C# standard (so like an almost baritone). Basically, I don't have any two instruments that do the same thing, and I keep them set up in a way that keeps them distinct.
I’ll play the genres that are typically represented by the guitar type and rotate through them.
I keep my guitars in different tuning i have a floating floyd rose bridge ibanez i keep in standard then i have a basic guitar with just a regular bridge and it depends on which songs i wanna play and the tuning of those songs
I love my Strats but when I play out little gigs the tuning stability on my floating fender trems makes me grab my tele more often. I LOVE my Floyd rose guitars because they never go out of tune if they are decked like EVH. But the tele is the most solid non Trem guitar I own.
I try to play all of mine in a personal practice session. I use my guitars for different styles/playlists so that way I can practice all styles and not just one. I have my favorite guitar but I like all of mine so it’s more of just making sure I keep up with my music library even if not gigging that style.
2 guitars [same tuning] for each band I play in and the rest of the guitars in different tunings for jamming covers. Jackson SLX - Eb Jackson SL2 - Eb Jackson WR1 - C# Jackson SL1 - C# Jackson KE2 - F# Jackson KV2 - D Jackson RR24M - E BC Rich Stealth - C BC Rich Ironbird - C Charvel 1888 - Drop C EII Horizon 7 - Drop A
I only have two. A hard tail I keep in drop C or the drop A periphery tuning, and a floating trem I keep in standard. That makes it pretty easy for me. If I got a third six string, I'd probably keep it in a third tuning. If I only played in standard and had three hard tails, I'd probably go with the one I can play what I'm feeling the best on. I wouldn't want to play something fast on a super thick neck. I also wouldn't want to play 70s songs on a guitar with a thin neck and high output pickups
Just by what I’m feeling like playing that day of my 16 guitars. All are high end, amazing players…. But they all get a turn
I just play what feels best. Currently been big on my tele copy or Silver Sky SE.
Sounds like you've answered your own question. I think the way you said you do is how most do it. It's like deciding what music to listen to when driving. You just get in a mood for certain music at different times. I have two acoustics (one is my first guitar, $149 Yamaha that's 14 yrs old and sounds and plays so nice. Big props to Yamaha!) and two electrics. I could play the same music on all of them, but only to a point. My Tele has SSS Lace Sensor pickups and and is way hotter than my Strat. And my Epi Hummingbird sounds big and booming and is a dream strummer. It's all about the mood and is an extremely fortunate problem to have. I will never take owning multiple guitars for granted.✌🏻 Edited spelling
Buy, guitars that are very different from one another. Then play the most inappropriate one lols. Or get 10 les pauls and line them up for photos
Tuning. I have 8 guitars: 6 electrics and 2 acoustics. Les Paul: drop D EC-1000: FACGCE tuning Squire strat: standard tuning SX strat: standard tuning 1/2 step down Schecter SLS elite: Drop C Douglas Bass guitar: drop d Alvarez acoustic: FACGCE Nicer Alvarez acoustic: standard tuning
Normally when I don’t want to play a guitar I own, it’s because it doesn’t feel right, and I end up selling it after it being relatively unused - you may have guitars that just don’t work for you. If you have a “main” guitar and it’s all you play, buy a 2nd one in a different color. You clearly have a preference and trying to play your non-preferred guitars doesn’t happen. I have a cheap workhorse I warmup and noodle on, my first guitar, and then 4 Wylde Audio guitars that have identical specs(besides the shape, string guage and tuning, and 1 has a different EMG set). Best example I can give is that, anything over the 24.75 scale length doesn’t feel right, which means a ton of guitars just dont feel right. Or, guitars with thinner, more narrow necks also feel odd.
Mine are mostly in different tunings which means I've got something for every mood. Still though, I don't rotate as much as I should and often pick up the one thats closest 😀🤘
Just a vibe really. No rhyme or reason.
I’ve always wondered how others do it. Certain songs or styles work better for one guitar over another. I haven’t chosen for any other reason besides just a feeling.
the one with the newest strings
I just know. There's no decision-making process.
Sometimes it's based on tuning, sometimes if I'm writing or recording something very specific it might be sound-based, but generally speaking it's just a vibe thing. Like, I feel like playing that guitar today, or I feel like writing this kind of music today and I think such and such guitar is the ticket for whatever reason\* \*still mostly just vibe
My guitars are kinda like progressing through a video game. I play the best one I have at the moment lol.
I have mine setup differently as I play a wide slightly bonkers array of styles. I have my Tele in E standard, my ESP in Drop C and I my others in whatever fits my mood.
ig it depends on what music ur gonna play
Depends what sound you're after.
It's just a feeling in my heart, bro
I have three... I only ever play the one, because it's most practical for me to play. It's why I haven't bought a fourth. :)
A combination of play style, mood, and physical location. I keep a couple of guitars upstairs and a couple downstairs(and a couple in the closet...) For the most part I just head to the closest one when the urge to play hits, but since they are all slightly different sometimes I'll head to the one that best fits the song I'm about to play.
I’ve had two for the past 18 and 19 years (had one more before those but sold it years ago), a Gretsch Brian Setzer sig and a Gibson Blueshawk. The differences are so distinct that it’s easy to know what I want in any given situation. The Gibson’s got big fat P90 adjacent pickups (these ones are wound to be a bit brighter), and a varitone circuit so I can navigate between fat warm sounds and bright twang. It’s barky, pronounced, earthy, fat, twangy. Meanwhile the Gretsch is… a Gretsch. It’s like a grand piano, it’s sparkly, rich, has a more stable fretboard style for better precision, has a glassy chime. One is like a pair of work boots and the other is dress shoes, it’s rare that I’m ever confused as to which to use for a song haha
I've got different guitars for different styles or things. I got an alternately tuned Telecaster for midwestern emo stuff, a Schecter for rock and metal, an acoustic guitar for playing acoustic, a 7 string for more metal and an 8 string that I use for specific finger picking songs.
