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Okay... so if wood doesn't matter.... and scale length doesn't matter....
- Thread starter Orvillain
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Piing
Shredder
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Eagle
Rock Star
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The main reason these issues keep getting raised is there is always a new YouTube video that shows how you can screw a bridge and a pickup on literally anything and get a note.
if you get the cheapest guitar that works how bad is it compared to something that costs $5k+ and how much does that matter to you?
If you had a scale of 1 to 10 and 10 was the $5+ what number would the other be? Higher than you might want to think.
Also today’s budget guitars are playable in a way that they just weren’t when I started.
if you get the cheapest guitar that works how bad is it compared to something that costs $5k+ and how much does that matter to you?
If you had a scale of 1 to 10 and 10 was the $5+ what number would the other be? Higher than you might want to think.
Also today’s budget guitars are playable in a way that they just weren’t when I started.
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MirrorProfiles
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yeah, so you’ll want opposite pickups to compensate. bright sound at the bridge=warmer pickup, warmer sound further away=brighter pickup
Cirrus
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Right I'm doing a poo and wife is shouting at me to hurry up so don't have long...
Wood resonance does matter, bridge and nut matter for transfer of energy, but the main resonance that matters is the neck resonance. The neck, truss rod and string tension act like a cantilever bridge, if you play loud open chords and get a friend to grip the headstock really tightly then let go, you can hear the midrange resonance the neck adds. That does get picked up and amplified to some degree because neck resonating is fed right back into the strings via the nut and tuners.
Some guitars have really dead necks, the volume of the neck resonance varies among guitars. If you have a really dead neck you might notice no change in the above experiment.
Right, time to wipe...
Wood resonance does matter, bridge and nut matter for transfer of energy, but the main resonance that matters is the neck resonance. The neck, truss rod and string tension act like a cantilever bridge, if you play loud open chords and get a friend to grip the headstock really tightly then let go, you can hear the midrange resonance the neck adds. That does get picked up and amplified to some degree because neck resonating is fed right back into the strings via the nut and tuners.
Some guitars have really dead necks, the volume of the neck resonance varies among guitars. If you have a really dead neck you might notice no change in the above experiment.
Right, time to wipe...
the-trooper
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If this is the measure of post length, I'll just write a doctoral dissertation.
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This has been my experience. I like partscasters and over the years have swapped necks from body to body many, many times. Ash, alder, basswood, plywood, mahogany, etc. And I can say unequivocally that the tone response, resonance, follows the neck almost always. The neck is the foundation.
Sascha Franck
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Absolutely.
My personal "revelation" (even if it was just sorta first hand) was when a good friend of mine got a custom built James Trussart Tele (fwiw: Trussart is mainly building electric guitars following traditional shapes such as Tele, Strat and LP, just that the bodies are made of hollow steel). Came with an all maple neck and traditional SCs. Didn't sound like a Tele at all, rather brittle and shrill (I know, Teles have a potential to sound a bit like that but it's been way over the top). Well, my mate then went to Paris (actually, Trussart is a very good friend of his mother, that's why all this happened so easily) and had the neck exchanged twice. First replacement (that I've never seen) was maple/rosewood and apparently didn't sound and better. Then they tried out an all mahogany neck - and well, that was just it. The guitar now sounds like a really nice Tele. Thick when it needs to, but with a good amount of twang, too. Go figure.
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GuitarBilly
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The neck is important but it's not the whole equation. I recently moved a neck, pickguard/pickups and hardware from an alder body to a mahogany body and the guitar definitely sounds warmer now.
It's silly to isolate any ONE part as being the most important factor, every part matters to some degree. It's a bit like cooking in the sense that you have tried and true recipes and every ingredient counts.
It's silly to isolate any ONE part as being the most important factor, every part matters to some degree. It's a bit like cooking in the sense that you have tried and true recipes and every ingredient counts.
