how Gibson picks tone wood.

[steveyam]

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.

Exactly. Spot on. Whoever says that the wood of an electric guitar contributes little to its sound clearly knows zilch (zero, nothing, nowt) about guitar construction and how different tonewoods work and sound. Look, in simple terms, the strings' vibration pattern reflects the complex mass of material that they are anchored to. That complex and potentially harmonically rich vibration pattern is THEN 'heard' by the pickups and passed on to the amp. I'd say the sound of a guitar is 70% its 'mass' and construction including bridge etc etc, and 30% pickups. Sure, pickups can change the sound of a guitar (mainly volume) but you aint gonna get SRV's tone by fitting 'SRV' clone pickups to the average Chinese Strat, the tone has to come from the total mass of the guitar (see later). Similarly, Duane Allman's Les Paul. They are vintage instruments that just happen to have been made with resonant wood that has an interesting and pleasing tone - and more often than not such guitars have a characteristic mid range thing going on.

I once got three Korean ash strats off the wall at my local dealer. All the same model, all the same age. One of them was an absolute stunner. It had a unique honky midrange that was reminiscent of SRV's sound with bloom and 'stratiness' in abundance. The other two were just bland, generic, cheap electric guitar sounding in comparison. The only difference? the wood.

Hmm. Beware of anonymous 'experts' on forums. Mostly everyone is blagging and guessing (sad but true). And in fairness, you could put that argument up against me, I realise that! But no-one knows me; only I know how much 'I know' - and it's the same for all of us. The written word is not a given truism. Don't believe what you read just because someone makes a point in an eloquent or emphatic manner. Forums are for fun, generally not for facts, rightly or wrongly. Just my opinion.

[Taylorplayer]

So, just buy a '59 Les Paul and be done with it!

[Taylorplayer]

Originally Posted by Krab

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

Watching that makes me want to play a Custom Shop VOS Guitar. At least try one... Didn't say buy one. Despite all the positive things spoken of in the video, the guitar would have to "prove itself" in all respects.

[RockerDuck]

I thought I read how Les Paul was very specific about the wood he selected for Gibson's new electric guitar.

[Pnewsom]

Originally Posted by Taylorplayer

Watching that makes me want to play a Custom Shop VOS Guitar. At least try one... Didn't say buy one. Despite all the positive things spoken of in the video, the guitar would have to "prove itself" in all respects.

I sat down with one in a shop and just played it unplugged. Very nice guitar. Light weight, and resonant. Made the other standard factory models seem like clunkers, though in fairness they weren't bad.

I didn't dare run it through an amp because I knew I'd want to buy it.

[leeasam]

wood and build etc can make a big difference even in Electrics. I know some pro players that chose their electric BASED upon how it rings and sustains( acoustic quality) when unplugged. My Tayor Solid Body Standard has better resonance that ANY other electric I have owned. Last week I brought it to the guitar shop tp try it through some pedals. Well then there was this guy jamming on a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and with a Suhr Electric( any one in the know know they are higher end electrics) I asked him if he would play my Taylor through that same amp etc. He did and was really amazed at the resonance. He then was going WOW listen to this no sustain or compression and this thing keeps sustaining ( this was NOT with blazing overdrive but CLEAN channel) MY Soldi Body Standard really does sound like a quiet acoustic unplugged! And have had others comment on how it sounds! SO yes getting the guitar to resonate DOES make a big difference. To say otherwise is ignorance.

[Taylorplayer]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

I sat down with one in a shop and just played it unplugged. Very nice guitar. Light weight, and resonant. Made the other standard factory models seem like clunkers, though in fairness they weren't bad.

I didn't dare run it through an amp because I knew I'd want to buy it.

I'm thinking I would have the same problem...

[Gypsyblue]

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.

I disagree.

Put a set of Gibson style humbucking pickups on a Stratocaster and it sounds completely different than a Stratocaster with Fender style single coils.

A Strat with Gibson style humbuckers doesn't even sound like a Strat anymore!

That said, I wouldn't own a guitar, electric or acoustic, that wasn't made from great wood and didn't have a deep, sweet and sustaining resonance that turned me on every time I played it.

But when it comes to electric guitars, it's the pickups that make a Strat sound like a Strat, a Tele sound like a Tele, and a Gibson sound like a Gibson.

