Tone concrete - sounds like any other guitar
- Thread starter GuitarStv
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Lewguitar
New member
That was a fun watch.
The guitar sounded real good. I heard a Strat made out of corrugated cardboard that sounded good too.
I agree with him that the pickups have the biggest influence on a Stratocaster's sound.
But I would disagree that the wood the guitar is made from has no impact on the sound.
He, apparently, just doesn't hear it or feel it.
But that concrete guitar sounds fine. Sounds like a good Strat.
The guitar sounded real good. I heard a Strat made out of corrugated cardboard that sounded good too.
I agree with him that the pickups have the biggest influence on a Stratocaster's sound.
But I would disagree that the wood the guitar is made from has no impact on the sound.
He, apparently, just doesn't hear it or feel it.
But that concrete guitar sounds fine. Sounds like a good Strat.
Mr. 80's
Well-known member
I just love how far people go nowadays trying to prove wood and material doesn't matter at all on an electric guitar. Just because it plays and sounds like a guitar doesn't mean it doesn't matter or make a difference no matter what strange material they want to use, because it does. At Least people are having fun doing it but they still prove nothing of what they think they are proving. IMHO
Lewguitar
New member
What they're proving is that just about any material can sound "good".
I think a lot of the tone of a guitar comes from the neck.
In a solid body guitar the neck might be the most resonant part of the guitar.
Mr. 80's
Well-known member
Their main goal is trying to prove wood and materials doesn't matter or change the tone at all, which it does. Good/bad is subjective. The neck influences the tone greatly but so does the body.
Lewguitar
New member
I know.
Some people are just stubborn about holding onto their false notions.
Maybe I should get a concrete guitar.
That one sounded pretty darn good!
ErikH
Well-known member
I agree with these two points. Over the years I've found that my guitars with the higher quality and thicker profiles have a bigger / fuller tone than those with the thinner necks. Sometimes a thinner neck resonates just right to have similar fullness to the fatter necks. All comes down to quality of the wood, how well it fits to the body, setup.
These days there's all sorts of gadgets to make solid body electric guitars sound pretty much indistinguishable but take all that away, play through a "clean" sounding amp, no effects, and the differences will more than likely come out.
There's a video out there where a Strat body was done with the 3D printer. Came out pretty cool. Sounded like a Strat too.
Mr. 80's
Well-known member
Of Course it will still have the fundamental sound of a strat since I'm sure they had the same pups and config and shape but it still doesn't negate that different body and neck materials make a notable difference from one another. I'm not arguing that they can't sound good it's just that materials DO make a difference good or bad. People just think because you can use this or that it automatically makes material type null and void just because they are still in the ballpark tone wise. Anyways, if people like how the end result sounds that's great.
ErikH
Well-known member
I don't disagree, not at all. Body and neck do make a difference. IME with building some guitars for myself, the neck seems to make a little more difference than the body when it comes to how resonant it would be. Heck, I have a cheap Silvertone Strat copy here. The body is not the best, though it's solid wood, but not as thick as a American Strat, but the neck on it has a great feel and profile to it that just makes the thing work. It's pretty resonant for a cheap guitar. I could probably slap that neck on a better body and it would make for a killer guitar. I came across an 80's Kramer Striker like that too. Crap plywood body but the neck was awesome. While it sounded and played great, slapping that neck on a better body made a great guitar. If that neck wasn't as good as it was, I doubt it would have sounded as good no matter the body.
Lewguitar
New member
and its 20lbs, he can keep it 
i have a super light swamp ash tele with a huge korina neck. its a very bright sounding guitar, i put that same neck on an alder tele body with the same electronics and it sounded way fatter/thicker/meatier. anecdotal? yes but it was a big change and everything else was the same.
i have a super light swamp ash tele with a huge korina neck. its a very bright sounding guitar, i put that same neck on an alder tele body with the same electronics and it sounded way fatter/thicker/meatier. anecdotal? yes but it was a big change and everything else was the same.
Masta' C
Well-known member
You simply can't make those assumptions from this demo. Resonant frequency has more to do with the pickups than any other part of the whole guitar. As for highs being filtered out? How do you know? Have you played the pickups in this guitar, through that same rig, but with a wood body to compare?
It "sounded pretty bad" because his sound is overly processed and clunky, not because the body is concrete
Someone not me should try routing-out some chambers and filling them with rubber or flex-seal or something lol,,,,,,,,,,,,or just stuff them super tight with some cheapo off-brand gas station condoms! It might soften the highs or make them extra fat and juicy,,,,,,,,,,"this thing is just so buttery smooth"
Honestly I think it's great to experiment with materials in-general,,,,especially hardware since it's easily reversed if we don't like the changes.
The newest JP models from EBMM are really cool in that regard. (not so common choices for woods and construction details,,,,,and the onboard preamp systems are new designs IIRC.
Honestly I think it's great to experiment with materials in-general,,,,especially hardware since it's easily reversed if we don't like the changes.
The newest JP models from EBMM are really cool in that regard. (not so common choices for woods and construction details,,,,,and the onboard preamp systems are new designs IIRC.
Lewguitar
New member
I've played some plexiglass guitars. Dan Armstrong used to make a clear one with a quick change pickup you could slide in and out.
Heavy!
It didn't do it for me but Keith Richards played one now and then. Cool looking.
Jeff Baxter often plays a plexi Strat.
I liked what I heard from that concrete Strat but I'm not lusting to own one!
Heavy!
It didn't do it for me but Keith Richards played one now and then. Cool looking.
Jeff Baxter often plays a plexi Strat.
I liked what I heard from that concrete Strat but I'm not lusting to own one!
I've played a plexiglass Strat before, and it was about 18lbs. It sounded like a Strat to me. But that is a pretty wide description. I have no doubt all kinds of materials can be used to build a guitar, but the sound is going to change, even slightly, when you start changing stuff. I
ve put a carbon fiber neck on a Strat, and while it still sounded Stratty, the tone absolutely changed.
ve put a carbon fiber neck on a Strat, and while it still sounded Stratty, the tone absolutely changed.
