Does the shape of a guitar's body really matter all that much?

[moon]

Body shape is huge for acoustic guitars near zero for electrics.

Mass may be a factor, ie how much wood there is regardless of the shape but only up to a point: the point at which there's enough wood to provide a solid, non-flexible mounting point for the bridge, tailpiece and also the neck.

I suspect (without any scientific evidence to back me up) the most important wooden part of an electric guitar is the neck.

[zabdart]

Originally Posted by RockerDuck

I've played about 40 yrs. using electric guitars. I have a fellow guitarist friend who I've known for 25 yrs. I was telling him the other day I was getting another guitar to explore a different sound. He said out of all the recordings I've made over the years, I sounded the same on all of them. He was right.

Its not the guitar, its the player.

I've used both Gibson and Fenders and managed to sound the same.

Keith Richards says much the same thing in his autobiography. As guitar players, we all have a certain ideal sound that we're shooting for. We tend to play with the controls on our guitars and amplifiers until we get the sound that we want. So we wind up "sounding like ourselves" no matter what equipment we're using.

[Steve DeRosa]

Not in the least...

[LouieAtienza]

Not as crazy as the BC Rich Virgin ad...

I think if you go to certain extremes you'll get different "feel" for sure, which may affect the way you play. A string through can have a slightly different "tone" and "feel" from a vibrato bridge.

[terrapin]

Good humor Steve DeRosa

[Davis Webb]

I have wondered this myself. Alder vs mahogany, basswood vs plywood. I think it does have an effect dwarfed by the pickups and amp. Its there but not detectable.

[zabdart]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

I have wondered this myself. Alder vs mahogany, basswood vs plywood. I think it does have an effect dwarfed by the pickups and amp. Its there but not detectable.

It IS detectable if you have trained or very sensitive ears -- but it's the pickups which have the primary impact on the sound of a solid-body electric; then comes the tonewood. The shape of the body has almost no impact at all.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by terrapin

Good humor Steve DeRosa

I gotta find me $3 to send away for the poster. . I remember buying a new B.C. Rich Warlock back in '89. It was my main guitar for 10 years - I still have it.

[s2y]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

I gotta find me $3 to send away for the poster. . I remember buying a new B.C. Rich Warlock back in '89. It was my main guitar for 10 years - I still have it.

They used to be great guitars. No clue who is ghost building them these days.

I used to own a BC Rich double neck that was in a MTV video with House of Lords. Great guitar, but insanely heavy.