Is "tone wood" overblown?

[HighGain510]

Who needs wood anyway?
Ibanez, Parker, Steinberger and Catalyst have all experimented with other materials, like special kinds of plastics, carbon and such.
And those guitars actually sounded good in their own right.

Not sure about the rest of them but Parker uses wood cores for their guitars... they're not entirely Carbon Fiber...

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

I notice a difference between my mahogany RG7CT and my basswood RG7420.

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

My Danelectro has a plywood frame with a hardboard (masonite) top and back, and it sounds great.

I used to play one of those 7 strings that you have when the store I worked at at the time had one, and I absolutely hated the tone and feel of that guitar, but then again I'm sure we're playing a lot different music and going for a different sound

 

[Cancer]

Up to about a month ago I had 2 Carvin DC727, and they identical except for the following"

ne had a Maple neck while the other was Mahogany
ne had an Alder body while the other was Mahogany
ne had a stock pickup while the other had an X2N7
ne was blue and other brown

Other than that they were exactly the same, and the difference between them was night and day. Obviously the pickups played a huge difference, but even unplugged you could clearly hear a difference.


Wood most definitely makes a difference.

 

[noob_pwn]

absolutely every guitar ever made sounds different regardless of wood species, pickups and hardware because no 2 pieces of any organic material are identical. Wood is the foundation for the construction of any guitar so of course it makes a huge difference, although other factors are important too. The extent to which the tone changes will vary in each instance but no 2 guitars will ever sound identical

 

[El Caco]

Of course body material has an effect on tone, not only do the vibrations from the strings travel into the body but the vibrations from the body travel back to the strings. How these waves interact with each other will have an affect on your tone. Certain waves will cancel and others will be multiplied. This difference isn't something that can be made the same with EQ as different tonewoods will amplify different harmonic overtones within a given EQ range.

In regards to the comment about badass basswood recordings, I think basswood guitars are great for recording and I'm a believer in the right guitar/tonewood for the application. My RG7EXFX2 does not sound anywhere near as nice as my Mahogany bodied guitars through my new rig but when I (attempt to) record something my RG7EXFX2 clips usually sound much better, it is far more forgiving to my sloppy technique and it's natural compressed sound makes recording easier for me however the tone I want and I get with my mahogany guitars is not there with it.

I will mention shitty pickups, I have noticed that two different guitars with the same shitty pickups (standard Ibanez for example) can sound very similar but when the same guitars have been upgraded with better pickups (still the same in both) it is easier to hear the difference between them.

 

[El Caco]

I also agree that the majority (though definitely not all) of the hate for basswood on this forum snowballed from member to member, rather than being based on experience.

Actually I think a lot of it would be a result of the migration from Ibanez to Schecter and other brands that offer alternative tonewoods.

 

[Scali]

Actually I think a lot of it would be a result of the migration from Ibanez to Schecter and other brands that offer alternative tonewoods.

I thought it would have been the other way around, actually.
Woods like mahogany, maple, ash and alder have been used since the first solidbody guitars back in the early 1950s.
In the 60s/70s cheap Asian knockoffs came along, and used woods like basswood, poplar and agathis to keep cost down.
Because of the massive success of Ibanez' revamped product line in the mid-80s, thanks to Steve Vai and his Jem, Ibanez and basswood guitars were being used by young talented players and somehow snowballed into the mainstream, rather than just being cheap beginner guitars.

I think the older generation never quite accepted these Asian guitars and the woods they used, and this myth just kept spreading under guitarists, and now even moreso because of the internet.
Just the other day there was this topic about a forum member buying a Schecter Loomis with a friend's son... The friend in question still thought that a US Strat was the best guitar on the planet. I think it's those people that gave Ibanez and basswood the bad reputation.

Having said that, it's good to see that companies like Schecter make more 'classic' woods such as ash and mahongany available to us 7-string players, so we can have more tonal variety.
I mean, regardless of whether this hate against basswood is justified or not, you cannot deny that people all have their individual tastes, and not everyone is going to like the same woods (for whatever reasons... could be tone, weight, looks, durability etc). So I think it's justified to complain about Ibanez only giving us basswood RGs (or black guitars for that matter... I mean, I like my S7320, but if I had the choice, I'd never buy a black guitar, or even a solid colour guitar in general).

 

[El Caco]

That's probably true in general but I was responding to the statement about this forum. I know that my general dislike for basswood was not influence by this forum and some of the comments I have read from others were a result of switching from Ibanez.

 

[caughtinamosh]

What was your general dislike about basswood, Steve?

My personal ones are the somewhat dry sound, and the light weight (yes, I LOVE heavy guitars ).

BUT, I will say this - my opinion of basswood was probably tainted by my low quality RG7321. I'd probably love a Universe or similar, but have steered clear of all other basswood guitars because of my first bad experience.

EDIT : After this post, I resolve NOT to taint this thread by discussing basswood hate/love any further.

