Routing And Sound Quality

[Kugel]

Newbie question...

What's the difference in sound quality between a swimming pool route and a standard s/s/s route?

[Mattia]

In part, Mojo difference. Both can sound great.

Thing is, swimming pool route on a strat with a trem route means a lot of wood missing from the middle of the guitar, right under the strings. I don't feel right leaving it like that, so I don't. You can always re-route if you decide to change pickups at a later point in time.

[Southpa]

haha the Chevy of guitars, they sure made both interchangeable for parts. Its a heck of a debate for others but personally I can't tell the difference. And its also a matter of taste even if you can, so not really better or worse, just different ( I think I said that somewhere else..) I have one of the early American Standards (1988) awesome sounding guitar.

Edited December 18, 2005 by Southpa

[SwedishLuthier]

Steivie Ray Vaughn had one of those swiming pool routed strats, (not NO 1) and nobody has accused him for having a bad guitar sound...

[HerrHerron]

Two Questions:

1. Could anyone else add some opinions about swimming pool routes?

2. I was wondering if a swimming pool route (on a strat) might make it easier to get some harmonic feedback like with a semi-hollow guitar? If I mounted the pickups to the pickguard, do you think it would at least push it a little in that direction? I can imagine it either doing that or sounding horribly cheap.

[Daniel Sorbera]

1. Whats wrong with the posters above me? Don't like their answers?

2. It won't sound "incredibly cheap" as stated by the previous posters the difference is almost non exitent.

2.5 I have no problem getting harmonic feedback with my solid guitars with pickups mounted directly onto the wood. The type of hollowbody feedback you would get is *not* the good kind.

[Mattia]

I take some issue with 2.5 if you mean it as a general comment; my chambered guitars feed back more easily than my solidbody ones do, but it's certainly 'the good kind', and it's certainly very controllable.

But that's not swimming pool route guitars, that's chambered guitars with solid wood tops.

[Daniel Sorbera]

I was just saying that you can get the feedback with either.

I was referring to the full archtop/acoustic feedback that is not the good kind.

[Mickguard]

Two Questions:

1. Could anyone else add some opinions about swimming pool routes?

They're easier to achieve, that's for sure. I think the difference is that you hear more of the springs from the trem-- seriously. For me, there's more of an airiness to the sound. But that might just be because I really like my '89 MIJ.

I think the key to feedback is in the amp, more than the guitar. Although I had an Epiphone Sorrento for a while (just sold it in fact) and that thing used to tremble when I got too close to the amp. The feedback was enormous, felt like I was holding something alive. But it was definitely not very controllable, and there was no way of knowing when it was going to verge from beautiful feedback to ear-splitting microphonics.

[Don Ramsay]

I really love the sound of my Jeff Beck signature Strat.

I was surprised to find the body route looked like this:

http://www.geocities.com/jbstratman/JBroute.jpg

Don

[Xanthus]

I really love the sound of my Jeff Beck signature Strat.

I was surprised to find the body route looked like this:

http://www.geocities.com/jbstratman/JBroute.jpg

Don

Well that's the case in point right there, then, eh?

[RAI6]

The only way to know how it affects a guitar, is to have one with a regular route. Then you do the swimming pool on it and compare the before/after....

[WezV]

i prefer to have individual routes just because a swimming pool has always struck me as the lazy way to do it. but if its a guitar you are modding often then a swimming pool makes sense

[jamforthelamb]

Hey All,

Semi-related question to this post. I'm going to be routing a "swimming pool" in a guitar to make room for a sustainer setup (all the circuitry+driver in the neck position). How much wood should I leave between the neck pocket and the pool ? From looking at the Jeff Beck guitar it's not a whole lot.

Thanks!

-Kevin

[Xanthus]

Nope, the Jeff Beck picture is pretty much it. You can route away as much (as little ) as you need to, so long as it fits under the pickguard.

And the sustainer would go in the neck position, so you can measure from your pickguard where that is, and route from there. If you already have a neck pickup, then you don't need to route any closer to the neck pocket.

[jamforthelamb]

Nope, the Jeff Beck picture is pretty much it. You can route away as much (as little ) as you need to, so long as it fits under the pickguard.

And the sustainer would go in the neck position, so you can measure from your pickguard where that is, and route from there. If you already have a neck pickup, then you don't need to route any closer to the neck pocket.

This guitar has a bridge pickup and that's it, so I will be routing a new cavity and making a pickguard for it.

[Mickguard]

The only way to know how it affects a guitar, is to have one with a regular route. Then you do the swimming pool on it and compare the before/after....

As a matter of fact, I just did this to one of my longhorns...except I'll be changing the pickup too, so I guess that's not going to help much.