How many Guitars do you bring to your gig? Baxter and Jonathan talk about using one Swiss Army knife guitar at your gig vs multiple guitars for your live performance.
I bring two guitars to most gigs but I generally only play one for the whole night. The other one is just a backup in case I break a string. I spread the love around between my various guitars, so they all get to be the "main" guitar on a regular basis.
This is how I roll as well. One guitar for the gig and one as a backup in case I break a string. Lately all the gigs I've been doing are in one tuning. If there's a different tuning outside dropped D I'll bring a third in that tuning. Usually it's 2.
I bring 4 .. I am a singer songwriter and all my guitars are acoustic. One guitar is tuned to open G; Another is tuned to open D; Another is tuned to standard tuning and the last one is a resonator guitar. I play quite a bit of slide and I do a lot of finger picking stuff which includes ragtime, jazz, blues and story songs. I try to mix it up and keep it lively and filled with a lot of variation. It has taken me a while to learn how to flow between guitars & songs. It is out of necessity for what I do. Thank you for your show, I love your conversations and insight. My name is Kyle, I am 71, from Phoenix, AZ and I still play out quite often and continually learn and grow. I play better than ever and I will play until I am called home. 🌵🎸
When I was in high school, my friends and I saw the Gypsy Kings in Denver. There were about 40 guitars lined up across the back of the stage. I was in heaven 😳
In college, our fraternity rented a dump truck, lined it with thick poly, filled it up with water, and drove around town swimming in it…a mobile swimming pool!
It all depends. Open mic night - Pick one axe with the best tone to serve the song you plan to play. Blues jam- one guitar, Strat to Tele to 335, LP, SG, Flying V or even a Jackson Rhoads. Anything can play The Blues. That said, you better be an impressive player if you’re going to flaunt something wild and audacious like a V or an Explorer or something expensive from a boutique builder or Custom Shop. When in doubt just rock a Squire. If you suck people will think you’re new and the Squire will match your skill level so people will cut you some slack. If you’re amazing the Squire will make you look humble, or poor which in the minds of the audience will explain the amazing Blues feel you’re expressing through that cheap axe from tapping into your financial pain. Bar gig with multiple sets - One to three guitars with various tones to fit various styles of songs, like for Country bring a Tele, a Gretsch and maybe a baritone plus something versatile like a Strat as a backup axe. For Nashville pop or Bro Country just being a sampler, some quality guitar samples and sync with your drum machine and Mac. On a road tour? - Bring three or four if there’s room, again, for various tones if your set list requires, or just two if space in the trailer is an issue. Flying to a gig - One MIM Strat you bought used so will sound good, is versatile and you will not care if destroyed by the airlines. Major tour - Bring everything because you have roadies and a tech. I only played in my high school Jazz ensemble. One guitar, my 1965 Epiphone Casino because it was all I had at the time.
You guys are the best! I guess I'm with Jonathan I'm a Telecaster guy, I carry three Telecaster to every gig. 1 with single coils, one with humbuckers, and one with P90s... I believe my bases are covered!
My "Swiss Army Knife" guitar is a PRS Swamp Ash Special. It has three humbuckers, a five-position blade switch, and the tone knob is a push/pull that splits the coils. It has a great humbucker tone, and when the coils are split, it really does the strat thing very convincingly.
So agree. I have the previous iteration of that guitar with the 3 way switch rather than the 5 way and its a jack of all trades. But like Jon and Baxter were saying, sometimes you want variety. If there is a way to get a Strat or Tele to go to Humbucker territory I would love to know what the special sauce is!!
I recently bought a Brian May Guitars (Green) Special, just for fun. Not a Queen 'fan', however, as 'Swiss Army Knife' guitars go, it covers a helluva lot of ground.
From Leo: 2 guitars, usually a thick neck arch top and a thinner neck solid body. Switching every few songs keeps my hand from cramping. Plus I am never in a bind if I break a string or something starts acting funky. I also bring two cords.
I think it depends on the venue. I play in a cover band in the greater Nashville area and we typically get 15 minutes to set up and do a rolling sound check into our time slot. No time for multiples. We have two guitar players and if we pop a string we just change it on the fly and the other guy covers down.
At 22 I had matching Ibanez RG560 Superstrats. One lipstick red, the other cobalt blue. I thought I was the bomb. The last blues jam I attended most of the guitars were budget apart from a guy with a Clapton Strat and one of the regulars with a PRS private stock. Amazed to see that in a rough English pub on a Thursday night. Tomorrow night I’m playing a show. My two current workhorses are a pair of HSS Strats. One with a Vega Trem, the other with a Floyd. Both have Dimarzio’s in the bridge. But in my last band my main axe was a Yamaha SG1000 with a Kotzen Tele. But I used to swap em around.
I bring 1. Either my 1961 jr or my Les Paul traditional. Explorer and V usually stay home. Also I only bring 3 pedals. Set it and forget it with the amp too. Amazing what you can do with a 3 knob Magnatone and 1 guitar when you're focused on playing and not switching on and off pedals
I’m a gigging drummer and I bring just my one kit. No spare snare or heads. The guitar players usually bring 1 main guitar and a backup. The bass player brings just 1 bass.
I never understood the multiple guitar method until recently. My band made an EP and I primarily used my trusty American Original Jazzmaster but there is one song on the EP I wrote with my Mustang. The Jazzmaster can do that song decent but it doesn’t feel right nor entirely sound right Vice versa with the songs I use the Jazzmaster on. They’re both very similar guitars but have subtle differences. My rule is this if I came up with the riff on the guitar and tracked with it. I use it live.
I used to bring a Les Paul, Strat and a Schecter, but due to the different type pickups I was constantly adjusting the sound. And, without a sound man and in a noisy small venue that became impossible. Now it’s jut my Gibson with the Schecter as a backup and I just roll with it. The simpler the better.
I have gigged/ toured with one guitar for along time. It makes packing out and transport really Easy. I use several alternate tunings on stage and have broken a string maybe twice in 10 years. Never ever had a problem until recently when the pickup in my main acoustic went dead at a gig.I felt extremely stupid and silly not having a backup. So from now on I will bring a backup😊. Only took 10 years to have something go wrong.
I played a little in HS freshman/sophomore year. Lefty...quit due to skateboarding (this is the 80's) and finally picked it up four years ago at the age of 46. I think there's the same amount of left-handed guitars. Now I can afford am actual left-handed guitar or three.
