Gear minimalism as a thought process...

[Fac 50]

The bridge and middle pickups on together (position 4?) on a Strat is the absolute worst tone.

Once played on the same bill as a band whose guitarist stayed in that position for the whole 30 minutes and made me want to give up gigging forever.

Well Big Star sounded pretty great with that sound....

The key with those in-between sounds on a Strat is that they're so different that you need to rethink. Neck and middle with a light boost and a ton of reverb is really great for clean picky stuff. You do need a bit of a volume and top-end eq lift to get it to sound good.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

Hey, if we could all just accept that there is nothing inherently wrong with any particular guitar tone there'd be no need for this thread.

Buy a guitar. You're good to go!

[MechaBulletBill]

exactly! if all i had was in-between strat sounds then i'd make it work. having said that, i am increasingly convinced i need to ditch my strat and finally get a jag

[mediocreplayer]

I don't care what anyone says, Strat in-between sounds are awesome. Mark Knopfler and disco/funk strummers are enough for me.

[ThePearDream]

One of my all time favorite strat sounds is neck/middle with the middle tone turned way down (3-5). I recently found that I can replicate that by using a Nashville switch and setting the middle pickup lower until I've removed the right amount of quack. Some other bonuses are: easy access to neck/bridge combo without a second switch (another all time favorite), middle pickup isn't "in the way" as much, and one less tone knob needed for me to get "that" sound.

If you have a strat and don't care about quack, I highly recommend you just crank the middle pickup down to test it out that way. If you like it, the Nashville switch is pretty straightforward to swap in.

Just to wander back on topic for a moment: I think at one time I owned seven or eight strats of various pedigrees. I'm down to two now. But I'm finding even that to be one too many these days. In general I have too many guitars, and I'm now staring down a cross country move in the near future. Having two (or more) guitars with the same pickups and scale lengths is increasingly hard to justify to myself. I just want a versatile collection without a lot of overlap. Thinking objectively about it, I have quite a few guitars that need to go.

So what's the right number? For some people, the right number is one more than they have, for others it's one less. I've shifted to a N-1 mindset here.

On the other hand, I have far too few amps. I've shifted to a N+1 mindset here.

[Jonesie]

The bridge and middle pickups on together (position 4?) on a Strat is the absolute worst tone.

Once played on the same bill as a band whose guitarist stayed in that position for the whole 30 minutes and made me want to give up gigging forever.

Hard disagree. That's probably my favorite position.

[JazzLee]

I've enjoyed reading this thread, so thought I'd chip in with my thoughts.

I love playing guitar, I don't gig, but I do play with friends at least once a month in a rehearsal room. I currently own two guitars, a CIJ Jazzmaster, and a really shitty Squier Acoustic. I've recently moved back to the UK from Finland, and I left the acoustic there at a friend's house. So to all intents and purposes, I own one guitar. At some point I've technically owned 5 guitars at one time, but I've only ever really had one with me at any point throughout various house/city moves. I also presently own one amp - an Epiphone Valve Standard - which I think I bought in like 2007 or something. It does me just fine, I think it sounds great with my jazzmaster.

So yeah, I'm the opposite to a lot of people here - I guess I've always just been moving too much and not had enough disposable income to buy more stuff, but it also reflects my general outlook on life - get something reasonably good and make it last. The guitar pick thing in that Khruangbin video made me laugh, because I've also been using the same two green tortex plectrums since like 2004, and they are also worn down to a smooth curve. It's not just linked to money either, it's a kind of ethical standpoint against consumption - I've only ever owned like three mobile phones and use them until they die, and have had the same pair of bose headphones for the last 10 years... Also musically, I like people who use things inventively, if you aren't creative, no amount of guitars or pedals are going to make you play something interesting, or find an interesting sound. Having less can make you more resourceful, constraints breed creativity and all that.

Having said all that, I totally get why people love collecting, trading and trying different guitars and sounds, I could see myself having a couple of guitars rotating in and out of trades in the future, so no judgement at all, just different strokes for different folks. And of course if you are professional you clearly need more than I do as a home/jam player.

[jvin248]

... Those with few guitars, through choice rather than financial reasons, how do you know it's enough?...

Most players go on a quest to 'find all the tones'. This leads to many guitars. Then many pickup styles in those guitars. Then wiring circuits to get all the options. Some end in the path where they have a Strat with more than 440+ unique switching tones (guitarnuts2 forum). Then anguish about how to sell all that gear because you realized you only play a few regularly and the others were just momentary tone experimentations.

