Do you need 1 guitar, or more? How many guitars should one own? It’s a debate that has gone on for years. Many believe that one should have a different guitar for each genre of music, which is fair enough, but others argue this doesn’t make much sense. Who wouldn’t want to have just one guitar to play everything in their repertoire from metal and rock to country and reggae?
If you’re a guitarist, and you have a wide repertoire of music, then your answer is simple: you need enough guitars to cover all genres of music that you play. What is enough? How many guitars do you need? Will it be sufficient to just have 2 guitars that will cover all genres of music? I’m not sure.
Most guitarists have at least 2 guitars. Some have 3 or 4, but not many have more than that. If you want to buy an electric guitar for rock then you will probably use it to play metal and hard rock as well. That means that your one electric guitar is enough to cover all the genres of music that you’re interested in playing.
Two Guitars
Having 2 guitars is enough for most people.
Most guitar players don’t need to own more than two guitars. Having more isn’t a problem, but it’s really not necessary. You’re likely to end up with a bunch of guitars that either sit around and collect dust or that you never bother to use. Some people have decided this is the solution to getting rid of their guitars: they’ll go on eBay and sell all of them at once, splitting the money evenly amongst themselves. It’s a good idea in theory, but it rarely ends up being a profitable endeavor.
3 – 5 Guitars
Having 3-5 guitars will give you the ability to cover your bases when playing or gigging.
Depending on your playing style and budget you could start with as many as 3-5 guitars when starting out, but keep in mind that this is not necessary. As you progress, having a variety of guitars will prove useful. A few will cover most circumstances that arise. The best way to determine how many you really need is to consider your playing style and budget.
You will likely outgrow a starter 3-5 piece and need another one or two, but the first question to ask yourself is, “What do I play now?” Your answer will be critical in determining how many you need and how much they should cost.
Six Or More Guitars
Having 6 or more guitars might seem like a lot, but it will give you the flexibility and options that a guitarist looking to really explore their instrument is looking for.
If you have the money and want to make the investment, you can get yourself a whole bunch of guitars and not have to worry about space or having to play in your friend’s garage. You could get up to 6 guitars, but just remember that this is going to hurt your bankbook a bit. Having this many could also mean too much guitar for you to really be able to make them all worth playing.
So, How Many Guitars?
If you’re a guitarist, and you ask yourself this question, “how many guitars do I need?” then have only one answer: the number of guitars that are necessary to cover all the genres of music that you want to play and how much space you have in your guitar room setup. There is no such thing as too many guitars for guitarists, but it is not necessary to buy them either to be considered an accomplished musician.