Do you gig your 'good' acoustic?

DiscoStu · January 2019

I've just started jamming with some old pals and we intend getting gigs in the next couple of months. I've only got the one acoustic - a Stonebridge which cost me over £1000 - and we'll likely have a fair amount of acoustic tracks so I'm wondering whether to buy a cheaper guitar or risk my good one. It's got a couple of light dings on it from home but gigging is a different situation altogether, although it sounds great when amped up.

What would / do you do?

ICBM · January 2019

Yes, usually - Gibson Dove. There have been some gigs where I've used my singer's brick-outhouse old Eko instead, where I thought there was some real risk... mainly from people wanting to borrow it, which makes me quite wary since it's harder to prevent damage when someone else has got it.

But at the end of the day a cheap guitar with a pickup system sounds really quite like an expensive guitar with a pickup system when you put it through a good preamp and the PA anyway, so it's worth thinking about if you're worried.

DiscoStu · January 2019

Our drummer owns a wee pub on the coast so first gig will be in there. It will be a fairly sedate affair so I'll use that to get a feel of things. If other gigs look like being busier/cramped I might look at getting a Faith or similar.

I WANT to use my guitar live, that's why I put an LR Baggs M1A in it, but it means a helluva lot to me and I don't want it getting smashed.

CMW335 · January 2019

I just bought an LR Baggs I beam for my vintage Gibson J45 for the same reason. However only happy to do so because it already had one installed before so the hole was drilled. Funnily enough leaves me with an LR Baggs M1A to sell

bluechargeboy · January 2019

Yes I gig with my fancy Larivee and my Japanese Takamine. No point having fancy guitars that you enjoy and not using them. Expect dings/beer/sweat though.

!!!KEEP IT IN THE HARD CASE WHENEVER POSSIBLE!!!

Our double bass player gigs with his >100 year old bass so I couldn't handle the savage bantz if I was precious about the guitars!

p90fool · January 2019

I'm happy to gig expensive guitars, but plugged in my Gibson doesn't sound significantly better than my battered old Faith, so I leave the Gibson at home.

Also, due to hand injuries I use very light strings on my gigging guitars, and I don't want to compromise the tone of my recording guitar that way.

Playability is everything in an electro acoustic for me, I'd really be better off with a bolt on plywood clunker with an adjustable bridge and a great pickup system than a delicate, feedback-prone instrument.

Whistler · January 2019

All my guitars are for gigging; that is my attitude to my tools, my instruments. Whether you want to gig yours is your choice. There is no harm done in buying a cheaper guitar, expecially one where the acoustic sound is less important so that you can prep it to get the best amped sound out of it.

Merrick · January 2019

Whistler said:

All my guitars are for gigging; that is my attitude to my tools, my instruments. Whether you want to gig yours is your choice. There is no harm done in buying a cheaper guitar, expecially one where the acoustic sound is less important so that you can prep it to get the best amped sound out of it.

I couldn't agree more. I'll use any guitar that fits the bill for a gig.

That said, I bought a cheap £200 Recording King parlour guitar and it's immense through a PA, so price isn't everything.

With regards dings and marks, so what? Unless you've bought it as an investment and keep the instrument in a controlled environment, get it out a play the hell out of it. That's what they're for and they need to be heard.

jellyroll · January 2019

You'll likely get it dinged. If the thought of that kills you, get a cheapo.

Stuckfast · January 2019

That's partly why I usually buy guitars second-hand, so that they are pre-dinged and I don't get tempted to be precious about them.

DulcetJones · January 2019

I gig my good acoustics because so far most of the gigs I use them for aren't rowdy atmospheres and they sound so much better than my current "cheapos". I am more wary about gigging my good electrics though, anything "Gibson" or "Fender" attracts unwanted attention and my Squier Tele plays and sounds great so I use it.

DiscoStu · January 2019

See, I have used my Stonebridge live before but that's been open mic or small private party affairs so relatively 'safe' environments. Pub gigs with more gear, drum kit, and drunk punters is making me a bit more wary.
Yet if it was my electrics I wouldn't be thinking about it so much!

LastMantra · January 2019

Maybe it says more about my playing style than anything else...but...

I couldn't even PLAY properly if I was worrying about damage.

Mark1960 · January 2019

Play it - That's it's sole purpose! Unless you bought it as an investment

Moe_Zambeek · January 2019

Mark1960 said:
...
Unless you bought it as an investment
...

Which, looking at the prices of used, up to 10-15-20 year old acoustics, would seem to be a very bad plan.

I’m on the hunt at the moment and used acoustics, even of the pricey variety, seem to have terrible resale. Worse than electrics even.

In other words, insure it, play it, enjoy it, look after it seems to be the way forward (notable exceptions being environments where it may end up played by others - as noted above. I solve that by always saying ‘no’)...

ICBM · January 2019

Mark1960 said:

Play it - That's it's sole purpose!

That's true, but it's perfectly sensible to keep something fragile for playing in safe places, like at home or a recording studio. You don't have to risk damaging an instrument to be playing it.

One of the times I took the Eko to a gig was when we played at an education centre for kids with learning disabilities. One of them wanted to play the guitar, which was fine. Would it have been so fine if it had been my Gibson? I wouldn't have wanted to say no.

I wouldn't take it to a rough pub gig where there's a good chance it would get bashed either. I've seen too many wrecked Lowdens belonging to folk musicians to think that's a good idea.

It's not really about the value - my bass is worth more than my acoustic guitars and I use that anywhere.

CountryDave · January 2019

I'm normally in the 'you buy it to play it' group, however when I comes to acoustics/semi acoustics I totally understand the people who propose a cheaper one for gigging.

Over the years I have had a couple of nice semi acoustics (Gretsch 6120 and Gibson ES335 - owned at different times), both of which were bought with the intention of gigging. Took each guitar to a number of gigs and they sounded amazing, but then I found myself getting twitchy, so started leaving it at home for the rougher gigs, then sold on because why have such a nice guitar to not play it. Only to repeat the same thing two years later.

I think it's perceived fragility. I'll happily take my telecaster to any gig, but I have also on occasion used it to push people back onto the dance floor of certain venues. I've also seen my mates Gretsch take a wallop from his mic stand when someone fell into it.

CMW335 · January 2019

Of course bear this in mind (has a thread of its own on here already)

https://mobile.twitter.com/tonyrobinsonnn/status/1079305434404663297?s=12

All the caution in the world can’t account for that

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Do you gig your 'good' acoustic?

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