Do You Have A Guitar Rotation?

[JohnnyThul]

Nah that ain't the only reason.

Every guitar is different. Doesn't matter if they came off the line one right after the other. Whether it be how they look or how they sound...eveey guitar is different.

Just like fingerprints.

That's true, every guitar is different. In my case, that is the reason I build them the way I do.
But still, I could be happy with one guitar, if it weren't for the looks. I can change sounds via multiple amps and speakers to my liking
I mean, the last guitar I built has two Bluesbucker types of pickups with 2 Pots to dial the non magnetised coil in and out. That is flexible enough, that I'd never miss a Strat or Tele.
But there is so much nice wood left and colours and inlays I never tried, so, I keep going

 

[carpenter]

Sadly I am down to 5. Two acoustics a Yamaha and a Gretsch. Electrics, tele and 2 Pauls.
Depends on what song I want to play.

 

[darkwaters]

I do a semi organized rotation of guitars, amps and pedals. More important to me is giving equal time to the different styles of music that I play and balancing songs with theory. Keeps me busy.

 

[That Cal Webway]

A very good Strat, Tele and acoustic.

Acoustic gets 1/3 to 1/2 playing time. Inspiring as much as the elecs, and is a good strength, precision and overall different musical exploration.

Rotate per sonic/creative needs/wants etc.

.

 

[Matt Sarad]

I rotate the Teles with the Les Paul TV Special, SG, Strat, and PRS.
Acoustically I go Dread, OM, Mandolin, and uke.

 

[stephent2]

My two t style electrics get taken to gigs but generally I'll stick w/ one for the night. But my joy is playing acoustics in my studio after a gig or whenever. I'll play some 12 string Blind Willie, try my hand at the dobro, fingerpick some blues on the 00-15, or the Waterloo or the 00-28,.. and might try some licks on the old Favilla F-5 tuned to Dm, the Skip James tuning,.. and repeat.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

For acoustics, my "knockaround" Teton dreadnaught and my USA Guild D40 Traditional get most of the play, with the Teton getting more "wear and tear," such as campfire, back porch, etc. I love both of them, but I'd rather spill a beer on the Teton - and the F55 I waited 2 years and 5 months for is NOT a campfire guitar. The recently acquired J30 12 string might be someday - hard to tell. So I kinda rotate the acoustics.

Electrics too. I have two that are workhorses that get played and sit out on stands a lot - the MIM Tele with the SD Hot Tele pickups and the Hamer Special with P90s. These two will do anything I need, any style, and sound good doing it. I occasionally bring out one of my partscasters, one more than the other, and the one that gets the least playtime may end up down the river someday soon.

Amps I definitely rotate. The Blues Cube Stage gets a lot of use, and the Quilter Aviator Cub does somewhat as well - no plan to get rid of either of them, although I often wonder why I need 'em both. The Orange 35RT actually sits in its original box and hardly ever sees the light of day, but I'm holding onto it in case I need to have a backup or an amp to take and leave in a rehearsal space sometime. If another year passes and it's still in the box, it gets traded or sold.

Rotating makes me realize what I really get use out of and what I don't. The more guitars you have, the more humidification and string changing you have to do, and I'd rather just be playing a couple that thrill me. Time to thin the herd some more, I guess. I'm momentarily changing my focus back to acoustic style and singer/songwriters like John Prine, Steve Goodman, and early Neil Young ... more entertaining, less showing off. So for now, this is my besty:

 

[WRHB]

I used to have two electrics and an acoustic. One of the electrics is a Squier and the other a Gretsch Electromatic.

I was the same way as Vegetable Man. The electrics got about equal play.

Since I got a Fender Telecaster, that's not a budget name guitar, that's the only electric I play any more.

Send me the poor neglected Squier and Gretsch. I’ll take them in and give them a good home

 

[WRHB]

I love Les Pauls, but mostly because I think they look cool.
Shallow Hal, reporting for duty!

Join the Shallow Hal Club. I will only pick up a guitar if I like the way it looks. For me that’s the first step in buying a guitar.

 

[TG]

I go from one to the other...and I have 15.
No plan, but if I notice I tend to not play a particular guitar very often I'll focus on it a bit and sell it on if I don't reconnect with it.

 

[tshoe71]

Yes, I rotate a CS '51 Tele Blackguard, CS 60s Strat, 60's LP Standard and a 335 Figured. No set schedule, just usually grab a different one every day or two. I also rotate them into a '57 Champ, a '57 Deluxe and a '59 Bassman. And also grab a Martin acoustic later at night. I enjoy the different combinations, I feel like that allows me to justify having more than one and I think it makes me a better player getting used to different neck dimensions, pickups and body shapes.

 

[Chester P Squier]

Yup, on my “recreational” guitars.
I really only gig with my Cabronita.
Presently my 1980 Ibanez Artist is my pet.
After it, one of my Les Pauls.
I love Les Pauls, but mostly because I think they look cool.
Shallow Hal, reporting for duty!

Join the Shallow Hal Club. I will only pick up a guitar if I like the way it looks. For me that’s the first step in buying a guitar.

