Acoustically loud electric guitars.

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

Blueman hits it outta the park

 

[blueman335]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

Blueman hits it outta the park

Thank you. :friday: You just gotta know that a great-sounding guitar, with a lousy set up and bad intonantion, not to mention rusty strings, is going to sit in a store forever, and be called a dog. But, take that guitar home and spend an hour or two tweaking, and it could blow you away. Be a real gem. That's what this forum is all about: improving the sound and playability of guitars, a lot of times that aren't in a state of perfection when you find them; they may need a little work to reach their full potential. But man, it's worth it.

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

I've never agreed with blueman MORE than I do in this thread. I don't believe in "The One" with regards to guitars any more than I do with women. You find one that looks good, is interesting, and hopefully not too damaged. Then, you set about trying to make it work. Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn't. But you have a ton of fun in the interim.

 

[sosomething]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

+1. The condition of the strings also makes a difference on how loud it is acoustically. You could pick a guitar that's loud unplugged, simply because it has newer strings, and maybe bypass one with better-toned wood, that has old dead strings. Same goes for set ups and intonantion: how many guys pick the guitar in a store that 'speaks' to them (after trying a dozen), when they're really just being swayed by the set up? :eyecrazy: I give no credibility to how an electric guitar sounds acoustically; what matters is the tones that come thru when it's amplied. You don't play an electric on stage unplugged. PU's and amps bring out parts of the EQ that you're not going to hear acoustically. Human ears aren't that good.

I've bought new and used guitars that sounded like crap, that I could hardly play, and after a good set up, and usually a PU and/or mag swap, became great instruments. A lot of times the stock PU's may not be the best ones for that particular piece of wood. This is stuff you can't tell in a store. Depending on the time of year (and temp and humidity) woods swell and contract, set ups and intonations change accordingly, & guys with sweaty hands play them for months. Strings corrode. Do you think the employees fix the set ups and change the strings? How can anyone waltz in and make some pronouncement on what sounds and plays the best, like they're part of some elite society with special skills. You can believe anything you want, but it doesn't change reality.

Unless you browse guitars somewhere besides GC or Sam Ash where they actually keep their guitars freshly-strung and properly set up.

I admit those places are few and far between but there are two or three around here that fit that description.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

Unless you browse guitars somewhere besides GC or Sam Ash where they actually keep their guitars freshly-strung and properly set up.

I admit those places are few and far between but there are two or three around here that fit that description.

I wish there were more independent music stores around. Those are real music stores. These days the chains have taken over almost everywhere. Bought the independents up or ran them out of business. I think that there are still some good, old-school salespeople in music stores, that see that they're instruments are in top shape. But from my experience, they're far outnumbered by salespeople that are poorly trained and wouldn't know what to do, even if they had the motivation.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

I've never agreed with blueman MORE than I do in this thread. I don't believe in "The One" with regards to guitars any more than I do with women. You find one that looks good, is interesting, and hopefully not too damaged. Then, you set about trying to make it work. Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn't. But you have a ton of fun in the interim.

Absolutely. With good set ups and new strings, most of the guitars in a music store would sound and play pretty good. As far as woman, how many of us have even looked at the 3 billion women there are in the world, and can say that after talking to only a few hundred of them (or maybe just a few dozen) that we have somehow stumbled onto 'The One.' What are the odds of that? With guitars and women, the more of them you get to know, the more good ones you find.

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

I worked for a mom and pop shop. We tried to keep things in good nick, but not every guitar got a full setup before going on the wall.

But one thing that I tried to do when things were slow, was go pick out a guitar that had been hanging there for embarasingly long and give it some attention. Fresh strings, set intontation, usually lower the action a bit (since the average preferred height seems to be lower than the average manufacturers aim for).

And every single time I did, within a couple of days someone would decide that guitar was THE ONE.

Unless you browse guitars somewhere besides GC or Sam Ash where they actually keep their guitars freshly-strung and properly set up.

I admit those places are few and far between but there are two or three around here that fit that description.

 

[iismet]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

I wish there were more independent music stores around. Those are real music stores. These days the chains have taken over almost everywhere. Bought the independents up or ran them out of business.

A big reason I have lost interest in Gibson. Their high volume distribution scheme at the cost of small independents puts me off. One of the stores here had to drop them because they were unwilling/unable to carry $100K worth of their stuff. Bummer - they build beautiful stuff.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

I had a Danelectro that was loud as hell unplugged. Sounded terrible plugged in.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Acoustically loud electric guitars.

I had a Danelectro that was loud as hell unplugged. Sounded terrible plugged in.

Ah ha! More proof that you can put too much faith in unamplified sound. The way I see it, guys that select electric guitars by their unplugged tonal qualities, may not be quite the experts they would have us believe they are.