SirJackdeFuzz
New member
Re: What do you think about aluminium guitars ?
Just too extreme . . . even for me !
Just too extreme . . . even for me !
What do you think about aluminium guitars ?
- Thread starter SirJackdeFuzz
- Start date
SirJackdeFuzz
New member
Re: What do you think about aluminium guitars ?
Soooo s h i n y . . .
http://www.metalcarver.com/Guitars/My-guitars
Soooo s h i n y . . .
http://www.metalcarver.com/Guitars/My-guitars
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
Re: What do you think about aluminium guitars ?
Woah . . .
Just too extreme . . . even for me !
Woah . . .
David Collins
New member
Re: What do you think about aluminium guitars ?
Their main feature in my opinion is novelty, which while understandably attractive to many, must come with some real utility improvements to be "better".
I dislike aluminum necks for their lack temperature stability. The old Travis Beans for example, were notorious for going terribly out of tune under stage lights unless they were warmed up (literally) and retuned before going on.
There's also an issue of resonance, which while this term is perhaps the most terribly thrown about and misused descriptor, it is relevant here. Feedback resonance is initiated by the body (and to a lesser degree, the neck) being driven in to sympathetic resonance and in turn driving the strings to resonate. Aluminum will certainly resonate, but typically in a whole different range than most woods.
I had one of those in my shop some time ago with the aluminum neck to bridge chassis, surrounded by a wood body. The pickups were anchored directly to the aluminum chassis, and it was brought in specifically because it sounded terrible at stage volume, and squealed in God awful uncontrollable ways when you played at any decent volume. The pickups were very well potted and not microphonic, but there was still enough high frequency resonance in the aluminum chassis they were anchored against to vibrate the pickups relative to the strings and make the high frequency feedback uncontrollable. By milling out clearance and remounting the pickups to custom brackets on the wood body, the guitar was completely transformed and became much more usable for live performance.
So I won't say they are a terrible idea, but I do think rather senseless. They attractive because they are "cool" by way of novelty. Step back and look at the critical to quality aspects and features though, and really, where do they offer any improvements at all?
Their main feature in my opinion is novelty, which while understandably attractive to many, must come with some real utility improvements to be "better".
I dislike aluminum necks for their lack temperature stability. The old Travis Beans for example, were notorious for going terribly out of tune under stage lights unless they were warmed up (literally) and retuned before going on.
There's also an issue of resonance, which while this term is perhaps the most terribly thrown about and misused descriptor, it is relevant here. Feedback resonance is initiated by the body (and to a lesser degree, the neck) being driven in to sympathetic resonance and in turn driving the strings to resonate. Aluminum will certainly resonate, but typically in a whole different range than most woods.
I had one of those in my shop some time ago with the aluminum neck to bridge chassis, surrounded by a wood body. The pickups were anchored directly to the aluminum chassis, and it was brought in specifically because it sounded terrible at stage volume, and squealed in God awful uncontrollable ways when you played at any decent volume. The pickups were very well potted and not microphonic, but there was still enough high frequency resonance in the aluminum chassis they were anchored against to vibrate the pickups relative to the strings and make the high frequency feedback uncontrollable. By milling out clearance and remounting the pickups to custom brackets on the wood body, the guitar was completely transformed and became much more usable for live performance.
So I won't say they are a terrible idea, but I do think rather senseless. They attractive because they are "cool" by way of novelty. Step back and look at the critical to quality aspects and features though, and really, where do they offer any improvements at all?
Last edited:
David Collins
New member
Re: What do you think about aluminium guitars ?
I also wonder how they are to refret. Might not actually be that bad, but I don't recall how they have their frets seated.
I also wonder how they are to refret. Might not actually be that bad, but I don't recall how they have their frets seated.