Finding a guitar with the right construction - questions

[budda]

My first requirement is “do I find the neck shape comfortable?” Followed by “does it balance properly (not parallel to the floor/closer to classical position) on a strap?” If neither of those things happen the rest doesnt matter.

Also not mentioned: preferences change over time. In 5 10 or 20 years what may be your perfect guitar might look different.

 

[Moongrum]

which, to my mind, has coincided with an increase in tendonitis and complaints of pain from guitarists.

interesting. A big thick neck is more comfortable for me, but I also wonder if the player who gravitates towards shredder necks tends to have techniques/practice regimens that would lead to an RSI.

 

[Alberto7]

Also not mentioned: preferences change over time. In 5 10 or 20 years what may be your perfect guitar might look didifferent.

This is big. Some people take longer than others. For me, I don't know what I will like tomorrow. I kinda have to ride it out with a guitar I feel I'm not vibing with for long enough to make sure I actually don't like it. I didn't vibe with my Ibby AZ for months, until one day for some reason it was my absolute favorite guitar once again, and now I know I friggin love it, but it's a slow burning flame that will often take a background seat for something hotter and newer for a bit... but I keep going back to it.

On the other hand, I had to wait for two years of not vibing with my RGA121 to know that it just wasn't for me. Sold it a few months ago and I haven't looked back. Can't say the same for my AZ.

 

[Rubbishplayer]

interesting. A big thick neck is more comfortable for me, but I also wonder if the player who gravitates towards shredder necks tends to have techniques/practice regimens that would lead to an RSI.

Correlation does prove causation, but it is interesting.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

90% is how cool it looks
5% is pickups/quality electronics
5% is construction/hardware

 

[odibrom]

90% is how cool it looks
5% is pickups/quality electronics
5% is construction/hardware

True metal, this is the way...


... a guitar that makes on smile is the one that makes one perform better, tone comes with it, that's why tone is in the fingers, and also why it's subjective as each one of us' moods day by day.

 

[jaxadam]

Also not mentioned: preferences change over time. In 5 10 or 20 years what may be your perfect guitar might look different.

You say that, but look at this PM someone sent me over 15 years ago:

 

[Moongrum]

You say that, but look at this PM someone sent me over 15 years ago:

What emgs do you use btw?

 

[gnoll]

It's hard to completely predict what will work. I can have an idea of things I like, but even the individual piece of wood a guitar is made from makes a difference. Two guitars of the same model can be quite different.

So at the end of the day I need to have a guitar in my hands to know what I think of it. And then it's down to a combination of things. Sound first, then playability, stability, looks. And almost always I can find some things about an instrument that I really like, and some things I don't.

If you're gonna record and you have some guitars to choose from, pick the one that works best. If you only have one guitar, use that one and don't worry about it.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

If you're gonna record and you have some guitars to choose from, pick the one that works best. If you only have one guitar, use that one and don't worry about it.

Actually I like to switch it up when recording something. The idea is to get every layer to sound ""slightly"" different. If you do something drastic like changing your amp, cab or IR then that's gonna throw off the whole mix. But a different guitar or a different mic position is just different enough to make it stand out without breaking the mix.
Some guitars are better with chords, other solos, others cleans, etc

 

[gnoll]

Actually I like to switch it up when recording something. The idea is to get every layer to sound ""slightly"" different. If you do something drastic like changing your amp, cab or IR then that's gonna throw off the whole mix. But a different guitar or a different mic position is just different enough to make it stand out without breaking the mix.
Some guitars are better with chords, other solos, others cleans, etc

Yeah that's not a bad idea. I didn't mean that you have to limit yourself to using just one guitar.

 

[electric]

I hate this "sHuT uP aND jUsT pLaY yEr gUiTteR" attitude". It's a gear question, it needs a gear answer. Yes, i play my instruments, but i also like them well built, and pass on it or return it if i see flaws in the wood, un-correctable assembly problems, or it just doesn't ring. It's not even exclusive to low-end guitars, i've seen plenty showy, expensive guitars that just look thrown together in a hurry yet might of fooled some enthusiastic newb.