 

[demolisher]

I really think people need to start looking more into bass tonewoods for guitars. I play a bass made out of merbau with a maple/mahog neck and when I play it I honestly, legitimately feel like im getting punched in the face, the tone is so tight and growling I get a smile on my face, this bass is weight heavy, almost so heavy its unplayable standing up, and I think that has alot to do with it. but really I could go get 5 basses in the most exotic wood patterns but if I got 5 guitars at guitar center it would be basswood basswood mahogany ash basswood etc.

 

[Daemoniac]

^ Completely agreed. Bass guitars are made out of some of the most incredible materials, i think guitarists just dont like holding heavy shit Playing stance probably has something to do with it i guess too...

To me, tonewood definately does make a difference, and even if that difference is minute on its own, it is massively amplified by the pickup choices, and hardware/electronics that go into the guitar. The vibrations from the wood, coupled with the neck etc.. all go into crafting 'your' sound, so the pickups will react differently to different tone woods.

There is also the issue of different quality woods, ask any luthier, and they will tell you that there is a huge difference in the sound of say bad quality or even just lower density mahogany to that of really high quality or really high density mahogany. There are an almost infinite amount of things that can affect the tone of a guitar, and the more powerful any one of those things are, i think the less you may notice the other parts, but all of them go into crafting a perfect sound for whatever style it may be that you play.

 

[Harry]

Don't think I've posted in this thread yet, so here goes.
Is tone wood overblown?
Definitely not.
I can notice a difference between guitars made of different woods.

 

[robotsatemygma]

Personally... it ll depends on the person. Like it was already stated, some people hear things others don't.

 

[El Caco]

What was your general dislike about basswood, Steve?

I shouldn't say I dislike it, I don't hate basswood but it is my last choice of tonewood. I don't like the lack of low end and the scooped EQ and for the majority of my playing I prefer the harmonic overtones that other tonewood choices give me. For B standard my favourite generic tonewood is Mahogany, for lower tunings ash and maple neckthrough's are awesome.

Dry is a good description, this and the lack of low end is why I don't really like it but again I will say that the dry sound of basswood is great for certain sounds and it's compressed tone can be excellent for recording. If I could own just one guitar for a budget of $1000 it would be a mahogany guitar but the truth is down the track I wouldn't mind having a basswood guitar with a good set of pups that have strong low mids and good bass just for recording.

 

[guitarjerry]

No one seems to have mentioned that the finish on the guitar also affects the tone. And what about the shape?

I once read an article where Yngwie was using a cheap strat and they asked him something like why don't you use a better or more expensive or special guitar? he said something to the effect of, its not the tool, its how you use it. and that, basically, that guitar was as good as any for this purpose.
I think any wood will work for whatever you need if you use the right pickups and setup and gear. I noticed in the old days, metallica, for example, was using basswood esp's and emg pickups and they sound warm and dark enough, even though a lot of people seem to say you cant get a good, warm tone with basswood. But then, that could just be how they recorded and mastered the sound.

Also, I've heard a lot of people say that you've got to have the warm sound of mahogany, not basswood, but then, they say you've got to have dimarzios which have ceramic pickups and alnico has a warmer sound.

 

[xtrustisyoursx]

I know that my mahogany Gibson SG has a thinner body, smaller body, shorter scale, and lighter strings than my basswood RG7421, and it still just sounds HUGE when compared to the Ibby. In fact, that's the problem I'm trying to fix currently.

 

[Scar Symmetry]

No one seems to have mentioned that the finish on the guitar also affects the tone. And what about the shape?

tonewood is a strange thing. I've heard basswood RG1527s that sound fucking HUGE, amazing tone, and through a Marshall no less.

Agathis would probably be my last choice of wood for body, it's just horrid

I have an ESP Horizon FR II, which is Alder wings with Maple neck and Ebony fretboard, with an EMG 81 in the bridge. this is quite a bright sound, quite a lot of attack, perfect for thrash, lead and cleans. but I've also played an ESP LTD MH-1000 that is exactly the same spec except for the woods, which are Mahogany wings with Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. this also had an EMG 81 in the bridge, and the sound is COMPLETELY different. it's much thicker, denser tone with days of sustain and much more suitable for death metal.

a good thing to remember is that a lot of tone is in the fingers. remember that vid of Satriani playing killer licks on a $100 guitar and crappy practise amp?

overall, I'd say that yes, wood does affect tone quite a lot, my personal favourite being mahogany (though basswood in some circumstances) and as has been mentioned before, pickups and amp also affect tone a lot also, and there are so many combinations out there that it would be silly to definitively say that you don't like the tone of say, basswood for example.

at the end of the day, EVERYTHING affects tone, and wood is one of those things, so I would say don't rule out a guitar of any wood unless you have tried it, because with that specific combination, it could just well be your thing

 

[El Caco]

Funny to see this one bumped, especially since I brought the subject up in conversation just the other day. Some people say that EMG's sound the same in any guitar My brightest guitar is Basswood fitted with EMG's, in the middle is the RG2027 fitted with Nailbombs and my darkest and meatiest sounding guitar is the Ochoteco, a guitar primarily made of Maple also fitted with EMG's

 

[Scar Symmetry]

yeah I don't get EMG haters, I have heard some horrible tones from EMGs, but I've also heard some amazing tones, lumping them all in as sterile and samey is stupid IMO.