I’ll normally bring 2 guitars to a gig. Mostly in case i break a string. However, lately I’ve been bringing one with single coil and one with humbucker. There’s certain songs that just need that full sound you can only get from humbuckers.
I don't want to carry more than one guitar to a show. A tele is all you need. I have brought two guitars a couple times when i really just wanted to play my strat live. It lasted about 3 songs before i went back to my tele. Nothing beats a tele. I cant unload what's in my soul without worry if i don't have the tele on me.
I just played a gig with 2 guitars, but not so much for sound, but for setup. I had a MM Axis SS for a large portion of the show, but there were a few songs that required some chikin' pickin', so naturally I went Tele. The string spacing, esp. for my right hand, made it sooo much easier to play. Sure there were some obvious sound differences, but in the end, most of that was pretty subtle, especially to the audience, tbh.
For many years I always brought a backup guitar, but not the last few years. Since 2002 I’ve only broken strings twice during a gig. Then our bass player broke a string on our last gig, and that got me thinking again. I’ve a double gigbag now, so I can bring two guitars (Maybach Albatros ‘65 + Eastman sb55dc/v). They are very light guitars, so together they weight about the same as a heavy LP). I saw a band at a festival once, they came all the way from Florida to Norway, and got their whole 30 minute set almost ruined because the guitarist broke a string, and had to changed strings while the others jammed. And then when he came back on stage, because he had a floyd rose, the guitar didn’t want to stay in tune.
In 1 of my church gigs I would switch around between my 3 electrics. When I switched worship bands , I would use whatever of my guitars but only 1 each show. Limited gear space and only needed 1 per short time playing.
😂 I have guitars I bought I. 1985 (Fender lead 2) and 1992 (a PRS with a sn starting with84) I now have 15 to choose from and take 1 or 2 to gigs. In 50 years I’ve only sold 1 Ibanez Blazer and a PRS SE EG. Turned down by the church sound guy!? I thought it was just me that happened to. Love ya work boys.
It's like I was just talking about this last week... It always drove me crazy playing with guys who never had a backup when they DID break a string, but they weren't doing a bunch of songs with alternate tunings, so that was less an issue trying to get through a show with one guitar. Also depended upon the length of the show [or number of sets] and how well the thing stayed in tune, which is when a lot of young guys refuse to upgrade even though they have a substandard instrument and they know it by now. No dog doo this time? I forget what else... Obviously, going from a Strat to a Tele can seem more limiting, but going to a more complicated guitar with more buttons and gizmos can be nerve-wracking for a less experienced player if they haven't practiced on that one, etc.
I play gigs occasionally and have been taking one guitar (a tele), but realize after hearing you talk about multiple instruments that I should have a backup with me and really ought to bring my acoustic as well for variety (solo gig). So now I guess I'll take 3 with me! I play budget gear that I upgrade as I don't play out enough to justify more expensive stuff, and wouldn't want to take the high end stuff out into the world anyway.
I'm predominantly a bassist, and I have a bass with flexible PU and electronic config, and have 2 on stage, one as a backup. The backup is basically identical to the main, but the cheaper model in the range (no fancy top) with the same upgraded electronics. Never broken a string on stage, but I feel off if I don't have a backup, just in case something catastrophic happens, so the show can go on.
When I played in a band I really liked bringing 3 guitars. A humbucker like my LP or SG. A Strat or Tele and a Hollow body for something completely different. But now that I do Solo acoustic it’s just one that I bring.
1. i'm lazy. i have 4 guitars and 3 gig bags. i never remember which guitar is in which bag. so i grab one and go. wait for the surprise at the gig. it's like christmas.
My Giggin Guitar: Godin Session LTD, Vintage Burst and it is definitely a Swiss Army Knife Guitar. It is a Strat-style guitar that won't break the bank, but I don't want to call it a super-strat. It is definitaly utilitarian but looks great too. It is a HSS with a Seymour Duncan HB in the bridge, with coil-split and floating trem. The 2 single coils are Godin-made. 5-way switch. I can get a nice fat humbucking sound, a stratty sound and a tele sound with this guitar. Strung with NYXL 10-46. The neck is super, super comfortable. It feels indestructible. The price of these things is a true bargain. I bring this on stage because it plays great, feels great, stays in tune like a champ, gets all the tones I need, and if something bad happens to it, it won't be the end of the world. Godin is a Canadian guitar company that builds their guitars in Canada and USA, and I think they are criminally overlooked. I try and sing their praises every chance I can. Check Out Godin Guitars!
Never took more than 2 guitars to a gig unless I needed an acoustic as well. The main reason for having 2 would be different tunings or gear failure. For me, a swiss army guitar would be something with humbuckers that could be split. Usually a PRS or Les Paul. I can see the desire for the rugged reliability/stability of a tele, but I'd want it to have humbuckers.
Try this: a low options guitar and a guitar to fuck around with. Most hard rock & heavier guys use a bridge pickup 90%+ of the time. Once I became one of those guys, I suddenly loved 1H guitars. 1, 2 knobs. A jack. Nothing to get in the way, but myself. Got intrigued by this concept in high school by, of all people, 3rd Eye Blind's singer guitarist. Custom 1H PRS with just an on off switch, because that's the pickup he uses, & he just keeps the knobs on 10 anyway. P bass, Esquire, Junior, I personally run a 24 fret SG-1 and a modded 02 Melody Maker with an SH5. Shut up n play yer guitar.
Oh gosh, I forgot to add to my last comment how much I smiled and agreed with their comment on how focused we are at a gig with our "guitar sound" when nobody else notices what we "notice." Truth spoken :)...
I take 4 or 5 guitars to every gig. Is it because I’m the greatest guitar player ever? No! It’s because I have a bunch of guitars and I love playing them. I always have a Tele, Strat, Les Paul, an H H Tele and sometimes my Firebird and another Tele with different pickups. I love playing my different guitars. That’s why I have so many. I love amps too. I don’t need everything I have. I also don’t do it for what anyone thinks, again, I do it for me.
I need at least 3 but usually take 4 guitars. I play songs in standard and open G and D tunings. So, one for each tuning and spare for standard tuning. It is a hassle but I don’t want to waste time retuning for the sake of the show.