Outside of having just one guitar with just one pickup (look at EVH's Frankenstrat and listen to all the recordings he did with that simple machine and try to explain how he might need more guitars to be 'versatile'), the typical minimum is three:

Tele, Strat, LP.

Everything else is a variation on those three foundational guitars. Sure you may want a Jazzmaster, a Jaguar, SG, Semi-hollow 335 -- but they can largely be duplicated in tone. Ergonomics not as easily, but maybe you have five or six guitars in your fleet instead of hundreds.

I found I can even jettison the LP easily through: Tele with a 4-way switch for series humbucking mode and a Strat with an Armstrong Blender mod to blend between classic SSS and superstrat HSH. Compress it further, since I don't really use a trem (I get myself distracted with them either tuning or fixing the reasons for tuning problems), I could go with a Nashville Tele with a Strat neck pickup, Jaguar middle pickup, and Tele bridge pickup controlled with a 5-way Strat switch and a push/pull neck+bridge Tele tone.

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[JazzLee]

Most players go on a quest to 'find all the tones'

I guess it depends how you define a 'player', but I seriously doubt that *most* people who play guitar go on such a quest, do they?! I suspect most most people who own a guitar play at home and never even consider taking the pickguard off or going anywhere near a soldering iron... Which also makes it even more of a travesty that cheap guitars are sent out without anything resembling a setup because the majority of people will not even realise their guitar is more difficult to play than it could be, let alone how to change it... but I digress...

I was thinking a little more about this since my post above, and I also think that another reason I've not felt the need to own more equipment is that I've always seen the guitar as a means to writing songs/music - I haven't viewed guitar playing, or guitar owning/tinkering, as an end in itself. In the same way, I couldn't care less about technique or tone (something isn't better because it's done the 'correct' way, or is difficult to do). On the contrary, I've often found that the music that elicits the most emotion from me is the simplest and most relatable, and frequently the crudest, the singers that can't sing, the guitarists who hit a bung note but don't care, stuff recorded on cassette tapes or repetitive electronic music with no guitars in sight... There're parallels with other art forms too, Matisse' paper cuts make me feel infinitely more than a virtuoso painter using the most high quality brushes.

That's not to devalue the joy someone else finds in guitar owning... I'd be interested to hear more about what people enjoy about collecting though, especially those who own a lot of very similar guitars/buy new squiers whenever they come out, is it the thrill of the chase/purchase?

[surfin_bird]

... Those with few guitars, through choice rather than financial reasons, how do you know it's enough?...

Most players go on a quest to 'find all the tones'. This leads to many guitars. Then many pickup styles in those guitars. Then wiring circuits to get all the options. Some end in the path where they have a Strat with more than 440+ unique switching tones (guitarnuts2 forum). Then anguish about how to sell all that gear because you realized you only play a few regularly and the others were just momentary tone experimentations.

Outside of having just one guitar with just one pickup (look at EVH's Frankenstrat and listen to all the recordings he did with that simple machine and try to explain how he might need more guitars to be 'versatile'), the typical minimum is three:

Tele, Strat, LP.

Everything else is a variation on those three foundational guitars. Sure you may want a Jazzmaster, a Jaguar, SG, Semi-hollow 335 -- but they can largely be duplicated in tone. Ergonomics not as easily, but maybe you have five or six guitars in your fleet instead of hundreds.

I found I can even jettison the LP easily through: Tele with a 4-way switch for series humbucking mode and a Strat with an Armstrong Blender mod to blend between classic SSS and superstrat HSH. Compress it further, since I don't really use a trem (I get myself distracted with them either tuning or fixing the reasons for tuning problems), I could go with a Nashville Tele with a Strat neck pickup, Jaguar middle pickup, and Tele bridge pickup controlled with a 5-way Strat switch and a push/pull neck+bridge Tele tone.

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I agree but also disagree.

Have I been on a quest? Definitely. Am I hoarding/obsessed with tone which cut in my playing time? Also yes.

But I honestly feel it's too simple to see the Tele, Strat and LP as the foundational guitars. I get where you are coming from. Can guitars duplicate others, sure. Are they in the grand scheme of things the most recurring guitars? Definitely.

But the foundational guitar are in my believe the guitars of a genre you play is rooted from. My guitar upbringing comes strongly from surf and blues players like RL Burnside, Hounddog Taylor and sorts. Of which all relies heavily on offsets, student models and other weird Japanese stuff.

