One strat acoustically louder than another, why?

[justFred]

Have a ‘96 mim strat and a partscaster. The partscaster when not plugged is significantly louder than the mim strat...mim is is painted poplar with rosewood fretboard sss config and partscaster is stained alder with a maple fretboard hsh config both strung with 10s.

 

[St_Genesius]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That's the only honest answer you'll get, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly to expound about the evils of poly finishes.

 

[solspirit]

Paint & or bridge, nut & tuners, maybe?

 

[GuitarStv]

There can be a lot of reasons that cause this . . . some cuts of wood in the body or neck will vibrate more than others, some types of finish can dampen/reduce vibrations, could be related to the bridge/bridge coupling with the body, could be related to different routing under the pickguard, could be related to pickguard material . . . It's very hard to isolate exactly what the root cause is.

An acoustically loud electric guitar is losing energy via vibration rather than transferring it to the strings to be picked up by your pickups and sent to the amp. Whether or not this energy loss is a good thing is very much a personal preference.

 

[solspirit]

I wouldn't stress about it too much, some of the nicest guitars I've played had very little acoustic quality.

 

[Bogner]

To me, the acoustic element is very important. I had an old timer (player, builder, luthier) teach me what to look for resonance wise in guitars acoustically. Since doing what he taught me all those years ago, I have been happy in every way with my guitar choices. In following his advice I have never encountered a guitar that rang out acoustically in a way I liked sound bad plugged in. I have played guitars that sounded blah acoustically and ok plugged in. I have encountered guitars that sounded bad both acoustically and plugged in but if it sounds good acoustically and passes my tests I know it will deliver plugged in. In searching for guitars, I always play it unplugged and in a quiet room to see what it is like naturally. Several of my favorite guitars I bought off playing a chord or maybe a few and never plugging in. I just knew they delivered.

Why are there differences between the same woods and models? I have no idea. Maybe it is density or tolerances? I have no idea. What I do know is what works for me and what doesn't and recognizing it when I encounter it.

 

[beaubrummels]

I’ve had a different experience (maybe bolt-on works different than set neck vs neck-through?). My Les Pauls sound the opposite plugged in from what they sound like acoustically. If it’s thin and even acoustically, it can be thick and full with a strong low mid plugged in. If it’s dark acoustically, it can be bright and clear with a strong mid plugged in. Different amps and pickups can enhance or defeat these effects however.

But in essence they are just trees, which vary based on their age and weather they were exposed to. For example, my understanding is flame maple is actually a flaw caused by extreme weather exposure.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I agree with GuitarStv and Bogner on this one.

Wood grows as a living thing. Even when cut from the same tree, no two pieces are exactly the same.

Tone and liveliness can vary even in guitars with identical finish and hardware.
Any differences in finish, hardware & pickups will increase the likelihood of those differences.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I’ve had a different experience (maybe bolt-on works different than set neck vs neck-through?). My Les Pauls sound the opposite plugged in from what they sound like acoustically. If it’s thin and even acoustically, it can be thick and full with a strong low mid plugged in. If it’s dark acoustically, it can be bright and clear with a strong mid plugged in. Different amps and pickups can enhance or defeat these effects however.

But in essence they are just trees, which vary based on their age and weather they were exposed to. For example, my understanding is flame maple is actually a flaw caused by extreme weather exposure.

I agree here too - the acoustic sound of an electric doesn't always seem to match the tone when plugged in.
But I also agree with GuitarStv that a guitar which is loud & lively unplugged is more likely to sing nicely when amplified.

IMO, better energy transfer between strings and wood works both ways: I think it helps the strings light up once there's enough ambient sound to begin vibrating the neck & body. These are usually the guitars that take off at moderate volumes, while the stiff or heavy ones often don't come alive until things get really loud.

Others will have different priorities, but for me it's more about liveliness than about tone.

 

[alex1fly]

Because they're different guitars. There is no better answer, though you can go down any number of rabbit holes on materials and construction if you like. Some claim paint and poly kills resonance, while others have poly finished guitars that are louder than their stained guitars. Any opinion or experience is met with an opposing opinion or experience. For me, I never had much success swapping parts to change volume or resonance on a particular guitar. What you prefer is another set of inquiries.

 

[Bogner]

All good points here. I will also add this. EVERYTHING IN THE SIGNAL CHAIN MATTERS! Changing other things can help aid a guitar needing to go in a different direction. Pick, cable, pickup, string gauge, etc. What will never happen is completely changing the total dynamic (naturally) of the guitar in question. If you have a guitar that is incredibly bright, you can swap parts and bits and tame it to a degree (which may be enough to solve the problem) but you will never over-ride the natural dynamics of the wood itself. That guitar will NEVER go from bright to dark.

It is for these reasons that I buy duplicates when I find a guitar I really like and that works for me a certain way. No two are alike sonically but overall they are familiar feeling etc. so they all seem they same though they don't sound the same. This is also why a certain pickup swap in one guitar works beautifully and in the other identical guitar sounds less desirable. As much as there is science in a lot of this stuff I also have learned to just accept it for what it is on another level as well and throw my arms up in the air and say I have no idea why....lol.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Different woods resonate differently.

I have a guitar with a swamp ash body and one with a basswood body. The basswood guitar is louder unplugged.

Finish has no effect on the tone of a solid body.


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[GuitarStv]

Finish has no effect on the tone of a solid body.

I don't agree with this, at least not acoustically. I've stripped a thick poly finish off a guitar and sanded the finish off the back of the neck. It made the guitar sound acoustically brighter, wasn't really subtle at all. Didn't notice much if any difference when plugged in though.

 

[ehdwuld]

Did anyone mention loosening the neck bolts with the strings tuned And letting the neck scooch down in the neck pocket gud n tight?

Then tighten the screws and retune?

Some wood may have a denser grain or be a bit dryer

These things happen

Sell it at a discount as a dead one, jk

I have a squire strat that just is lifeless

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

I don't agree with this, at least not acoustically. I've stripped a thick poly finish off a guitar and sanded the finish off the back of the neck. It made the guitar sound acoustically brighter, wasn't really subtle at all. Didn't notice much if any difference when plugged in though.

On guitars I’ve built, they sounded the same unfinished and after they have catalyzed lacquer sprayed on.

If you’re sanding off finish you might remove some wood.

On the two guitars I mentioned, they both have the same pickups, and the louder guitar is also louder through an amp.


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[Mincer]

Do you hear this difference when plugged in? Or, how does it influence the electric tone? To me, the plugged in tone is what matters- that's what the audience, the microphone and my ears hear. I only hear the acoustic tone while playing on my couch, and even then, it doesn't matter much.

 

[Lucius Paisley]

Did I miss the tonewood argument?

 

[justFred]

Thanks to all for the explanations...guess the answer is: it is what it is...just shows ta go ya that these chunks of wood with some metal strings and a coil or three are far more complex than one might think..