I used to bring three guitars to a 90min-3hr gig: standard tuning, Eb tuning, and a capo guitar (so the standard tuning one wouldn’t go out of tune.) Then I bought a digitech Drop pedal for Eb songs, a Daddario capo with adjustable tension, and setup my Tele. Now that’s the only one I bring to my country gigs. However, I’ve been trying to get my own band together to do rock covers… so that I can take my SG, my Explorer, and my Mustang out 😎
I used to bring 5 guitars back in yeah olde string breaker days. Now i tune to drop double d and use DR strings and have not broken a string in 20 years. Just bring one guitar usually a Telecaster , Vox MV50AC direct into the board and 2 pedals reverb and tremolo. Easy and quick set up. The Telecaster is a partscaster and if it gets stolen no big deal.
I own... too many guitars, but for the last 27 years, I've only gigged two - a pair of identical (aside from colour) HSS Strats. I'm my own roadie, and I got fed up of hauling around 4 guitars for single coil and bumhucker sounds. I never break strings, but if I stopped carrying a backup... Honestly, I'm not hung up on 'my tone', so I can get by using anything, so long as it's reliable and comfortable to play. I recently got a Brian May Special, for fun, and quite honestly, if you want a 'Swiss Army Knife', it wouldn't let you down.
I take 4 guitars to a gig. One is the acoustic for the acoustic set. A Fender I use for slide, Then I have 2 Gretsches. One is just in case I break a string.
Three. My main is a P90. The world is catching up on how many tones you can get out of P90s by rolling the volume knob, or changing where & how hard you attack it. If I pop a string, I have two back ups, and one or the other will get me close enough to my usual tone. Unless I break a string, I’m playing #1 all night. It’s made of wood, and reacts to temperature and humidity changes. Like at the start of a set. Hold it against your 98.6°F and let the crowd exhale toward it for a few songs, and; if it’s properly set up & intonated, it’s where it’ll be the rest of the night, and you’ll barely have to touch a tuning peg. One guitar is the simplest & best, but you have to have Plan B in case of a water landing.
Agreed, any guitar can be an all-purpose guitar. In my case it's a Charvel DK24, which I can get a variety of sounds from. The real weapon for me is my Strymon Iridium. I can get semi-clean Fender tones from it and distorted Marshall tones to fit whatever song I am playing. If I need more gain I throw an overdrive, and just to add a little to whatever sound I am using I throw in a reverb pedal.
Two Reverends both a Tele bridge pu and Strat middle and neck pu’s, and tremolos. I will play one through the show. The second guitar is for string breakage.
I bring two but mostly play just one. The second is there in case I break a string. On the rare occasion I bring a third, it's only for an alternate tuning.
When I play shows, I have my main Strat and a backup. That was born out of when I used to break strings. The most I've had on single show was three and one of those was an acoustic I used for one song.
I'm primarily a bass player I have 2 fender p basses 1 fender jazz bass , a martin acoustic and a fender mustang, I know it's different with bass players but I always bring 2 basses to the gig but almost never play the second one. . We open with a 3 song acoustic set which I play the martin , then one heavy p bass the rest of the gig
Always at least 2 cuz I break strings. My Swiss Army knife is a PRS Custom 24 with coil splitting which I can get literally any tone from the cleanest to dirtiest. My backup is a Les Paul tuned to drop D which I’ll use for those tunes. Sometimes I bring a tele too depending on the set list.
Just did a week of rehearsals culminating in a fundraiser with friends. I took three (plus a bass because I played bass on the unplugged set); a small semi-hollow, a PRS SE Santana and an S-type with P90s. Intended on switching guitars, but ended up playing the semi-hollow for my two sets as a guitarist (from Elvis to Beatles to Tom Petty to James Gang and Doobie Brothers). A month before the event, I decided to install a push-pull pot for the bridge humbucker (although, up until that point, I hated the sound of split humbuckers) and I'll be darned if I didn't use the split for 2/3 of the song list. With a P90 in the neck position, that guitar can do practically anything. Another guitarist used 4, his Rainsong acoustic, '74 LP Custom 20th Anniversary, '65 Jaguar and '65ish single pickup Melody Maker (he had the coolest toys there!).
I bring a backup and my trusty acoustic electric if I'm going on tour. One gig? Typically just 1 electric / 1 acoustic. Switching guitars without a tech makes me nervous lol I don't have a 335 but I have a FMT SG that does the trick along with my tele! @Johnathan - I used to be bad about breaking strings. I encourage you to experiment with coated strings!! I haven't looked back. My choice are elixirs (the warm ones).
I bring 2 to gigs. I can play any of my guitars and be happy for the night on the one, but you always gotta bring a backup. I have 2 good Stratocaster, a nice Les Paul Studio plus top (see profile pic) a really great Epiphone John Lee Hooker Sheraton with Seymour Duncan Phat Cats (might be my current favorite) and a Epiphone Les Paul Standard in silver sparkle lol. I mostly use my Stratocaster though. A Stratocaster can cover everything.
I have one guitar I use as my Swiss Army knife and that is my echo park that I got from you guys. I play a two hour long, set that guitar so versatile I just use the tone and bleed knob along with the volume to make things work secondly, I’m lazy. So that means it’s an extra piece of gear I have to carry in and carry out. But if I didn’t have the echo, or I probably would use an SSH strap has seem to cover everything
I need at least two for a show, have brought as many as…six? Various tunings…will mostly play one during a gig and maybe move to another for a couple tunes. One time this guy was just eyeing up my stuff and in between sets he kept telling me that he was gonna steal my axe…put me on edge. I play some exotic figured tops so I get a lot of comments on that, along with having “tone of the gods”.
Great video! I’ve moved to strats for this reason and have one backup guitar but really one main guitar. I don’t think the audience cares. And my playing has gotten better because I’ve gotten simpler. Strat, Princeton or deluxe and a few pedals.
I bring at least three guitars to a show and sometimes 4. One is my acoustic. I bring at least 2 electrics. My Kramer Nightswan is for heavy lifting (it's my current #1) and an EVH Wolfgang as a backup. But I do switch out guitars throughout the show. That's mostly for my own pleasure. lol. When I bring a 4th guitar, it's usually something flashy like my Charvel Satchel or something similar. I do try my best to play everything I bring. But sometimes if the show is moving fast I keep changes to a minimum. My mindset is, if you bring it, play it! But because I play mostly FR equipped guitars live, it's important to have at least one backup just in case something off the wall happens.
