How does a heavier sustain block increase resonance of a guitar if increased mass leads to increased inertia leading to the vibrations being less included to leave the block and vibrate into the rest of the guitar?
As a general rule, No.
The problem with this reasoning is that it ignores that for that inertia to be generated in teh first playce the string has to put more energy into the heavier block, which in turn necessitates the resonating mass to lose that inertia faster by returning energy to the string sooner, making the net result effectively zero in 99.9% of the situatios you´ll come across.
The widespread misconception that more mass = better resonance and /or sustain started in the 70s when people used more and heavier brass hardware... but amplifier technology also advanced by leaps and bounds during that time, especially in the realm of gain and distortion, which in and of iteself can give the impression that a note sustains longer, especially when more often than not what´s really going on is that you´re standing so close to the amp that the overtones are all feeding back, giving the impression of more sustain.
If you need more proof, look at all the custom exotic boat anchors people made in teh 80s (much to their chiropractor´s delight) that were made from Zebranho or other seriously heavy woods.... if those guitars sounded that awesome and sustained for that long just as a result of their mass, people would be playing them and not decorating thair walls or filling landfills with them
Also while I'm here, why should I care about resonance? The energy that goes into vibrating the wood isn't being picked up by the pickups, so I would think more vibrationally dead wood would be better for guitar.
In pure theory yes, and with enough distortion and gain you can circumvent a lot.
But the vibrating wood in turn vibrates the pickups, which influences how they´re picking up the magnetic fields of the string´s vibration...... Analogous to that, If you look at the forum normally, it´s clear and easy to read.... now shake your head vigorouosly from side to side while you try to read... completely different experience, even though the only change was that the platform the sensor (eye /Pickup) is mounted in is vibrating. :beers:
