Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

[Mr. B]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

Basically, the tone of the electric guitar is dependant on the pickups, pickup position, the bridge and the nut, the material that strums, strumming technique, The wiring, the main output wire, and the amp, the cabinet, and the room.

I have 3 SG standards, each with the exact same hardware and pickups. They each have a VERY distinct sound. If it is not a difference in the wood, then what is it exactly? Why does one Les Paul sound better than 10 others you pick up and try? Why does one Strat have a warmer tone and one a brighter tone?

If a player cannot hear a difference in the resonance and tonal properties in the wood, they have not been playing and working with guitars long enough. If someone is playing through cheap line-6 amps or chugga chugging on super high gain amps, then no, I'm sure they haven't heard the difference.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

This guy might know something about it...

http://youtu.be/QSbjCfK5Iq8

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

This one cannot tell a difference...

http://youtu.be/zqnL8Q9WCbY

 

[verbotenco]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

I have 3 SG standards, each with the exact same hardware and pickups. They each have a VERY distinct sound. If it is not a difference in the wood, then what is it exactly? Why does one Les Paul sound better than 10 others you pick up and try? Why does one Strat have a warmer tone and one a brighter tone?

If a player cannot hear a difference in the resonance and tonal properties in the wood, they have not been playing and working with guitars long enough. If someone is playing through cheap line-6 amps or chugga chugging on super high gain amps, then no, I'm sure they haven't heard the difference.

Actually the post wasn't by me, but someone else on SD blog. But I tend to agree with him. I don't think wood matters a lot. People have made guitars out of acrylic and they don't sound crap or far apart from guitars made of wood. The Ibanez 20th Anniversary Jem for example.

As for your experience with Gibson, I don't know, maybe it's placebo effect, or you unintentionally condition yourself that this SG sounds better than that LP etc., plus you must have paid good money for them so they better sound great right? It's psychological, you know. When you see a Squier for exmple, what comes to mind immediately is, "Oh this guitar is plywood, it must sound like $hit." When you actually play it, that assumption is still in your brain somehow and affects your judgement.

I challenge you do a blind test to confirm/ debunk this myth.

Strat naturally sounds different from LPs cause it uses single coil while LP uses a humbucker.

The pickups, amps, effects affect tone more than wood.

 

[tubecrunch]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

Here's what needs to be done. I'll buy a huge chunk of mohagony, make to bodies out of the same piece, set them up identically, except one is quarter sawn, one is flat, apply maple caps to both, but use the same cut on each because we only want one variable, right, I'll post a poll as to which pickups to use, yikes, and a separate poll for the hardware, apply equal amounts of nitro, we'll take a poll for the color, and when the projects done ill make some recordings on my POD, and if you've read this far you should be muttering the words "what a sarcastic wiener" by now, and for that, you are correct, and I apologize. I just spent 5 minutes not playing my guitar to type this.

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

Here's what needs to be done. I'll buy a huge chunk of mohagony, make to bodies out of the same piece, set them up identically, except one is quarter sawn, one is flat, apply maple caps to both, but use the same cut on each because we only want one variable, right, I'll post a poll as to which pickups to use, yikes, and a separate poll for the hardware, apply equal amounts of nitro, we'll take a poll for the color, and when the projects done ill make some recordings on my POD, and if you've read this far you should be muttering the words "what a sarcastic wiener" by now, and for that, you are correct, and I apologize. I just spent 5 minutes not playing my guitar to type this.

All that's missing is a PayPal link to support the project.

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

The pickups, amps, effects affect tone more than wood.

But at the same time, I'm sure you'd agree that a hollowbody sounds vastly different to a solid body, correct?

So if absence of wood makes a big tonal difference why wouldn't the presence of it do any different?

Different wood species have varying densities, changing the way the strings vibrate and sustain. The type of wood has a bigger impact on a guitar's tone than you think. If I'm correct, there's a really insightful blog online where a guy eliminates all variables and tests different woods thru wave recordings. The differences were extremely clear. Maybe someone could post it up.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

As for your experience with Gibson, I don't know, maybe it's placebo effect, or you unintentionally condition yourself that this SG sounds better than that LP etc., plus you must have paid good money for them so they better sound great right? It's psychological, you know. When you see a Squier for exmple, what comes to mind immediately is, "Oh this guitar is plywood, it must sound like $hit." When you actually play it, that assumption is still in your brain somehow and affects your judgement.

You didn't follow what I was saying. I'm saying I have 3 IDENTICAL Gibson SG Standards. Same hardware, same pickups, same wiring, same strings, same EVERYTHING.... except the WOOD. There is very obviously a difference in tone especially between the lightest and heaviest SG. I know its not my brain playing tricks because 2 of my friends are constantly trying to talk me out of the one that sounds best, and they could care less about the other 2.

You can go to a large Gibson stocking dealer and pick up 6 IDENTICAL Les Pauls, and each will have its own tonal personality, even though they have the same pickups, hardware, and strings. You can even hear it acoustically.

I've owned and traded well over a hundred electric guitars in my lifetime, many of them second third and fourth versions of something I already had. A good piece of wood can be heard without plugging in, and it can be heard after you plug in, unless you are playing through an amp that is so crappy that it ruins the guitars natural tone.

 

[voggin]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

But at the same time, I'm sure you'd agree that a hollowbody sounds vastly different to a solid body, correct?

So if absence of wood makes a big tonal difference why wouldn't the presence of it do any different?

Different wood species have varying densities, changing the way the strings vibrate and sustain. The type of wood has a bigger impact on a guitar's tone than you think. If I'm correct, there's a really insightful blog online where a guy eliminates all variables and tests different woods thru wave recordings. The differences were extremely clear. Maybe someone could post it up.

Exactly my point earlier, just made much more clearly. I have a semi-hollow gibson with a laminated top and maple centre block. 24 3/4 scale, tune o magic, etc, 57 classics. It does not sound in the least like a lp traditional. But by the reasoning of the "wood doesn't matter" crowd, every other factor is identical to a trad.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Woodgrain patterns... better tone?

wood grade is the ONLY difference. Wood Patterns are an indication of wood quality,albeit moreso in an acoustic instrument than electric .Any new production guitar with mid level grade wood will sound similar, regardless of its patterns. Thats where people get crossed up on this.
An old guitar with premium woods will be a case in point that premium wood , with what Luthiers would call choice grain pattern, now aged, is the parmaount determining factor to an excellent sounding instrument.
Not many of you guys have had a vintage instrument in your hand, and I doubt that even if most you did, you could tell the difference in tone.cause you just arent attuned to tone.You dont know what tone is, and never will.
I barely do, and its only because I know someone with truly great guiatars, and also the requisite great amps to bring the sound to light. All this guys guitars make all my guitars sound like doggie-doodie in comparison....and my guitars are soem fairly choice instruments with which otherwise otherwise I am very pleased with and get some awesome tone from..
I always need to add Im talking classic instruments and low to classic high gain gain amp tone here. It matters little when you get into the modern Metal guitars with Super high gain amps.