What would be a useful guitar collection?

[almano]

I know that quite a few members of this Shad’s forum already have superb collections of very desirable and appropriate guitars for Shad’s music; but, as a large percentage of those members would also be pro or semi-pro musicians, obviously the correct instruments would be somewhat of a “tools of the trade” necessity for them, and they will all be the right kind of guitars for all styles of Shad’s music.

But, for those of us who haven’t been seen on stage for decades and now only play the guitar for our own amusement instead; what then would constitute a good guitar collection which would cover most aspects of Shad’s music for the likes of us?

My own estimate would be first and foremost of course, a Stratocaster – but would you require more than one? Presumably two I’d think, with say light and heavy stringing to cover “all bases”, - but then again should it be Custom Shop, Mexican or Squier? Or even a “copy” variation – would it matter too much on that score for the “home guitarist?”

For a rhythm guitar in the Bruce mould, is a Telecaster appropriate – or is a good acoustic in the Gibson arch top style more appropriate for that jangly clean chord sound?

Obviously for bass work the Fender Precision is de rigueur, that is except for the Burns years – so I suppose in the circumstances you could probably get away with just a Precision for most of the time.

This then brings us on to the Burns years themselves. An original Burns Marvin is not a guitar most of us can lay our hands on, they (the originals) are already sitting in valuable collections and therefore subsequently out of our reach – but would say, one of the Apache’s become a good substitute instead?

And then, what about those twelve strings. Presumably I would think the Burns Double Six will fit that bill well, it certainly looks the part!

Now – what about acoustic works such as Nivram and Guitar Tango? What guitars would be appropriate for those tasks? Would perhaps a “semi” in the Country/Jazz style, such as Gretsch Falcon guitars fulfil that task? After all, it is only a small handful of Shad’s numbers that require an acoustic, so could we get away with a compromise?

Also, don’t forget those Baritone sounds Jet produced – but, - I have already covered this topic in another posting – so, I’ll assume an appropriate answer to this question will probably be found there!

In summary then, I can easily see a useful collection approaching at least ten or twelve guitars – so, what would really be an (or the) ultimate guitar collection for a “home” Shad’s enthusiast?

I dare not even think about encroaching on the subject of amps and effects, as I’m sure this one would become extended to such a degree that it would take up half of this forum!

So, what are your own thoughts on what would constitute a good “Shad’s style” guitar collection for the “home” enthusiast? Would you, do you think, agree with my assumptions or do you have a more suitable collection estimate yourself that you can advise?

Cheers,

Alan.

[JimN]

An interesting thread...

This is the relevant part of my collection:

(a) Fender Stratocaster <cough... more than one...>
(b) Burns Marvin 1965 (supplemented by one of the 2004 reissues)
(c) Fender Bass VI 1996 (MIJ model)
(d) Fender Electric XII 1966 (the second-best electric twelve string ever made - and the best isn't a Burns!)
(e) Gibson J-50 jumbo (the round-shouldered model, identical - except for the finish - to the J-45s The Shads used in the 1960s - and Bruce once played my J-50!)
(f) Gibson Les Paul Custom (no idea why I have it, really - I hardly ever play it - but I had to have one - I bought it in 1978)
(g) Gibson ES-335 (nicer to play than the Les Paul, though it can be made to feed back)
(h) Gibson ES-175 (even nicer to play than the 335 - but if feeds back at any rock or blues band volume levels; ideally suited to a warm, plummy, "jazz tone")
(i) Fender Jazzmaster retro-fitted with P90 type pickups - my main "Secrets" guitar; it does seem to have replaced the Yamaha SGVs (thanks, David!).

I have others, but I can't think of a musical context which would not be covered by one of the above. At least, not one I am likely to play in.

Over...

JN

[steve.t]

hi, not a collector as such but `50sumthin` years on, guitars seem to just crop up every now & then from sumewhere.
so at the mo i`ve got (A) fender 50`s classic strat upgraded with 57/62pups & gold h/ware.(B) dave gilmour signature nos black strat.(c) gibson LP 97 custom ebony.(d) ibanez semi acc &(e) tanglewood tw15 12string acc. All of which suit my needs for the time being. And as my good lady often says,(i`m sure other wives must say it too?)` well ya can only play one at a time`
ENJOY, steve.

[George Geddes]

And as my good lady often says,(i`m sure other wives must say it too?)` well ya can only play one at a time`

To which my reply is always; "yes, dear, and you can only wear one pair of shoes at a time..."

George

[d jones]

Ha! Ha! George you just read my mind and beat me to what would have been the same reply!!!! shoes shoes and yet more shoes.or in the case of my wife Michelle it's saddles, saddles and saddles to which the reply is you have only got one ARSE!
Dave
PS could be the beginning of a interesting topic!

