The origin of the oomph?

JohnnyGuitar

JohnnyGuitar

New member
I left the Strat at home today and took my Gibson Nighthawk to rehearsal. It's a set neck, with typical Gibson woods (mahogany body and neck, maple top, rosewood fingerboard) but in a way it's built more like a Tele with a string through bridge, flat top and a 25.5" scale.

I played it with the bridge pickup split, and that way it doesn't have a lot more output compared to the Strat. However, unlike the Strat - it has a lot more low end body to the sound, it seems to make the amp move a lot more air, the riffs sound heavier... and to be more specific - the guitar has a lot more oomph... even in 'single coil' mode.

So what creates this effect, is it:
a. the 'Gibson' woods?
b. the set neck?
c. the wider magnet bar instead of the rods?
d. the single cutaway?
e. the fixed bridge (without the big chunk of wood that was removed?)
f. the fatter neck?

Or is it just a random thing?

I have a hunch that reasons 'e' and 'f' provide a better explanation than the others - but I'm just guessing here and wouldn't mind reading the opinions of guys that owned/own more guitars...

If I'm right about the reasons... how would it reflect on the way a Tele sounds when one compares it to a Strat?
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

JohnnyGuitar said:
So what creates this effect, is it:

a. the 'Gibson' woods?
b. the set neck?
c. the wider magnet bar instead of the rods?
d. the single cutaway?
e. the fixed bridge (without the big chunk of wood that was removed?)
f. the fatter neck?
Click to expand...

It's not your imagination. Gibson designs encourage warmth, mids, and low end. Fenders enhance treble and clarity. That's why some of us fall into one camp or the other. I can easiy get the beefy tones I want from Gibson designs, and see no need to spend the time, effort, or money to coax that out of Fenders. By the same token, you're going to struggle to get a Strat to sound anything like an LP. Good thing we have choices.
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

The amp. No really, the amp is most of the sound. Also, a split humbucker is not a single coil, it is just a split humbucker. The only time split humbuckers sound anything like single coils is on some active pickups, but not all. You also cannot narrow it down to one factor, as it would be a combination of all factors. It also really depends on your playing and EQ. It is possible to make a Les Paul sound thin and tinny, as well as it is possible to make a strat sound very dark, thick, and chunky. What is your amp and EQ?
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

Vasshu the humanoid typhoon said:
Cannot generalise guitars like that.....they all sound different!
It is just a guitar with more.....ooo something!
And the strat is prolly just a thin speciment!
Click to expand...

Niels, My Strat doesn't sound thin sounding at all... but it really just doesn't have this certain frequency in it I suppose.

blueman335 said:
It's not your imagination. Gibson designs encourage warmth, mids, and low end. Fenders enhance treble and clarity. That's why some of us fall into one camp or the other. I can easiy get the beefy tones I want from Gibson designs, and see no need to spend the time, effort, or money to coax that out of Fenders. By the same token, you're going to struggle to get a Strat to sound anything like an LP. Good thing we have choices.
Click to expand...

Thought you'll be all over this thread... :cool2:

See, the Nighthawk won't cut through as well as my Strat - and I have quite a few years of experience playing the Nighthawk, it was my first electric and was always muddy when it came to leads. It also doesn't really have the clean tones of the Strat, or a whammy bar...

But you're right about us having a choice - the question is, how do I choose a guitar to go with the Strat that would cut through but still have my Nighthawk's oomph, punch in the low end, authority... what's the best way to call it?

Myaccount876 said:
The amp. No really, the amp is most of the sound. Also, a split humbucker is not a single coil, it is just a split humbucker. The only time split humbuckers sound anything like single coils is on some active pickups, but not all. You also cannot narrow it down to one factor, as it would be a combination of all factors. It also really depends on your playing and EQ. It is possible to make a Les Paul sound thin and tinny, as well as it is possible to make a strat sound very dark, thick, and chunky. What is your amp and EQ?
Click to expand...

My current amp is an old Fender head that was modified to sound like a JTM 45. The Strat sounds FAT through it but it just doesn't have the same authority as the Gibson...
Yesterday I actually played on the Marshall MG that was in the rehearsal room. Also tried playing both through an ENGL not so long ago - and got the same results...
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

The real origon of the "Oopmph", has its begginings in German "Oohhm Pah pah" ;
Once a electric bass was added, the Ooohm bacame "OoompH"

orig_elbe_musikanten.jpg
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

OP - I know what you mean, as I experience something similar regarding these two - they have the same bridge pu.
IMG_2822.jpg


The gold one is rounder, smoother, with softer attack; while the black one has that oomph and serious punch. When I bought the black one, I thought it would have a thinner tone because the bridge rout is quite substantial, so I was surprised. The only thing I've done is whack 5 springs in there and fix it against the body (doesn't touch much as the guitar has a carved top). This guitar does have a bigger neck joint and a thicker neck than the gold one, which may partly explain things too. I'm also using 10s in Eb, so the tone is a bit bigger because of that, but even before I arrived at the current setup, the difference was palpable.

So, I think e) and f) on your list make sense. Imo, the heart of the guitar is the neck joint and the bridge (nature of coupling and material the bridge is made of) - these, to me, are like the bottom portion of a cake on which the creamy layer (pups) sits.

Sometimes it's just random - the harmony of the wood, hardware, and pups all acting together to create something.
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

^
Thanks for the comment. I did a little search on Google. I thought that I asked a question that's too big... so I searched for trem decked vs floating info like in the thread that's active now. Apparently, most players report having more sustain and low end from hardtails or at least decked tremolos with 5 springs...
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

JohnnyGuitar said:
^
I searched for trem decked vs floating info like in the thread that's active now. Apparently, most players report having more sustain and low end from hardtails
Click to expand...

Which makes sense. Vibrato bars absorb some string vibration, vs a TOM/stop bar which transfers more to the wood, and would give a fuller tone.
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

I'd love to see a strat that is a hardtail, but still has the full steel block in the body-- like a steel block insert. I wonder if it would have more sustain than a typical hardtail since there'd be no springs, etc, and the block would be denser than the wood surrounding it.
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

appar111 said:
I'd love to see a strat that is a hardtail, but still has the full steel block in the body-- like a steel block insert. I wonder if it would have more sustain than a typical hardtail since there'd be no springs, etc, and the block would be denser than the wood surrounding it.
Click to expand...

Oh cool lets make a blender a toaster..great idea! :friday::jester::alcoholic:crazy::fart::dunce::dunno::smack::dance::eek5::doh::wrf::barf::ugh1:
 
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Re: The origin of the oomph?

350hz hits the nail on the head in terms of oomph/body/semi-bass attack, when i turn this up on my amp the guitar fills out like crazy and grows another set of balls without getting annoyingly boomy.
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

The answer to your question is "yes."

Everything that makes it different from your Strat makes it sound like a Gibson.
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

JohnnyGuitar said:
the question is, how do I choose a guitar to go with the Strat that would cut through but still have my Nighthawk's oomph, punch in the low end, authority... what's the best way to call it?
Click to expand...

Tele.
 
Re: The origin of the oomph?

blueman335 said:
You need to increase your vocabulary. You overuse that word. :14:
Click to expand...

lol. That's true. I feel like I've been singing Tele praise a lot, lately. When I was writing that post, I actually thought to myself, "Man, I'm starting to sound like Blueman with Mag swaps..." ;)

To be fair, a good SG with P90s would probably also be a great answer to the question posed by Mr. OP. Cut, punch, oomph and authority? Yup.
 
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