Is "tone wood" overblown?

[HamBungler]

To the OP, its possible that your ear may not be as well adjusted to hearing differences in wood, and also not knowing what Marshall you were playing through could also play a factor. I find that Marshalls tend to make guitars sound a little samey. Try the same experiment with 2 different acoustics and see if you hear a difference.

 

[eelblack2]

is right!

But this brings up another idea I had about this issue. I remember watching an episode of John Stossel (I think that's his name) about bottled water. They fudged a special bottled water menu at a restaurant. The waiter would come over and explain the different waters, where they came from, and what distinctive qualities they were supposed to have. Then they'd all be served tap water... from a garden hose. The hilarious part was watching people taste these artsy fartsy waters and nodding in agreement at how wonderful and unique they were.

I'm wondering if a similar phenomenon happens with guitars. Since we expect mahogany to sound warmer than alder, or ebony to sound brighter than rosewood, etc., that's what we end up hearing. Furthermore, if your brain is expecting to hear a warmer sound, I don't think it's inconceivable that you'd subconsciously PLAY warmer.

Did the friend of yours who thought the two guitars sounded the same know anything about tone woods?

This may be true to a certain degree, but I welcome anyone to come play any three of my UV'S, Strats, Les Pauls, (insert whatever from my stash) and tell me they sound identical.

My UV's for example are bone stock - identical tonewood, hardware, and electronics. They sound quite a bit different from each other.

Transversely, two my strats which are identical hardware, yet vastly different in terms of tonewood (Alder vs Swamp Ash) are night and day different, tonally, as you would expect. The electronics are the same if you were wondering.

Wood species makes a huge difference. If a person can hear the difference, is a different matter. It really, REALLY, depends on the ear of the listener, the signal path from start to finish, and the actual cut of the wood. (As the UV's above are a prime example.)

 

[I_infect]

My UV's for example are bone stock - identical tonewood, hardware, and electronics. They sound quite a bit different from each other.



Wood species makes a huge difference. If a person can hear the difference, is a different matter. It really, REALLY, depends on the ear of the listener, the signal path from start to finish, and the actual cut of the wood. (As the UV's above are a prime example.)

I find that Marshalls tend to make guitars sound a little samey.

 

[ilikes2shred]

No volunteers to do spectrograms yet? I did a few with my two customs, and they are quite different... could very well be the pickups though. I'll post a thread when I get a chance.

Anyway, I thought that maybe someone could run two guitars that are identical except for the wood, or at least have the same pickups, directly into their computer (no effects) and run that through a spectrogram program.

I think that could really "prove" to some people how much the tone is affected.


Anyone?

 

[backyardburial]

I was about to post a question regarding getting a new body made for my 7420. I always liked it, but since I got a Les paul 7, the RG sounds thin to me, even with the stock pups. The RG has a 707. I realise there are othe factors such as scale, fixed vs floyd, but Im sure the mahogany sounds better I need to start anew thread to ask about this I think?

 

[goalie39]

personally I love the sound of the mahogany on my guitars. Its full and dark. Pups can change any thing though, I love Emgs but maybe theyre not what ur looking for

 

[Bobo]

No volunteers to do spectrograms yet? I did a few with my two customs, and they are quite different... could very well be the pickups though. I'll post a thread when I get a chance.

Anyway, I thought that maybe someone could run two guitars that are identical except for the wood, or at least have the same pickups, directly into their computer (no effects) and run that through a spectrogram program.

I think that could really "prove" to some people how much the tone is affected.


Anyone?

I've wondered if that has been done, sounds neat. But I haven't read anything about any programs. What did you use? I'd like to see your results.

 

[sami]

What i dont think any of you mention is the fact that "part of your tone is your in your fingers" saying is quite true.

Yup, thas what I was thinkin.

 

[msherman]

Here is another thing to ponder about. The tone of a guitar will change as it ages.
The tone also changes along with seasonal changes in the weather as in the summer months, the guitar takes on moisture, and leaches moisture in the winter.

