guitar tone vid....

  • Thread starter Thread starter JackBootedThug
  • Start date Start date
cardinal said:
I'll watch later, but I've put the same pickup in different guitars, but sometimes (to my disappointment) they sound different. Sometimes it seems certain guitars need a higher-output pickup to match up with what I'm getting from a different guitar with a lower output pickup, and I've never been able to understand why that is. Some guitars just seem like flamethrowers.
Click to expand...

The same pickup in different guitars sounding different is mostly due to the guitar's sustain or lack thereof. This can be perceived as sounding different. But you're actually hearing the same sound, just weaker so your perception is that it sounds different. It's the same concept as louder sounds better, just in the opposite direction.

What's going on practically is that harder (more dense) materials more readily reverberate/reflect energy than softer (less dense) materials. The size of the component also comes into play. Something of the same density but different sizes, the larger one will have more area to reflect the more energy at the same time. What this translates to for guitar is the more dense and/or the larger a components is the more energy will reverberate back and forth causing the strings to vibrate more strongly for a longer period of time. The more the string vibrates the more the magnetic field of the pickup is affected. This comes out sound wise as what you call "like flamethrowers".

Reverse everything from the pervious paragraph and you get a wimpy sound which as mentioned is perceived as sounding different. Again, louder sounds better.

A quick afterthought.... Just because you have 2 guitars that are exactly alike doesn't mean they'll perform the exact same. There's a wide enough variation in the density of the same material to have an effect. This is especially true when your talking cheaper parts with low quality metals or natural materials like wood.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
The same pickup in different guitars sounding different is mostly due to the guitar's sustain or lack thereof. This can be perceived as sounding different. But you're actually hearing the same sound, just weaker so your perception is that it sounds different. It's the same concept as louder sounds better, just in the opposite direction.

What's going on practically is that harder (more dense) materials more readily reverberate/reflect energy than softer (less dense) materials. The size of the component also comes into play. Something of the same density but different sizes, the larger one will have more area to reflect the more energy at the same time. What this translates to for guitar is the more dense and/or the larger a components is the more energy will reverberate back and forth causing the strings to vibrate more strongly for a longer period of time. The more the string vibrates the more the magnetic field of the pickup is affected. This comes out sound wise as what you call "like flamethrowers".

Reverse everything from the pervious paragraph and you get a wimpy sound which as mentioned is perceived as sounding different. Again, louder sounds better.

A quick afterthought.... Just because you have 2 guitars that are exactly alike doesn't mean they'll perform the exact same. There's a wide enough variation in the density of the same material to have an effect. This is especially true when your talking cheaper parts with low quality metals or natural materials like wood.
Click to expand...
Or could be pickup height.
 
I think the biggest difference between all of us, and how we perceive tone?
Our ears are different. I hear a pretty big difference when I tube roll, in vintage amps. Less in more modern/recent made amps. Others here, don’t hear any changes at all. We all perceive tonal changes differently. I’ve taken the same pickup, swapped it from 1 Charvel to the next(Maple neck, Alder body) and heard a significant tonal change. Not just sustain; the highs, lows and mids were different. Again, both guitars made from the same wood choices.
There’s no right/wrong here; either you hear a difference or you don’t.

If you don’t? Then be happy, this hobby will be a lot cheaper for you going forward.
 
Could it be that all he proved is that a strat sounds like nothing? For our sake?
 
Apparently, this video was so inspiring that someone thought they needed to go around craigslist and spread the gospel. Who does this?:ROFLMAO:


craigslist.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top