Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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Lost In Autumn
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Lost In Autumn » Sun Sep 11, 2022 12:36 pm

johnnysomersett wrote:
Thu Sep 08, 2022 9:29 am
9 months after starting this thread, I'm still failing

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I'd say you're doing just fine, mate... Just fine.

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Chippertheripper » Sun Sep 11, 2022 1:05 pm

I’m happy to see this thread pop back up.
I feel the walls closing in again with that feeling of having too much stuff, yet I WANT a couple of new doodads still yet.
For most things musical, in my world, I could be pretty happy with 4 electrics and a bass.
A tele, p90 guitar, humbucker guitar, and something with a wiggle stick (jm in this case). I have a lot of overlap in the humbucker guitar dept currently.
I’d love an armstrong copy of some kind still, for fun, and maybe a mosrite or “different” tele just because.

All this rambling isn’t very minimalistic, but 4 electrics and a bass feels like a goal I could aspire to, and reasonably achieve.

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Flurko » Sun Sep 11, 2022 1:11 pm

I was on the phone with my mom the other day, she was telling me she ran into an old acquaintance recently, who asked if I still had so many guitars.
It was quite a realization to look around the room as I was talking to tell her "well just from what I can see from here, I would say around eleven".
But I still play only my jazzmaster, because it's my only good normal electric guitar. I've been trying to consolidate multiple cheap guitars into better stuff recently but no one wants to buy 100€-ish modded guitars, there's so much better ideas at this price point nowadays, and people don't have to be burdened with my weird modded stuff.

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by JSett » Mon Sep 12, 2022 11:40 am

Well, I listed a load of stuff. Going out the door is the Firestang and Lapsteel (already found homes for), Danelectro and the Electric XII that I literally got yesterday.

That'll take me down to:

Jazzmaster
Jaguar
Coronado
Acoustic
Bass

...which is almost as bare-bones as I reckon I could go without feeling kinda naked :D
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Larsongs » Tue Sep 13, 2022 5:31 am

I like the sound of Fender’s, Gibson’s, Gretsch’s, Rickenbacker’s, Vox, Guild’s, Martin’s & others… 6 & 12 strings. And Bass Guitars.. I don’t have only one sound. I like to play many different kinds of music. And it all has different amazing sounds & tones.. When I play I want certain moods or sounds that I just can’t get from 1 or 2 Guitars…

I want to get a Dobro for Slide & would like to learn Pedal Steel…..

I admire those guys like Dick Dale, Eddie Cochran, Willie Nelson & many more, whose names escape me right now, that only needed one Guitar to do the thing they did… But, this far down the road it doubtfully will ever be me….

But, Cudos to you guys that can get it down to just a few & it works for you….

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by TeaLifeTeaMind » Wed Sep 14, 2022 6:42 pm

wooderson wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:39 am
I will say that every time I've sold something without actively disliking it, I've regretted it (even if the sale was necessary for financial reasons). I'm never going to be able to get a '65 Mustang for $600 again or the $200 Harmony Rocket that sounded amazing but needed a refret.
True for me as well. I’ve gone from points in my life with one guitar, one amp (younger days) and others where I have had a dozen guitars or so and multiple tasty amps. I did a huge purge over the last few years including a number of great vintage offsets. I was feeling over indulgent, since I don’t make a living playing music. I just started cleaning house. I now find that a number of them I may never be able to afford again since their value has gone up significantly. Financially I wasn’t even desperate. My friend Marc owns a guitar shop and his piece of advice, especially with vintage or USA made gear is that unless you are desperate, a lot of gear is likely to appreciate more than money in the bank and you have the benefit of playing it too. Since having done my purge, I have acquired a 64’ Jag, 08’ AVRI JM, bought back the same vintage Silvertone bass I had a while back, bought another vintage bass, a 76’ Vibrochamp, 76’ Musicmaster bass amp, Sano 160R (sleeper Classic tube amp IMHO). The bummer is that all of the gear I have more recently acquired cost me a fair bit more than when I had some of these even 5 years ago. I guess I appreciate them more now, but wish I did not have the impulse to clean house just to make myself feel less indulgent. This time around I doubt I will go nuts with purchasing, but do miss so many things I have sold…

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by sal paradise » Thu Sep 22, 2022 10:05 pm

After a quick sale of guitars, I’m down to 4+1 that covers me for everything I need (ok the Mustang is just for fun, I love the look & comfort to play).

MIJ JM
Cobain Mustang
OBG LP Custom
Squier CV Tele
+ Gibson G45 (acoustics don’t count, right?)

I have an electric piano that is helpful for chord progressions I wouldn’t naturally choose on a guitar & realised I can use that bass lines in demos.

