Debate: Electric guitars and tone woods?

[skullservant]

I think It's more around the bridge that would make it sound differently. Van Halen with his Franken Explorer (i think it was an Explorer) cut too close to the bridge and said that it sounded completely different. But again it is probably subjective and I guess the only way you'd really be able to compare would be to have two of the exact same guitar set up completely the same and then mod one and keep the other stock

[Mudfuzz]

Sam frets, nuts and pole piece height? If neck material matters then pushing strings into big pearloid inlay blocks surely would matter too.
Still skeptical I guess. I could understand a cf neck or aluminum neck because that is a pretty dramatic change from wood.... but still this stuff is subjective. I wouldn't spend a fortune on a cf neck or aluminum for tone (especially since ilovefuzz), but I would if I was interested in stability and lighter weight on my shoulder....

nut only matter on open strings.
sure, maybe, don't really like the things anyway so.. meh
after market CF necks are heavier then most wooded necks.. not sure about aluminum but people been talking about neckdive in the EGC thread so..

Actually I'm not all that sold on that changing pickups make a drastic difference as much as most people think... inless they are of drastically different designs and builds... sure they have their "voicing", and "coloring" but some times you run into a problem child guitar where nothing you put in that guitar really changes it's character... I have a old destroyer like this.. it's a one pickup in the bridge type of deal and I've tried almost every main type of bucker in it and a p90 and a strat pickup and damn thing sounds like a tele no matter what none the less I keep trying.. one day I will find the right pickup... and fill in the trem rout and and and..

As for you horny question... yeah I have shortened the horns on a strat.. but I did so many other mods at the time I couldn't tell.. I just liked the look better.. Really though.. I like all the "gimmicks" I'll buy into almost all of it from wire type to wooded pickup rings.. even if it is placebo.. it's fun.

[lapsteel]

Sam frets, nuts and pole piece height? If neck material matters then pushing strings into big pearloid inlay blocks surely would matter too.
Still skeptical I guess. I could understand a cf neck or aluminum neck because that is a pretty dramatic change from wood.... but still this stuff is subjective. I wouldn't spend a fortune on a cf neck or aluminum for tone (especially since ilovefuzz), but I would if I was interested in stability and lighter weight on my shoulder....

nut only matter on open strings.
sure, maybe, don't really like the things anyway so.. meh
after market CF necks are heavier then most wooded necks.. not sure about aluminum but people been talking about neckdive in the EGC thread so..

Actually I'm not all that sold on that changing pickups make a drastic difference as much as most people think... inless they are of drastically different designs and builds... sure they have their "voicing", and "coloring" but some times you run into a problem child guitar where nothing you put in that guitar really changes it's character... I have a old destroyer like this.. it's a one pickup in the bridge type of deal and I've tried almost every main type of bucker in it and a p90 and a strat pickup and damn thing sounds like a tele no matter what none the less I keep trying.. one day I will find the right pickup... and fill in the trem rout and and and..

As for you horny question... yeah I have shortened the horns on a strat.. but I did so many other mods at the time I couldn't tell.. I just liked the look better.. Really though.. I like all the "gimmicks" I'll buy into almost all of it from wire type to wooded pickup rings.. even if it is placebo.. it's fun.

If we agree that a nut only affects tone on open strings, then wouldn't it be reasonable to use that same kind of logic to argue that perhaps the majority of tone happens between the fretted note, strings, bridge, pickup and wiring harness? Either way placebo is a powerful effect and if it makes people play better or feel like they sound better then it is totally relevant.

I definitely don't understand the hype over pickups....it is totally crazy for people to spend ridiculousdollars on vintage pickups. I get it if it is a vintage instrument and you want matching parts, but to spend a fortune on vintage humbuckers and plop them into your 2001 LP is kind of wasted cash. Modern seymor duncans are outstanding and way more consistant. As for p90 well that is such a simple build I would spend as little as possible. I have bought a new no name set for 20$ off bezdez on ebay and they sound killer.
There alot of things that can make subtle changes the tone in a pickup (wound count, wire gauge, magnet type, pole pieces and magnet type and placement) but at the end of the day they are simple magnets and electromagnets interacting... the huge disparities in pricing make no cents (for us at least).

[theavondon]

I wouldn't spend a fortune on a cf neck or aluminum for tone (especially since ilovefuzz)

GTFO

[lapsteel]

I wouldn't spend a fortune on a cf neck or aluminum for tone (especially since ilovefuzz)

GTFO

You can hear a aluminum neck after the signal has been processesed by a cranked superfuzz circuit?

[skullservant]

Oddly enough, I have to say that I can still hear the aluminum clank when I run my Kramer aluminum through a heavy dose of fuzz

[theavondon]

I wouldn't spend a fortune on a cf neck or aluminum for tone (especially since ilovefuzz)

GTFO

You can hear a aluminum neck after the signal has been processesed by a cranked superfuzz circuit?