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

This may be true to a certain degree, but I welcome anyone to come play any three of my UV'S, Strats, Les Pauls, (insert whatever from my stash) and tell me they sound identical.

 

[noodleplugerine]

I personally believe its less to do with the species of wood, and more to do with the density and grain of the particular piece - And these depend on all sorts of factors, like where on the tree the piece was cut etc.

This is why I think its IMPOSSIBLE to know when something is basswood, and when something is mahogany, from hearing alone, since in 1 Sapele tree, you can find pieces of wood with all sorts of properties.

Some will be uber dense, and sound very bright, some will be falling apart and sound like farts, same can be said of whichever tree basswood comes from I imagine.

 

[Pablo]

Tone wood makes a huge difference - just listen!

However, your observations may hold true for a) your ears and b) your slightly odd example. Why slightly odd? Well, in your example you called the SL2 "an alder body guitar" and the Horizon "a mahogany body guitar" - a premise that I find decidedly flawed. In fact, both guitars sport neck-through maple necks with alder or mahogany wings respectively. The large chunk of maple going through the middle of the body is by far the dominant factor in the tone you hear. Hence, in your example the difference could very well have been small...

Cheers

Eske

 

[eelblack2]

Sorry if that came off as pretentious. What I was trying to get at was the fact that I've pondered the same questions, and experimented with guitars that I have owned, all at the same time, to get answers. I'm sure I could have expressed that perspective less snobbily.

 

[Xk6m6m5X]

i think that the easiest way to test this is have a bunch of guitars...built to the same exact spec...body shape scal lenght pickups string ect,.....just mad of the different woods and then put them throught an amp....without changing the settin for ne of the guitars

 

[darren]

At some point, i'd like to build a guitar using woods i buy at Home Depot.

My Danelectro has a plywood frame with a hardboard (masonite) top and back, and it sounds great... not what everyone would expect, but it's got a unique tone that definitely has its place. I'd love to experiment using high-quality void-free plywood and builder-grade timbers (including strand-laminated composite beams and laminated bamboo lumber), just to see what can be done with them.

 

[Metal Ken]

laminated bamboo lumber

Stick, Inc. (Chapman Stick company) makes some sticks of compressed bamboo. is that what you're talking about? Is that readily available?

 

[sevenstringj]

Tone wood makes a huge difference - just listen!

However, your observations may hold true for a) your ears and b) your slightly odd example. Why slightly odd? Well, in your example you called the SL2 "an alder body guitar" and the Horizon "a mahogany body guitar" - a premise that I find decidedly flawed. In fact, both guitars sport neck-through maple necks with alder or mahogany wings respectively. The large chunk of maple going through the middle of the body is by far the dominant factor in the tone you hear. Hence, in your example the difference could very well have been small...

Cheers

Eske

Touche! But I wonder about Jackson's particular neck-thru construction. I used to own a Custom Shop Jackson with a transparent finish, and it looked like half the neck-thru part was not the neck, but perhaps the body wood overlapped on it? If you looked at the bottom of the guitar (by the strap button), it looked like 2 pieces of wood in the center. Maybe they laminate 2 pieces to save wood, being that the body is about twice as thick as the neck? Interesting.

Anyhow, I agree with posts pointing out the need to listen to a clean signal. I figured distortion and overdrive would make it harder to differentiate.

 

[darren]

Stick, Inc. (Chapman Stick company) makes some sticks of compressed bamboo. is that what you're talking about? Is that readily available?

Laminated bamboo lumber is hard to come by... most of the product imported here seems to be in the form of flooring. But a few longer pieces of flooring could be stripped and laminated into a beam suitable for a guitar neck.

I've emailed Chapman in the past to inquire about their source, but received no reply.

 

[Scali]

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.

 

[hufschmid]

i think that the easiest way to test this is have a bunch of guitars...built to the same exact spec...body shape scal lenght pickups string ect,.....just mad of the different woods and then put them throught an amp....without changing the settin for ne of the guitars

the woods will not be identical even if you have 2 basswood guitars to the same specs for exemple