how Gibson picks tone wood.

[Krab]

This was posted on another forum I read...
http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyl...ood-0401-2011/

[Garthman]

What a lot of utter tosh! Does anyone here seriously believe that the wood from which an electric guitar is made makes anything more than a minute and insignificant difference to the amplified sound of an electric guitar?

This is hype that is, unfortunately, typical of many manufacturers.

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[Krab]

I was more into what they were saying about the qualities of the different woods in general. But, yes it does effect the plugged in tone. An Alder or swamp ash will sound darker then say a Basswood guitar.

[lennylux]

As much as the wood grade would be a minute contributory factor for the electric guitar, as many of these are selling 'premium' models at huge prices, it kind of fits that this hocus-pocus is in place. Would you want to spend the many thousands they charge on something of a lesser grade? Not really, so while it's influence will be a constant source of discussion and disagreement it kind of fits that these are made with good graded and aesthetically pleasing woods (unless you like black guitars) in some way justifying the price-points.

[Krab]

Originally Posted by lennylux

As much as the wood grade would be a minute contributory factor for the electric guitar, as many of these are selling 'premium' models at huge prices, it kind of fits that this hocus-pocus is in place. Would you want to spend the many thousands they charge on something of a lesser grade? Not really, so while it's influence will be a constant source of discussion and disagreement it kind of fits that these are made with good graded and aesthetically pleasing woods (unless you like black guitars) in some way justifying the price-points.

But what is lesser grade? some people will call Basswood a lesser grade good but many high end guitars are made with it. Alder? There are high end American guitars made from that as well but then you have sub $400. Sure this list is Gibson's way of saying well we use X Y Z so we have to charge more, and it is a CYA move after getting busted using illegal wood.

But again I posted it more for the over call character of the woods. Since they are talking about the tone they give off and the instruments we play (acoustic) gets the same qualities from the same woods they are talking about.

[lennylux]

They do undoubtedly affect the resonance and thus the tone, but not to the same degree as the pickups, whether it has a trem/tailpiece vs strung-through etc....

[Krab]

To a degree pups, trem deck, trem floating, string through, top load all have a large effect. But I have an alder wood and basswood strat. With the same set up pups in each guitar the basswood is twangying and bright like a tele but the alder is a nice rich tone.

Back to the wood thing. We know the difference in the different top woods. I wonder how far away we might me to top/body modeling in an composite body acoustic or built into an amp.

[Garthman]

Originally Posted by Krab

. . . . .Back to the wood thing. We know the difference in the different top woods. I wonder how far away we might me to top/body modeling in an composite body acoustic or built into an amp.

Acoustic and electric guitars are different animals. They use quite different scientific principles to amplify sound.

[Krab]

But you could still model the sounds...

[Stephen Perry]

Sound moves through wood main mass and wood / finish interface differently in different woods. Feeds back into strings via bridge and fret or nut.

Resonance of neck extremely important on electric instruments. Actually, on acoustic instruments, too.

Electrics sound better with very careful fitting of all the parts. I know a few things about that, but not all that much. I do know that going through one can make the sound cleaner and more solid. Have heard that.

Interesting tonewood discussion. Now if they got all their tonewood legally . . . .

[Pnewsom]

Originally Posted by Garthman

What a lot of utter tosh! Does anyone here seriously believe that the wood from which an electric guitar is made makes anything more than a minute and insignificant difference to the amplified sound of an electric guitar?

I've played electric in bands for over thirty years, and own Gibsons, Fenders, and others. IMO the wood is the most important consideration in a quality instrument, more so than the pickups.

Think of an electric guitar as a very quiet acoustic instrument that is amplified greatly. This means that any characteristics good or bad are massively amplified. The resonance of the instrument is critical.

A great instrument makes notes that sustain well and grow to full bloom after the note is struck. Cheaper instruments don't tend to have much resonance meaning that the note begins to decay almost immediately. This leads to a hard hitting sound that is tiring to listen too, and unresponsive to touch.