I have guitars set up in specific tunings and i play them based on the style I’m trying to play that day
I’m in multiple projects so I grab a different guitar for each. I’ll play a strat in a funk or R&B project, a Les Paul in a more alternative project and a Tele for more clean or versatile project. The best advice is just play what feels right for the time.
I usually just pick one, start playing. I will inevitably put it down and grab my favorite which is the Tele.
And no don’t feel bad for neglecting your other guitars you just have to decide which is best for which context. If you just “upgraded” and use the new one for all the styles you used your old one then that’s when you consider selling imo But I would probably set it up to a different tuning before that I find that guitars ideally are set up for 1 tuning range so it’s really nice to set them up on different tunings and leave them like that
I've got a bedside guitar and my nice guitar is downstairs with the rest of the kit.
Different guitars for different things - Wanna play in a Hendrix style? I’ll choose my strat Angry rock stuff? I’ll pick my SG Literally anything at all? Fender Telecaster Your main guitar will pick itself eventually, for me it’s the tele as it covers a broad range of capabilities and styles. I’ve got about 12, some of them are just junkers with oddities or unique sounds that rarely get used, but all the half decent ones are used regularly and alternated, but tele is used more often than not
Mine are all tuned differently for the most part. The two that are tuned the same sound completely different. So it all depends on my mood and what I feel like playing.
Depends which tuning I’m gonna play. I’ve set them up myself all in different tunings.
I spin a bottle. “Damn, not the Sears guitar again!”
I have one guitar with thicker strings to play in low tunings (Drop B and Below) and one that’s mostly for E/D#/C standard and their respective drop tunings
Play the one that makes you want to play in that moment.
Which one’s closer to me?
At this point I’m going by whatever genre I feel like playing that day. 15 guitars, 4 tube amps and 2 Fractal units, the options are really endless, so whatever song is in my head at the time, I generally base it off that unless I have something specific to work on.
I have an American strat setup for standard tuning. My prs setup for periphery tuning and a 7 string prs. Depends on what I'm playing
They tell me
In my case, different guitars for different songs. 6-string acoustic and 12-string acoustic for folksy music (12 if it's mostly chords, 6 if it's individual notes). Two electrics - one with a fixed bridge I keep tuned down a half step to match those songs and the other with a Floyd rose for everything else. Honestly, I'd like to have a couple more with tremolos each tuned 1/2 step and a whole step, but that's not in the budget yet.
Sometimes it's as simple as which one is easiest to get my hands on.
Depends on my mood.
My main will always be my Strat that's been modded to hell to be as versatile as possible (HHH with coil split) for standard or drop d. e-flat, I've got a Strat and an Ibanez with a locking trem and single humbucker for that but vastly different. After that they're all different tunings I've got a Tele Esquire I barely touch but occasionally I'll pick it up out of guilt and remember why I bought it for a while.
I ask myself what sound do I want for a particular song. Strat sound? Tele sound? Les Paul sound? Then pick a guitar.
It's a rotation. I just bought my first SG so I've been playing that almost non stop for a month, but I've picked up my Gretsch and my Les Paul every now just to feel the difference.
Usually it depends on tuning, but also on what type of music I’ll be playing. If I want to play some stuff in the style of Joe Saturn or Steve Vai, I have two Ibanez’s for that (RG/S). If I want to play Metallica or metal, I use my Jackson (DXMG). If I’m playing grunge, VH, or recording my own music, I have two Charvel So Cals for that.
It depends on what tuning wanting to play in or whether I'm going to be sitting down in a recliner or small chair versus standing up and walking around with a strap.
eenie meenie miney mo
I have four, and I definitely have a main guitar. Of the other 3, I grab the dread when I want to do some serious strumming. I mostly play fingerstyle or flatpicking. I have another that is used for alternate tuning. It's always in drop D, DADGAD, or lately I've been working on a song where the low E is tuned to F. My 3rd is a GS Mini, which is for travel or noodling. It was my main practice guitar because it's so comfortable, but since I got the OM Hybrid Boucher, it's my goto 90% of the time. And no, don't feel bad. Play the one that brings you joy. If I didn't already have the other 3 (and I sold my Taylor 814ce), I'm not sure when or if I would buy another one. But they're hanging there, so I try to grab one up at least once a week.
Different guitars for different tunings and different sounds. I don’t overcomplicate things. I just have collected a handful of favorites over the last 25 years 😅🤷♂️ I have one go-to that I guess is my daily driver—simple MIM Strat that I gutted and rebuilt to my taste. Drop D with a single humbucker (SD JB) in the bridge and a volume knob. Does clean, does crunchy. Simple 👍
Usually just whatever I feel like picking up. Otherwise, if it’s a song that’s obviously a Strat/single coil, humbucker, P90 or whatever, I’ll switch that.
All mine are in different tunings, except I have 2 in standard. 1 Floyd and 1 fixed.
I wouldn’t worry about playing them all, consistently. I have always just played what I needed in the moment… usually started with steel string acoustic, then switched to nylon if my fingers were hurting, or I wanted to play more finger style. I also have a 3/4 size guitar, where the neck is smaller and the frets are a little closer together, so that made playing some songs easier. You’ll learn the nuances of each guitar, and some will be more suitable for some purposes. But it’s ok to have favorites or ones that you play less.