One hum sounds different...

[Matt_B]

I never thought of it but this makes sense. Can't say I've tried it in terms of comparisons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0VZzNXiXO8

[murkat]

Yes. It is a validated point.
Example.
Hence the term stratitiss, when stock strat pickups are too close to the strings,
the pickups pull the strings out of a harmonic tuning, and also dampen the tone of the strings as well.
Causing tuning problems, lack of sustain, tone, dead spots, etc.

[Matt_B]

Yes. It is a validated point. Example. Hence the term stratitiss, when stock strat pickups are too close to the strings, the pickups pull the strings out of a harmonic tuning, and also dampen the tone of the strings as well.
Causing tuning problems, lack of sustain, tone, dead spots, etc.

Yeah, I know how that can be bad on Strats but I've never heard of anyone stating they felt that single pickup guitars sound better because the neck pickup isn't interfering with the strings' vibrations. It's not something I worry about with humbuckers that's for sure.

[toejam]

Yeah, I know how that can be bad on Strats but I've never heard of anyone stating they felt that single pickup guitars sound better because the neck pickup isn't interfering with the strings' vibrations. It's not something I worry about with humbuckers that's for sure.

I've heard about this before, but I've never worried about it, either. Lowering the neck pickup quite a bit, instead of taking it out, might also yield the same results that this guy is claiming.

[dvscool]

The science of this may be true. I'm not sure I believe it makes that much of a different. Shit, maybe it does, but I like my neck humbuckers in the neck position...

[Matt_B]

To me, this concept comes off like some "Mystic Guitar Secret" thing like Eric Johnson being able to hear a difference between brands of batteries. I'm very careful about pickup height, for singles and humbuckers, so I've never been concerned about it affecting tone or sustain.

[Hellbat]

The batteries thing makes sense to be honest. It wasn't the brand he could hear the differences in, it was the charge/voltage levels. Those old transistors in the vintage fuzz faces are very reactive to voltage and temperature changes. A tenth of a volt can make the difference between a smooth 'woman' style fuzz, or a fire spitting demon fuzz.

[Newc]

Further episodes in BS Guitar Science:
-How strap material affects tone.
-How the color of your guitar's logo affects sustain (that micron more of white vs other colors, with Part II concerning inlaid logos)
-Material composition of your jackplate screws and you.
-How an 11-hole Strat pickguard is tonally superior to a 13-hole Strat pickguard.
-Plastic tuner knobs vs metal tuner knobs - the shocking truth revealed!

[MetalDaze]

To me, this concept comes off like some "Mystic Guitar Secret" thing like Eric Johnson being able to hear a difference between brands of batteries. I'm very careful about pickup height, for singles and humbuckers, so I've never been concerned about it affecting tone or sustain.

Bogner thinks batteries matter

[straycat]

There is a lot of BS floating around out there no shit.
The Les Paul forum is full of idiots that preach this stuff as gospel.

[jacksonaxes]

Check out Scott Groves vid on you tube about fretboard woods it is hilarious.
Guitar Neck Facts For Dumb Mother Fuckers By Scott Grove http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pfr7LtDPb4

[ginsambo]

The extra 30 grammes of unrouted wood does make an enormous tonal difference to the body. No shit.

No really I think it's lucky deep, body woods just sound different depending on the particular piece(s).

And Scott Grove is a dumb motherfucker.

Although, that said, perhaps the guitar without a second or third rout, has less reasonance unplugged because it has less holes in it? My 1H pro mod definitely sounds darker. No shit. Although I am personally more inclined to beleive this is factored by the grain of the wood pieces they used.

And Scott Grove is full of shit and this is why. Wood DOES have an affect on the reasonance of a guitar's strings. Some random pieces of wood just make the strings resonant for longer. FACT. Perhaps this is about how hard the wood is at the bridge posts, or maybe there is something more to it like the harmonic frequency of the material. But whilst the strings are not decaying and resonating, they are interfering with the magnetic poles of the pickups, creating a small current and being amplified. Therefore a guitar that sounds shit unplugged will also sound shit plugged in. It will not sounds the same as one that sustains forever.

[straycat]

Why then can a plywood bodied guitar sound so good sometimes?
Some old Hondo bolt on neck Les Paul copies with plywood bodies sound fantastic tell me why that is?
Wood snobs really get me.Alder is better than cheap ass basswood........well no it isn't.
You can spout all the so called expert consensus you want if a guitar sounds good it sounds good no matter what the body is made of.
Different woods may change the overall tone to some degree but that doesn't always make it a good sounding guitar.
Scott Grove makes some valid points and when he actually proves his point it pisses the know it all cork sniffers off.

[ginsambo]

That is it Straycat though, the particular piece of wood, whether it be plywood, alder, mahogany or acrylic, it all depends on the particular piece, there are no general rules when it comes to sustain, that was kind of my point. As for tone I have tried the same pickup in various guitars of the exact same spec and same woods and they do sound different. So whether it is down to the age of the particular pieces, the moisture content, the density, the cavities, I don't know.

It's like women, you can get two of exactly the same size and shape but one goes off like a rocket, where as the other one you really have to put a lot of work into.

Can Eric Johnson really hear the difference between different brands of batteries? Damn, I knew he was a genius.

Scott is an extremist response to Gibson fans. I am somewhere in the middle, I think there is truth in both.

[straycat]

If Eric can hear a difference more power to him.He will even tilt a pedal on the board because he thinks it sounds better and maybe he is right IDK.
The Les Paul forum is a gaggle of ass kissers to whoever owns a 59 burst or actually knows Jimmy Page.LOL
My Les Paul forum is just as bad IMO.
I'm sure some from here are at those forums but I can give them a pass because they love Jacksons and are long time JCF bro's and gals.