Selling It (to guitarists)

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Speaking of marketing taking advantage of ignorance (I'm guilty of buying into it), what's the deal with headstock mass and sustain?  The Fat-Finger claimed that the extra mass of their brass thingy on the headstock increased sustain.  Samick says their guitars have minimalized headstocks because the extra mass "robs" the strings of sustain.  Which is it?  Neither?  Are both true, and it's a fine line not to go over or below?  Is the whole thing BS?  I've not felt the need to purchase a Fat-Finger or Samick.  Sustain has never been a problem without either.  What happens if you put a Fat-Finger on a Samick?

Oh and IMO, beware of things labled "Green."  It's the new "All Natural" and "Y2K compatible."

 

[dbw]

Here's another...  Steinberger says of their SS-2F guitar:

We then add a smooth and durable phenolic fingerboard and a neck-thru body design to create an instrument with distinctive tonal clarity, sustain, "pop" and response as well as ultimate stability!

And of the XS-15FPA Custom bass:

We then add a smooth and durable phenolic fingerboard and a glued-in body design to create an instrument with distinctive tonal clarity, sustain, "pop" and response as well as ultimate stability!

Both glued-in and neck-through construction provide "ultimate stability," apparently.

 

[Nando Vallart]

I believe more mass on headstock would get more sustain, as a thicker neck...

Both glued-in and neck-through construction provide "ultimate stability," apparently.

:laughing7: My God...

 

[dbw]

Here we go... guitarfetish says of EVERYTHING on their clearance page, "These might be our best clearance deal yet!" or "This is the latest, and in my opinion, greatest BLOWOUT pickup deal we've scored yet!"

Sigh

http://store.guitarfetish.com/clse.html

That said, they do have some good deals.  I was ordering some pots or something from them and I picked up a set of those cheapo Strat pups (like he says, you can't go wrong at $17 for a set) and they sound fine... certainly better than the stock Squiers they replaced!

 

[jackthehack]

""These might be our best clearance deal yet!" or "This is the latest, and in my opinion, greatest BLOWOUT pickup deal we've scored yet!""

Translation:

"We just got another container load of cheap Chinese crap that got rejected for QC at the Squire factory."

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

"Due to a typo in accounting, we over-ordered and have to make room for our new inventory!  Everything must go!  These prices will never be this low again!  Don't let these deals pass you buy!"

 

[dbw]

Hey, they sound all right.  Easily worth $17 IMO.  All I was saying is that not every deal can be the latest and greatest.  Only ONE can.

 

[guitlouie]

I always love to hear "new and improved", makes me wonder what kind of crap they were selling me before....

 

[RLW]

The next time you're watching any cable channel, keep an eye/ear out for that 9/11 Liberian "twenty dollar bill" ad that runs constantly, and listen closely to the sales pitch. Absolutely amazing amount of BS crammed into a mere 90 seconds. It is a classic.

 

[tfarny]

Nice thread. I like GFS pickups, I've used a few and I think they sound pretty darn good, as good as SD singles. I'm enjoying the noiseless ones a lot now that I've got them right up against the strings. I'm going to post a clip soon somewhere else ABing them. But their hardware is crap, at least everything that I've used.

Sustain: Here's the thing from a common sense standpoint, I guess: when you pluck a string, the sting vibrates. if the guitar itself didn't pick up any of that vibration, the string would vibrate for a very long time. Sustain should decrease anytime you make it easier for that string's vibration to pass from the string to the guitar itself - ie, low mass tuners, lighter bodies, floating trems,etc., should all decrease sustain (and increase 'resonance' which I think means the body vibrating nicely like an acoustic). So, jazz boxes are very resonant and LPs have huge sustain. Crappy, badly fitting parts or buzzing frets would be the worst of both worlds.  I've heard some people complain that some LP customs are 'dead' or 'sterile' sounding - so heavy that they don't resonate.  I have often noticed that just about every feature on any guitar is said to increase sustain, though - is everybody out there doing Neil Young one-note solos all the time, or what?