Play what you got and what you know works. Personally I try to keep each setup simple. Use only what is needed. I go to a lot of open mics and have a small backpack and my chosen guitar in a hard case. Small multi-effects pedal (battery powered), for some compression and a noise limiting tap filter and a bit of EQ. Page turner pedal for tablet (if used) and a wireless guitar link to effects pedal. Walk on, plug house sound cable into pedal, clamp on tablet (if I bother, often not used for short set as I tend to memorize all my songs), sound check and play. Fast off too, unplug and pick up tablet and pedal(s) and go. Less than 60 second setup, 30 second takedown. You have 13 minutes left in a 15 min. open mic slot. The more you mess about with gear, the less you get to play.
I use two guitars for gigs. An HSS strat covers most and also have a tele I keep in open G tuning for some songs and take it up to D tuning on stage quickly because it doesn’t have a trem bar that affects all strings one you retune on.
Lately I’ve been bringing a 345 and a EC Strat as well as two amps (one being a backup). Mu pedalboard consists of reverb, delay, and a few overdrive pedals that I’ll switch between from venue to venue depending on the sound of the room & PA.
Many, many gigs with an unbreakable American Tele (circa 1999). Sometimes bring the Gretsch for wildly different sound. And the Taylor 414CE for acoustic gigs (a really stable gigging acoustic). But the Tele is the rock.
I bring 2 guitars mostly, one for E standard, one for E flat. If we feature a tuning that is different, we use a third or fourth guitar that set. Thats how we manage the multiple guitar thing, its purely functional. I dont want more pieces in harm's potential way.
Seldom play live these days but sometimes get out for smaller club gigs to launch an album I've produced with the artiste and a small band. Swiss Army Knife = Sadowsky NYC S Style HSH, Back Up = PRS SE Custom 24/08. Both offer humbucker and single coil combinations. Occasionally Sadowsky Electric Nylon if the tracks need a nice nylon string vibe. During the 70's when our own band was playing 3 or 4 times a week from pubs to open air concerts the only guitar I had was my 1968 Les Paul Custom . . . seemed to do the trick! 😀
For me, the ultimate Swiss Army knife guitar is the Red Special. Granted, there is a hefty amount of bias in that opinion, but I think it’s a fair shout. Queen cover a massive amount of musical ground, and Brian May will always choose the Red Special over anything else. The only Queen song it never appeared on was Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and that’s because Freddie insisted he play a Tele. There is also the acoustic exception, but that’s another matter altogether I think. So with all that in mind, the Red Special covers all of Queen’s eclectic back catalogue, which for me gives it a legitimate claim to being the ultimate Swiss Army knife guitar.
I'm not a Queen 'fan', but I got a BMG Special a couple of weeks back, for fun, and I have to agree. That thing covers a lot of ground. Unless you're in a Queen Tribute band, it's a 'jack of all, master of none' guitar, but it does a good approximation of all the usual suspects if you mess around with the combinations, even a Ric.
Depends on the your role in the band. If you share a stage with another guitarist, it's cool to have guitar1 on a single coil rig and guitar2 rocking the humbuckers. Separate the guitar parts as such.
When I was a gigging musician, I could only afford one guitar. From 1965 to 1970 I only had an Eko and I never broke a string because I had this gosh awful thick thick thick flatwounds on it. Later when I traded it for a Telecaster (1971 - 77), I also switched from lead to rhythm and again only had the one guitar with a set of spare strings in the case. Don't know what size they were but I never broke one then either. Now I have a number of guitars but I don't gig so I don't know what I'd take. Certainly one of my Teles and probably the LP just cause. But it would be straight into he amp just like in 1969
Guitar Gig Alert 🚨 I play in IRIS, the worlds one and only Goo Goo Dolls tribute band based out of Los Angeles. 26 songs. 10 different tunings. One guitar dedicated to the song IRIS. We travel with 10 guitars including a mandolin and a Line 6 JTV-59. Guitar tech a must. It’s brutal in check in fees 😢💰
I bring my trusted 4... my $500 Epiphone Ebony Custom Les Paul, my Fender Partcaster Telecaster, PRS singlecut 245 SE Standard and last but not least, my Epiphone acoustic. I leave the expensive one's at home and bring the one's that sound great, play great and I'm not too concerned if they banged, dinged and scratched.
I recently bought a Fender Mustang P90 and feel like it could do many things but don't play live so can't speak to that. Can't imagine not having a backup though!
I bring two guitars to most gigs but I generally only play one for the whole night. The other one is just a backup in case I break a string. I spread the love around between my various guitars, so they all get to be the "main" guitar on a regular basis.
You are a loving guitar owner & player! Good for you sir I know your guitars love you.👍
I do the same
This is how I roll as well. One guitar for the gig and one as a backup in case I break a string. Lately all the gigs I've been doing are in one tuning. If there's a different tuning outside dropped D I'll bring a third in that tuning. Usually it's 2.
This is the way lol
The banter between you guys makes the channel. Never change gents.
It's great isn't it? I'm with you sir it's so entertaining.
Do you know why Telecasters come with a case? It's to protect all the other gear in the back of the truck.
That's funny...I'll have to use that in the future!
It's the Nokia of guitars. Don't drop the Telecaster or it'll break the floor lol
I bring 4 .. I am a singer songwriter and all my guitars are acoustic. One guitar is tuned to open G; Another is tuned to open D; Another is tuned to standard tuning and the last one is a resonator guitar. I play quite a bit of slide and I do a lot of finger picking stuff which includes ragtime, jazz, blues and story songs. I try to mix it up and keep it lively and filled with a lot of variation. It has taken me a while to learn how to flow between guitars & songs. It is out of necessity for what I do. Thank you for your show, I love your conversations and insight. My name is Kyle, I am 71, from Phoenix, AZ and I still play out quite often and continually learn and grow. I play better than ever and I will play until I am called home. 🌵🎸
When I was in high school, my friends and I saw the Gypsy Kings in Denver. There were about 40 guitars lined up across the back of the stage. I was in heaven 😳
In college, our fraternity rented a dump truck, lined it with thick poly, filled it up with water, and drove around town swimming in it…a mobile swimming pool!
We just hung around until the frat boys came by and kicked their asses
Always 4. Standard tuning. Backup for standard. Open G. Acoustic.
