Two almost identical guitars, sound very different, why?!

[Bert]

So I have two very similar 1986 San Dimas custom guitars. They have identical pickups in the neck position (which is the one I primarily use). They both have Kahler trems & locknuts, and the same brand/guage of strings. The differences are that one has a maple board and the other rosewood. One has a tone+volume and the other just a volume control. One is slightly heavier than the other one, so maybe the body woods are different?

I typically use the maple-board/vol+tone/heavier guitar, but yesterday I brought the rosewood/no tone control/lighter weight guitar to practice and it just sounds way better. More low end, more punch, more "balls". So what gives? How can such minor differences lead to such big tone difference? My best guess is the rosewood fretboard could be the main factor, but I really have no idea. All I know is I want to get my other guitar sounding as good as this one. I'd rather not have to replace the neck. Does anyone think that disconnecting the tone control might improve matters?!

[sully]

could be different body woods, could be also that having a tone knob, even when it's on 10, will still impact the tone a bit.

sully

[Bert]

could be different body woods, could be also that having a tone knob, even when it's on 10, will still impact the tone a bit.

sully

OK, gonna start by disconnecting the tone knob. If that doesn't do it, perhaps a neck swap will tell me something!

[Endrik]

play them unplugged, compare how they resonate, usually it's the body wood

[Grandturk]

Every guitar is different - you put together the parts and it doesn't matter what they're made of and you'll get duds and you'll get gems. Sure, there are factors like tone pots, and fingerboard wood, and they all contribute, but at the end of the day, you've got two guitars that sound different. Play the one you like, sell the one you don't and try to find another that sounds like the one you like.

[Bert]

Yes, unplugged the lighter/rosewood one is a bit more rich sounding, but couldn't that be due to the fretboard rather than body wood?

[Bert]

Every guitar is different - you put together the parts and it doesn't matter what they're made of and you'll get duds and you'll get gems. Sure, there are factors like tone pots, and fingerboard wood, and they all contribute, but at the end of the day, you've got two guitars that sound different. Play the one you like, sell the one you don't and try to find another that sounds like the one you like.

Unfortunately I prefer how the maple fingerboard guitar looks! It's got a beautiful natural burst finish, whereas the other one is a rather unusual black-purple crackle. Don't get me wrong, I love crackles too, but the natural-burst/maple fingerboard look goes a bit better with the style of music we play (classic rock).

If I can fix its sound with a neck swap I suppose I'll be good to go, but I'm going to try the tone knob disconnect first!

[Endrik]

Yes, unplugged the lighter/rosewood one is a bit more rich sounding, but couldn't that be due to the fretboard rather than body wood?

maybe but usually maple board is much richer, harder and brighter sounding, specially when you play unplugged... rosewood sounds warmer and has more effect when you play plugged in... although I prefer the looks and the sound of maple too on a strat type guitar

[Trussrod]

I brought the rosewood/no tone control/lighter weight guitar to practice and it just sounds way better. More low end, more punch, more "balls". So what gives?

The lighter body is probably made of alder. I've noticed over the years that guitars with an alder body have the best tone for metal. The distorion for bass/chords is really dense, single notes on the unwound strings have a great slashing sound/bite, high pitched harmonics are easy to find whether natural or pinched and sustain is hard to beat. You probably won't be able to make your other guitar sound the same as this light weight guitar. Just enjoy it and try out other guitars w/an alder body.