Are there any advantages to having a solid body (not chambered) ?

[sonnymccann]

Just wondering, is there are any advantages that a solid body has over a chambered body?

 

[mrpinter]

On a guitar style that can be prone to neck diving on a strap (like Teles) the additional weight of the solid body would be advantageous. Other than that, a solid body *might* give more sustain, but that also depends on woods and hardware used, etc.

 

[swarfrat]

Neck dive is about 98% geometry (strap button location) and about 2% material distribution. As bad as they look, the SG absolutely sucks for this. In fact, it doesn't really appear to be something that's ever caught on at Gibson across the board.

Advantages I can think of 1) cost, 2) if the edge radius matters to you - chambered bodies from W have a sharper edge radius. 3) if you're gonna go carving your own holes, you can screw up a chambered body pretty quick if you're not careful, 4) one piece.

None of these are slam dunks either way, just factors that might or might not matter to you, depending on your goals.

 

[mrpinter]

Neck dive is about 98% geometry (strap button location) and about 2% material distribution.

I don't have enough to do today, so I'll nitpick  :glasses10: I have two Warmoth Teles, a 72 Thinline and a Standard. The Thinline is semi hollow and the body is lighter, and it is a worse neck diver. Both strap buttons are in the same place. Just my experience.

 

[Cagey]

I'm surprised to hear that. I don't think I've ever come across a Tele with a neck dive tendency. Of the 4 I have here, one is chambered, one is hollow, and the other two are solid. They've all had "Pro" series necks of exotic wood on them, which are typically heavier than the common vintage Maple/Rosewood construction. If they had neck dive issues, I'd be beating them like an army mule until they got it right.

 

[mrpinter]

I'm surprised that you're surprised. My Thinline isn't a *bad* neck diver. I had an SG for a while and that was bad. And it just takes a light touch with the fretting hand under the neck to keep it in position, but let go and it does dip. Maybe I need to do what I did with an acoustic that has that problem - put the fuzzy side of a strip of velcro on the underside of the strap. Sounds very strange, but it works for me.

 

[Cagey]

We may be talking about matters of degree and perception. My Teles all seem very balanced, which could be construed as a tendency to dive because they stay where you put them. Plus, I use 3" wide Franklin leather straps, so there's a lot more area grabbing at my shoulder than something thinner and the inside is more like suede than tanned hide so there's more friction holding things in place. I've never for a moment ever thought the thing would dive, and the larger area of a wider strap distributes the weight better so you can hang it for longer without fatigue.

I know what you mean about SGs, though. I have an SG-style Melody Maker here that if you let go of the neck, you gotta watch your knee. But, many Gibson designs are notorious for that, so you live with it if you have to play one of their things.

 

[swarfrat]

With work up in the air, there are no new projects in my forseable future... but one day this puppy is going to follow me home:

 

[Cagey]

Back to the original poster's question...

There's no mechanical or sonic advantage one way or another. The reason to chamber a body is to lose weight. You save roughly 25% by Warmoth's reckoning, which means a a 4 pound body will weigh 3 pounds. Doesn't sound like much, but it really does make the thing more comfortable.

 

[sonnymccann]

Ok,
Thanks to everyone who replied.  :glasses10:

 

[DustyCat]

I second the EZ Wider straps.  :icon_thumright:

 

[greywolf]

All things being equal , in my experience sold bodies tend to be a bit brighter , chambered the notes "bloom " a bit more. 
It of course depends on the degree of chambering , and the thickness and type of woods .

 

[Ace Flibble]

Depends on the quality of the wood, too. For example, the really, really nice pieces—stuff that PRS and Gibson nab for their best-of-the-best Custom Shop creations—are going to be as resonant as possible as they are and quite light, so chambering them will only mean a muted, muddier sound. On the other hand, when you get cheap wood—your typical Squier or Epiphone—there's not a whole lot of resonance there and they're usually pretty hefty, so chambering makes perfect sense and can only improve the product.

With mid quality wood—what Warmoth uses, what you get in MIA Fenders and Gibson Standards, etc—it's really down to personal preference and luck of the draw. In theory, chambering will always provide a warmer tone with less treble and in the case of less dense woods, help notes ring out a little longer, albeit not as clearly. With a solid body you should have full treble and, if the wood is very dense, you'll find notes sustain much better.

... But then, you also have to fatcor in how the guitar is routed, what hardware it has, what the neck is like, etc. If you have a Stratocaster body with an HSH pickup route (as most do these days) and a Floyd Rose bridge, you've already taken out so much wood that it basically is already chambered! On the other hand with something like a Les Paul, the routes and hardware tend to be pretty conservative so cutting more holes in the wood makes a more obvious difference.

 

[line6man]

Neck dive is about 98% geometry (strap button location) and about 2% material distribution.

I don't have enough to do today, so I'll nitpick  :glasses10: I have two Warmoth Teles, a 72 Thinline and a Standard. The Thinline is semi hollow and the body is lighter, and it is a worse neck diver. Both strap buttons are in the same place. Just my experience.

For the record, is there any significant difference in weight between the tuners and neck woods?

 

[Cagey]

For the record, is there any significant difference in weight between the tuners and neck woods?

I've measured it in the past - there's a post on it somewhere around here - and there's no significant difference in tuner weight. I weighed a bag of Kluson beer can tuners, screws and all, and a bag of Schaller mini-lockers. I don't remember the numbers, but it was nothing to worry about. I was kinda surprised, as a lotta guys tolerate those junk tuners specifically to save weight, but there's no point to it.

 

[mrpinter]

Neck dive is about 98% geometry (strap button location) and about 2% material distribution.

I don't have enough to do today, so I'll nitpick  :glasses10: I have two Warmoth Teles, a 72 Thinline and a Standard. The Thinline is semi hollow and the body is lighter, and it is a worse neck diver. Both strap buttons are in the same place. Just my experience.

For the record, is there any significant difference in weight between the tuners and neck woods?

Both of the guitars I mentioned have goncalo alves necks, and both have the same kind of tuners.

 

[Ace Flibble]

I've got a Thinline Tele with the ridiculously heavy Planet Waves tuners and that doesn't neck dive at all. In fact this, sincerely, is the first time I've heard someone complain about Teles diving. Single cut designs are the easiest to balance.

If your Teles are diving, one or both of the strap buttons/locks are not in the right place, or you may be using an excessively smooth and slippery strap, in which case any guitar will make for the floor.

 

[stubhead]

I've had several guitars where the neck would ride along in your left hand, but never to the point that I felt it had any effect on the quality (or lack thereof) of the music I was playing. I consider "neck dive" to be right up there in importance with "sustain" and "tight neck pockets." In other words, zilch for me. Magazine review writers have to say something, I guess, and since they're banned from saying much of anything except "It's great! It's great! Buy Buy Buy" they come up with these little chestnuts. But then, I don't take both hands off a guitar and dance around with my arms in the air. I know that is important to some.

 

[swarfrat]

But if you're gonna do the zz top thing it becomes really important

 

[mrpinter]

OK, I guess a picture is worth a thousand words. To Ace: does it look like my strap buttons are in the wrong places?

I don't think so. The strap is a Couch brand which is repurposed auto or upholstery vinyl - it's smooth but not as slippery as a couple of Souldier straps I have that use seat belt material - but even with those slippery straps my Strat type and Soloist type guitars stay put with no hands. And the Thinline isn't a terrible neck diver, but does slide down a bit when I take my hand off it - not to "dance around" but e.g. to tune it. I suppose a wider strap with a backing of suede would probably fix the problem. Might have to try that. Like Stubhead pointed out, it's not a big problem, but noticeable.