Do you believe in owning a Second "Beater" Guitar?

[Roxy13]

Besides, you need one for your "cool cat" to play so he can get the girl kitties to come running.

 

[01GT Eibach]

I have "other" much cheaper guitars than my Gibsons that are really excellent guitars. They are not at all "beaters" though, per my definition. And I play them when I want to play them, because they are very good guitars that I enjoy playing and different than my Gibsons -- not because they are not one of my Gibsons. And I play my Gibsons whenever I want to play those.

 

[NotScott]

I buy guitars and amps for one reason only, to play them. Whether that be at home, a dive bar or an arena, they all get played and they all get played everywhere.

 

[PapaSquash]

I have a "beater" Peavey strat copy and a partscaster superstrat , that while inexpensive to me, plays way out of its league. They come out for no-cover bar gigs, or in one case an outdoor show, where rain threatened and the nice ones stayed home.

 

[judson]

i have too many guitars,

they are all beaters..lol

i play them all , dont abuse them but there are no snowflakes or case queens in the group....

if you want to learn some repair skills it may be a good idea to buy something your not afraid of screwing up...nothing wrong with that, my opinion you learn more with hands on experience with least amount of fear.

variety is good for different sounds and if i have over served myself a few too many adult beverages, its great to grab one of the resonators i have with an open tuning, grab a slide and have some fun....hell everyone sounds good with a slide and open tuned guitar....tons of fun really.

dont abuse them purposely, just playem

 

[PauloQS]

I have a 2019 60th Anniversary R9 I took it to almost every jam session and band practice before the pandemic. I sacrificed a big chunk of my collection to get it. You bet you booty I’m playing the snot out of that guitar.

As for your second question, when it’s all faded and beat up, I’ll play some more snot out of it.

The way I see it is dollars per hours payed goes down the more I play the guitar.

 

[moreles]

Play the hell out of it

What "the hell" does this mean? I play constantly and actively, all styles but I've never "played the hell" out of anything because I'm playing music. No good muysician plays in disregard of theior instrument; the exception is a professional in a stage performance where in addition to being a musical instrument, the guitar is a theatrical object--a prop--and handling is a visible part of the show. Hendrix and Townshend are the obvious examples. As a part of what they are doing, they necessarily used their guitars physically and violently. If you're at that level, feel free. And yes, I have a beater, because I sometimes work on poorly managed stages where things get broken all the time, and I also am quick to let others use my guitars and rig. My "beater" is a MIM Strat which has been upgraded to play and sound beautifully, and of course is low-risk and easy to fix. My $$$ guitars are all used all the time, inclouding in performance. I dislike the practice of owning and storing (collecting) supposedly fantastic guitars. An unplayed guitar is just a fancy brick. Running a prison for guitars is not my idea of a worthy enterprise.

 

[sonar1]

I used to keep a rugged Fender around for rough places I didn’t want to take my L-5 (like orchestra pits):

But now this is my #1 (Slash standard=$3K):

And this is my spare ($1.5K, so I have something to play if waiting for a headstock repair, etc.):

That’s it now!
I also have a P-bass, but it doesn’t need a backup, I figure.

 

[PauloQS]

Perhaps it’s my Brazilian heritage, but I tend to over romanticize about things. I know a guitar is purely an object and I don’t give it names anymore like I used to in my early 20s. I use the “it” pronoun to refer to them in English. However, I still romanticize a bit about guitars and some other inanimate objects, like sport gear and high performance cars.

In particular, I believe the people who make guitars put a little bit of their souls in the guitars. To honor them we should let guitars fulfill their purpose. In the case of a guitar, play it as often as possible.

Some of the saddest images I saw at the Play it Loud exhibit at the MET were the pieces of guitars destroyed on stage by Hendrix and Pete Townshend and the absolutely pristine 1964 Strat that belonged to Bob Dylan, which he lost on a plane or something.

I if it’s your money you can do with it whatever you want. That’s your right. I understand that, but me, I just can’t help but think of all the work that was put on those guitars to make play and sound amazing with the intent of inspiring people to make music. To be destroyed or locked up like a museum piece is kind of sad. Yes, Eric Clapton’s blackie, Jimmy Page’s number 1, SRV’s iconic strat, and many other iconic instruments were there too. However, in my naïve over-romanticized idea of the world, they more than fulfilled their purpose. Their owners carved history with them through music.

