#2s

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#2s

  • Exact same

    Votes: 13 22.8%
  • Same model - different wood/pups

    Votes: 9 15.8%
  • Different model but close in specs

    Votes: 17 29.8%
  • Different style all together

    Votes: 15 26.3%
  • Only have 1

    Votes: 3 5.3%

  • Total voters
    57
Shark Diver

Shark Diver

New member
Do you guys that have a #1 guitar have a back up that is a clone? or close? or something totally different. I use to have several of almost the exact same guitars when I was giving a lot as backups. I didn't like switching guitars for different tones, preferring to try and get that from my rig. What say you?
 
I think 17 suhr moderns was thhe back up of back ups!!! Lolololol

Since I don't gig I don't have much of an opinion but if I did or at least with all the local bands I see, it seems like a player usually sounds pretty much like himself no matter what guitar he plays when he is in a bar at a gig....maybe a backup of a trem for a trem but other than that all the local bands I could never even tell you when guys switch guitars even if they are a lot different.

It's hard to tell when you are a spectator in a bar with all these gorgeous women trying to talk to me while I am listening to the band....lololol
 
Exact same, but tuned differently (standard, E Flat, Drop D, etc). I do switch between RG's and LP's for certain songs, but that's more about going from a floating trem guitar to a hardtail...
 
I've experienced all of the above, but for the most part its been "Different model but close in specs"
 
Its been changing alot latelly but I mostly have a strat as #1. I mean superstrat. Jackson Arian Smith(with ebony board) is everything I ever dreamed guitar should be. # 2s have been changing, mostly it was Jackon SL2H, but I am kinda digging EBMM JP6 latelly.
 
Shark Diver":11kgqjub said:
Do you guys that have a #1 guitar have a back up that is a clone? or close? or something totally different. I use to have several of almost the exact same guitars when I was giving a lot as backups. I didn't like switching guitars for different tones, preferring to try and get that from my rig. What say you?

Interesting poll, David.

Personally, when I think of a "back up", I take the term literally. That is to say, I have my #1 gigging guitar, and its "backup" is identical, except for the finish. Specifically, my #1 is a 1993 Strat Plus in black finish, white pickguard and loaded with EMG S single coils in black. This guitar has seen well over 1,000 shows. Its "backup", which comes to every show, is a 1993 Strat Plus in tobacco sunburst, black pickguard and loaded with EMG S single coils in black. Suffice it to say, if my #1 goes down, my #2 is ready to fill the void and is essentially the exact same guitar - both tone wise and playing/feel wise.

That being said, I then also bring other, additional guitars to my shows for other tones/feels/tunings. Usually a mixture of Les Pauls, Gretsches and PRS.

So, in summary, my #2 is identical to my #1, but I bring more guitars to a show than my two interchangeable Strats.

Carry on...
 
back in the day my main and backup were same make with same pickups. My main guitar for a long time now has been my Les Paul, my number two is a Charvel Tele with a Lil 59 in the bridge. They are almost interchangeable to me. Kinda weird but I just grab which ever one I feel like at the time although the Tele has spent most of it's time as my recording axe lately.

Scott
 
Really depends.

My first REALLY nice guitar was a PRS CU22 (i still have it) back in 97. i went though a lot of 2nds over the following 3 years, but found only another PRS would do. Two reasons - firstly the feel/playability and 2nd the sounds.

Anyway - that was when I was giging a lot and needed a "stringbreaker" as backup. When I stopped doing that so much (well - at all for a while) and did more recording I wanted morwe variation - so bought an Ash Tele - about as far removed from a PRS CE as you could get without going completely silly.

I since added a Strat (after not doing so on 3 occasions as the Tele and Strat neck PU sound so similar and was my fav Tele tone), but an alder one - and lately have added a Tokai 335 clone, so I have a lot of bases covered. I still have both PRSs - BUT changed PUs on one of them for some BK Mules which are more PAF voiced - the other PRS has its stock HSF/VB (as that was the backup and is a CE not a CU) for more modern styles.

