All? Most? Some? One? I'm curious to hear this. The thread about unpacking a new guitar in cold weather got me thinking. That, plus the fact that some contributors here seem to have more guitars than it would be possible to keep maintained all at once. Heck, from my limited experience the Guitar Center I would visit only has about 30% of the electric guitars set up properly. I'm sure our percentages are better. My Christmas gift to myself was a Firefly FFLP and it's taken some tweaking to get it just right. In the meantime, whilst I had my tools out, I came to realize that most of my handful of guitars required a little TLC in the setup department. Now they are all playing fine; spot on. Seven guitars. Last week it was only three. How many do keep in proper playing shape?
All in good, well set up, playing condition. Only my stored away Martin and classical are down tuned. (Martin suggests that for extended periods not in use) Most of the the rest are kept out and totally play ready. Close to pitch. Rarin' to go. -don
I have 40 or so guitars, that stay in a currently unfinished basement, in a state that has all 4 seasons. If I tried to keep all of them intonated all the time and the action just right, I would likely never have time to play. Usually 5 or less are "perfect" at any given time.
This is my answer as well. Got 15 guitars, but some "sit" longer than others, so there is need to tune before playing. But string height, neck bow, intonation, etc...on all have long been set and stay there.
All of mine have been set up. That’s normally the first thing I do when I get one. Most of my guitars are out on stands, ready to play. But they rarely leave my temp. / humidity controlled basement, so after the first setup, not much is normally needed. I will go through them again when I replace strings.
I’m a cellar dweller as well. Even though I have some heat in the winter and dehumidification in the summer Iunderstand completely. When I have time to play I don’t want to spend time adjusting a truss rod or saddle height. I keep all my guitars in bags or cases, most still need tweaking between the temp and humidity changes.I have a few upstairs that I can grab quickly to play without any issues.
That's right on the money. If you aren't moving around being extreme temps, or changing your string gauge, you shouldn't have to repeat the entire setup process. Just take a few seconds to check that the instrument is in tune and you're good to go. I'd consider all of my guitars ready. I've got about 30.
I'm quite happy that my life consists of more than just doing setups and playing guitar. The question from OP was how many guitars do you KEEP in tune. Even if you only have to tune every time you want to play, that isn't actually keeping it in tune, in my interpretation of what the original question asked.
I'm surprised that anyone living in a region with four seasons of differing climate can keep so many guitars set up with desired relief, proper intonation and near tuned to pitch. I opened the windows today to get some fresh air in and I'm sure it has affected one or more of my guitars to one degree or another. Now the heat's back on with the windows closed. Something's funky with one or more of the girls, I'm sure. It's likely beyond tuning too. Like many folks we are lucky to enjoy central heating, air conditioning and independent humidifiers and dehumidifiers. Still, keeping guitars playable is a year round challenge. If I'm only playing one or two guitars any particular month, the others will certainly drift a bit from ideal setup. I don't think this is as much of a concern in a place like San Diego, perhaps, but I definitely experience it here in Northern New Jersey.
I'm with you and @drewcp on this. I normally only play two to three guitars, tops, at any given period of time. Meanwhile the rest are slipping and changing due to temperature and humidity fluctuations from floor to floor in my house and changes of season. Sometimes it's radical. The weather is changing now and I can feel it. I'm sure my guitars can too. I couldn't properly care for more than the seven or so guitars I own now. I can't understand how folks can keep on top of so many guitars unless they are retired or professional musicians.
