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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1487
Location: Michigan | After listening to different views on different ""ELECTRIC"" guitars, I do not understand when people say that if you get a certain type of ""ELECTRIC"" guitar that with certain pick-ups & differerent types of woods it makes the sound totaly change .
How can these general statements be made when you do not say what kind of amplifier that you are playing it thru ?
Doesnt an amplifier have more to do with the sound of an ""ELECTRIC"" guitar than the guitar itself??????
CAN SOMEONE SHED LIGHT ON THIS?
Why do we buy special Amps that have preset computer software to make ANY guitar sound like anything that we want it to from Jimmy Hendrix to Pink Floyd and everything in between with the flip of a switch? Heck there are just as many Amplifiers on the market as there are guitars.
So I guess my question is how can anyone justify saying what sound any "" ELECTRIC "" guitar is suppose to sound like without plugging it in ? GWB |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | When electric guitars were invented back in the late 20's/early 30's they were supposed to sound like acoustic guitars, but louder. The reality was that the pickups and rudimentary amps meant they had a completley new sound. This developed over many years, with musicians pushing the boundaries and eventually we ended up with the archetypal "electric" guitar sound which usually involved a distorted amplifier.
The short answer is the amp is at least 50% of an elecrtic guitar tone. The guitar is the other 50% and the player the third 50%.
Every element has an infulence on the sound. Amp, pickup, guitar construction, etc etc. But the single biggest influence is the player.
That said, the best way to tell if a solid body guitar is any good is to play it without an amp. A good one will ring and sustain just like a great acoustic, only quieter. If it sounds good unplugged it'll sound great amplified. That's how I buy electric guitars.. listen to them without an amp first. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1487
Location: Michigan | Hey Paul, I am not a seasoned enough player that I can actually pick up the difference on a solid body electric of sound without plugging it in , but I actually went to Ovations and Adamas guitars because I could not stand to play my Gibson SG unless it was plugged in because the sound to me of an unamplified solid body justs sounds terrible and does not tell me what I have.I personally think that all electric solid bodys sound lousy unplugged.( my opinion only )
Ovations are so cool and a pleasure to play & listen to whether they are plugged in or not.
I have just recently purchased a Stratocaster to try the solid body electric again.
I have a thread on Stratocasters and the information was very helpful but I still cant tell what anyone of them will sound like until I put it thru an Amp and crank it up .
I think that a certain amp can make any guitar sound like you want it to. ( My opinon only ) G.W.B. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | single coil pickups have one type of sound and humbuckers another. I agree that it is 50/50 and there are many factors in between.
woods, how the guitar is constructed, etc.
as for a computer software program or a line 6 type amp. well they are good but sound generic.
there is absolutely nothing like taking a tube amp and turning it up to 11 and just ripping on an electric guitar and you can model it but NEVER reproduce it. (just ask my neighbors) |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Next time you're in a good guitar store go find a really expensive electric guitar. Maybe a PRS or Hamer, and play it unplugged alongside a Chinese strat copy or something. You know, $200 v $2.5K. You should be able to hear and feel a huge difference in the quality of the tone. Then go find something at around a grand. You have to learn what to listen for, and that takes a little time and experience. Once you get to a certain point differences become just "different" not necesarily better or worse.
The other issue is that any electric guitar is OK at bedroom/rehearsal volume, but serious gig levels sort out the crap pretty damn quick. |
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Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 3411
Location: GA USA | I do much of my practicing right before I go to bed, with the Deacon unplugged. Paul said it well. Unplugged, it sounds really good, only quieter. |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Peter Townsend said that he picks his amp before he picks his guitar. But that's a pretty good break-down 50 player, 50 guitar and 50 amp. I think what the people you are referring to are saying is that all things being equal (the player and the amp) the guitar will change your sound. For electrics, I'd say the sound, comes %60 from the pickups, 30 from the electronics, 20 wood and 5 misc. But no matter what you play, however, you will always sound like yourself, unless you are one these studio genusis (sp?). |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | Originally posted by Rick an4340:
But that's a pretty good break-down 50 player, 50 guitar and 50 amp. . goog thing you are a lawyer and not an engineer.
LOL
but I agree part of the tone is in the fingers. |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | You know, I think my guitar sound breakdown is a little off too, but Temp put that in my mind ... what the hell ... A little hyperbole makes things fun. |
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WHAT MAKES THE SOUND OF AN ""ELECTRIC"" GUITAR ???
