Mahogany body guitars...is it just me ?

[DannyM]

First of...I love, play and dig me some emg 81 loaded maple neck thru (and bolt on), alder body/wing, ebony fretboard guitars like ESP M2's/Hannemans and Jackson SL2H's. I fatten them up with a emg spc....always. Then I buy a guitar that has a mahogany body (usually has a rosewood board...sometimes a maple top) and the low end feels muddy...even with a emg 81. I cant tighten up the sound or dial out the nasty low end.

Pisses me off because I really dig alot of those guitars...I just cant bond with them.

But I can listen to other guys and bands use those guitars on the same amps that I have or have had and they sound great

 

[fretout]

I get along with my Mahogany bodied guitars and EMGs! It sounds like you may need to experiment with pickup height...

 

[ed_Sped2]

What kind of amp/cab are you playing through?

 

[Shawn Lutz]

I'm totally opposite than you. Mahogany is my preferred tone wood but I use passive pickups.

Your claim however doesn't surprise me as you can put EMG's on cinder block body and they'd still sound the same

 

[thiswaythatway]

Your claim however doesn't surprise me as you can put EMG's on cinder block body and they'd still sound the same

 

[OUTLAW1969]

Your claim however doesn't surprise me as you can put EMG's on cinder block body and they'd still sound the same

 

[thegame]

Danny, do you have a heavy or light handed right hand approach ? I've never had a problem with mahogany being too dark or loose because I pick hard (which produces more attack, cut, etc) and almost always include a bit of thumb and index finger hitting the string (along with the pick), not forcibly enough to sound an unwanted harmonic, but to provide just enough skin and nail contact with the string to add a crisper edge to the tone.

Also, there are left hand fretting & muting techniques to consider, which can definitely makes things tighter or looser, regardless what the right hand is doing.

Tom Anderson (of Tom Anderson guitars) talks a lot about this. He says some people have "bright" hands and are better served with darker toned guitars and others have hands that produce a warmer tone, and for those he recommends brighter toned woods. I agree with him.