It all depends. Open mic night - Pick one axe with the best tone to serve the song you plan to play. Blues jam- one guitar, Strat to Tele to 335, LP, SG, Flying V or even a Jackson Rhoads. Anything can play The Blues. That said, you better be an impressive player if you’re going to flaunt something wild and audacious like a V or an Explorer or something expensive from a boutique builder or Custom Shop. When in doubt just rock a Squire. If you suck people will think you’re new and the Squire will match your skill level so people will cut you some slack. If you’re amazing the Squire will make you look humble, or poor which in the minds of the audience will explain the amazing Blues feel you’re expressing through that cheap axe from tapping into your financial pain. Bar gig with multiple sets - One to three guitars with various tones to fit various styles of songs, like for Country bring a Tele, a Gretsch and maybe a baritone plus something versatile like a Strat as a backup axe. For Nashville pop or Bro Country just being a sampler, some quality guitar samples and sync with your drum machine and Mac. On a road tour? - Bring three or four if there’s room, again, for various tones if your set list requires, or just two if space in the trailer is an issue. Flying to a gig - One MIM Strat you bought used so will sound good, is versatile and you will not care if destroyed by the airlines. Major tour - Bring everything because you have roadies and a tech. I only played in my high school Jazz ensemble. One guitar, my 1965 Epiphone Casino because it was all I had at the time.
You guys are the best! I guess I'm with Jonathan I'm a Telecaster guy, I carry three Telecaster to every gig. 1 with single coils, one with humbuckers, and one with P90s... I believe my bases are covered!
Mate you got the bases covered with a basic telecaster. Ain’t nothing a tele can’t do!!
My "Swiss Army Knife" guitar is a PRS Swamp Ash Special. It has three humbuckers, a five-position blade switch, and the tone knob is a push/pull that splits the coils. It has a great humbucker tone, and when the coils are split, it really does the strat thing very convincingly.
So agree. I have the previous iteration of that guitar with the 3 way switch rather than the 5 way and its a jack of all trades. But like Jon and Baxter were saying, sometimes you want variety. If there is a way to get a Strat or Tele to go to Humbucker territory I would love to know what the special sauce is!!
I recently bought a Brian May Guitars (Green) Special, just for fun. Not a Queen 'fan', however, as 'Swiss Army Knife' guitars go, it covers a helluva lot of ground.
From Leo: 2 guitars, usually a thick neck arch top and a thinner neck solid body. Switching every few songs keeps my hand from cramping. Plus I am never in a bind if I break a string or something starts acting funky. I also bring two cords.
I think it depends on the venue. I play in a cover band in the greater Nashville area and we typically get 15 minutes to set up and do a rolling sound check into our time slot. No time for multiples. We have two guitar players and if we pop a string we just change it on the fly and the other guy covers down.
At 22 I had matching Ibanez RG560 Superstrats. One lipstick red, the other cobalt blue. I thought I was the bomb.
The last blues jam I attended most of the guitars were budget apart from a guy with a Clapton Strat and one of the regulars with a PRS private stock. Amazed to see that in a rough English pub on a Thursday night.
Tomorrow night I’m playing a show. My two current workhorses are a pair of HSS Strats. One with a Vega Trem, the other with a Floyd. Both have Dimarzio’s in the bridge. But in my last band my main axe was a Yamaha SG1000 with a Kotzen Tele. But I used to swap em around.
I bring 1. Either my 1961 jr or my Les Paul traditional. Explorer and V usually stay home. Also I only bring 3 pedals. Set it and forget it with the amp too. Amazing what you can do with a 3 knob Magnatone and 1 guitar when you're focused on playing and not switching on and off pedals
I’m a gigging drummer and I bring just my one kit. No spare snare or heads. The guitar players usually bring 1 main guitar and a backup. The bass player brings just 1 bass.
I never understood the multiple guitar method until recently. My band made an EP and I primarily used my trusty American Original Jazzmaster but there is one song on the EP I wrote with my Mustang. The Jazzmaster can do that song decent but it doesn’t feel right nor entirely sound right Vice versa with the songs I use the Jazzmaster on.
They’re both very similar guitars but have subtle differences. My rule is this if I came up with the riff on the guitar and tracked with it. I use it live.
Meanwhile most of our guitar heroes played one guitar at a time for up to years at a time.
I used to bring a Les Paul, Strat and a Schecter, but due to the different type pickups I was constantly adjusting the sound. And, without a sound man and in a noisy small venue that became impossible. Now it’s jut my Gibson with the Schecter as a backup and I just roll with it. The simpler the better.
I have gigged/ toured with one guitar for along time. It makes packing out and transport really
Easy. I use several alternate tunings on stage and have broken a string maybe twice in 10 years. Never ever had a problem until recently when the pickup in my main acoustic went dead at a gig.I felt extremely stupid and silly not having a backup. So from now on I will bring a backup😊. Only took 10 years to have something go wrong.
I have a dedicated “off the shelf stock” Telecaster that rides with me everywhere as a backup.
I bring 2 guitars. 1, a Telecaster as the main and 1 as a back up, usually a Stratocaster.
I bring three. One I play most of the songs, open tuned guitar to switch in/out quickly, then a backup if I break a string.
I played a little in HS freshman/sophomore year. Lefty...quit due to skateboarding (this is the 80's) and finally picked it up four years ago at the age of 46. I think there's the same amount of left-handed guitars. Now I can afford am actual left-handed guitar or three.
I always subscribed to Randy Rhoads and his 3 guitar 2 amp method!
I bring 2 guitars for a show and usually only play the backup on the last set. Cheers Casino!
I’ll normally bring 2 guitars to a gig. Mostly in case i break a string. However, lately I’ve been bringing one with single coil and one with humbucker. There’s certain songs that just need that full sound you can only get from humbuckers.
I don't want to carry more than one guitar to a show. A tele is all you need. I have brought two guitars a couple times when i really just wanted to play my strat live. It lasted about 3 songs before i went back to my tele. Nothing beats a tele. I cant unload what's in my soul without worry if i don't have the tele on me.
I just played a gig with 2 guitars, but not so much for sound, but for setup. I had a MM Axis SS for a large portion of the show, but there were a few songs that required some chikin' pickin', so naturally I went Tele. The string spacing, esp. for my right hand, made it sooo much easier to play. Sure there were some obvious sound differences, but in the end, most of that was pretty subtle, especially to the audience, tbh.
