Should I go chambered or not?

[Cron]

Hey. I'm ordering a custom guitar from warmoth.

Specs: Korina body/ maple cap, maple neck, braz rosewood fretboard.
H-s-s config.
(If you have other suggestions please share them)

Should I get the chambered body or not?

I play hard rock but I want an awesome clean sound.
I'm sure the chambered body will give me what I want in terms of clean sound but i'm worried that I might lose too much 'chunk' when playing the high gain stuff (especially detuned).

Alot of people recommend going chambered but I don't want my lower strings to sound 'flabby'.

If any of you use chambered bodies for high gain stuff please let me know
how that works for you.

Thanx

[aleclee]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

Depends on what you mean by "high gain".

IMHO it works pretty well with "classic high gain" (e.g., Soldano). However, with "modern high gain" (e.g., Recto) I'd think that the enhanced mids of a chambered guitar would detract from the scooped nature of the tone.

I believe that the pickups and amp will make a bigger difference in your clean tone than chambers. In my chambered guitar, I recently swapped out a set of Rios with EVHs and the difference in clean tone is beyond belief. The new pickups have a lot more chime and clarity than the old ones, at least through my rig.

My $0.02, IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.

[Cron]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

Well...

By high gain I mean anything from soldano to recto.
I just want a really versatile guitar.
I must say... Modern high gain is my main thing. But I do play some pop and jazz.

I was told that chambering the body will open up the sound.
BTW : I will probably be using bill lawrence pups (L500-L + 2x L280s)

Is there any specific body wood that would work better with chambering or is korina fine?

[Mincer]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

My brian moore is chambered. Do it for the weight and the excellent clean sound. I love my high gain sound too..no problems with chunk here. Besides, thats what tone controls and pickups are for.

[Gary Ladd]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

Well, I just bought a Gibby Les Paul Supreme...

I actually prefer the over-all tone to my Studio by a hair!

[MattPete]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

My chambered Warmoth strat can be a bit flabby at times. It has a Floyd Rose, so that might exacerbate the situation.

[Benjy_26]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

I can get very chunky with my Epi Sheraton, even after changing the Seth Lover's to Phat Cat's. I think that as long as you have articulate pickups in a chambered guitar, you can get very satisfying clean and high gain tones.

[Cron]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

Depends on pcikups huh?

Well. I'm thinking of putting 2 Bill Lawrence L280s's and 1 L-500L in. (H-s-s)

Do you guys think that would be a good idea? Or should I go for a higher gain bridge humbucker like a L-500XL?
Will single coils be fine in a chambered body?

Advise please...

[Marty Horne]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

4 of the 5 guitars I own are chambered. I hear a reduction in the mids, and more articulation in the highs and lows. Less mud more chime which works for me along with the reduced weight. I would prefer a solidbody only if I were doing a metal, high decibel thing which I'm not.

[hacker]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

I have two chambered body guitars-a warmoth tele and a LP Studio DC. I do not hear any loss in low end compared to solid body guitars, but there is a difference in the mids. A solid body will be a little more chunky in the mids, but the chambered bodies have excellent overdriven tones with plenty of sustain and bloom to the notes. You will not miss the slight drop in mids, just compensate for them with your amp/pedals.

The difference is so slight anyway, but it's there, if you know what I mean.

[Benjy_26]

Re: Should I go chambered or not?

Singles are very cool in a semi or chambered instrument.I have the Phat Cats, which are basically P-90's, in my Sheraton and they work great.