Amps is my weak spot. Budget tubes just don’t do it for me… I’ve got a DSL5 & a Blackstar HT20 head w/ a Laney Ironheart 2x12. The latter is lightweight & powerful enough for gigs. But it’s pretty meh. Tempted to swap/upgrade them for a Princeton & something like a PRS Tremonti head (just in case I still need the high gain life).
I have nothing to offer anybody, except my own confusion?

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Embenny » Fri Sep 23, 2022 7:54 am

I have too many musical interests to ever become a gear minimalist. I mean, even if I was down to one instrument "per category," I'd have two different types of lute, a classical guitar, a ukulele, 6- and 12-string acoustics, a bass, and an electric guitar.

I think the minimalism ship has sailed over here.
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Maggieo » Fri Sep 23, 2022 2:31 pm

mbene085 wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 7:54 am
I have too many musical interests to ever become a gear minimalist. I mean, even if I was down to one instrument "per category," I'd have two different types of lute, a classical guitar, a ukulele, 6- and 12-string acoustics, a bass, and an electric guitar.

I think the minimalism ship has sailed over here.
Once again, my brother speaks for me.

I mean, this is just my dresser, and you can't see the Yamaha mini electric piano.

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by JSett » Tue Oct 04, 2022 11:12 pm

This is all I have now as far as guitars... I've cut right back (that radiator is permanently off btw):

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(Apologies for the weird distortion - shallow room+wide angle lens)
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Sauerkraut » Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:53 am

You sold the Mustang? But... whyyy?!

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by zhivago » Wed Oct 05, 2022 4:28 am

Ren and Stimpy dolls! Very cool! :-*

In other news, I am currently up to 11 guitars...and if you count the unplayable acoustic in the attic, 12. :-[
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by JSett » Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:29 am

Sauerkraut wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:53 am
You sold the Mustang? But... whyyy?!
honestly, it wasn't seeing much play time and I got a great offer for it.. the Coronado already gets used way more
zhivago wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 4:28 am
Ren and Stimpy dolls! Very cool! :-*

In other news, I am currently up to 11 guitars...and if you count the unplayable acoustic in the attic, 12. :-[
Yeah those plushies are original 90s ones and, as is important in our world, still have the hangtags :D

Your number has crept up for sure! We should get an up-to-date family shot
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by seenoevil II » Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:33 am

I recently got reacquainted with my first electric guitar- an Epiphone Dot that I documented on another thread.

I really think I could have been a guitar monogamist if I could have held on to that guitar. It was and is sufficient to whatever level of playing/performing I may have achieved.

I'm probably pretty odd in this respect, but when I GAS for a guitar, it's not to add it to a collection or use it like a utility man on a ball team. Instead, I imagine fusing my identity with it. Using it so much as to become synonymous with it. Putting in huge amounts of idiosyncratic wear so as to be able to identify it from a pack of identical guitars in an instant.

It's a trade off. I'll never have the chance to have a guitar companion like that at this point (the closest thing should be my Yamaha acoustic I've had since I was 18). But instead I've had the chance to get to know so many different guitars through the years. To see what's really special out there and to quench my curiosity. Would I trade it all to have put all those hours into one single guitar instead? Me? Yes. That's how I'm wired though. I can imagine the down right repulsive state that Dot would be in at this point. Likely on its third set of frets, headstock glued and reglued, the residue from duct tape and stickers stubbornly clinging to the chipped poly....oh yeah.


So, now I have an embarrassing number of guitars that all contribute, but many of which I hardly ever play. But maintaining the fleet has taught me guitar repair. It's taught unknowable sums of trivia about guitars. I can confidently say that I'd be a different person. All of that energy put into GAS, and forums, and scrolling CL and Reverb- it all would've gone somewhere else. Probably something that would've enriched my life. It's fascinating to think about.

But I'm here with my billion guitars and my files and clamps. Trapped. Buried. Cozy maybe.

Sliding doors I guess.
If it wasn't for disappointment, I wouldn't have any appointments.

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by gishuk » Wed Oct 05, 2022 7:29 am

I'm far from gear minimalism but I think I've reached a kind of gear equilibrium state in the last year or so. Haven't bought anything new for a while (or sold anything) and don't really find myself looking for anything new either.
I was doing the whole buying and selling guitars to try different things out and make a bit of money along the way but I seem to have arrived at a set of guitars that I really like, or would miss if I didn't have around, which has rather stopped that whole process. I guess I was too successful at it in a way :D
But this is still 5 electrics, a bass VI, 3 acoustics and an archtop, plus the self built guitars in various stages of projects that I have tucked away. I decided those don't count.
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The only thing I find myself still wanting is a Jazzmaster by Creston Electric with the Sarah Ryan painting, but to afford it I'd need to sell something vintage and with the awful pound to dollar rate at the moment it really doesn't feel like the best time for it.
Feels a little weird to not be on the hunt for anything anymore though.

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