Two guitars for a live setup?

grandinq

Power User
Hi all!
I wanted some opinions here. I've used my PRS McCarty exclusively for live stuff. It's my favorite guitar and quite versatile. Recently I got a G&L Legacy and I've been bringing it to rehearsals and using it on some tunes. Today my singer asked me if I was going to actually use it in a live gig situation, since there is a time lag to switch guitars.

I'm on the fence. It definitely sounds sweet on certain tunes, but there is also the real issue of switching guitars in a live setting. Does anyone know of an efficient way to do this?
 
I guess it depends on how tightly you run your sets. If the singer has a few words with the crowd in between songs you should have time to switch guitars and do a quick tuning check, but if you run everything back to back it would be tricky.
 
Switching guitars can be pretty fast if they're already plugged in, tuned, have their straps on, and are within easy reach on a stand. Use an A/B switcher so you can put down the current guitar on a stand, grab the next guitar and be pulling the strap over your head as you step on the switch, roll up the volume and you're good. Practice it several times if you're not sure.

While an A/B box seems like an extravagance, you'll change your mind when you try to unplug one guitar and plug in the other when you're in a rush. We've all had those moments when we drop the cord and then can't find the jack and fuss and fiddle and eventually get it. The box avoids that.

If you have tuning instability problems then get the guitars into the shop or fix it yourself. My tremolo-equipped PRS guitars are usually so stable they take a little tweak when I take them out of the case and then they're good. Always give your guitars plenty of time to come up to room temperature before playing, otherwise tuning will drift all over the place, and that's a horrible surprise when you power into a chord.

This is useful too...

 
Switching guitars can be pretty fast if they're already plugged in, tuned, have their straps on, and are within easy reach on a stand. Use an A/B switcher so you can put down the current guitar on a stand, grab the next guitar and be pulling the strap over your head as you step on the switch, roll up the volume and you're good. Practice it several times if you're not sure.

While an A/B box seems like an extravagance, you'll change your mind when you try to unplug one guitar and plug in the other when you're in a rush. We've all had those moments when we drop the cord and then can't find the jack and fuss and fiddle and eventually get it. The box avoids that.

If you have tuning instability problems then get the guitars into the shop or fix it yourself. My tremolo-equipped PRS guitars are usually so stable they take a little tweak when I take them out of the case and then they're good. Always give your guitars plenty of time to come up to room temperature before playing, otherwise tuning will drift all over the place, and that's a horrible surprise when you power into a chord.

This is useful too...


Thanks for the detailed reply! I can definitely practice that routine as I already practice switching scenes, use of expression pedals etc. My PRS and G&L stay in tune really well.

Can you recommend a solid A/B box? I have an old Boss one somewhere that I can dig out and try out but if there’s something out there that’s ultra reliable I’d love to know.
 
A/B boxes? I dunno, there are so many out there. Years ago I built one that's just a simple SPDT foot switch (I think that was what it was) and used it for years.

I haven't tried, but I think it'd be possible to run both guitars into two inputs on an FM3 or FX3, then set up a switch to toggle them. I'm sure somewhere in the forum someone's asked about it. On an FM3 without an FC controller you're pretty limited to available switches, so an external A/B is the best idea, but on the OMG9 or with an FC12 it'd be easy to use a long-press on one of the available switches to toggle.

Mostly it's just getting your guitar stands placed right, making sure you won't get tangled up one way or another, and being comfortable with the motions. Think of it as another form of choreography, like all those fancy R&B moves you gotta learn. :)
 
A/B boxes? I dunno, there are so many out there. Years ago I built one that's just a simple SPDT foot switch (I think that was what it was) and used it for years.

I haven't tried, but I think it'd be possible to run both guitars into two inputs on an FM3 or FX3, then set up a switch to toggle them. I'm sure somewhere in the forum someone's asked about it. On an FM3 without an FC controller you're pretty limited to available switches, so an external A/B is the best idea, but on the OMG9 or with an FC12 it'd be easy to use a long-press on one of the available switches to toggle.

Mostly it's just getting your guitar stands placed right, making sure you won't get tangled up one way or another, and being comfortable with the motions. Think of it as another form of choreography, like all those fancy R&B moves you gotta learn. :)

I hadn’t even thought of using two inputs. My mind went straight to A/B box but I think I will try inputs on the AX3 instead. My presets are specific to the guitars so I wouldn’t even need to have a switch, just use a different input block on the preset.

I’m lucky I have some time off at the moment so I can play around.
 