Yes. Though, the nuances come out differently through different superfuzzes. Every bass I own has been one humbucker, four strings, and the same scale length, tuning, and string type. I can tell a difference in sound between all the variables because I've gotten used to one oddly specific type of bass.

[lapsteel]

Fair enough. I have never owned or even played a aluminum neck...I retract my previous statement concerning aluminum necks. However the stability of and aluminum neck appeals tome more than the added tone mojo...again I have never actually played one, so grain of salt eh?
Apologies and forgiveness.

With respect for aluminum players, we are talking about a subtle nuance aren't we? Is the variance even as large as what would happen if you changed the material of your saddles? In sum, What affects tone more saddle material or neck material?

[Mudfuzz]

I wouldn't spend a fortune on a cf neck or aluminum for tone (especially since ilovefuzz)

GTFO

You can hear a aluminum neck after the signal has been processesed by a cranked superfuzz circuit?

most things sound different then each other through a superfuzz.... more so then a tube screamer actually...

[fuzzywolf]

I'm probably not as educated on this as I should be on this topic, but I wondered the same about wood quality and tone for an electric guitar. From my understanding, when the magnetic field near a pickup (or any other wound magnet) is changed, it can induce an electrical current in a wire. Which is how signal travels to your amp. The movement of the metal guitar strings is what changes the pickup's magnetic field. So unlike an acoustic guitar, where you hear the tone from the strings and the body resonating, the only tone traveling through a pickup is that of the string vibrating above it. But still I wondered "why do people make such a fuss over the type of wood?" Assuming that the wood has no effect on how the actual sound waves move through air (like an acoustic), my guess is that the wood affects how the strings themselves vibrate.

This is honestly a just guess based off some very limited physics knowledge. I'm probably completely wrong . I really wanna know what you guys think because wood choice seems to be a big concern.

[theavondon]

Though you are correct, to an extent, I believe that the wood does impact how the strings themselves vibrate.

[Achtane]

Hey...if your pickups are microphonic then wood might have a more dramatic impact.
With the swimming pool routing, microphonic pups and big metal bridge plate, my Kawai resonates awesomely even unplugged...the world really just needs more un-potted pickups.
Piezos...piezos EVERYWHERE.

Also fuzzwolf's post is why it makes me lol when people refer to an electric guitar's sound as "natural" or "pure". What part of this is natural? You're playing this circuit into another circuit, dude. Don't get your panties in a bunch when people enjoy playing their circuits through additional circuits before running those into the terminal circuit.

[lapsteel]

Though you are correct, to an extent, I believe that the wood does impact how the strings themselves vibrate.

Try this: place your electric flat on a table and strum it a bit. Then try strumming holding it the normal way, unplugged. Sounds different. The vibration resonates through the table. Do the same thing plugged in.....

[skullservant]

Fair enough. I have never owned or even played a aluminum neck...I retract my previous statement concerning aluminum necks. However the stability of and aluminum neck appeals tome more than the added tone mojo...again I have never actually played one, so grain of salt eh?
Apologies and forgiveness.

With respect for aluminum players, we are talking about a subtle nuance aren't we? Is the variance even as large as what would happen if you changed the material of your saddles? In sum, What affects tone more saddle material or neck material?

I definitely see what you're saying. And it's funny that you should bring that up. With my Telemaster, its got chrome saddles, which give it the kind of clank and brightness of an aluminum neck, but compared to my Kramer, it sustains a lot longer and hits a higher and lower frequency range. But I guess it could be argued that is as much the pickups in each than the actual neck material. But I definitely FEEL the Kramer more when I play it.

[FuzzHugger]

Basically what Mudfuzz said.
There's a lot of other really imporant things that affect tone, scale length, pickup height (magnetic pull of the pickups on the strings)...the bridge!...and playing style.

But this sums it up for me:
Strings vibrate...the guitar vibrates...the way the guitar vibrates affects the way the strings vibrate.

Even unplugged, strum your guitar...then set the body against a wooden chair, or touch the headstock to a desk, and strum it again. You will notice a difference! Mass affects tone, the way the guitar vibrates affects tone.


I have a mahogany neck-thru guitar, 25" scale, totally chambered out, but with two aluminum small aluminum blocks screwed on either side of the bridge... But I'll never know for sure if the guitar's sharp, percussive attack and sustain is because of the neck-thru, the aluminum blocks, the scale...

Now... is one thing "better" than another? no. Just different. and I really wish more builders would go outside of the box and REALLY mess around.

+ a million.
There's something to be said for tried-and-true...but a lot of the now-classic guitar designs were guys messing around, going outside the box, in their garages.

Tone is subjective. Different tones for different boners. Or something.
That weird bodyless guitar might sound alright in its own way.

And sometimes, designs surprise. My acoustic guitar has a hollow / chambered neck and headstock...it has a deep warm low end, and sustains freakishly long.