How many guitars do I need?

There's really only one way to answer that: always one more. Buying a guitar is a magical experience that I would not want to be without. There are few things indeed that come close to the long thrilling buildup, then the excitement of the purchase, and finally the exhilarating walk through town with my new case or gigbag.

But I have been asked the question often enough, at times even out of pure curiosity, as opposed to the people who simply want to confirm that it's all about conspicuous consumption. I suppose that I cannot get over the fact that it's a stimulating question to try to answer. So I will. Try, that is. I can't guarantee that I can provide a sensible answer. I cannot be sensible and reasonable about a subject that is deeply emotional and intuitive. But here goes:

The Small Collection

At the very least, I'm going to need two guitars, an electric and an acoustic. But it is simply not possible to choose between a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Stratocaster, please don't make me do that, and so my absolute minimum collection would have to consist of three instruments. This was my reality for several years, and it worked okay.

The Realistic Collection

However, I could probably not settle for just one acoustic guitar. I have owned some kind of 12-string almost since I started playing, and I just love having that mighty sound available. And I do like to pluck some classical guitar from time to time, so three acoustics are the bare minimum.

And while we're at it, two electrics are not going to cut it either. In addition to the aforementioned, I am going to require a Telecaster and an SG. This way, I can bring a Gibson and a Fender to a session for maximum flexibility, or I can bring two Gibsons or two Fenders to a gig, with one of them as the main axe and one backup. It's not that Fender + Gibson doesn't work live, but they are indeed very different and will require some amp tweaking. Why not two Les Pauls and two Stratocasters? Don't tempt me! (Well, too late, see below.) But I like all of these guitars. Each of them has its own little thing that inspires me to think and play differently. Therefore, one of each is a good starting point.

So when it comes down to it, the best answer I can give you is: seven. Four electrics and three acoustics. I reached that exalted goal in 2015, and it was the first time in my career that I was completely satisfied and couldn't imagine ever wanting another guitar.

My Collection

I got over that. Since March, 2016 I have purchased another three guitars, bringing the collection up to double digits and incidentally also filling both my Stagg guitar stands. This is as good a resting point as any. Note that I said resting point and not stopping point. I cannot imagine that I will not ever want to relive the wonderful experience of buying a new guitar. But I will not indulge just to satisfy an urge. There has to be a point. A new guitar has to bring something new to the table: give me a new sound, extend the range or enable a new playing technique. I only have two Les Pauls because I wanted a guitar with P-90 pickups, and the Les Paul 60s Tribute was what was available from Gibson USA for a reasonable price in 2016. Now that I have two Stratocasters, I am automatically thinking that I need to do something about my old one to set it apart from the new one.

None of this would be possible without an understanding and supporting spouse. Erin trusts my ability not to make rash decisions and/or jeopardize our family finances, and therefore she respects when I state that I need (or, more properly, want) something. Not only that; these are actual quotations from her:

That 12-string sounds so nice. You should buy it for yourself.

And:

You have to get a train ticket to Norrköping to buy that blue Fender!

And:

I don't mind if you have many guitars so long as you play them, and make them sound good.

That's what I aspire to anyway. I honor that trust by the selection method I mentioned above, by scrimping and saving whatever I can, and only pulling the trigger when I know that it will not get in the way of anything else we might have planned. And actually, much of it comes naturally to me. I have great difficulty seeing the point in having several instruments that sound exactly the same. And I have massive problems convincing myself that any electric guitar can be worth more than 10000 crowns.

I have never owned an American-made acoustic guitar, but the vast majority of my electrics have come from Corona or Nashville. Well, that is slowly but surely changing if I read the tea leaves correctly. For as long as I can remember, I have had daydreams about two kinds of Gibson Les Paul: a sunburst Standard and a black Custom (with chrome hardware). I have been close to being able to afford at least the Standard on a few occasions recently. But I just can't bring myself to do it. Not for my own money. I don't know if there is anything special with my black Les Paul Studio or if it's just that I've got so used to it during the 19 years that I've owned it, but I don't see what a more expensive Les Paul could give me that I don't already have, except for bling and mojo. I have tried several of the more exclusive guitars, and sure enough, they are nice, but they are not that nice. Not twice-the-price nice. I can't motivate a Les Paul when I can get a PRS SE Custom 24 and an SG Special for the same money.