[bradpdx]

I have been gigging for 30 years, and never once "needed" my second guitar. Ever. I have broken exactly one string on stage, and had one tube failure that was fixed by substitution of another tube. Even when I did over 200 nights a year for a decade, this remained true.

I have done many, many shows with just one guitar (always a Tele or Strat for electric shows). I generally feel that my guitars are sufficiently robust to withstand 4 o4 5 hours of life's randomness, and they do.

If the gig is really not critical - and most are not - I am perfectly content to use one guitar. If it is far from home I will toss another in the car, but have never needed it. I always bring spare strings, and I've never needed any of those either.

As to variety - both classic Fender models offer a huge range of useful tones and I never tire of either one. If I can't sound great and interesting all the way through a show with a Tele or Strat, it's me that sucks and not the gear.

I understand the reason for bringing backup, but my own real-life experience tells me that it is overvalued.