Revelation: Floyd cavity with backplate is a "chambered" guitar.

[solspirit]

Quick...someone start marketing brass backplates as a "resonance enhancer"!

Oh wait: https://reverb.com/item/35088047-fender-stratocaster-brass-backplate-sustainer-satin

Hahaha. Yeah, you're not getting much resonance out of plastic.

 

[solspirit]

I think Eric Johnson is a pretty great guitar player. Nothing he has ever done has convinced me he has good ears though.

One song

 

[solspirit]

Hey, do whatever makes you feel like you sound better.

In all honesty, it doesn't make a difference when you plug it in.

 

[Chistopher]

I still can't figure out whether or not resonance is a good thing or not.

Pro: Good acoustic guitars resonate
"People on the internet" say a resonant guitar is good
By definition if your guitar resonates it has a lot of physical energy (ie more sustain)
Less mass makes a guitar more comfortable
More resonance means you aren't loosing energy through the hardware, but rather the wood

Con: Feedback
The solid body guitar was invented to stop guitars from resonating too much
"People on the internet" hate swimming pool routes
"People on the internet" height weight reduced guitar tones
By definition if your guitar is resonating a lot it's losing energy fast (ie less sustain)

 

[Chistopher]

^^This is all speculation, I have never really put an ounce of my own thought into the matter. My skin is not sensitive enough to notice the slight physical vibrations of a guitar, excepting an upright bass

 

[Mincer]

Hey, do whatever makes you feel like you sound better.

In all honesty, it doesn't make a difference when you plug it in.

That's what it comes down to, in the end.

Also, semi hollowbodies sound fantastic. But it is much more resonance than a back plate or not.

 

[larryguitar]

I sort of thought everybody knew this? Why else would Clapton play strats with trems completely blocked? The cavity and even the springs make an audible difference in the tone both plugged and unplugged. Even my tin ears can hear that.

Larry

 

[dave74]

I agree everything makes a small difference. I usually leave back-plates off unless they are slotted, but it's mostly for easy access, not tone.

On my old Carvins I leave them off also because the plate actually protrudes due to their thinner bodies, and I can't stand the feel of a protruding back-plate.

If you have any issues with noisy springs the back being on will just make it echo worse imo.

Same with truss covers. I leave them off for easy access unless they have offset screws like on Ibanez.
Placing the truss screws directly under the strings is just plain stupid imo.

 

[Chistopher]

I usually just put some pickup foam in the back to stop the spring noise.

 

[Demanic]

Well, here's something with mine. Going through my Randall with very little reverb.
It seems to have a nice "ring" to it.