Actually, guitar players have more GAS than saxophonists.
I know, I play both.
But after you have a soprano, an alto, a tenor, a bari and a few dozen mouthpieces, there isn't really that many things you need.
But for guitarists, there are first of all the guitars. The strat looks nothing like the les paul, which looks nothing like the SG which looks nothing like the tele, which looks nothing like a Gretsch which looks nothing like a Ric, and so on. Then they come in all different colors. Plus you have solid body, archtops, flat-tops, nylon string, steel string, etc.
Plus all the different looking guitars have different features. Different neck scales (distance from end-to-end of the business part of the string), different neck radius measurements (which determines the curve of the fretboard), different pickup possibilities (not brands, but actual types, humbuckers, single coils, P90s, filtertrons, etc.), tremolo bars (which produce vibrato, not tremolo), different knob and switch configurations and so on.
When you get the guitar down, there are replacement pickups from different vendors you can buy, Like mouthpieces, each pickup designer has his/her own formula so the Gibson P90 sounds similar to a Seymour Duncan P90 but with different tonal coloring (like going from a Larsen to a Link with close to the same tip openings). Same for other pickup types and manufacturers. This is equivalent to the mouthpiece syndrome that sax players have so it's an even score here.
Strings and reeds are also equal, different brands sound different. But guitar strings are more expensive and don't last as long as a sax reed.
Then there are the stomp boxes - effects pedals. There are literally thousands of them that do all kinds of great things to the sound of the guitar, echo (delay), chorus, flangers, reverb, compressors, distortion (fuzz), overdrive, wah, octave splitters, equalizers, tremolo, phase shifters, and so on.
When you are done with that, you need amps, and different amps have totally different sounds. A Fender twin reverb sounds nothing like a Vox AC30 which sounds nothing like a Marshall.
Right now I'm getting a new sax, so my sax GAS will be under control for a few months, but the day I buy a new guitar, I'm GASSING for something else. And I'm predominantly a sax player - it's my main axe, and what I have been playing since I was a kid.
Insights and incites by Notes
I know, I play both.
But after you have a soprano, an alto, a tenor, a bari and a few dozen mouthpieces, there isn't really that many things you need.
But for guitarists, there are first of all the guitars. The strat looks nothing like the les paul, which looks nothing like the SG which looks nothing like the tele, which looks nothing like a Gretsch which looks nothing like a Ric, and so on. Then they come in all different colors. Plus you have solid body, archtops, flat-tops, nylon string, steel string, etc.
Plus all the different looking guitars have different features. Different neck scales (distance from end-to-end of the business part of the string), different neck radius measurements (which determines the curve of the fretboard), different pickup possibilities (not brands, but actual types, humbuckers, single coils, P90s, filtertrons, etc.), tremolo bars (which produce vibrato, not tremolo), different knob and switch configurations and so on.
When you get the guitar down, there are replacement pickups from different vendors you can buy, Like mouthpieces, each pickup designer has his/her own formula so the Gibson P90 sounds similar to a Seymour Duncan P90 but with different tonal coloring (like going from a Larsen to a Link with close to the same tip openings). Same for other pickup types and manufacturers. This is equivalent to the mouthpiece syndrome that sax players have so it's an even score here.
Strings and reeds are also equal, different brands sound different. But guitar strings are more expensive and don't last as long as a sax reed.
Then there are the stomp boxes - effects pedals. There are literally thousands of them that do all kinds of great things to the sound of the guitar, echo (delay), chorus, flangers, reverb, compressors, distortion (fuzz), overdrive, wah, octave splitters, equalizers, tremolo, phase shifters, and so on.
When you are done with that, you need amps, and different amps have totally different sounds. A Fender twin reverb sounds nothing like a Vox AC30 which sounds nothing like a Marshall.
Right now I'm getting a new sax, so my sax GAS will be under control for a few months, but the day I buy a new guitar, I'm GASSING for something else. And I'm predominantly a sax player - it's my main axe, and what I have been playing since I was a kid.
Insights and incites by Notes