For many years I always brought a backup guitar, but not the last few years. Since 2002 I’ve only broken strings twice during a gig. Then our bass player broke a string on our last gig, and that got me thinking again. I’ve a double gigbag now, so I can bring two guitars (Maybach Albatros ‘65 + Eastman sb55dc/v). They are very light guitars, so together they weight about the same as a heavy LP). I saw a band at a festival once, they came all the way from Florida to Norway, and got their whole 30 minute set almost ruined because the guitarist broke a string, and had to changed strings while the others jammed. And then when he came back on stage, because he had a floyd rose, the guitar didn’t want to stay in tune.
In 1 of my church gigs I would switch around between my 3 electrics. When I switched worship bands , I would use whatever of my guitars but only 1 each show. Limited gear space and only needed 1 per short time playing.
I’ve done tons of 3 hour gigs with my Floyd rose Alvarez. Only electric I had, now definitely always bring 2.
😂 I have guitars I bought I. 1985 (Fender lead 2) and 1992 (a PRS with a sn starting with84) I now have 15 to choose from and take 1 or 2 to gigs. In 50 years I’ve only sold 1 Ibanez Blazer and a PRS SE EG. Turned down by the church sound guy!? I thought it was just me that happened to. Love ya work boys.
It's like I was just talking about this last week... It always drove me crazy playing with guys who never had a backup when they DID break a string, but they weren't doing a bunch of songs with alternate tunings, so that was less an issue trying to get through a show with one guitar. Also depended upon the length of the show [or number of sets] and how well the thing stayed in tune, which is when a lot of young guys refuse to upgrade even though they have a substandard instrument and they know it by now. No dog doo this time? I forget what else... Obviously, going from a Strat to a Tele can seem more limiting, but going to a more complicated guitar with more buttons and gizmos can be nerve-wracking for a less experienced player if they haven't practiced on that one, etc.
I play gigs occasionally and have been taking one guitar (a tele), but realize after hearing you talk about multiple instruments that I should have a backup with me and really ought to bring my acoustic as well for variety (solo gig). So now I guess I'll take 3 with me! I play budget gear that I upgrade as I don't play out enough to justify more expensive stuff, and wouldn't want to take the high end stuff out into the world anyway.
I'm predominantly a bassist, and I have a bass with flexible PU and electronic config, and have 2 on stage, one as a backup. The backup is basically identical to the main, but the cheaper model in the range (no fancy top) with the same upgraded electronics. Never broken a string on stage, but I feel off if I don't have a backup, just in case something catastrophic happens, so the show can go on.
I bring two, pick one as the main for the show, or one for quieter sets, one for when things need to be more rowdy
When I played in a band I really liked bringing 3 guitars. A humbucker like my LP or SG. A Strat or Tele and a Hollow body for something completely different. But now that I do Solo acoustic it’s just one that I bring.
1. i'm lazy. i have 4 guitars and 3 gig bags. i never remember which guitar is in which bag. so i grab one and go. wait for the surprise at the gig. it's like christmas.
My Giggin Guitar:
Godin Session LTD, Vintage Burst and it is definitely a Swiss Army Knife Guitar.
It is a Strat-style guitar that won't break the bank, but I don't want to call it a super-strat. It is definitaly utilitarian but looks great too. It is a HSS with a Seymour Duncan HB in the bridge, with coil-split and floating trem. The 2 single coils are Godin-made. 5-way switch. I can get a nice fat humbucking sound, a stratty sound and a tele sound with this guitar. Strung with NYXL 10-46. The neck is super, super comfortable. It feels indestructible. The price of these things is a true bargain. I bring this on stage because it plays great, feels great, stays in tune like a champ, gets all the tones I need, and if something bad happens to it, it won't be the end of the world.
Godin is a Canadian guitar company that builds their guitars in Canada and USA, and I think they are criminally overlooked. I try and sing their praises every chance I can. Check Out Godin Guitars!
Two guitars, but play the one with the best room EQ and setup. Thanks for your content. Fun stuff.
Never took more than 2 guitars to a gig unless I needed an acoustic as well. The main reason for having 2 would be different tunings or gear failure. For me, a swiss army guitar would be something with humbuckers that could be split. Usually a PRS or Les Paul. I can see the desire for the rugged reliability/stability of a tele, but I'd want it to have humbuckers.
Try this: a low options guitar and a guitar to fuck around with.
Most hard rock & heavier guys use a bridge pickup 90%+ of the time.
Once I became one of those guys, I suddenly loved 1H guitars. 1, 2 knobs. A jack. Nothing to get in the way, but myself.
Got intrigued by this concept in high school by, of all people, 3rd Eye Blind's singer guitarist. Custom 1H PRS with just an on off switch, because that's the pickup he uses, & he just keeps the knobs on 10 anyway.
P bass, Esquire, Junior, I personally run a 24 fret SG-1 and a modded 02 Melody Maker with an SH5.
Shut up n play yer guitar.
I normally take 2 to my gigs! Just to keep it interesting and for backup (not just for me, but the other guitarist as well)
4 guitars. Tele, Strat tuned 1/2 step down, Les Paul and a Taylor Acoustic.
Oh gosh, I forgot to add to my last comment how much I smiled and agreed with their comment on how focused we are at a gig with our "guitar sound" when nobody else notices what we "notice." Truth spoken :)...
My Am. Std Strat has become my absolute go-to. I rarely use anything else now. It's weird; I grew up with Les Pauls.
I take 4 or 5 guitars to every gig. Is it because I’m the greatest guitar player ever? No! It’s because I have a bunch of guitars and I love playing them. I always have a Tele, Strat, Les Paul, an H H Tele and sometimes my Firebird and another Tele with different pickups. I love playing my different guitars. That’s why I have so many. I love amps too. I don’t need everything I have. I also don’t do it for what anyone thinks, again, I do it for me.
I need at least 3 but usually take 4 guitars. I play songs in standard and open G and D tunings. So, one for each tuning and spare for standard tuning. It is a hassle but I don’t want to waste time retuning for the sake of the show.
I used to bring three guitars to a 90min-3hr gig: standard tuning, Eb tuning, and a capo guitar (so the standard tuning one wouldn’t go out of tune.)
