Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

DrNewcenstein

DrNewcenstein

He Did the Monster Mash
Has anyone here added mass to the body of a guitar, similar to the old Kramer that had a steel rod in the lower half? Not talking about brass blocks for trems, but specific regions of the body i.e. top half, lower half, rear extension of an Explorer, wings of a V, just the horns of a Strat, etc.

I've heard of using lead tape in the control cavity, or some heavy bits of metal/lead (fishing lures, etc).

Wondering what variations in the tone occur based on location of the extra weight of the guitar body. Increase treble response in one location, increase bass response in another?
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

if you are adding mass with tone varying expectations then checkout "Fat Finger Sustain Enhancer" (not necessarily tone varying though). as implied, helps with sustaining of notes and getting rid of "dead notes", if there are any.
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

Not really looking at it from a sustain perspective. Looking at how Explorers and Vs have a natural tonal focus that's different from each other, as well as from a Les Paul, or SG. Granted the body wood and thickness are major factors as well.
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

koshikas said:
if you are adding mass with tone varying expectations then checkout "Fat Finger Sustain Enhancer" (not necessarily tone varying though). as implied, helps with sustaining of notes and getting rid of "dead notes", if there are any.
Click to expand...

I think what's best is defeating the problem in its source : eliminate unwanted vibrations of the media (wood body/neck and any metal/bone/plastic parts).
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

I have seen it done to correct neck dive
But I believe it to be snake oil in regards to tone

*(Sent from my durned phone!)*
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

^^ I was going to say teh same thing,. Ive seen people use wheel balancing weights in the cavity to correct nosediving, but as a tonal consideration.

To pick up the V vs. Explorer comparison, the primary reason they sound so different is the shape and the way vibrations propagate and reflect differently as a result.
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

Ok, I do understand the reasoning behind why Vs and Explorers and LPs and SGs all sound different, so lemme try it another way:

It's been my experience that Strats and LPs are the most tonally balanced shapes available, maybe with a slight accentuation of the treble frequencies.

Vs tend to accentuate the midrange a bit more, while Explorers and Stars accentuate the lower mids more than the upper mids.


Given that, suppose you take a bodyless guitar like the old Steinberger-types and mount various traditional "wings" to it - LP, SG, V, Explorer, Tele, Strat, ad nauseum. Assuming the mass was equal to the real thing, how similar to those originals would it be tonally, in the sense of frequency accentuation?
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

You're not going to alter the tone the way you think simply by adding weight - and certainly not just adding random weight just shoehorned in. And most certainly not if the weight is not wood and not glued on so it passes vibration efficiently.
You need to add structure. A V sounds the way it does because the body is shaped the way it is, with a big cutout right behind the bridge. The explorer has the diagonals affecting the vibrations.......Teles and LP's sound thick and beefy due to the single cutaway aspect - If you make a LP as a double cutaway they sound different to a regular LP.
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

Hi,
I would remove some wood, a lot if possible, without changing the shape of you guitar, preferably the stop tail and abr saddle area, and replace it with the the hardest maple you can find.
Many ways to do this, for sure, but if you can, it would give your top a bump in the mid and upper frequency range, and be (depending) 4-6 ounces (or more, if can paint over it) of extra weight.
Next year I am going to pay a bundle to have a maple top (hardest I can find) to godirectly on top of my single humbucker pup L.P.Jr. for the sound. I will need to remove a half inch or so from the mahogany so the maple sits right, but it will be closer to my old LP'68 in wood sound, mahog.+maple being my favorite combo in guitar woods in the universe.
My lighter guitars are basswood and chambered alder, but that is because of weight restrictions due to back problems. A restriction my stomach fat does not adhere to.
SJB
 
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Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

ehdwuld said:
I have seen it done to correct neck dive
But I believe it to be snake oil in regards to tone

*(Sent from my durned phone!)*
Click to expand...

I was wondering about this...

I have used the Fender Fat Finger thing on my acoustics and electrics–noticed a difference on my Acoustics. I've heard of people in the Appalachians putting rattlers from snakes inside their acoustic instruments...never tried it before but was intrigued
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

SJ318 said:
My lighter guitars are basswood and chambered alder, but that is because of weight restrictions due to back problems. A restriction my stomach fat does not adhere to.
SJB
Click to expand...

Maybe if your guitars were made of stomach fat you could have any weight guitar you like??
 
Re: Adding mass to a guitar body...with a twist

AlexR and vinta9e,
Those were in the top 2 funny responses, "loose mids" "guitar made of stomach fat" both made me laugh out loud alone, a very, extremely rare thing for me to do.
Hopefully, that guitar made of fat is from my own stomach (NOS). Congrats, also very clever, not just easy jokes, some college education put into verbal (or written) use.
Funny guys,
SJB
 
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