Put Gibson style pickups on a Fender Strat or Tele and that Fender sounds more like a Gibson than a Fender.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by leeasam

wood and build etc can make a big difference even in Electrics. I know some pro players that chose their electric BASED upon how it rings and sustains( acoustic quality) when unplugged.

In my experience, the electric guitars that sound the best when plugged in also sound the best when played unplugged. You can quickly triage the stock on hand and separate the great electric guitars from the wannabes by plucking the strings and listening to them as they hang on the wall...then, and only then, you can take the most promising candidates off the wall and plug them into an amp.

Saves a lot of time doing it that way.


whm

[Gypsyblue]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

In my experience, the electric guitars that sound the best when plugged in also sound the best when played unplugged. You can quickly triage the stock on hand and separate the great electric guitars from the wannabes by plucking the strings and listening to them as they hang on the wall...then, and only then, you can take the most promising candidates off the wall and plug them into an amp.

Saves a lot of time doing it that way.


whm

Yep! Great electric guitars have a nice natural resonance and sustain unplugged - even solid bodies like Strats, Teles and Les Pauls and semi solid bodies like the ES-335. They should be fun to play just sitting on the couch unplugged.

[Nelson]

what ever happened to the tried and tested rule?...if it sounds good and plays good...buy it...if it doesn't...leave it alone...

[Pnewsom]

Originally Posted by Goldenbird

I disagree.

Put a set of Gibson style humbucking pickups on a Stratocaster and it sounds completely different than a Stratocaster with Fender style single coils.

A Strat with Gibson style humbuckers doesn't even sound like a Strat anymore!

That said, I wouldn't own a guitar, electric or acoustic, that wasn't made from great wood and didn't have a deep, sweet and sustaining resonance that turned me on every time I played it.

But when it comes to electric guitars, it's the pickups that make a Strat sound like a Strat, a Tele sound like a Tele, and a Gibson sound like a Gibson.

Put Gibson style pickups on a Fender Strat or Tele and that Fender sounds more like a Gibson than a Fender.

My point wasn't that pickups don't make a difference, it was that wood is the more important factor because it's the foundation of the instrument.

To carry the point even further, a Strat can never sound like a Tele, because of the mechanic differences of the bridge assembly and the placement of the pickups.

All that aside, I feel that sound is still at least 80% in the fingers and the mind of the player. A good instrument and amp allows that to emerge better than a lesser rig.

As Keith Richards pointed out correctly, "it's the right guitar through the right amp".

[Garthman]

Originally Posted by Goldenbird

. . . . . But when it comes to electric guitars, it's the pickups that make a Strat sound like a Strat, a Tele sound like a Tele, and a Gibson sound like a Gibson. . . . . .

Precisely.

A Tele sounds like it does because it has a low output SC in the neck position and a high output SC in the bridge. A Strat sounds like it does because it uses 3 low-medium output SCs and a LP because it uses 2 medium output humbuckers. Add the tone and control knobs and the switches to choose the various pick-up combinations and that's it.

Any of you "wooders" played one of those Martin formica acoustic guitars?

[steveyam]

Originally Posted by Garthman

Precisely.

A Tele sounds like it does because it has a low output SC in the neck position and a high output SC in the bridge. A Strat sounds like it does because it uses 3 low-medium output SCs and a LP because it uses 2 medium output humbuckers. Add the tone and control knobs and the switches to choose the various pick-up combinations and that's it.

Any of you "wooders" played one of those Martin formica acoustic guitars?

Yes, indeed!, but we're not getting through to you are we, change the body or neck on that tele or strat, and it COULD change the sound dramatically. Unfortunately you cannot choose good wood like you can choose pickups - it's more of an art than a science. You have to have an ear for a nice sounding electric, and, has has been said, play it acoustically and listen for a good 'interesting' tone. If you simply disagree, then not wanting to be rude, you're saying that you cannot hear the difference between good and bad wood. Luthiers and pro players know that wood sounds different, so y'know, just put it down to your ears mate!

[Garthman]

Originally Posted by steveyam

. . . . . you're saying that you cannot hear the difference between good and bad wood. Luthiers and pro players know that wood sounds different, so y'know, just put it down to your ears mate!

Oh I can hear the difference in tone between different bits of wood when you knock them - no problem. I just think magnetic pick-ups don't have that ability.