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I have no problem saying the neck is the most important factor of a guitar. Not only tonally but obviously playability too. Majority of a scale length spans the neck. Electronics, hardware and body is like icing on the cake, adding or enhancing the flavor.
GuitarBilly
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I have no problem disagreeing with you lol
The neck is important to me but no more or less than other parts. Aside from extreme I adapt to different necks quite easily.
In terms of playability, I'm more concerned about bridges than necks. The changes in my right hand angle going from a suspended TOM bridge to a flat bridge like a strat it's more of an adjustment for me than neck profiles.
Different players are sensitive to different things. Which is why, "the most important thing " type of opinions are only relevant to each individual player and to try to make an universal statement about it is misguided at best. Again aside from complete extremes I could care less for neck profiles or woods.
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TSJMajesty
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I'm picking up what you're laying down. It wasn't until I got really serious about wanting to become as good as I possibly could be that I really came to appreciate how important ergonomics are.
Yeah, the way the guitar makes its sound is very important, and how it looks is high up on my list. But if it makes me work, then I don't really care about how it sounds, because I won't be playing it.
My PRS was my baby because it was so much easier than my LP to play. But eventually I got fed up with that damn ridge around the top cutting into my arm.
I think the things that truly matter the most are the ones that keep you from wanting to play. My Majesty never sees its case, unless I'm taking it somewhere, because it gets played every day. Several hours of each day.
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Nothing matters and we should all just play air guitar. :)
Seriously though, once I bought a guitar that sounded terrible. Thought it had to be the pickups so I swapped in a BK Cold Sweat and it sounded almost exactly the same! WTF? Put the stock pickup back in and found the issue was the soldering!
Take that wood, pickups, cables, necks and even NUTS! Of course string guage, scale length, pickup height, saddle material mean nothing, if something critical is jacked.
Some people think differently. I'm not sure why?
Seriously though, once I bought a guitar that sounded terrible. Thought it had to be the pickups so I swapped in a BK Cold Sweat and it sounded almost exactly the same! WTF? Put the stock pickup back in and found the issue was the soldering!
Take that wood, pickups, cables, necks and even NUTS! Of course string guage, scale length, pickup height, saddle material mean nothing, if something critical is jacked.
Some people think differently. I'm not sure why?
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I'm not saying your way is wrong. I just stated IME the neck is the most important part. I love experimenting with pickups, bridges and electronics as much as anyone, but a neck will make or break a guitar for me.
GuitarBilly
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Yeah that's exactly right. There are a combination of things that make a guitar comfortable/ sound good and it varies greatly from a person to another.
That's why I think "the most important part of a guitar is...." type of statement is a bit silly.
You can have the best neck in the world but if the body shape or bridge angle is uncomfortable, forget it...
I've had guitars that were super comfortable in all aspects but didn't sound good no matter what pickups I put in it. That was no good either. So that's why I don't like to isolate a single aspect of a guitar and say "this is the most important"
I like the cooking analogy. It's like a recipe. Over the years, with playing experience, I've learned what ingredients I tend to like or not. And while each guitar is unique, I know for example, that trying out guitars with a TOM bridge, humbuckers, mahogany body etc will increase my chances of getting something I like. Because that's the recipe that has worked for me the best over the years. But it's a combination of parts, not any single part.
TSJMajesty
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Yep.
And something that took me at least a decade to grasp, was that a guitar that I originally loved, that feeling can change. As I've grown as a player, the things that I rank high in terms of importance have changed. Now the fret access and neck comfort is the most important. I don't know how I ever played a LP Custom, with that big neck, for so long. Lol
But since I did play a LP for so many years, switching to a flatter bridge, like on my PRS & Majesty, has been tricky. I still have trouble getting my wrist at the best angle to do alt-picked palm mutes. I got so used to the height of that TOM bridge. But now, I can hardly play my LP comfortably.
the-trooper
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Forever trusting who we are
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Jim Lill is 3-4 chess moves away from posting a flat earth video
