don't be a hoarder

Those who have been following me a while know I've been through a few guitars since 2010. Quite a few of them, actually.

But how many guitars do I actually keep? Not many. Right now I have six, with four in working condition. The working axes are the 2010 Squier Bullet Strat, 2012 Squier Jazzmaster, 1989 Squier II Stratocaster and 2005 Yamaha RBX170 bass guitar. The two inoperable guitars that are literally in pieces are the 1993 American Standard Stratocaster and the 2012 Squier Bullet HH.

I don't play the '89 Squier II. That one is just kept in a case and stored away because it is my very first guitar, and that's the reason I keep it.

As for the '93 Strat, that was an 18th birthday present from my late father, which is why I still have it. I will at some point buy another neck for it since the existing one has a popped truss rod and is therefore unplayable. But being that's not a high priority, it can wait.

The guitar I absolutely don't need and will eventually sell off in parts is the Bullet HH. Why haven't I yet? Laziness. But I will get rid of it somewhere down the line and decrease my guitar stable from 6 to 5.

As for every other guitar you have ever seen me own either in photos or in video, those are all gone. Every one of them. They were either sold or traded out.

The two guitars I play regularly are the Jazzmaster and the bass. And you can't even count the bass as being played regularly because I only use that when I need to lay down a bass track. Otherwise it sits on the stand and routinely gets a layer of dust on it from not being used. But being it does serve a purpose for when I do require bass tracks to be played, I keep it for that reason.

A lot of guys hoard guitars

Guitar hoarders all say the same thing. "I'm a collector." And of course they will talk about how they're "investing" in certain guitars, even though most guitars hold next to nothing for resale value.

Over a period of a few years, that guy, the guitar hoarder, will have somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 25 guitars. And out of that stable, maybe 3 to 5 will be in good, playable condition. The rest will be all junk. Some will need new frets, or replacement electronics, or new tuners or new hardware, etc. There's always going to be something about that "investment" that's wrong with it.

A lot of guys hoard guitars in search of something they will never find

Big-time guitar hoarders will keep buying guitars thinking they'll find "the one" that will be the magical instrument with the "golden tone" and make them the player they always wanted to be.

That won't happen, because most of the time guitar hoarders keep buying the same guitar over and over again.

Take the Fender Stratocaster or the Gibson Les Paul for example. There are guys out there who own several if not many of these guitars. They just keep buying the same thing, over and over, but never seem to locate that one special Strat or Paul that really has what they're looking for. Close, but never on the mark, so to speak.

The reason why the hoarder is never able to acquire a guitar that's "just right" is because the guitar is simply not suited for them and never will be.

It takes a bit of explanation to describe what this means.

Let's say for the moment you hate strawberries. Always have and always will. Would you continue to buy strawberries until you found one that tasted good? Of course not. You'd stop eating strawberries and go eat another fruit instead.

Guitars are the same way. If a cheap version of a guitar doesn't feel right, the expensive version of that same guitar with the same shape will not feel any better. It might sound a little different, but it's still going to not feel right. And no matter how many times you keep buying the same guitar with the same shape over and over, it will never feel right.

I'll put this in even simpler terms.

If you've been buying Strat after Strat after Strat and can never find one that suits you, stop buying Strats. Try a Telecaster instead. Or maybe something different like a Squier Jaguar or Fender Marauder. Try something totally different than what you've been playing.

If you've been buying Les Paul after Les Paul after Les Paul and can never find one you really like, stop buying Les Pauls. Try a Flying V. Try an Epiphone Explorer. Maybe even try a semi-hollow like the Gibson ES-335 or the Epiphone Dot.

Stores like Guitar Center and Sam Ash have a 30-day money back guarantee. This means if you buy a guitar and don't like it for whatever reason, you can bring it back and get a refund. You can "try before you buy" by utilizing that store policy.

Having one guitar that perfectly suits you is a million times better than owning a bunch of guitars that don't

Guitar hoarders will keep buying the same guitar over and over and never find "the one."

Smarter players try different things until they find a shape and style of guitar that suits them just right.

I went through a lot of guitars in my search for "the one" that suits me best. And as it turns out, that happened to be the Jazzmaster. That guitar is something I wouldn't have even thought of touching before. But I saw one (a few, actually) in Sam Ash, tried it, bought it, and now it's the axe I play most because it's so unbelievably comfortable. For me, anyway.

If you're hoarding guitars now, sell the hoard. Just get rid of it, even if you sell at a loss. Get whatever you can for it and just unload all that crap out of your home.

After that, try new guitars you never would have thought of trying before. Chances are pretty good your "one" will be something totally different from what you're playing now. When you find it - and you will as long as you keep an open mind - you'll be a much happier player because the quest for "that guitar" will be over. Once you discover what really works for you, you'll be a much happier player.

Published 2014 Jan 14