Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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Nick and the Noise
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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by Nick and the Noise » Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:02 am

Yes, definitely. We have a guitar rack with 5 slots. All are high quality and mostly MIA or MIJ with a wide enough variety in sound and pickups including 1 bass. There is one slot left... we have to choose wisely.

Also, no Strats or Les Pauls allowed in this house!

That pedal collection is next, it really is... :squint:

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by marqueemoon » Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:05 pm

Going through a bit of this thought process myself lately.
Haven’t come to any firm decisions though.

If I get more serious I will probably come up with some ranking criteria to help figure out what stays and what goes. Sentimental value and replaceabilty would need to factor in.

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by Sauerkraut » Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:39 pm

Nick and the Noise wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:02 am
There is one slot left... we have to choose wisely.
That’s easy then; a Bass VI

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by SignoftheDragon » Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:15 pm

Sauerkraut wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:39 pm
Nick and the Noise wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:02 am
There is one slot left... we have to choose wisely.
That’s easy then; a Bass VI
Or a XII.

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by Mechanical Birds » Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:17 pm

shoule79 wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 9:15 am
Mechanical Birds wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:53 am
SignoftheDragon wrote:
Mon Apr 12, 2021 3:09 pm
I just sold about half of my collection to obtain one of the Holy Grail guitars of my youth.

1000% worth it.

But- then all the guitars I sold ended up paying for the Grail Geet, plus a bunch more $$...

So I bought more guitars with the extra. :fp:

Started at 14 total, Down to 6, now back up to 12.

I've told myself I'm just buying/selling through a few to try them out- and so far that has been the case, But now I kind of like most of the new ones...


Well, DID HE CUM?!?!

What’s the grail guitar? :)
Jesus Christ, man! There's just some things you don't talk about in public!
<3

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Nick and the Noise
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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by Nick and the Noise » Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:17 am

SignoftheDragon wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:15 pm
Sauerkraut wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:39 pm
Nick and the Noise wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:02 am
There is one slot left... we have to choose wisely.
That’s easy then; a Bass VI
Or a XII.
1. AVRI Jazzmaster with a P90 hybrid bridge
2. Gibson SG Standard
3. Kurt Cobain Mustang (it's actually my girl's)
4. Musicman Sterling Ray34 (Stingray) Bass

5. It will probably be a MIM Player Telecaster. I don't have any 9.5 radius standard modern spec guitars and I want something entry-level because I want to learn to mod it myself. Also, it would be actually nice to have a bring-a-long guitar and know if it gets damaged you can grab an identical one of the rack in years to come.

But to be honest, when I play guitar I go for the No. 1 Jazzmaster 95% (maybe 98%) of the time anyway.

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by BoringPostcards » Wed Apr 14, 2021 2:42 am

I am only 40 and I have downsized once. I regret it honestly.
I did get myself some nice gear at the time, and I love it, especially my SG, but I miss my quirky Euro guitars (Eko, Goya, etc), and I really miss my Squiers, Harmonys, and Japan Fenders.
I will eventually slowly build up a collection again, simply because I enjoy having them around, even if they won't get used all the time.
I love guitars. I like looking at guitars as much as playing them. The walls look empty without guitars hung up all over the place, lol.
I now only have 3 electrics, a bass, and 2 acoustics.
I had twenty or so at one point. It was 2013 when I started unloading them. I thought I needed kid money, but I didn't really need to dump all those guitars.
One or two would have been fine.

All that said, I wouldn't want to be overrun by them. When there are so many, that it is impossible to play them all in a week, then it's time to sell.
Det er mig der holder traeerne sammen.

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by fuzzy_man_peach » Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:13 am

I've downsized recently and to an extent still are, honestly can say it's the best thing I've done! It was at like 30 plus guitars with a mix of old hofners, Japanese fenders, harmony and Silvertones with a few teiscos guitars but I've sliced them right down to 7 and got some really nice vintage pieces now that I love! Same with pedals, ended up having like double, triple sometimes more of the same style of pedals so just kept the best ones and the ones that would cover as much ground as possible! Don't get me wrong having a large guitar collection is great and having lots of variation but for my personal use I'm completely happy with a select few I can get the most out of and Also free space up!

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by gishuk » Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:22 am

I'm upsizing mine :fp:

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by mgeek » Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:27 am

I've currently got a ridiculous amount of guitars, to the point where it's a real struggle to remember what they all are off the top of my head, but they are all completely different and make me feel different when playing them, so inspire different ideas, so I kind of like it.

I don't really understand wanting to have multiple jazzmasters, or les pauls, etc over a variety, but there are no right and wrong answers with this, and more importantly no permanent answers. I reckon a key part of the hobby is the guitar-go-round. If you want to downsize, do it... then buy a bunch more later. It's not a moral failing to have loads of guitars.

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by Nick and the Noise » Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:28 am

I also have just 1 (high-end tube) guitar amp and I wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe there is room for a Pathfinder or other practice solid state amp in the future, but for now I deem it unnecessary.

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by jvin248 » Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:29 am

.

A local music store was getting thin on content due to sales are up while their factory orders were down last year because of the unknown retail environment and they missed getting refilled. So I put thirty six guitars on consignment there before the holidays. These were all guitars I bought specifically to flip.

I have my core guitars (around seven to ten) that I play/mod and then ones I bought purely to clean/repair and flip.


My suggestion: Use some switching mods for one guitar to cover as backup of another:
-Stratocaster SSS with an Armstrong Blender spins up to HSH
-Telecaster Esquire-H with a 4-way that can cover neck/quack/twang/humbucker
-Les Paul-style with coil splits to cover single coil tones, switching for parallel quack.
-Jazzmaster outfitted like a LP Junior with a single bridge humbucker and a wrap tail. It doesn't back anything up but using the knobs and where I pick it can cover a lot of ground while remaining quite simple for the 'guitar direct to the amp' kind of thing.
And so on.

.

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by burpgun » Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:29 am

One thing catching my eye in this thread: Some of y'all have a lot of of guitars! Every time I bump up over 10 instruments--that includes guitars and basses--I start to feel overloaded and even kind of guilty. I also have a policy that if it doesn't get played for a number of months it's time to go. Got one of those XIIs last year and have been trying to sell that guy for a while, no bites.

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by kgbAttack » Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:23 am

The most electric I had was 4 at the same time. Over time I have purchased and sold quite a few guitars, some of which high-end (a Rick 330). Now I have: 3 electric, one acoustic and a Bass VI - I am in the search for a semi-hollow, however, I've been more and more intrigued by a Les Paul Junior style guitar (one pickup).

But I suspect I will keep this desire in my drawer, as honestly speaking I have no need for these many guitars: I play mostly my JM and my Tele - the Jag has been quite neglected lately. A baby is on the way and I can't imagine I'll be spending more time playing in the future either, but for a reasonably priced thinline custom shop or a cabronita I could pull the trigger.

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Re: Thoughts on downsizing collection?

Post by Maggieo » Wed Apr 14, 2021 10:38 am

rank wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:45 am
I tend to trade a few lesser guitars for a nicer one so I prefer to think of it more as upgrading than downsizing.
That's what I've been doing, too.
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