http://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com/2 ... ic-guitar/
Very good article about the influence of wood on sound.
Quality with "Unplugged", "Resonant"?
- higgsblossom
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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Re: Quality with "Unplugged", "Resonant"?
"500€? That's the price of a J Mascis Jazzmaster!"
- Despot
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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Re: Quality with "Unplugged", "Resonant"?
So I'm one of the prime offenders when it comes to linking light/resonant wood with being 'better' in some way. I've played so many heavy/dead guitars that there's a sort of confirmation bias going on at this stage I think.
However...
My other half has taken up an interest in learning to play guitar. She's inherited my old '80s Strat Plus in lovely eye scorching bahama green. I learned to play on that guitar, so there's a sort of symbolism to giving it to her. Also, I don't need to worry about a vintage Gibson headstock coming undone from hitting a table, bookshelf or coffee table!
I haven't played the guitar in years and it badly needed a set up - Strats are too fiddly for me so I left it with my local store (who are great in terms of setups). Collected it this weekend - I forgot how damn heavy it is! It's Les Paul weight!!
However... it's also quite loud and resonant, even though it's a heavy piece of wood. I was playing it unplugged on Saturday evening - it's certainly not dead or lacking.
So I guess what I'm saying is your mileage may vary ... I remember that guitar as being a lively and fun guitar to play (when I was learning), and quite an improvement over the cheap copy guitars I'd been using until I was able to put a bit of after-school cash together to fund buying the Strat. It's only now looking back at it with my bias towards lighter guitars that I realise that, at least with that guitar, heavy doesn't always mean bad. Which reminds me - that '76 Jazzmaster that I had (now gone to Ryan Adams - and now who knows where given how often he flips guitars) was heavy as hell too ... but resonant and loud unplugged regardless.
I spotted another thread on here about the Edge sig model Strat. I remember checking out a Youtube video on it out of curiosity when they first came out and couldn't understand why he was specifically looking for his sig model to be a certain weight (i.e. ... heavy).
Like all things I guess it's down to personal preference. I know that more often than not when I plug in a light guitar good things come out of the amp.
However...
My other half has taken up an interest in learning to play guitar. She's inherited my old '80s Strat Plus in lovely eye scorching bahama green. I learned to play on that guitar, so there's a sort of symbolism to giving it to her. Also, I don't need to worry about a vintage Gibson headstock coming undone from hitting a table, bookshelf or coffee table!
I haven't played the guitar in years and it badly needed a set up - Strats are too fiddly for me so I left it with my local store (who are great in terms of setups). Collected it this weekend - I forgot how damn heavy it is! It's Les Paul weight!!
However... it's also quite loud and resonant, even though it's a heavy piece of wood. I was playing it unplugged on Saturday evening - it's certainly not dead or lacking.
So I guess what I'm saying is your mileage may vary ... I remember that guitar as being a lively and fun guitar to play (when I was learning), and quite an improvement over the cheap copy guitars I'd been using until I was able to put a bit of after-school cash together to fund buying the Strat. It's only now looking back at it with my bias towards lighter guitars that I realise that, at least with that guitar, heavy doesn't always mean bad. Which reminds me - that '76 Jazzmaster that I had (now gone to Ryan Adams - and now who knows where given how often he flips guitars) was heavy as hell too ... but resonant and loud unplugged regardless.
I spotted another thread on here about the Edge sig model Strat. I remember checking out a Youtube video on it out of curiosity when they first came out and couldn't understand why he was specifically looking for his sig model to be a certain weight (i.e. ... heavy).
Like all things I guess it's down to personal preference. I know that more often than not when I plug in a light guitar good things come out of the amp.
- Despot
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 5759
- Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:11 am
- Location: Wexford, Ireland
Re: Quality with "Unplugged", "Resonant"?
I think this is a lot to do with it for me Larry - the desire to play the guitar comes first. I usually play on the couch in the evenings later on ... so I value having a guitar that's loud unplugged. But even when I play earlier when I can still use the amp it's usually after playing unplugged for a few minutes and the guitar putting enough of a smile on my face that I'll go to the extra effort of plugging in the amp. A resonant/vibrating and lively guitar tends to motivate me to get off my rear and plug it in.
It's a sort of confirmation bias as I've said above, for sure ... but it's a pretty solid preference for me in picking a guitar. The guitars I've loved have mostly been great unplugged as well as plugged in - the guitars that have disappointed me have usually been bought sight unseen and have been heavier/dead guitars to play.