So I feel that in the end the quest is not JUST tone. It's the feel, culture, trend, price and the "holy grail" feeling. (I've tried so many strats but in the end bonded most with a MIM 50's guitar and Tokai)

Like me, I can't really stand guitars without contours so a Tele and LP are not much of an option. Of which I guess both are the real two OG guitars bread and butter and the SG and strat are more the sexy V2's of those guitars. So I feel different about strat's.

But sound wise I'm also so obsessed with the 60's garage rock bands/ cheaper guitars that I own a good amount of japanese guitars.

Right now I finally feel I found all the guitars I wanted to own and start selling others off like crazy. But no Tele and LP will remain, can I create similar sounds - very much so.

My three guitars I "need": My 64 Jaguar, 73 mustang with humbuckers and 84 Tokai strat. I feel I can make those sound most like anything and I'm most comfortable playing them. Extra addition my 56 danelectro 00's reissue. It really adds a different sound that I can't nail with the others and I feel Danelectro is a different sound that has influenced the music world more often than it gets acknowledged.

[Chippertheripper]

I still want to have a more special relationship with less guitars, but I keep fooling around and buying more purely to mess around with.
I find myself with a bunch of extras I mainly have as toys vs the ones i really feel like I have a connection with. Generally I’m ok with that, but I may have to purge some occasionally to not feel like I have too much clutter.

[Sauerkraut]

But no Tele and LP will remain, can I create similar sounds - very much so.

SImilar sounds, sure. But you can't really get a Tele bridge pickup sound out of a Jag, Mustang or Strat. Personally, I like that sound more than anything a Strat has to offer, which is why I'll probably always have a Tele.

[Vinkie]

I agree with the 'Tele, Strat, LP' concept and after owning quite a few different guitars (old and new) I have been limiting myself to 6 guitars since a few years. Then again I don't really quite get along with either the TL/ST/ LP (for both ergonomics and sounds) and tried to find the right guitars for me to perform live.

My threesome is "Non Reverse Firebird, Jazzmaster, ES-335". My other three are a Rickenbacker 381 12-string, a J45 and a modern relic/aged Jazzmaster (as backup/stand-in/stuntdouble for my vintage '60 JM).

My current six stopped me from buying and selling guitars all the time. They are all great instruments, the Gibsons are great Custom Shop guitars and the vintage JM is pretty unique. I feel that getting the best from them is my own responsibility. They always challenge me to play to my best and are versatile enough to always find something new in them and enjoy playing and practicing.

So here's my take on minimalism, even when it's a pretty luxurious one.

[postqualia_1]

Came across this thread, and thought it was interesting, since I've been thinking about some of the same things. I've been trying out various things in the past year and a half after 13 years of playing the same main guitar (Gibson LP special w/ p90s), a few pedals, a small practice amp, and a beater acoustic.

After trying lots of guitars and amps, it feels like nothing is that distinct to make me keep up the process (though I get the allure of the new). I've settled on my CIJ 62 reissue JM, American tele, Squier Mascis JM, a beater seagull acoustic, and a beat up MIM fender Jazz bass. I also have a JC-120, a Princeton Reverb 65 reissue, and a small pedalboard with a handful of the pedals I most like to use (as well as a shitty bass amp). It feels sustainable, and at the moment, I don't feel the need for anything else, to try or to keep. I don't need every tone available, just some basic, classic tools to make great music. That being said, a bit of variety is nice, so I'll probably try to hang onto everything I have for now! At the end of the day, I want my relationship with guitars/gear to be about music/being creative, not just collecting stuff for the sake of it. I've also been pretty interested in minimalism/marie kondo, and I try to apply at least some of those ideas to my own life (while keeping the stuff I enjoy and get value out of, of course).

I'm also in grad school, and I don't have loads of space or money, so this feels like a nice amount of gear for me. Any more than that, and it starts to feel like my space is being taken over (currently living in a small room in a shared house with 3 other people). Another factor for me is that I just don't have that much in the way of resources, so having too much money tied up in music gear stresses me out. For years, I didn't have anything at all (except for my gibson and the aforementioned setup), so I made do with less. now I'm grateful to have a few cool guitars and amps to use and enjoy.

@johnnysomersett you started this whole thread, do you still have the same basic setup?

[ryandennis]

I have the reverse problem, I have accumulated so many niche pieces of gear just to nail a specific sound and would hate to get rid of them because of how difficult they were to find in the first place at affordable prices. I do think I could use a bigger apartment to house it all in at times though .