Then I bought a digitech Drop pedal for Eb songs, a Daddario capo with adjustable tension, and setup my Tele. Now that’s the only one I bring to my country gigs.
However, I’ve been trying to get my own band together to do rock covers… so that I can take my SG, my Explorer, and my Mustang out 😎
"Sir, I got your keys!" Gold.
I used to bring 5 guitars back in yeah olde string breaker days. Now i tune to drop double d and use DR strings and have not broken a string in 20 years. Just bring one guitar usually a Telecaster , Vox MV50AC direct into the board and 2 pedals reverb and tremolo. Easy and quick set up. The Telecaster is a partscaster and if it gets stolen no big deal.
I like a cupboard full of cases like a great gran turismo garage, pick out what you feel like playing
I usually bring 3... do three sets... a guitar per set. Plus, there's a backup always available.
I own... too many guitars, but for the last 27 years, I've only gigged two - a pair of identical (aside from colour) HSS Strats.
I'm my own roadie, and I got fed up of hauling around 4 guitars for single coil and bumhucker sounds. I never break strings, but if I stopped carrying a backup...
Honestly, I'm not hung up on 'my tone', so I can get by using anything, so long as it's reliable and comfortable to play.
I recently got a Brian May Special, for fun, and quite honestly, if you want a 'Swiss Army Knife', it wouldn't let you down.
I take 4 guitars to a gig. One is the acoustic for the acoustic set. A Fender I use for slide, Then I have 2 Gretsches. One is just in case I break a string.
Three. My main is a P90. The world is catching up on how many tones you can get out of P90s by rolling the volume knob, or changing where & how hard you attack it.
If I pop a string, I have two back ups, and one or the other will get me close enough to my usual tone.
Unless I break a string, I’m playing #1 all night. It’s made of wood, and reacts to temperature and humidity changes. Like at the start of a set. Hold it against your 98.6°F and let the crowd exhale toward it for a few songs, and; if it’s properly set up & intonated, it’s where it’ll be the rest of the night, and you’ll barely have to touch a tuning peg.
One guitar is the simplest & best, but you have to have Plan B in case of a water landing.
Agreed, any guitar can be an all-purpose guitar. In my case it's a Charvel DK24, which I can get a variety of sounds from. The real weapon for me is my Strymon Iridium. I can get semi-clean Fender tones from it and distorted Marshall tones to fit whatever song I am playing. If I need more gain I throw an overdrive, and just to add a little to whatever sound I am using I throw in a reverb pedal.
Dude on the right has got great taste…Tele, 335, white falcon, HELL YES!
I usually take 3 guitars. An acoustic: electric and two cigar box guitars. I build these CBGs, and I like to show them off and Demosthenes.
Two Reverends both a Tele bridge pu and Strat middle and neck pu’s, and tremolos. I will play one through the show. The second guitar is for string breakage.
Tele with a series mod. That's all ya need.
I bring two but mostly play just one. The second is there in case I break a string. On the rare occasion I bring a third, it's only for an alternate tuning.
When I play shows, I have my main Strat and a backup. That was born out of when I used to break strings. The most I've had on single show was three and one of those was an acoustic I used for one song.
I'm primarily a bass player I have 2 fender p basses 1 fender jazz bass , a martin acoustic and a fender mustang, I know it's different with bass players but I always bring 2 basses to the gig but almost never play the second one. . We open with a 3 song acoustic set which I play the martin , then one heavy p bass the rest of the gig
Always at least 2 cuz I break strings. My Swiss Army knife is a PRS Custom 24 with coil splitting which I can get literally any tone from the cleanest to dirtiest. My backup is a Les Paul tuned to drop D which I’ll use for those tunes. Sometimes I bring a tele too depending on the set list.
Just did a week of rehearsals culminating in a fundraiser with friends. I took three (plus a bass because I played bass on the unplugged set); a small semi-hollow, a PRS SE Santana and an S-type with P90s. Intended on switching guitars, but ended up playing the semi-hollow for my two sets as a guitarist (from Elvis to Beatles to Tom Petty to James Gang and Doobie Brothers). A month before the event, I decided to install a push-pull pot for the bridge humbucker (although, up until that point, I hated the sound of split humbuckers) and I'll be darned if I didn't use the split for 2/3 of the song list. With a P90 in the neck position, that guitar can do practically anything.
Another guitarist used 4, his Rainsong acoustic, '74 LP Custom 20th Anniversary, '65 Jaguar and '65ish single pickup Melody Maker (he had the coolest toys there!).
I bring a backup and my trusty acoustic electric if I'm going on tour. One gig? Typically just 1 electric / 1 acoustic. Switching guitars without a tech makes me nervous lol I don't have a 335 but I have a FMT SG that does the trick along with my tele!
@Johnathan - I used to be bad about breaking strings. I encourage you to experiment with coated strings!! I haven't looked back. My choice are elixirs (the warm ones).
2 guitars. A main and a backup. Never had the need for more and been gigging for more than a decade.
I bring 2 to gigs. I can play any of my guitars and be happy for the night on the one, but you always gotta bring a backup. I have 2 good Stratocaster, a nice Les Paul Studio plus top (see profile pic) a really great Epiphone John Lee Hooker Sheraton with Seymour Duncan Phat Cats (might be my current favorite) and a Epiphone Les Paul Standard in silver sparkle lol. I mostly use my Stratocaster though. A Stratocaster can cover everything.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should But we will take them all if we get the chance to… love you guys keep it real guys it’s Great…
I have one guitar I use as my Swiss Army knife and that is my echo park that I got from you guys. I play a two hour long, set that guitar so versatile I just use the tone and bleed knob along with the volume to make things work secondly, I’m lazy. So that means it’s an extra piece of gear I have to carry in and carry out.
But if I didn’t have the echo, or I probably would use an SSH strap has seem to cover everything
I need at least two for a show, have brought as many as…six? Various tunings…will mostly play one during a gig and maybe move to another for a couple tunes. One time this guy was just eyeing up my stuff and in between sets he kept telling me that he was gonna steal my axe…put me on edge.
I play some exotic figured tops so I get a lot of comments on that, along with having “tone of the gods”.
Great video! I’ve moved to strats for this reason and have one backup guitar but really one main guitar. I don’t think the audience cares. And my playing has gotten better because I’ve gotten simpler. Strat, Princeton or deluxe and a few pedals.
