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Solid vs Chambered Audio Details

i admire the test but it would be good to have it with both guitars playing the same set up.  Sounds like the 1st guitar had some gain to it.
 
DMRACO said:
i admire the test but it would be good to have it with both guitars playing the same set up.  Sounds like the 1st guitar had some gain to it.


There's more details in the other videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1aXznM8N70
 
I have had several W bodies of both construction - even down to the same types of woods.  I'll tell you with confidence that the neck is the single most important factor in what we perceive as "wood tone". 
 
Same here, and I agree. The body is not without effect, but it's nowhere near as influential as many believe.
 
Cagey said:
Same here, and I agree. The body is not without effect, but it's nowhere near as influential as many believe.

I noticed that in this comparison the tester had replaced the solid Tele body (no contours) with a chambered Tele body WITH contours. That means the chambered body would have less mass if all other things are equal. That change should effect frequency reflections off the body that may be picked up by the pickup..

But, all in all, the changes are minute in detail to the result we hear.
 
If it were an acoustic, or had vibration-sensitive pickups on it such as a piezo system of some sort, then I would agree. But, the pickups are magnetic and only sense the movement of the strings. Any audible reflections off or vibrations of the body only exist for your ears, not the pickups, unless the vibrations are so pronounced that they affect the strings. For instance, banging the guitar on the floor would cause strings to respond to the body enough that a magnetic pickup would sense it, or having amplification so high that the body vibrates in sympathy to the sound reinforcement system, creating a feedback loop (See Jimi Hendrix, Ted Nugent et al) :laughing7:
 
Body wise I have alder and then swamp ash as solid bodies and one with chambered poplar (it was in the showcase) and to be honest I think the pickups comprise almost all of any difference between the three. I've given up losing any sleep about sold guitar bodies.
 
DMRACO said:
i admire the test but it would be good to have it with both guitars playing the same set up.  Sounds like the 1st guitar had some gain to it.

My interpretation of the video (since it has dual shots of frequency response analyzers for both recordings that are heard) is that even though only one guitar track is audible at a time, he did indeed record both the chambered and solid guitar with the exact same settings/rig. I believe the two examples are just provided to hear what happens at different gain levels and playing different chords. I could be wrong though.
 
Cagey said:
If it were an acoustic, or had vibration-sensitive pickups on it such as a piezo system of some sort, then I would agree. But, the pickups are magnetic and only sense the movement of the strings. Any audible reflections off or vibrations of the body only exist for your ears, not the pickups, unless the vibrations are so pronounced that they affect the strings. For instance, banging the guitar on the floor would cause strings to respond to the body enough that a magnetic pickup would sense it, or having amplification so high that the body vibrates in sympathy to the sound reinforcement system, creating a feedback loop (See Jimi Hendrix, Ted Nugent et al) :laughing7:

1: Personally I think the idea that the idea that the material a vibrating sting is attached to won't effect the vibration of the string in some way is a little silly.
2: but in all but the most extreme cases the way and where the string is vibrated has so much more effect on tone. never mind pickups/type of string etc etc etc.
3:
oh-no-tonewood.jpg
 
My two cents - the differences as many folks have attested are slight. BUT - I think the differences become greater as the volume goes up,  the lighter (easier to drive) and harder (less absorption) the body is, the more it responds to feedback (even you're not talking about unity gain feedback). 

I suspect, that if you removed as much from the perimeter as you did from lightening, you'd probably find similar results. Or similar to a body of the same wood at similar weight to the smaller or hollowed body
 
In my experience, the body wood does affect the tone (as much as that doesn't make sense). I've swapped pickups from one guitar to the next to eliminate the pickup from the equation. Now I don't know if it's the species, or simply the weight and density of a particular piece, but there is a noticeable affect.

Additionally, in my experience, the fretboard material has zero affect on electric guitar tone. The whole "maple is bright and rosewood is warm" claim is absolutely bogus.

Scale length has a noticeable affect on the tone as well, but the pickups make the biggest difference.
 
fdesalvo said:
I have had several W bodies of both construction - even down to the same types of woods.  I'll tell you with confidence that the neck is the single most important factor in what we perceive as "wood tone".

I always assumed the reason to chamber a body was to lighten the weight. Not really to effect tone or sustain. But that said if the neck is more important what have your experiences been with various neck constructions?  Is it wood material or construction that effects the tone and sustain more?

Also what about your experience with finishes? I'm considering a chambered swamp ash with a tung oil finish. Will this natural finish have any effect on tone? Thanks
 
I will throw in my two cents on tone.  Wood (body and neck) have some but mild effect.  Pickups are a major factor.  However a GREAT amp can make a POS guitar sound incredible. 

The trick is getting the right combo to nail the sound YOU want!  I hear some guitar tones on records these days and am shocked how crappy they sound to MY ear.  Other may like them.  It’s a matter of taste.
 


I had the great good fortune to see Gary Moore at the Beacon in the early 90's. Played the whole concert with humbuckers finally at the end of the concert he starts to play a real screaming song with big bends and he breaks his E string. Within a couple seconds a roadie runs out with a Strat single coils and a switch is made and he finishes the song with the same screaming sound. Nothing changed, the tone was exactly the same. So his tone was all in his rack. Surprised the heck out of me.
 
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