Maybe off-topic, but when I bought my Telecaster back in January, I was choosing between a PRS and a Tele, both in the same price range. When I was trying them out in the store, I could play the blue Tele better than I could play the blue PRS, so I got the Tele.

There was a same-model PRS, in pink! I didn't even pick it up to try it out. Sometimes I wonder if I couldn't have played that pink PRS as well as I played the Tele. The PRS really has a beautiful tone,

Sorry, I am not going to be seen with a pink guitar.

Now, back to your regularly-scheduled thread.

 

[brookdalebill]

Maybe off-topic, but when I bought my Telecaster back in January, I was choosing between a PRS and a Tele, both in the same price range. When I was trying them out in the store, I could play the blue Tele better than I could play the blue PRS, so I got the Tele.

There was a same-model PRS, in pink! I didn't even pick it up to try it out. Sometimes I wonder if I couldn't have played that pink PRS as well as I played the Tele. The PRS really has a beautiful tone,

Sorry, I am not going to be seen with a pink guitar.

Now, back to your regularly-scheduled thread.

Pink and purple aren’t deal breakers for me.
Antigua, yellow, most blues, all pastels, and white are my no-go finishes.
I’ve owned 3 purple guitars (though none stuck-hmmmm?), and I kinda dig shell, and coral pink.
I’ve never bonded with any PRS guitar I owned.
I would like to try a Swamp Ash Special or 513.

 

[Fiesta Red]

I used to do a better job of rotating my guitars until I had to reconfigure my guitar room/office/library/man hovel…now I have only two hangers, so I periodically switch out what I’m playing, but not as much as I should.

It’s been my Big Tex (avatar) Tele and Fiesta Red Strat for several months now. I need to dig out my G&L and Telecaster Deluxe, and play them for a while.

 

[Fiesta Red]

Pink and purple aren’t deal breakers for me.
Antigua, yellow, most blues, all pastels, and white are my no-go finishes.
I’ve owned 3 purple guitars (though none stuck-hmmmm?), and I kinda dig shell, and coral pink.
I’ve never bonded with any PRS guitar I owned.
I would like to try a Swamp Ash Special or 513.

Blue is my favorite color, and it looks good on me…most of my wardrobe is blue or blue-complementary…but I don’t like most blue guitars or cars. Weird. I really dislike the Sonic Blue/Daphne Blue finishes (I’ve never been able to tell them apart, and I dislike both)…I might be convinced to like or buy a deep navy blue or blue-black/midnight blue guitar, but probably not.

I love brighter colors like Fiesta Red and all different kind of Orange, except Day-Glo orange…in fact, I don’t like ANY fluorescent/day-glo colors at all…but I like candy-shell and metallic finishes (Candy Apple Red, Candy Green, Sherwood Green Metallic, etc.)…I also like sparkle finishes like Don Rich used to play…I had a sparkly green Danelectro DC-3 Pro, and it was just spectacularly tacky. I love that kind of stuff.

I vacillate on Antigua. It’s so ugly it’s cool…but I can’t bring myself to buy one…it’s like an avacado green-colored refrigerator from the 70’s.

Ultimately, I know what I like when I like it.
———
I’m glad to hear that someone else just can’t bond/hang with PRS guitars. I think they’re spectacular quality and sound, and several of my favorite guitarists use(d) them (David Grissom, Bugs Henderson, Cody Canada)…but every time I play one, it just doesn’t work for me.

 

[arlum]

Whichever one or two electrics I'm currently most into stay out on a stand. Currently a Giffin and a Melancon. The other 12+ get mixed in, (one or two a day), then go back in their cases. I never know which ones I'll select until I've picked out what music will be practiced that day. I tend to prefer specific guitars for specific songs or types of music. I own four acoustics but two of them are rarely used. If I need a 12 string I grab my Martin from it's case and, when needing a 6 string, I always grab my Furch. I'm pretty much locked in for life on those two. I'm curious as to why you would have a specific rotation. Possibly you haven't decided yet which guitar sounds best on which material?

 

[Ascension]

Own 13 electrics. Every one has it's own place or it doesn't stay. Also have 5 tube amps and 3 pedal boards so when I'm playing out I use the right tools for the job. No real rotation but have some consistent favorites. If I had to pick a number one rig it would be my real US built PRS Archon head and matching 2/12 Deep cab with my 2017 Kiesel DC.

 

[Mike M]

I rotate my guitars and amps every week.

I love when I say to myself every week, after I have made the switch "this is the best combination of guitar and amp".

And then I repeat the same phrase when I switch over the week after.

 

[Dostradamas]

Jolene

Jolene

Jolene

Just the one lately.

If I ever get off my buttocks and solder up my strat I will be swapping rather than rotating so no, I don't.

 

[Old Smokey]

I try to play every day and I rotate pretty regularly through my top three instruments: a solid body, a hollowbody, and a bass.

I also have five more instruments (two acoustics, an archtop, a solid body in open G, and a hollowbody bass) that I only play once in a while.