Tonewoods myth

[Heritage Softail]

Clean and edge of breakup played loud, so the dynamics and nuances of the playing can stand out a bit, yes.

A Recto hit with a boost, scooped to hell and gain cranked... No fucking way...

 

[Vrad]

In my limited experience of assembling guitars I have found that an electric guitar is a system and it's greater than the sum of it's parts. That said, I feel tone woods do make an impact on the sound but not nearly to the extent I would have previously thought. Electronics aside, I have found that the neck and bridge seem to make more of an impact on the overall tone than the body does. I have guitars that I have assembled that have premium necks and bodies and guitars that have premium necks and run-of-the-mill bodies and both sound equally good. In short, I wouldn't skimp on the neck and the bridge but I would get a "regular" quality body.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[Dingleberries]

I can't argue with anyone's "scientific evidence", or provide any of my own, but I trust and rely on my ears above all else. After owning many guitars and swapping dozens of pups, I've noticed a few things:the best sounding/playing guitars I've owned have the densist bodies. For lack of a better term they just sound more solid & sustain better. Larger more massive necks(particularity head stocks) sustain better & to me sound bigger. I have guitars that are very resonet & light & sound great unplugged, but lack sustain & punch when plugged in. Also I prefere the attack of rosewood over maple or ebony, I can definately hear a difference there.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think anybody is arguing that tone woods sound different "acoustically"

The question is: how much of that is picked up by the pickup, which is located right under the strings

Someone needs to explain to me how a piece of wood located under vibrating strings would affect the "tone" that strings produce.

I'm thinking a lot of people see differences from guitar to guitar because, depending on the design, their hand is located at different places and they don't strum at the same place.

Another thing to consider is the wood's density, which will vary with species, but also in a within a specie, depending on the age, location, of the tree. Different parts of the tree also equals different densities.

 

[guitarxtc]

Is not a myth,i glued maple block in center of a mahogany body guitar and it was completely different sound and feel.

 

[JimmyBlind]

Paul Reed Smith has some videos of him hitting a massive block of wood with his knuckles. It makes a tasteful noise because of it's shape & size. My really expensive Suhr doesn't make any musical noises of any variety when I hit it anywhere with my knuckles.

If the wood actually has any vibrating qualities to it that might affect the string oscillation and sustain, surely they are constantly dampened by my right arm being held against the body, & my left hand constantly holding the neck.

 

[Dingleberries]

If only the contact points & type/position of pups matters,then why does a hollow body sound/play so much different then a solid body, all other things being equal?

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

I think that's a bad correlation... guitar woods to government/political control.

 

[benduncan]

Is not a myth,i glued maple block in center of a mahogany body guitar and it was completely different sound and feel.

Lol, I read that while looking at your avatar, just add bro at the end and it'd look like a meme

 

[Meathead]

In my limited experience of assembling guitars I have found that an electric guitar is a system and it's greater than the sum of it's parts. That said, I feel tone woods do make an impact on the sound but not nearly to the extent I would have previously thought. Electronics aside, I have found that the neck and bridge seem to make more of an impact on the overall tone than the body does. I have guitars that I have assembled that have premium necks and bodies and guitars that have premium necks and run-of-the-mill bodies and both sound equally good. In short, I wouldn't skimp on the neck and the bridge but I would get a "regular" quality body.

That's my 2 cents.

I hear a pretty big difference with necks as well, especially maple vs rosewood fretboards.
My favorite sounding strat that I've played is a '92 MIM. It has a rosewood fretboard and a light weight poplar body. Is poplar a tonewood? Sounds great to me.

 

[Vrad]

In my limited experience of assembling guitars I have found that an electric guitar is a system and it's greater than the sum of it's parts. That said, I feel tone woods do make an impact on the sound but not nearly to the extent I would have previously thought. Electronics aside, I have found that the neck and bridge seem to make more of an impact on the overall tone than the body does. I have guitars that I have assembled that have premium necks and bodies and guitars that have premium necks and run-of-the-mill bodies and both sound equally good. In short, I wouldn't skimp on the neck and the bridge but I would get a "regular" quality body.

