Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

[bryan the rocker]

If your only Allowed to have only one Electric Guitar and only Allowed to Choose between the two,



Which do you Prefer ?

an

Inherently Bright Sounding Electric Guitar (Bright sounding Wood)

or

an Inherently Dark sounding electric guitar, (Dark, Warm sounding wood)


and why ?


You Can change pickups, electronics, hardware etc.

the only thing you cant change is the wood,


Thanks.

 

[bryan the rocker]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

Hmmmm ? which one

 

[Sanford]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

I chose bright cuz a tone knob can darken up a bright guitar, but can only go so far the other way.

 

[DesertRat]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

Bright in the morning, dark at night! I voted dark tho, just suits me better. I'd rather fight to bring the highs out than fight to subdue them.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

The brighter guitars I've owned have seemed to have the clearest string-to-string definition, to my ears.

 

[James Rock]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

Despite the fact my amp is very bright I'd say brighter because I play clean most of the time and its a jangly singe coil bright clean. Doesn't work with dark guitar!. Also boosting highs adds noise taking the away takes away noise and is usually easier to achieve musically.

 

[bryan the rocker]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

I like the smooth, thick creamy tone of a dark sounding guitar with the right pickups,


And still has bite in the bridge position,

 

[jake_xms3_punk]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

i use dark guitars mainly. to me single coils sound nice on a bright guitar but humbuckers dont really, but thats just me

 

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

I like dark.
1) fatter, chunkier sound
2) you can always put bright pickups in them
3) more rolled off highs
4) can always play a bright amp

 

[mrturtle_91]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

I prefer brighter instruments. I like my sound to have punch and bite, and I find with inherently dark instruments that doesn't shine as much. That being said, single coils such as P-90's can really shine in darker instruments.

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

If your only Allowed to have only one Electric Guitar and only Allowed to Choose between the two,
Which do you Prefer ?
an
Inherently Bright Sounding Electric Guitar (Bright sounding Wood)
or
an Inherently Dark sounding electric guitar, (Dark sounding wood)
and why ?
You Can change pickups, electronics, hardware etc.
the only thing you cant change is the wood,
Thanks.

Darkest sounding wood i can lay my grubby little paws on - Mahogany ?

IF we have to schoose a stock guitar and not alter the pick ups - ever - i would go for something like this, or a '72 Custom.

Or a "reversed" Gibson LP BFG.
...instead of H/P90, give me a P90/H, in a DARK sounding wood !

James

 

[GoDrex]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

for me it's easier to tame the brightness than add what isn't there.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

+1

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

Bright, as I like brighter tones as it is. Loves me some treble. Others make a good case for brighter guitars with the tone knob to temper harshness.

- Keith

 

[StrangeSound]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

Bright and snappy please. I used to like darker tones but I got tired of it. Also, roll some treble off and you're good to go for more mellow stuff.

 

[El CHupacabra]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

Nothing against Gibson but I am and always shall be a Fender whore. Bright absolutely. Alder and Maple neck strat with Pearly Gates bridge please! Man that is ungodly sharp and MIke Bloomfield-esque.

 

[Fikealox]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

For me, when it comes to guitars the antonym of 'bright' is 'warm'. I'd take warm over bright any day, but I'd take bright over dark.

 

[B2D]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

I prefer darker, thicker sounding guitars. That doesn't mean I don't like detail on the high end though.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

I've got good examples of both. I think overall the darker guitars I probably dig a bit more than the brighter.

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Bright Sounding Electric Guitar or Dark sounding electric guitar

In a nutshell I'd rather tame an inherently bright guitar with tone controls, warm pickups and the amp then attempt to brighten an inherently dark guitar with shrill/middy pickups and copious amounts of treble from the amp.

Since becoming addicted to Teles and playing them through a (6L6) tube amp I've noticed I like a bright guitar (in terms of woods, ash, alder, maple) with pickups around 7-9K range. I love the sound of Ash Teles with A2 pickups. Stick an alnico P-90 or Tele s/c (wound 7-8K) in the bridge and a P-90 or humbucker (full-size or mini) in the neck and there's plenty of mids meaning thick lows, and with the treble on the amp set low you cut through the mix without slicing up ear drums. Tone controls also help a great deal in attenuating enough treble to avoid ice-pick tones.