skoora
Well-known member
Line up 3 Strats made of different woods and put the same pickup in each one. They'll probably sound different. 70's Les Pauls with maple necks consistently for me were brighter and less woody or warm than LP's with mahogany necks. Snake oil or not, I've heard differences. I don't dig these guys who have their YT pages full of their definitive knowledge and everyone else is an idiot or an asshole if they disagree. Read how he responds to some people in his comments. This guy has some serious anger issues. Lee says in the video he welcomes a different viewpoint, that he's open to counterargument while this dipshit puts in captions about how we're out here but Lee doesn't want to bother finding them or talking to them. It's just asinine. When you want to disprove someone's statement or idea, the onus is on you to do it. Not call out the proponent of the idea to prove it to you. I know some folks don't like Chappers but Lee seams like a pretty reasonable dude and is always nice in his vids. But this asshat accuses him like he's a corporate/political criminal polluting Flint's water about selling the lie. WTF! They're just having a conversation about it with a guitar maker for Christ's sake. Whether you believe it or not is just fun stuff for discussion, not the inquisition.
Food for thought. Is it construction methods more than wood choice? I have an Alder Gibson V from the 80's that doesn't sound less "Gibsony" than any other V I have played or the 2000's one I also own. It doesn't sound identical but no-one would be ables to say "that's not mahogany, what is that?" by listening to it.
Food for thought. Is it construction methods more than wood choice? I have an Alder Gibson V from the 80's that doesn't sound less "Gibsony" than any other V I have played or the 2000's one I also own. It doesn't sound identical but no-one would be ables to say "that's not mahogany, what is that?" by listening to it.
sytharnia1560
Well-known member
skoora":3bztd25d said:
agree......... in fact you could line up 3 strats with the same wood and the same pickups and there is a good chance they will all sound a little bit different because even woods of the same species have a variety of tones. I have alder guitars that have big differences in the weigh even though they are the same thickness, body shape/size...it all contributes a few % to overall sound.
trouble with a lot of guitarist is the over value how good their ear actually is
glip22
Well-known member
What a waste of bandwidth.
Mesa\Kramer
New member
Make a Les Paul out of cement
Still will sound like a Les Paul
Still will sound like a Les Paul
S
shred4Him
Member
For me, the wood used is probably the one thing people argue over that is the most pointless. Confirmation bias is a real thing. You often hear what you expect to hear. The wood thing often fails the double blind test. There is so much subtle variation in a single wood species, let alone all of the other factors that play a part, like hardware, scale length, electronics and build quality. Not to mention amps and effects. Does wood make a difference? I think so, but wood is so variable. There are strats that sound warmer than les pauls, alder strats that sound warmer than mahogany ones, and all other sorts of things they defy the accepted logic. Listen to them with a blind fold and I highly doubt people would tell a difference on a consistent basis, if ever. I think they make a difference, but more about matching bodies to necks to make a better complete guitar. I think guitars are individual things and have to be judged that way. Are mahogany guitars generally warmer than others? Maybe, but they also tend to be a shorter scale length and have humbuckers, which also add to that perception. If someone believes so, that might be the most important thing. However, I won't say that it makes no difference, just not as much as we tend to think. Some people swear by one piece necks, others like laminated necks. Really, all of this means nothing. Agree or disagree, it really doesn't matter. Buy what you like regardless of your beliefs being true or not and be happy that not everybody thinks the same way so there are less people trying to get the guitars you love. The funny thing is that regardless of what they are made of, guitars remarkably sound like... guitars.
The funny thing to me is that neither side can definitively prove their point. So much is anecdotal. Just get what you like and be happy.
The funny thing to me is that neither side can definitively prove their point. So much is anecdotal. Just get what you like and be happy.
S
shred4Him
Member
skoora
Well-known member
shred4Him":3o1r5xdl said:
IMHO that was just a very long winded, round about way of mentioning simple, common sense things that most realize and are well aware of.
Ultimately we hopefully just get the guitar that sounded and played the best, or was the most fun. Not based on what it was made of. But to say people are falling short by involving their emotions or non-scientific perceptions in choosing is also not anything useful (not saying you specifically Shred, just naysayers or the detractors to snake oil per se). We play for totally emotional reasons and what draws us to play a certain instrument has very little to do with cold practicality. I don't think anybody out there with a restrictive budget gets too carried away with what a guitar must have to be the proper conduit for their...soul
but if someone can afford to go down that rabbit hole and it's what makes them happy, then good for them. All guys, like the dude in the YT vid, lambasting people talking about tonewood is doing is sucking all the joy out of guitar playing. No one's running off to Jonestown pursuing all things Alder vs. Ash, Brass vs. Titanium. But some have a lot of fun doing it. Recently I got a 50's Roadworn, Mexi Tele because I played one and it was a lot of fun and I found one used soon after. The used one came with Brass saddles that the original buyer must have installed to be more period correct or "warm it up". Do they sound any different from the generic steel they use on the new ones? Probably not but when I look at that Brass I'm stoked he did it because it's fits the vibe of the guitar. I "feel" I got an upgrade.Unfortunately the Internet has allowed people who are just grumpy, frustrated fucks who never got what they felt they should have in life to achieve "prophet" status from all the other grumpy fucks.
Sorry, got long winded there myself.
