Gear minimalism as a thought process...

[PapaB]

I'm not qualified to speak on gear minimalism .... I own a bunch of guitars and amps, they are like family to me.

If my home caught fire, I'd run out with one guitar: Martin D28M. Every time I play this guitar I realize it's the one that matters the most to me. It sounds like no other acoustic out there. It's perfect in every way.

Were I once again young and buying my first electric guitars, I'd choose 2 rather humble offerings by Squier. A starcaster with HBs which I'd switch to P90s. The second would be an Esquire Deluxe with its pup replaced to a CuNiFe WRHB .... They'd cover jazz, country, rock, blues, punk if need be.
The starcaster is loud enough to strum and write songs with, no amp needed. The Esquire could imitate a clean acoustic tone thru an amp if necessary.

I currently own both of these, and play them a lot. One amp, I'd go with an Orange valve amp. If money were tight, a katana 100 watt SS ....

[seenoevil II]

I do this all the time! The "what if" game. What if I was 15 years old again back at Mars Music with 500 bucks to spend?

What if I was a refugee and starting over from absolute scratch?

I'm glad that this thread is titled "... as a thought process" because that's all it'll ever be.

[JSett]

I'm glad that this thread is titled "... as a thought process" because that's all it'll ever be.

I managed 20+ electrics down to 3 or 4...it's more than a thought process if you want it to be

(says the dude with more than 3x the amount of amps as he has guitars )

[welshywelsh]

(says the dude with more than 3x the amount of amps as he has guitars )

But you're running stereo....right? So you need a greater ratio of amps to guitars

[JSett]

(says the dude with more than 3x the amount of amps as he has guitars )

But you're running stereo....right? So you need a greater ratio of amps to guitars

Hah! The only time I want two amps is before I've lifted one into place.

[Nevets]

I do this all the time! The "what if" game. What if I was 15 years old again back at Mars Music with 500 bucks to spend?

What if I was a refugee and starting over from absolute scratch?

I'm glad that this thread is titled "... as a thought process" because that's all it'll ever be.
[/quote]

I love to play a variation of this game. I'll give myself a budget of $500 or so and check out the craigslist ads. "What if I were 15 again, got a jam coming up on the weekend, and I need gear. What setup could I get for this? It's fun!

[Surfysonic]

I took a bunch of gear to Atomic Music to sell and I actually got a better than expected deal. I moved on 7 guitars and one annoyingly heavy amp - a Vox AC15C1-TV. It's a great sounding amp but I can't quit my Fender amps. The Vox was hardly played. Someone else can enjoy it now.

I'm now down to 25 guitars , 4 bass guitars, and 6 amps. Definitely quite a lot still, but it feels good to do some downsizing. After the check clears, I'll pretty much be gear debt free.

Another benefit to all of this is that I don't have to sell my '63 Fender Jaguar and '62 Fender Pro amp any time soon. Some day, but not today...

[tammyw]

Way to go Surfysonic, it must feel liberating! I still have a much longer ways to go, but at least I can say I've gotten over the GAS.

[Surfysonic]

Way to go Surfysonic, it must feel liberating! I still have a much longer ways to go, but at least I can say I've gotten over the GAS.

Thanks, tammyw! I'll never be over GAS, at least until I can no longer play in hopefully like 20 years. I'm going to go about things a little smarter (for once) and simply save up first as opposed to putting things on the PayPal Credit.

I try to adhere to the adage, "one in, one out" but I'm not always disciplined enough.

[cestlamort]

Tangentially, I didn’t entirely unpack after our last shows and I’ve been playing at home with just Jaguar > (maybe one - and only one - effect) > amp (pro jr or Princeton reverb). A nice reminder of how a base / basic sound can be pleasing and inspiring.

Even just using an Eventide H9 (which does so much), it’s forced me to listen carefully to whatever effect and settings, rather than in the context of a bazillion other pedals. Nice to hear what it can do and not have to account for all the other modulations before and after etc. Or just have it as some subtle coloring.

