Guitar Body Shape - Does it affect tone?

[Lazarus1140]

I am looking at a guitar body for sale that is Tele shaped (single horn), but otherwise is configured SSH and with a conventional Strat type bridge. Except for the lack of one cutaway it is Strat all the way.

What is you opinion or experience with any differences in tone or sustain specifically attributable to body shapes. I am not interested in flat top versus archtop or solid body vs hollow, semi-hollow, or weight relieved. I am only concerned with single vs double cut.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Guitar Body Shape - Does it affect tone?

Negligible. The wood type makes far more difference than 4oz of missing body.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Guitar Body Shape - Does it affect tone?

When discussing Tele vs Strat, there's not much tonal difference. Some will claim that upper area of a Tele does add something, but I doubt it.

You get a more drastic difference between an Explorer and V.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Guitar Body Shape - Does it affect tone?

I'm of the school that says everything will make a difference, but that some differences will be more audible than others.

I think the position of the wood is critical. Those who have played them say that the doublecut LP sounds different to the regular LP.....and that is wood taken away from the neck joint area. Then there is the case of EVH's Ibanez destroyer. After having hacked a chunk out behind the bridge Ed said it sounded nowhere near what it used to. Again, critical position for vibrations.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Guitar Body Shape - Does it affect tone?

Well, I think I'm going to order the body and then whack away at it until it is somewhere between a Tele and a Strat. I'd like the outline to be similar to a Schecter 006 Blackjack.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Guitar Body Shape - Does it affect tone?

EVH's butchery of that Destroyer to make the first-ever Star is a well-known example of how removing wood from the rear of the body will alter tone - better or worse depends on perspective (not to mention the quality of the work - Ed said he didn't have a real saw, so he drilled holes close to each other and basically punched it out.

However, that's on the rear of the body, where the majority of the mass is. When discussing Tele vs Strat, the largest difference is the bass side of the neck-body joint. I've read that the extra mass on that side will accentuate the lower-midrange, which is what gives the Tele its signature tone. However, it's also my understanding that there's actually a bit more difference between the bodies than just that upper bout - the sides aren't cut as deep as on a Strat, as well as the not-as-rounded body edges.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Guitar Body Shape - Does it affect tone?

I'm of the school that says everything will make a difference, but that some differences will be more audible than others.
.

I agree with that.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Guitar Body Shape - Does it affect tone?

Well ... I ordered the Strele body.