That's my 2 cents.

I hear a pretty big difference with necks as well, especially maple vs rosewood fretboards.
My favorite sounding strat that I've played is a '92 MIM. It has a rosewood fretboard and a light weight poplar body. Is poplar a tonewood? Sounds great to me.

Yup. I've noticed the same thing. I hear differences between between flat-sawn and quarter-sawn.

And I REALLY hear a difference between different bridges. Even crazier I hear a difference between chrome and black Floyd Roses as well as different saddles for vintage trems. I hear all that more than whether the body is alder, ash or basswood etc...

 

[Rogue]

How does a chrome Floyd Rose compare to a black one?

 

[Vrad]

How does a chrome Floyd Rose compare to a black one?

The chrome one is brighter and closer to a traditional Strat bridge. The black one is a good deal darker-sounding.

 

[ejecta]

The black one is a good deal darker-sounding.

And longer.... or so they say.

 

[Vrad]

The black one is a good deal darker-sounding.

And longer.... or so they say.

Bada dump bump... lol

 

[Rdodson]

Transient response will differ depending on the "stiffness" of the woods. My old Steinberger Transtrem was so quick in attack - it had zero "give". This is similar to a tube vs. ss rectifier. Or the amount of filtering in the power amp.

So, tonal spectrum may not change THAT much if looked at electronically, but the feel and reaction when played will differ immensely.

 

[Meathead]

In my limited experience of assembling guitars I have found that an electric guitar is a system and it's greater than the sum of it's parts. That said, I feel tone woods do make an impact on the sound but not nearly to the extent I would have previously thought. Electronics aside, I have found that the neck and bridge seem to make more of an impact on the overall tone than the body does. I have guitars that I have assembled that have premium necks and bodies and guitars that have premium necks and run-of-the-mill bodies and both sound equally good. In short, I wouldn't skimp on the neck and the bridge but I would get a "regular" quality body.

That's my 2 cents.

I hear a pretty big difference with necks as well, especially maple vs rosewood fretboards.
My favorite sounding strat that I've played is a '92 MIM. It has a rosewood fretboard and a light weight poplar body. Is poplar a tonewood? Sounds great to me.

Yup. I've noticed the same thing. I hear differences between between flat-sawn and quarter-sawn.

And I REALLY hear a difference between different bridges. Even crazier I hear a difference between chrome and black Floyd Roses as well as different saddles for vintage trems. I hear all that more than whether the body is alder, ash or basswood etc...

Damn, I don't doubt you, but that's a good ear you've got there.
I have a hard time believing my ears sometimes. You know when you really like the tone you have one evening and the next day you think....meh it's ok.

 

[Rocksoff]

Paul Reed Smith has some videos of him hitting a massive block of wood with his knuckles. It makes a tasteful noise because of it's shape & size. My really expensive Suhr doesn't make any musical noises of any variety when I hit it anywhere with my knuckles.

If the wood actually has any vibrating qualities to it that might affect the string oscillation and sustain, surely they are constantly dampened by my right arm being held against the body, & my left hand constantly holding the neck.

Yes, there would be some body contact dampening, but the vibrations are strong.

Just hit the open strings while holding the headstock with the left hand and even try to spread out the left hand as much as possible to dampen as much as possible.

The vibrations will still be pretty strong in the body and the neck.

 

[JimmyBlind]

Just hit the open strings while holding the headstock with the left hand and even try to spread out the left hand as much as possible to dampen as much as possible.

I'll try that. Are you saying that has a noticeable affect on the sustain & tone of the string when it's played?

 

[Orvillain]

Wood matters.

But not as much as some people think.

Hearing a difference does not mean there is a difference there. Go and read Dan Dennett's book on consciousness.