And neat to really work through the different combinations of various guitar and amp settings (not so much for the pro jr, but still some possibilities there).

We’re about to go back into the studio to finish recording a new record: do my parts hold up in the cold light of guitar > amp? How do they change? What do they still need? What else emerges? What happens when I adjust _____ slightly?

In prepping yesterday for the first rehearsal in a while, I took the full pedalboard out and got everything hooked up in stereo. (Thanks to whoever invented saving settings and midi presets - and to me for spending time dialing it all in). Just glorious. But even more so now that I’d taken a break from cascading texture land with a short vacation in Minimalia.

[JSett]

I've somehow got away from myself yet again. I was doing very well but now things have swollen from the magic 3 to, well...

2006 MIJ JM Inca Silver
2008 Rickenbacker 360 Jetglow
2020 AO60s Tele BMM
2005 MIM Tele OLY
1978/9 Greco EG450 Black
Squier Hello Kitty Strat Black
2001 CIJ Jaguar OTM
1998 Epiphone SG400 MIK

Plus my CIJ Jag Bass, Yamaha acoustic, the new Banjo, ukulele, and a project guitar gathering parts

Maybe I'm just not a fucking minimalist

[s_mcsleazy]

2001 CIJ Jaguar OTM

i just seen the photo of this one. if it ever goes on the chopping block, let me know.

[JSett]

2001 CIJ Jaguar OTM

i just seen the photo of this one. if it ever goes on the chopping block, let me know.

I could easily chop off a chunk of them and not be annoyed...

2005 MIM Tele OLY
1978/9 Greco EG450 Black
Squier Hello Kitty Strat Black
1998 Epiphone SG400 MIK

...all of these I have no major attachment to. The Tele is a gigging backup but could easily be subbed out for one of the others. The others are probably worth about 100-500 quid each so barely worth selling. I'm half tempted to put them into storage and try and forget they exist

[s_mcsleazy]

2001 CIJ Jaguar OTM

i just seen the photo of this one. if it ever goes on the chopping block, let me know.

I could easily chop off a chunk of them and not be annoyed...

2005 MIM Tele OLY
1978/9 Greco EG450 Black
Squier Hello Kitty Strat Black
1998 Epiphone SG400 MIK

...all of these I have no major attachment to. The Tele is a gigging backup but could easily be subbed out for one of the others. The others are probably worth about 100-500 quid each so barely worth selling. I'm half tempted to put them into storage and try and forget they exist

tbh i know what you mean. we're clearing out our practice space and i realised i have so much stuff i'm not using anymore and how i kinda need the space more than anything. i'm kinda at the point where i think i should cut it down to the basics more than anything.

[Flurko]

I joked with friends about having too many guitars, they laughed with me until I told them I had around 14 now. I'd like to get some of them out but I can't sell them for sentimental reason/not worth the effort :

Right now I have the following list :

Epiphone G-310 - Almost never used but it's my first electric and was my brothers, also extensively modified
Jim Harley LP Custom - On sale online for under 100€, but dealing with tire kickers who never show up is annoying
Stagg bass - same as the Les Paul
Fender Jazzmaster partsmaster - the first electric I bought with my own money, my first good one so it will stay with me forever.
Cort/DIY Bass - The body was made with my brother but it's not getting played at all, I also bought some cool hardware but it's not fun to play
Old acoustic - was my brothers also, I should finish converting it to a rubber bridge and maybe sell it on
Squier Bronco Bass - It's cool !
Harley Benton 457F - It's cool also !
Gibson J-29 - My most expensive guitar, got lucky in a trade, It could be my only acoustic and I'd be happy
Jim Harley strat - Gift from a friend, tried to upgrade it but it's still not very inspiring. Not worth the hassle to sell it though.
Ibanez AF55 - Impulse buy jazz box, It will stay here for now
Ibanez AX7-521 - New gift to myself, also a fun project to come !

I also have my old Yamaha classical and my wife's steel string at my parents house, but it's on the other side of the country so doesn't really count.