 

[jvin248]

.

Pffffft! Get TWO Beaters!

You don't need no stinkin' high end guitar to impress your friends and neighbors and the chicks in the front row at the gig who think that "Fender-Les-Paul" or the "Gibson-Strat" is a pretty fly guitar anyway.

The key is does the guitar play easy? Often that is the fretwork, setup, and maintenance.

.

 

[KelvinS1965]

The only guitar I'm wary of taking out to gigs is a JV Squier Strat I got for my 17th birthday and I've owned it 38 years now: I'd be really upset if it got stolen or damaged, so I tend to only play it out when I know I won't be risking it. Otherwise my 'nicest' guitars (SG Standard and LP Junior) have already been played out.

I do have an aged looking Esquire that I tend to take to the local open mic scene, but that's as much because it suits the style of songs I tend to play at those places.

If I ever get an 'R' model I think I'd play that out too, but not likely to happen...probably got enough guitars as it is.

 

[fleahead]

Nice 5 finger salute!!![/QUOTE]

 

[MP4-22]

I don't really buy cheap guitars anymore.... not that there is anything wrong with them, i just figure if i have a really nice guitar why play the cheap one. I don't go into Custom shop or historic territory tho....

If i was to get a beater i would probably do a partscaster tele or strat with a humbucker.... kinda gassing for a tele with a HSS setup...

 

[Thundermtn]

Love hearing everyone's approach to their collections.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess I'm the only guy that has bought a guitar where the purposed reason for the purchase was to stab someone with the thing, and actually used it for that.

I won't be trying to pull that stunt with my R8. You snap the head off a B.C. Rich and you still have a locking nut to finish playing the song, LOL. I'll have to add another category past "beater".

 

[rockstar232007]

Just 1? I have a few. I don't "baby" any of my guitars. I also don't act like an idiot with them.

 

[Side Burns]

The only way a “beater” makes sense is in some weird “Roadhouse/CBGB’s hardcore” gig scenario where I’d be using it to deflect beer bottles and finally smash into someone’s face. While that’s my style of music, I don’t even gig, so...

 

[peobryant]

What "the hell" does this mean? I play constantly and actively, all styles but I've never "played the hell" out of anything because I'm playing music.

I can't speak for anyone else, but when I say play "the hell" out of something it doesn't mean beat on it or abuse it, it just means play the damn thing and enjoy it without worrying about normal wear and tear.

 

[judson]

XUR said:
A. Play the hell out of it,

What "the hell" does this mean? I play constantly and actively, all styles but I've never "played the hell" out of anything because I'm playing music.

it basically means everytime you play your guitar ...........you want to squeeze every ounce of tone out of it, bend every note without fear, crank the volume up to 11 and make it scream for mercy..........then you turn the volume down, tone back, and play it like your petting a kitty....for about 2 minutes.....

then repeat step one for about 15 or 20 years, that will break it in real good!....

 

[thewonders]

Say you had a high end, special guitar... a nice shiny R9. Would you:

A. Play the hell out of it, and only it

Yes! That's what guitars are for, to be played. Unless you're just a collector who keeps guitar in glass cases, but that's not the point for me. Made to be played.

B. Preserve it and buy a second beater guitar for the bulk of practice sessions

If you just want to preserve it, what was the point of buying it? Because if you bought it to play, then play it.

But by all means buy a second guitar. And a third. And a fourth, etc. Too many guitars is never enough.

If A., what do you do many years later and the aniline is gone, it's faded, and looks worn down? Are there ways to return such a guitar back to its original factory condition?

Why? To keep it new? Again, why? If it's all about value and money, maybe you've missed the point of playing guitar. Unless you're just a collector.

 

[wildhawk1]

I can't speak for anyone else, but when I say play "the hell" out of something it doesn't mean beat on it or abuse it, it just means play the damn thing and enjoy it without worrying about normal wear and tear.

This

I appreciate the craftsmanship that produces beautiful instruments but nothing pristine will ever match the beauty of tools that were used to make music like this example.