To answer you question, if it's new, i first look at the wood's grain wherever it shows, like usually on necks. Manufacturers nowadays just use whatever lumber comes off the rack, but some pieces are just better than others. I am particularly picky with the grain being straight throughout the neck, in an ideal world, going right across its length but in the world of mass-produced asian gutiars you can't be TOO picky. If possible i avoid knots and burls where they are not supposed to be, i don't want the necks to warp in all sorts of weird ways in time. Recently i returned a perticular acoustic model two times until i found a third magical one. The second one was particularly bad, like it was thrown together on friday, out of the worst scraps they had left. I felt bad about doing it, but i simply had to return it. I also knock on the body in several places to see if they are certain "dead spots" that sound lifeless and hollow. You could also listen for the note they ring in, how they match to the neck, or simply how the body responds to it. If it's a semi-transparent body, i look for certain wood patterns i like and so on. I couldn't write a treatise on it, but years of experience taught me what to look for.

Just for fun, for folks who miught not be familiar with it: in violin and classical guitar making there is a thing called tuning the soundboard, and even other parts of it. You can even go to great lengths with it, measuring it with devices, or feeding sine waves into it experimenting with chladmi patterns an so on. Point is: they are not all made the same.

 

[BabUShka]

I have guitars that has really bad unplugged resonance (like the JP6) which sounds abdolutely monster plugged. Unplugged I would rather play my Epiphone, but plugged the JP6 slays.

I do think that some of the string through guitars I've had gives a very specific touch to the sound.. I do think the the resonance and vibrations matter. But not the loud ones the we hear - the ones that the pickups pick up.

Over time I've stopped overthinking this and buy guitars that look good, comfortable to play for me and sounds good plugged. Always a bonus if they are satin black.

 

[gnoll]

I hate this "sHuT uP aND jUsT pLaY yEr gUiTteR" attitude". It's a gear question, it needs a gear answer. Yes, i play my instruments, but i also like them well built, and pass on it or return it if i see flaws in the wood, un-correctable assembly problems, or it just doesn't ring. It's not even exclusive to low-end guitars, i've seen plenty showy, expensive guitars that just look thrown together in a hurry yet might of fooled some enthusiastic newb.

To answer you question, if it's new, i first look at the wood's grain wherever it shows, like usually on necks. Manufacturers nowadays just use whatever lumber comes off the rack, but some pieces are just better than others. I am particularly picky with the grain being straight throughout the neck, in an ideal world, going right across its length but in the world of mass-produced asian gutiars you can't be TOO picky. If possible i avoid knots and burls where they are not supposed to be, i don't want the necks to warp in all sorts of weird ways in time. Recently i returned a perticular acoustic model two times until i found a third magical one. The second one was particularly bad, like it was thrown together on friday, out of the worst scraps they had left. I felt bad about doing it, but i simply had to return it. I also knock on the body in several places to see if they are certain "dead spots" that sound lifeless and hollow. You could also listen for the note they ring in, how they match to the neck, or simply how the body responds to it. If it's a semi-transparent body, i look for certain wood patterns i like and so on. I couldn't write a treatise on it, but years of experience taught me what to look for.

Just for fun, for folks who miught not be familiar with it: in violin and classical guitar making there is a thing called tuning the soundboard, and even other parts of it. You can even go to great lengths with it, measuring it with devices, or feeding sine waves into it experimenting with chladmi patterns an so on. Point is: they are not all made the same.

Actually I also like seeing the wood grain. I'm not gonna say I know 100% how much of a difference it makes in the end but I like seeing what I pay for. And there's a lot of vagueness when it comes to guitar wood. A lot of the time it's even hard to know what species of tree the guitar is made from, let alone what the particular piece is like.

 

[STRHelvete]

As someone who records all the time and has tested several different types of guitars in mix tests to figure out this very thing I've come to a conclusion which can be summed up by Carl very simply



Get a guitar you like and that feels good to play and the rest works itself out. Unless you have a super shitty guitar, it'll do what you want. Everything else (bridge, pickups, etc) are all just a matter of personal taste and ultimately won't make or break your sound, again unless defective. I have played the mix test game with lots of guitarists who swear on specific woods, specs, etc..and not a single one has ever been able to correctly figure out the guitar used or the specs of it just from hearing a full mix.

I'm beginning to say this all the time here but, spend more time on being a better player and songwriter and you'll discover magically that all the super nitpicky tone chasing shit no longer matters.