 

[dbw]

With a good setup, any guitar sustains fine.  If people want better sustain they should use heavier strings (aww, don't cry).  I get huge sustain with my first (BOLT ON) Warmoth, and it's quite light.  If I want MORE, I crank my compressor or just stand in front of the amp.

 

[GoDrex]

"Due to a typo in accounting, we over-ordered and have to make room for our new inventory!  Everything must go!  These prices will never be this low again!  Don't let these deals pass you buy!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvhsJyecpLc

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I don't know why, but I liked the part about "Classic Deluxe Custom."

 

[mayfly]

Speaking of marketing taking advantage of ignorance (I'm guilty of buying into it), what's the deal with headstock mass and sustain?  The Fat-Finger claimed that the extra mass of their brass thingy on the headstock increased sustain.  Samick says their guitars have minimalized headstocks because the extra mass "robs" the strings of sustain.  Which is it?  Neither?  Are both true, and it's a fine line not to go over or below?  Is the whole thing BS?  I've not felt the need to purchase a Fat-Finger or Samick.  Sustain has never been a problem without either.  What happens if you put a Fat-Finger on a Samick?

Oh and IMO, beware of things labled "Green."  It's the new "All Natural" and "Y2K compatible."

From my experience, it has to be just right - not to much mass, and not to little.  Just adding mass will not guarantee sustain, since it may just end up absorbing all of the vibrations you are trying to preserve.

Back in the bad old days of Norlin era Gibsons, I put a fathead on the headstock of my les paul.  It turned it into a banjo.

 

[misplacedsanity]

Bill Hicks take on advertising:

[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GPKM3iVw3Ok&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GPKM3iVw3Ok&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

 

[dbw]

Thanks to stubhead for finding this one.  BOING

 

[blue313]

Interesting.  One slightly altered red thumb pick + one pen spring + one Fender heavy pick + glue = profit?

 

[dbw]

Oh lame, the picture of the sproingy pick is gone.  Anyone have another?

 

[OzziePete]

I don't know why, but I liked the part about "Classic Deluxe Custom."

You mean like the Gibson LP Custom, Custom Shop, Limited Edition guitar (true). :laughing3:

 

[-CB-]

I am the inventor and designer of the Hannes Bridge which has been licensed to Schaller Electronic. It is claimed as a fact that this bridge is the most comfortable bridge on the market. Fact or opinion? Comfortable means that it provides you with an optimally smooth and rounded surface for your picking hand. You can rest your palm on it while playing, no matter how hard you play. Try to do the same with other bridges out there and compare it to the comfort of the Hannes Bridge.

The perfect combination of sound properties. Fact or opinion. This is actually the basis for US Patent 7071398. By optimizing the structure of the bridge, you make it more efficient at transfering the energy of the strings to the guitar body. Guitar bridges work according to the laws of physics and the improvements of my bridge can be heard distinctly. Try it one day.

The terms "comfort" and "perfect" are by their very nature, opinion.

Your patent claim states that maximizing string energy transfer to the wood body of the guitar is a desirable objective.  I'm afraid Mr. Paul and Mr. Fender would disagree.  In particular, Les wanted NO transfer of energy to the instrument - which is why he wanted a solid body, experimented before building his "Log", and went to Gibson with the idea for a solid wooden instrument.  Les' idea was, and is, correct.

Any residual energy that is transferred from string to solid body instrument is selectively attenuated by vibration in the most resonant part of the instrument - the neck. 

Nice invention.  Clever design.  Hope you make a lot of money from it. 

As in the case of "Tone Pro's".... just loosen those locking screws, and hear the difference in tone?  Oh wait... you can't tell the difference?  Well, not everyone has golden ears... but do trust them, the difference is there for "for those who can appreciate the difference"... <cough cough>.