LOL I use 6 different guitars 8 tunings. I use a wireless on one strap with quick release buttons. Doesn't help much on tuning guitars but here in Florida thats an all night long thing anyway.
I too use a wireless on one strap with the Dunlop strap locks. Not as fast as cables and straps already on the guitars, but close. I always bring two guitars though, mainly to have a backup in the event of a string break and/or other issue. I’ve only had one show where something happened to both instruments, and both things happened in the first song, within the first minute too!
 
... I think I will try inputs on the AX3 instead.
This post may trigger some ideas. I have two plugged in and swapping is very efficient and quiet. I use MIDI to switch between the input blocks, from a button on an iPad. I've trained myself to always turn to the left to swap a guitar on the dual stand, to avoid cable tangling. :)
 
This post may trigger some ideas. I have two plugged in and swapping is very efficient and quiet. I use MIDI to switch between the input blocks, from a button on an iPad. I've trained myself to always turn to the left to swap a guitar on the dual stand, to avoid cable tangling. :)

Could you elaborate a bit? I’m terrible at visualization. You keep two guitars on a dual stand to your left. How does that help prevent cable tangling?

I love the idea for a switch to change inputs.
 
... You keep two guitars on a dual stand to your left. How does that help prevent cable tangling?
Left or right doesn't matter... what matters is always turning the same way to change guitars, then turning back the opposite way after grabbing the guitar. I find if I forget and turn different ways, after a few swaps the cables are twisted together (and also mangled with my wired IEM cables), ready to trip me next time I move my foot to the pedals :p
 
Left or right doesn't matter... what matters is always turning the same way to change guitars, then turning back the opposite way after grabbing the guitar. I find if I forget and turn different ways, after a few swaps the cables are twisted together (and also mangled with my wired IEM cables), ready to trip me next time I move my foot to the pedals :p

Got it! Like I said, I'm not visual so I was trying to think why left would matter.

I think another key is to have the Axe FX on the same side as the guitars.
 
Today my singer asked me if I was going to actually use it in a live gig situation, since there is a time lag to switch guitars.
Typical singer ..... tell him/her to actually front the band and do some talking to fill the gap.

Personally I bring a second guitar only in case of string breaks as I'm so petted on my main guitar I'm happy to play it for everything.

But if your guitar change needs to be like a Formula 1 pit stop then an A/B box sounds about right
 
I switch guitars a lot at gigs. One is a wired guitar synth but the other four are wireless. All five have their own strap. I keep the transmitter in my back pocket. In less time than it takes one of the other guys to thank the audience and announce the next song, I can unplug the wireless, put the plug in my pocket, remove a guitar and put it on the rack, grab the next guitar and put it on, and then plug in the wireless. I have a volume pedal set up on every preset, and use that to kill my signal between songs, regardless of whether I'm switching guitars or not.
 
For multiple guitars connected I don't even mess with turning input blocks on or off. I just use the guitar volume knob to "activate/deactivate" the guitar :)
 
I just turn on the Tuner, unplug the guitar I'm playing and put it down, pick up the other one, plug it in and quickly check tuning and switch off the tuner

Simples
 
Lots of things you can do. Structure your setlist in such a way to allow for guitar changes or retuning, A/B boxes will help, if you use wireless get more transmitters, finding a buddy who will guitar tech, and above all tell your singer to actually be a frontman and interact with your audience to buy you time. It's what the pro bands do. Also you gotta have breathers in your setlist. Your audience has got to breathe and recover and order drinks. It can't be a constant rollercoaster of one song after the other.

And whatever you do, DRILL it into your singer and drummer's heads to look at you for confirmation that you are ready before announcing/ticking off the next song. Announcing a song before you're ready ruins a surprise or momentum, and ticking off and starting when you're not ready looks like amateur hour. And I've seen it happen a lot! All the more so because singers and drummers don't change gear between songs so the idea that others might not be ready is not in their system.
 
So many great suggestions here. I love hearing all the different ways people approach this.

I’ll defend my singer in that I was futzing around a lot the other day. We’ve only started rehearsing again since mid May and I feel like I’m still relearning how to set up my rig.
 
"back in the day" when I played out I usually gigged with 2 guitars. 1. I wanted a backup incase of string breakage and 2. We had some wings that just sounded better on certain guitars. I mainly played my number 1 les Paul, but I also had a warmoth strat that I needed for a couple of songs because it was spankier than the les Paul. Could I have done it all with the Les Paul? Of course, but it felt better playing those songs on the strat. Besides what's the point of owning multiple guitars if ya can't have fun and use them? Takes 2 seconds to switch guitars live.
 
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