If you’ve found your way to this article, chances are pretty good that you are wondering how many guitars a guitarist actually needs.
While this question will never have a definitive answer because it really depends on the individual person, it is generally recommended that every guitarist has at least one acoustic and one electric guitar.
The reasons for this are pretty obvious – some songs are written as acoustic songs and some are written for the electric guitar specifically.
But how many guitars YOU need will really depend on a few factors and what your goals are when it comes to your playing preferences, personal style of playing, and the musical genre you play the most in.
In this article, we will discuss the many reasons why you may want more than just two guitars and why having several guitars could give you a unique advantage.
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Different Guitars for Alternate Tunings
One reason that you may want to have more than one guitar is so you can have access to an alternately tuned guitar at a moment’s notice.
For example, you may want to have a guitar that is tuned in the normal way, and one guitar that is tuned down half a step or in Drop D tuning. There are literally millions of songs in the world that actually use different tunings, and they sound better this way as well.
Personally, I like to have one of my electric guitars tuned normally, and another tuned down to drop D. The reason I do this is because I like to play blues and classic songs on my regular tuned guitar.
And then for my guitar that is tuned down, I use that to play songs in the hard rock and metal genres. A good majority of metal and rock songs are tuned down to give the song that “dark” feel that they are known for.
Different Guitars for Distinctive Sounds
When you first start out playing or you’re on a budget, you might find that having a guitar that sounds great for most genres is the way to go.
At some point, however, you may be looking to improve your guitar skills in specific musical genres, and so you might find that purchasing a specific model that is suited to a specific musical genre is the way to go.
If you primarily play rock, alternative, or classic rock music, you may want to stick with a Stratocaster, since most rock bands mostly have these in their bands.
If you’re looking to improve your metal guitar skills, perhaps a guitar like a Jackson or LTD would be better to help attain your goals for that genre.
How Many Guitars Does a Beginner Need?
When you are first starting out on your guitar journey, you really only need one guitar. Because you are new to the hobby, you really don’t know if it is something you will stick with for the long term.
In the beginning, everybody starting out is ecstatic to learn how to play the guitar, but there’s a certain period right before you hit the intermediate phase, where things get really difficult.
And if you don’t have the grit and the perseverance to keep on going, you may end up giving up too soon. This, unfortunately, is what happens to many beginners.
So while it is true that having only one guitar as a beginner is the recommended way to go, there is something to be said about having one acoustic and one electric guitar.
By having both an acoustic and an electric guitar, you open yourself up to more variety in your guitar learning, since some songs were specially written for either one guitar or the other.
How Many Guitars Is Too Many?
In my opinion, you can never have too many guitars! The exception would be if you are in financial debt or you are considered to be a hoarder.
If you live in a super small dwelling and you are constantly tripping over your guitars and knocking them down, that may be a sign that you need to cool it down a little with the extra guitar purchases.
Simply put, if your guitar collection interferes with your day-to-day life in a bad way, then it’s time to take a step back and analyze your guitar situation.
If you feel that you have way more guitars than you should have, one great option would be to donate a few of your guitars to an aspiring musician who maybe can’t afford to buy one on their own.
You can also contact any schools in the area and see if their musical programs could benefit from some free guitars.
You might also be able to write this off on your taxes depending on how much the guitars you donate are worth.
There are also many wonderful organizations that would gladly take your guitar off your hands and give it to someone in need. One awesome charity I found is called Guitar 4 Vets, where they accept both cash and instrument donations to enrichen the lives of veterans through the healing power of music.