So - honestly, if I was to go back to 97 and start again - I wouldnt have 2 guitars the same. Similar in neck neel yes, and not TOTALLY different maybe - but definately 2 that had their own thing going on. I think Id have bought (again with hindsight) a HSS Suhr - or possible HSH in place of the 2nd PRS.
 
I have a lot of guitars but only two of them can I consider duplicates. I have two Paul Reed Smith custom 24's and two Ibanez Paul Gilbert models. The PGM's are not my num 1 or 2 though. They are different woods and pickups though. The two CU24's are identical woods but differ in neck carve and pups. I'd say one of those is my number 2. My number one is a Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top. So, mine are the same style (superstrats) but different guitars 90% of the time.
 
If I were to really give rankings to my guitars over a long period of time, my CE24 is my #1, and my CE22 is my #2. I'll occasionally bring different guitars for alt tunings, etc, but either of those two guitars are set up basically the same except for different duncans in each one, and I can get just about any sound out of them I want thanks to the coil tap on the tone pot.
 
Identical.
Different finishes, same pickups and neck profile.
 
This is actually great poll/Question and it's hard for me to answer since I've used every combo listed lol.

These days I use a similar guitar as a backup but I very rarely have to use it. My main guitar has a drop tuner that allows me to do all the drop d stuff, so I very rarely have to swap guitars. My backup guitar is only there in case of an emergency and very rarely gets used.

But I will say this, I think its better to use similar sounding guitars because when I used to swap out guitars my tone changed drastically.
These days I try to keep the same tone regardless of what guitar is being used.
 
For me its not so much the specs as it is the sound of my backup. I've had guitars that sounded so far apart that I can remember the days of going to the amp to adjust the e.q. to compensate for the drastic difference. Funny because both guitars had EMG's in them, but they couldnt have sounded further apart tonality wise.
 
Interesting. almost 1/3 each across 3 of the answers. It seems tone, either very close to #1, or very opposite is the factor. I thought feel would play a bigger part. Same model guitar, different wood/pup to have a similar feel, and either the tone would be similar or not. It seems just in casual observing that LP guys are LP guys, and Strat guys are Strat guys. maybe that's all about tone as well.

Sometimes I would take a guitar that was "feel" wise as a back up, but different woods and pups. Alder maple top with P90s vs Mahogony with a hum, but the same model guitar. Depending on the night I would really dig the change in tone and find I could play the same song very differently as a result. A totally different feel. Other nights it would bug the crap out of me that I couldn't find the pocket. But because I was singing I always wanted the guitars to feel the same or it would throw me off./

Bill, I'm like the Fonz - I need a different comb for everyday of the week. :lol: :LOL: :lol: :LOL:
 
For the 2-3 gigs a year I may play I have 2 simular superstrats and a hardtail guitar, either a SC or Tele. 2 Superstrats in-case of a broken string and the hardtails for certain songs.

For MSB I have 14 guitars lined up at the ready.
 
Back when that mattered, it was similar in sound and feel, for me, along with same bridge type.
 
I gig with my BCR Mockingbirds and they're all a little different from each other. Two have mahogany necks and wings, one has a flame maple cap while the other is all mahogany. The other two have maple necks, one has mahogany wings and the other is birdseye maple. One has a Floyd while the three have Kahlers. Pickups are Duncan, DiMarzio, Anderson and Bare Knuckle. Two of the guitars have chunkier neck profiles (think PRS wide fat) than I'm used to, the other two have more of a flatter slim taper feel (like a Jackson Soloist but not as wide)

Lately my number one ( an '01 Mock Sl) has taken a backseat to an older ('80) one pickup Kahler equipped chunky necked beast :D There's just something about that one....

Martin
 
Your question/poll definitely applies to me. I have 3 Suhr Moderns (was 4, just sold one).....and I am under the "Same model - different wood/pups" choice. The only difference besides woods and pups, is that one of them have a 14" fingerboard radius, while the other two have a 16" radius....so not much difference there. They are definitely my most cherished guitars.
 
All 3 of my Warmoth super strats are exactly the same just different colors. .never could go from Gibson to fender to etc etc. Gotta feel the same to me.
 
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