So who believes and who doesn't believe.....

[Stonker]

That wood makes a difference to an electric guitar's tone?

 

[alterbridgefan]

Eh.

There are many things that make a bigger didference for sure. Pickups, pedals, amps, strings, tuning, and even cab choice all play a huge part in tone, so ya know... I have noticed that I almost always prefer the sound and especially feel of a heavier guitar, so there's that...

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I think all knows that wood makes a difference to an electric guitar´s tone.

It just that many of us - as in the other thread you have here - don't believe that difference to be very significant - or predictable.

I for one would love if it was that easy. Combing tone from a wood tone chart. A little of everything in the body - slightly more upper mids from the top. Sustain from the neck and a nice attack from the fingerboard. Wouldn't that be nice?

But it ain't so.  Sometimes all the right parts just add up to a meh guitar.

 

[Stonker]

The reason I asked is there is quite an argument going on between certain individuals on YouTube.  If I do a build, I will be going on appearance and will choose with my eyes not my ears lol

 

[swarfrat]

Guitars are like a box of chocolates. Think about that when you trry a guitar someone else has already tried at GC. Ewww wait that's not where I was going wih it.

 

[bagman67]

The reason I asked is there is quite an argument going on between certain individuals on YouTube. 

There's your problem right there.  Individuals on youtube?  Feh.  Might as well complain about the weather for as much difference as it will make. 

 

[Cagey]

What they ^^ said.

One of the best sounding guitars I ever had was a fairly pedestrian Fender American Standard. Alder body, Maple neck, Rosewood fretboard, whatever pickups fender pulled out of the barrel that day, etc. But, it was an absolutely magical thing. Why? Nobody knows. Tolerance stackup.

It's not as big an issue these days as it used to be, but at one time you could sit down at a large dealer and play 15 seemingly identical guitars to find the one that worked. Modern technology has evened things out quite a bit, as the human factor has more or less been designed out in manufacturing, at least with the majors. But, there's still some difference because the wood isn't controllable.

Still, some things hold true. With electrics, the body has too much mass to make much difference. The neck, on the other hand, is a biggie. Also, the pickups and bridge. Past that, it's a game of inches.

 

[Stonker]

So are you saying that wood does or doesn't affect the tone?

 

[bagman67]

It probably does to some degree, but it is way, way down on the list of factors contributing to the ultimate tone, after all of the following, in roughly the following order:


- Pickups and electronics
- Amplifier settings
- Neck wood
- Material, setup, and fitting of the bridge and nut
- String choice


If we were talking about acoustic guitars, it would be a whole different story, since the mechanism by which sound is produced and amplified is through the top and back of the guitar vibrating sympathetically with the strings.  The whole point of a solid body electric guitar is to eliminate the sympathetic vibration of the body and the concomitant dampening of some portion of the string's audible content.


The whole debate over solid-body  guitar tonewood is based on an erroneous premise -- that premis being that the sound the body makes when it vibrates in sympathy with the strings has something substantial to do with what gets amplified.  What is actually happening is that the sounding length of the string oscillates within the pickup's magnetic field, generating a tiny voltage which your amplifier, uh, amplifies.  The solid body's goal is to interfere with that process as little as possible - so a big, inert chunk of wood is the right tool for the job because it WON'T generally vibrate.  So if it's doing its job, it has little to do with the sound your amplifed guitar will make.

 

[Stonker]

I certainly think I agree with your last paragraph.  I can see it affecting the sustain but I'm not so sure that putting a maple top on a mahogany body actually makes a guitar brighter.

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, but depending on the Maple, it can make a guitar prettier!  And sometimes, a pretty guitar can make your day. But, usually, it takes money or sex :laughing7:

 

[Stonker]

That just about sums up where I am with Warmoth.  I will let my eyes decide what to buy I think

 

[Cagey]

Well, if I may offer some unsolicited advice - don't let your eyes get away from you. You build something around a super-fancy über-expensive body that makes fine furniture look doggy, and you're liable to be afraid to play the thing or take it out for fear of damage or loss. Nothing against beautiful things, but until you have a healthy collection, it's often better to be practical about your choices. To me, the neck is the thing. Spend what you want on that and be sure to get it properly set up - it's what you play. The body is just a platform to mount the neck and pickups on.

 

[Stonker]

Indeedy.  I do like he idea of a wenge neck but that's a conversation for another day

 

[alterbridgefan]

I'd definitely say that it makes more of an impact on feel. I love the feel of a raw neck, and wenge definitely has a different feel from jotoba or bubinga... Also, while playing, I like the weight of a heavier guitar, because it feels more substantial and has more natural sustain. Also, an ebony fretboard feels to me similar to a finished maple board, whereas a rosewood board feels easier and more natural under my fingers...

But it's all so general, and the differences from piece to piece, guitar to guitar, are so fudging random, that it's mostly just a guessing game.

 

[stratamania]

Woods do have different feels and responses but the generalisations that are held up to be absolutes at times, that I don't believe.

I have guitars of the same woods that sound different and guitars made of completely different woods that are surprisingly of a similar character.

One of the deadest sounding ones played  acoustically comes alive when plugged in.

I can tell you the plywood body guitar I had when I first started over forty years ago didn't sound the best but the rest of it wasn't that good either.

 

[DavyDave53]

Play a Les Paul and a ES-355 with the same electronics and neck profile through the same amp.

Will they sound different?

 

[Kostas]

I always believed everything makes a difference, even the smallest screw. The question is what the human ear can detect. Next question is what your ear can detect because people hear in a different way.

Body & neck woods make a difference in tone. For example, a guitar with a mahogany body (no matter the neck wood) has a certain growl no matter the scale or the pickups. I'm saying that cause it's not a case of a Gibson vs Fender sound. My mahogany Thinline has that growl. It was there with the tele single coil, it's there with the TVJones pickup.

Play a Les Paul and a ES-355 with the same electronics and neck profile through the same amp.

Will they sound different?

Almost always.

 

[sixstringsamurai]

That wood makes a difference to an electric guitar's tone?

Serious talks on this and the same hate spewing ass over at the Marshall Forum.

It DOES make a difference, thats why W tone rates their wood species, so you can gauge reasonably what your guitars will sound like.

Anyone that says other wise is an uneducated fool.

 

[Stonker]

That wood makes a difference to an electric guitar's tone?

Serious talks on this and the same hate spewing ass over at the Marshall Forum.

It DOES make a difference, thats why W tone rates their wood species, so you can gauge reasonably what your guitars will sound like.

Anyone that says other wise is an uneducated fool.

There seems to be quite a heated debate over the internet going on at the moment.  Without getting aggressive, can I ask what foundation you base that on and on what basis anybody that says otherwise is a fool?