A good instrument shows itself when played unplugged, and its voice shines through when plugged in. I always play guitars unplugged first when testing.

In addition, species of wood plays a big part of the voice and character of the instrument. As in acoustic guitars, mahogany is a warm sounding wood with greater presence in the midrange. Swamp Ash exhibits a strong bottom and top, making it excellent for Telecasters with bite and snarl. Alder is offers a gentler sweeter sound.

Of course quality pickups, tuners and thin finishes are important too, but the wood comes first.

Generally you get what you pay for.

[lennylux]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

...Generally you get what you pay for.

Within reason, that's about the greatest advice on the guitar market. But that doesn't necessarily mean spending thousands.

[Garthman]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

I've played electric in bands for over thirty years, and own Gibsons, Fenders, and others. IMO the wood is the most important consideration in a quality instrument, more so than the pickups.

Think of an electric guitar as a very quiet acoustic instrument that is amplified greatly. This means that any characteristics good or bad are massively amplified. The resonance of the instrument is critical.

A great instrument makes notes that sustain well and grow to full bloom after the note is struck. Cheaper instruments don't tend to have much resonance meaning that the note begins to decay almost immediately. This leads to a hard hitting sound that is tiring to listen too, and unresponsive to touch.

A good instrument shows itself when played unplugged, and its voice shines through when plugged in. I always play guitars unplugged first when testing.

In addition, species of wood plays a big part of the voice and character of the instrument. As in acoustic guitars, mahogany is a warm sounding wood with greater presence in the midrange. Swamp Ash exhibits a strong bottom and top, making it excellent for Telecasters with bite and snarl. Alder is offers a gentler sweeter sound.

Of course quality pickups, tuners and thin finishes are important too, but the wood comes first.

Generally you get what you pay for.

This is nonsense and is precisely why people get the wrong idea about wood making a difference.

An electric guitar is not a quiet acoustic guitar. An electric guitar works because a vibrating (ferrous metal) string causes a flux in the magnetic field of the pickup which is converted into a small electric current by the pickup coils. That current is then amplified and the sound transmitted via the amp loudspeaker.

A magnetic pick up does not and cannot amplify sounds generated by the wood of the guitar. When you play an electric guitar unamplified the vibrating strings (and to a much lesser extent the body of the guitar) causes air molecules to vibrate which carry the sound to your ear. A pick up does not do that. When you "hear" an amplified electric guitar you are actually hearing the amp loudspeaker.

[Alberto]

I'm not an engineer but I think pickups can pickup mechanical vibrations. For example, when I tap the pickup, or the wood close to it, the tapping gets amplified. How about differences in tone between guitars with the same pickups but different body types, hollow, semi-hollow or solid body..wouldn't this suggest its not just the pickups.

[sjino]

Respectfully, I'm amazed anyone could think tone wood could have little or no impact on any instrument's tone and musicality, amplified or not.

Even from a purely business perspective, would Gibson or any other high end guitar maker go to such trouble to grade and select quality woods for their top-of-the-line models simply so they could justify a higher price tag? Why bother? Would they really do that if it made no audible difference? I doubt it.

The person who said, in essence, good in/good out is spot on. It's always a good idea to test electrics by first playing them unamplified, and a good electric guitar will have good sustain and volume when strummed or picked unamplified. This quality is directly attributable mainly to the wood, although there are certainly contributing factors such as the tightness of the neck pocket, bridge to top connection, etc.

Back in the days before Leo Fender and Les Paul revolutionized electric guitars by making solid bodies, an "electric guitar" was an acoustic jazz box with a pickup attached. Then, as now, there were good jazz guitars and mediocre ones, and the pickup just amplified that sound. Now, as then, a pickup will magnify the guitar's inherent acoustic tone.

In closing, consider this. A quality guitar made with excellent tone wood will sound amazing with stock or even average pickups. A quality guitar made with crappy tone wood will not sound good even with the best Fralin, Lollar or other high end pickups installed. Why? It's in the wood.