What Guitars Do You Really Need?

Every guitar player knows that you can only BUY guitars, they are not to be sold. This is why so many of us have growing collections of guitars.

With jaws dropped, we saw Randy Bachman, recently relinquishing his treasured collection of hundreds of guitars he's amassed over the years. (I’ve got my eyes on one of them, but my wallet says it’s a hard no)

One could presume that he was desperate for cash, but between his solo work, The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, I think he's covered in royalties, no Hand Me Down World in his future. So, the alternative is that he came to his senses and realized he just didn't need all those guitars when he really only uses a handful of them to record and perform.

Now, I'm not I'm not a household name, nor even a name in my household, but I've managed to build up quite a collection myself. Perhaps a few hundred guitars short of a few hundred, but I've got every guitar that I've ever purchased, been given or traded for which is to say I have fourteen guitars (no, I’m not including the mandolin or the ukulele, this is a serious guitar discussion).

But why?

Some guitars are mainstays, they are the ones you can play anything on, they're just comfortable and sound good. I've got one electric and two acoustics that fit that bill. I've got two semi-acoustics that are virtually unplayable and serve as beautiful decorations in the house. I've got one electric and one classical in my home away from home, on the other side of the planet, just for songwriting. So, that leaves 4 that serve no purpose. Well, there’s purpose, because sometimes you need a specific tone that only those other guitars can get you.

OK, I'm convinced, fourteen is an appropriate number of guitars! #FTW.

When it comes right down to it, I can do with just one acoustic and one electric. Hell, my mainstays are on every song I've released, the other guitars have sprinkled bits here and there. Sometimes a nylon string or a lap steel is just what the mainstays need to sound less mainstay-ee.

Now, if all I played was hard-rock or metal, I could probably shed the two classical guitars, but I would probably come up with some outlier, use-case scenario citing Rick Emmett relentlessly to justify keeping them.

Also, brands don't matter. As long as you love playing it and it doesn't fight you while doing so, it's a winner. I think it was Steve Lukather who said he can plug into Eddy Van Halen's amp and guitar and he still sounds like the guitar player from Toto.

It's important to remind yourself that YOU make your sound, not your gear, but, sometimes you need fourteen guitars get make it.

Kevin Franco is the singer/songwriter/producer for The Muster Point Project

Website: www.musterpointproject.com