Boxy?

[Woolbury]

I play a lot of finger style blues, thumpy, percussive type tunes. My Waterloo WL 14, and to a lesser extent, my Gibson LG2 give me that boxy percussive sound that really suits that type of music. If I'm playing tunes that benefit from more sustain and overtones, I'll use my Collings 000, with the larger rosewood body, which almost sounds too pretty for the rootsy blues playing.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

I always thought those that liked 'boxy' referred to it as 'focused'.

[vashondan2018]

Woodbury, if that WL14 is boxy then I want me some of that.

BrooklynBob - I often hear focused in relation to mahogany b/s.

[jjhturbo]

Would the classic ukulele tone/sound be described as "boxy"?

[mawmow]

Interesting !
To me "boxy" refers to the sound delivered by those old ladder braced all Mahogany Gibson, the Lg-0, made from 1955 to 1966 : They were quite bold, made of thick rejected Mahogany and they notably missed sustain.
They also had an adjustable plastic bridge that would tear and need to be replaced by a wood bridge, but that is another story.

I would not say my all-Mahogany Alvarez AP66 parlor sounds boxy : It sings !

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

https://youtu.be/ys_53ey-XS0

This is the sound I associate with Boxy.

I agree with this.
That is what I consider on the "boxy" side of the tone spectrum.
Now I do expect that sound from some small guitars. I actually prefer it when playing some acoustic blues. You get that cool thump with right-handed muting while fingerpicking.

[Woolbury]

Originally Posted by vashondan2018

Woodbury, if that WL14 is boxy then I want me some of that.

BrooklynBob - I often hear focused in relation to mahogany b/s.

Yea, they're really nice, and a distinctive contrast from other guitars most of us have. So great for driving blues, you can make that thing snarl!

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Gdjjr

I had a Gretsch Jim Dandy that I'd call boxy sounding- flat, as it were, with no resonance or sustain even with a string change- it was a cheap model and it sounded like it. The key word being, "had". I took it back and traded for something else.

Go to 3.05 to hear why Eric Bibb likes "boxy". It is horses for courses really. A Jim Dandy would not suit my repertoire or playing style, but for some it is the bee's knees.

[EllenGtrGrl]

Originally Posted by jjhturbo

Would the classic ukulele tone/sound be described as "boxy"?

IMO, yes. Notes (especially when played hard) have that "boomp, boomp, boomp." sound to them. They don't bloom, they don't ring, and there's no clarity to the note. Also, the note sustain quickly decays away. In the most extreme cases, the notes sound like something you'd expect from a cardboard box strung with rubber bands.

Some guitars are boxy sounding, due to the way they're built. Others only sound boxy, when you play them a certain way. For me, this is the case with Takamines. I've had other players rave about how great they sound (and yes, Takamines do sound pretty good when they play them), and that I need to "give Takamines a chance", but I have yet to play one that doesn't sound dead to me, or in the worst case, like a cardboard box strung with rubber bands. I think this is in part, due to my playing style, which considering that I'm a flatpicker, who uses the rounded corner of the pick when playing (I get better control when I pick high speed runs), just does not agree with Takamines.

[jjhturbo]

Originally Posted by jjhturbo

Would the classic ukulele tone/sound be described as "boxy"?

Originally Posted by EllenGtrGrl

IMO, yes. Notes (especially when played hard) have that "boomp, boomp, boomp." sound to them. They don't bloom, they don't ring, and there's no clarity to the note. Also, the note sustain quickly decays away. In the most extreme cases, the notes sound like something you'd expect from a cardboard box strung with rubber bands.

Thanks for the input. Very interesting....and to me....this makes me understand what some people may mean when they describe the term "boxy" with regard to guitars. Not to denigrate ukuleles and those who play them (I am one of them), but obviously in that smaller body, you get a much different tone than what you get from a guitar.

[vashondan2018]

Originally Posted by EllenGtrGrl

IMO, yes. Notes (especially when played hard) have that "boomp, boomp, boomp." sound to them. They don't bloom, they don't ring, and there's no clarity to the note. Also, the note sustain quickly decays away. In the most extreme cases, the notes sound like something you'd expect from a cardboard box strung with rubber bands.

Some guitars are boxy sounding, due to the way they're built. Others only sound boxy, when you play them a certain way. For me, this is the case with Takamines. I've had other players rave about how great they sound (and yes, Takamines do sound pretty good when they play them), and that I need to "give Takamines a chance", but I have yet to play one that doesn't sound dead to me, or in the worst case, like a cardboard box strung with rubber bands. I think this is in part, due to my playing style, which considering that I'm a flatpicker, who uses the rounded corner of the pick when playing (I get better control when I pick high speed runs), just does not agree with Takamines.

That cardboard box reference is great!

[Aspiring]

Originally Posted by gmel555

LOL, I actually had little resonance "and sustain" at end and then took it off just trying to be brief, but, I agree sir!

I've heard boxy coupled with lots of sustain. My Klos travel guitar fits that description. It is a very small body but it sustains for a very long time

[bufflehead]

To me it's a flat sound dominated by the G and D strings, with very little depth coming from the E strings on either end. I initially associated it with cheap parlor guitars, but when I attended the La Conner Guitar Festival I was searching for a parlor guitar, and I was surprised that some very expensive hand-crafted guitars sounded boxy as well.

[vashondan2018]

Originally Posted by bufflehead

To me it's a flat sound dominated by the G and D strings, with very little depth coming from the E strings on either end. I initially associated it with cheap parlor guitars, but when I attended the La Conner Guitar Festival I was searching for a parlor guitar, and I was surprised that some very expensive hand-crafted guitars sounded boxy as well.

La Conner WA? When do they have a guitar festival?

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by vashondan2018

La Conner WA? When do they have a guitar festival?

The next one is May 13-15, 2022. I'm planning on going. Tacoma also has one - in the dome. I think the last one was in June. And I believe there is one in Seattle. Maybe another local can chime in on how good those are.