I bring at least three guitars to a show and sometimes 4. One is my acoustic. I bring at least 2 electrics. My Kramer Nightswan is for heavy lifting (it's my current #1) and an EVH Wolfgang as a backup. But I do switch out guitars throughout the show. That's mostly for my own pleasure. lol. When I bring a 4th guitar, it's usually something flashy like my Charvel Satchel or something similar. I do try my best to play everything I bring. But sometimes if the show is moving fast I keep changes to a minimum. My mindset is, if you bring it, play it! But because I play mostly FR equipped guitars live, it's important to have at least one backup just in case something off the wall happens.
Play what you got and what you know works.
Personally I try to keep each setup simple. Use only what is needed.
I go to a lot of open mics and have a small backpack and my chosen guitar in a hard case.
Small multi-effects pedal (battery powered), for some compression and a noise limiting tap filter and a bit of EQ.
Page turner pedal for tablet (if used) and a wireless guitar link to effects pedal.
Walk on, plug house sound cable into pedal, clamp on tablet (if I bother, often not used for short set as I tend to memorize all my songs), sound check and play.
Fast off too, unplug and pick up tablet and pedal(s) and go.
Less than 60 second setup, 30 second takedown. You have 13 minutes left in a 15 min. open mic slot.
The more you mess about with gear, the less you get to play.
I never bring less than two. More often than not I will break a string and need a backup.
I use two guitars for gigs. An HSS strat covers most and also have a tele I keep in open G tuning for some songs and take it up to D tuning on stage quickly because it doesn’t have a trem bar that affects all strings one you retune on.
Lately I’ve been bringing a 345 and a EC Strat as well as two amps (one being a backup). Mu pedalboard consists of reverb, delay, and a few overdrive pedals that I’ll switch between from venue to venue depending on the sound of the room & PA.
I have 3, a 07 VG Fender US Strat, and two Gibson LP Classics. The VG is as 'swiss army knife' as possible for a guitar.
all of them. i want- I NEED ALL THE GUITARS. but a hard tail strat IS the swiss army knife for me
For me, it's all about the tuning & one back up when I played live so 2-3 & an acoustic/electric hybrid if needed.
When I played live I'd take 2 electrics in different tunings & on the rare occasion my acoustic.
I always have 2 guitars at church (and the same 2 guitars at home). I have a 6 string and a 12 string at each place.
Many, many gigs with an unbreakable American Tele (circa 1999). Sometimes bring the Gretsch for wildly different sound. And the Taylor 414CE for acoustic gigs (a really stable gigging acoustic). But the Tele is the rock.
Good show, good show. Have y'all fellas ever considered switching seats?
I bring 2 guitars mostly, one for E standard, one for E flat. If we feature a tuning that is different, we use a third or fourth guitar that set. Thats how we manage the multiple guitar thing, its purely functional. I dont want more pieces in harm's potential way.
3
Main guitar 🎸
Backup guitar
Wild card
I take two acoustic guitars, one in open tuning and one electric guitar. I rarely break a string and could restring quickly if necessary.
Seldom play live these days but sometimes get out for smaller club gigs to launch an album I've produced with the artiste and a small band. Swiss Army Knife = Sadowsky NYC S Style HSH, Back Up = PRS SE Custom 24/08. Both offer humbucker and single coil combinations. Occasionally Sadowsky Electric Nylon if the tracks need a nice nylon string vibe. During the 70's when our own band was playing 3 or 4 times a week from pubs to open air concerts the only guitar I had was my 1968 Les Paul Custom . . . seemed to do the trick! 😀
For me, the ultimate Swiss Army knife guitar is the Red Special. Granted, there is a hefty amount of bias in that opinion, but I think it’s a fair shout. Queen cover a massive amount of musical ground, and Brian May will always choose the Red Special over anything else. The only Queen song it never appeared on was Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and that’s because Freddie insisted he play a Tele. There is also the acoustic exception, but that’s another matter altogether I think. So with all that in mind, the Red Special covers all of Queen’s eclectic back catalogue, which for me gives it a legitimate claim to being the ultimate Swiss Army knife guitar.
I'm not a Queen 'fan', but I got a BMG Special a couple of weeks back, for fun, and I have to agree. That thing covers a lot of ground. Unless you're in a Queen Tribute band, it's a 'jack of all, master of none' guitar, but it does a good approximation of all the usual suspects if you mess around with the combinations, even a Ric.
One or two, depends on whether I'm playing acoustic as well that night. Don't really need to bring an extra guitar.
Depends on the your role in the band. If you share a stage with another guitarist, it's cool to have guitar1 on a single coil rig and guitar2 rocking the humbuckers. Separate the guitar parts as such.
I usually bring 2 guitars for a gig, sometimes 3, depending on tunings.
Lately, I use a PRS P24, and a Les Paul.
I always took 3, because I break strings and you just never know what can go wrong during the course of 4-sets.
When I was a gigging musician, I could only afford one guitar. From 1965 to 1970 I only had an Eko and I never broke a string because I had this gosh awful thick thick thick flatwounds on it. Later when I traded it for a Telecaster (1971 - 77), I also switched from lead to rhythm and again only had the one guitar with a set of spare strings in the case. Don't know what size they were but I never broke one then either. Now I have a number of guitars but I don't gig so I don't know what I'd take. Certainly one of my Teles and probably the LP just cause. But it would be straight into he amp just like in 1969
A Gretch with a Bigsby is a good Swiss Army knife guitar. Or a JEM with that HSH pickup configuration.
Guitar Gig Alert 🚨
I play in IRIS, the worlds one and only Goo Goo Dolls tribute band based out of Los Angeles.
26 songs. 10 different tunings. One guitar dedicated to the song IRIS. We travel with 10 guitars including a mandolin and a Line 6 JTV-59. Guitar tech a must. It’s brutal in check in fees 😢💰
I usually take a main workhorse and a back-up.
I bring my trusted 4... my $500 Epiphone Ebony Custom Les Paul, my Fender Partcaster Telecaster, PRS singlecut 245 SE Standard and last but not least, my Epiphone acoustic. I leave the expensive one's at home and bring the one's that sound great, play great and I'm not too concerned if they banged, dinged and scratched.
I would restring during the break to ensure I had two functioning guitars during a set
I recently bought a Fender Mustang P90 and feel like it could do many things but don't play live so can't speak to that. Can't imagine not having a backup though!