[Mikey]

Here's my modest collection which covers all my required bases:

MIM Stratocaster Hank Marvin Signature (Classic Player series) in what many believe to be the "correct" colour!
Burns Double Six in redburst (Club series)
Epiphone Casino in sunburst (made in Peerless factory Korea)
Epiphone EJ160 John Lennon Signature
Epiphone FT150 (circa 1974) - had one back in the day but sold it. Recently acquired another.
Epiphone FR212 (a 1970s 12 string acoustic bought on Ebay and restored by your truly).
Stagg Mandolin with pickup.
Vox AC15 Custom classic amp with Vox Wah, Boss (Roland Space Echo), DOD Classic fuzz.
I therefore have solid electric, semi-solid electro acoustic, electro-acoustic, acoustic, electric 12-string and acoustic 12-string.
SWMBO still reckons I need to downsize!

[bor64]

A useful shadows guitar collection.....
Well what can I say... as an owner of several guitars,i know the most useful "gizmo" of all is the willing to play/sound good and second the equipment.....
Hank sounds as Hank even playing on a old radio,we on Hanks stuff sounds still as we...believe me I did try it....
Strange because I own the same stuff...but as I wrote before many years ago on the old msn site..it's in your fingers and the ability to play...
Nobody can play exact like Hank himself....some get extremly close,but that's a other discusion
Most importand is fun in what your doing
I can sum up my collection here, but i'll need a complete thread for that...

[OLDEREK]

Hi Rob good see you on here again..........Rob if you have the time we would love to hear about your guitar collection..........Shadowmsic is now in it's third home with loads of new members, and I'm sure they have never read about your guitars before, so come on tell us again please.....And maybe you can tell us about you playing with Hanks kit ..............Cheers

[cockroach]

In the past (oh blimey, here he goes again...) the only folks who had more than about 3 guitars were session players, who needed many types to properly do their jobs, to be ready for what ever a producer or session needed, roundhole and archtop acoustics, solid and hollowbody electrics, 12 string acoustic and electric, banjo, mandolin, perhaps a bass etc..

Amazing past artists like Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, and even the Beatles, often only had 2 or 3 instruments each- their main stage guitar, a backup, and an acoustic- for practice, songwriting etc...

OK, so we are at a place in time where people can afford to fulfil their dreams and own collections...why?...'because we can...' as Hank said on the Final Tour DVD.

When did shopping become more important than the music, I wonder?

(By the way- I own two electrics, because I still try to gig when a job is going (and I always take both to a job), plus an acoustic electric (practice, home use, but I used to also play it on gigs, recordings etc and sometimes still use it on stage) a bass(I also gig with this if I get a bass playing job) and an old junk heap guitar which I use for practice at home sometimes. Plus a guitar amp, a bass amp, and a small PA setup with two mics.)

[bor64]

Hi Rob good see you on here again..........Rob if you have the time we would love to hear about your guitar collection..........Shadowmsic is now in it's third home with loads of new members, and I'm sure they have never read about your guitars before, so come on tell us again please.....And maybe you can tell us about you playing with Hanks kit ..............Cheers

Derek thanks, I'm not that much on line these days,on most forums regarding my fav topics, everything is writen down before, ask before etc.
It would be nice te see a FAQ sticky to see all things like "what string gauge,amp echo guitar etc used Hank then and where...Bruce etc....
So new folks can search the FAQ for answeres........

Discussing a hot topic is fun,but on a lot of forums... crownie's and incrowd rules...and use schoolyard tacktics to make fun of others...

Sometimes I enter a thread and tell the people I have the topics item in my house,but they prefer to keep guessing instead of asking the one who know the thing in and out because, he owns it for more then 30 years.....So I keep lurcking for most of the time.

I started collecting guitars in 77/78 before I could play(not that i can play now )in those days pre-cbs Fenders where a lot cheaper then now I can tell you...

I have a total of
33 guitars
5 amps
5 echo's
4 vol pedals
and a lot of gizmo's...

I'm not a session player or so.... I played on parties,weddings and meetings as a amature,like most of us.

I stopped playing in public, many years ago,because of the argo I got sometimes on meetings,only because I own a bunch of stuff...........
Here we don't have guitarclub meetings...because when one was organized, the organizers want to cash in bigtime...(always the same folks btw).
There is even a group of 'schoolboys' who attend those meetings and claim the stage all day and everybody get's the evil eye or a very sh*tty sound when they have the bravery to go on stage....only lesser players are allowed onstage and no exeption always "something happen" when they are playing..wrong echo, mike get's in other channels by a miracle...or a guitar leadsplug gets acidently stapped on with shoessise Titanic etc...

So I stay away and enjoy my most precious...wife,dog's,collection.....in that order because she read this also