Roli Posted September 7, 2003 Report Share Posted September 7, 2003 I'd use mahogany. Don't be afraid of muddiness, that kind of sound comes from the shorter scale (usually Gibson's 24 3/4"), not from the wood. For example, lots of mahogany bodied strats and teles out there, even thinlines, and they don't 'suffer' from that muddy effect, moreover, they have that nice sustain and resonance that mahogany allows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 7, 2003 Report Share Posted September 7, 2003 hmm.... i guess basswood isn't heavy sounding at all says rampart guitars Basswood.... It resonates (enhances) in the upper treble area; it sounds recessed in the lower and upper mids. Basswood does not sound BASSY, has no Bass in it except in its Name....! First off, it's not pronounced like bass guitar.. it's prounced like the fish "bass"... thus I don't know how good that analysis is from them since they don't even know how to pronounce it.. lol Also, I'm not much a fan of basswood for one simple reason it dents very easily.. but I find the tone to be pleasant.. I'd go with like KrazyDerek said, purpleheart or mahogany... actually it's all personal preference... but find something that will make you happy... Mahogany gives a tone I like.. but don't limit yourself to one type of wood.. though the wood you use to make your neck will be harder to decide on.. simply because you'll have to think of strength also... Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 7, 2003 Report Share Posted September 7, 2003 I'd use mahogany. Don't be afraid of muddiness, that kind of sound comes from the shorter scale (usually Gibson's 24 3/4"), not from the wood. For example, lots of mahogany bodied strats and teles out there, even thinlines, and they don't 'suffer' from that muddy effect, moreover, they have that nice sustain and resonance that mahogany allows. i am sorry i don't mean to seem disagreeable but scale doesn't have anything to do with muddiness.my mahogany guitar(ibanez sabre) is a 25.5 scale and is less articulate than my 25" scale alder v. if you find the strings on a short scale guitar to be too slack then use thicker strings.personally i use lights on my 25" scale and i enjoy the easier bending without a hint of muddiness. mahogany is a fine wood.just depends on what you need. my solution is to make ten of them with a different wood on every one .but alder is cheaper if price is an issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 most of george lynch's heavy sound comes from his custom pickups, the're said to have a great bottom end "thunk", and having personaly owned a screamin' deamon i can say it's fairly true If you have George's Bible video, he describes how he gets his sound and he attributes most of it to the maple body. This was before he had the screamon demon pickups - he was using a SD distortion with some mods. Check it out if you are into George's music at all - it's very inspiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 download where? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roli Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 I don't want to sound profane, but I didn't notice anything special in that highly distorted and saturated guitar sound. I know, I know, I'm a tone deaf ****. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 Mahogany doesn't sound bad just listen to Angus Young!!! lol.. Sorry bout that I just like his tone alot.. umm also could have something to do with the Marshall amps a bit.. lol ANGUS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 Everyone hears music a bit differently. I'm not going to drag this conversation out since it was supposed to be centered on the type of wood to be used BUT since someone felt the need to slam on that style of music: I'm sure you realize that whatever your favorite style of music or favorite "sound" from a guitar is, there will be others who will not think much of it. What I find boring and lifeless may be what you find to be tone-rich and exciting. I happen to enjoy listening to older Lynch music and players like Joe Satriani. They both use the "saturated" sound but I personally don't think that makes their sound any less special than a cleaner sound. The first person to post this topic was asking about a "Heavy" sound as I recall. My replies were intended to help this person with ideas on what wood can be used for what I consider to be "Heavy". My point, again, was to consider Maple even though many would discount it for a heavy sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roli Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 Man, you shouldn't take that as an offence... I meant that the recipe is simple: take a hard piece of wood, throw a humbucker on it and you'll get that sound. Those men still have awesome skills, but the body material isn't that critical for that kind of sound IMHO. LOL poor me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 What I find boring and lifeless may be what you find to be tone-rich and exciting. I happen to enjoy listening to older Lynch music and players like Joe Satriani. They both use the "saturated" sound but I personally don't think that makes their sound any less special than a cleaner sound. wow.. hope It wasn't me who gave you the impression I don't like Lynch or Satriani.. I think both of them are great guitarist with great tone... and nothing wrong with maple... actually like I said.. it's just a matter of preference... many things go into a great tone.. You can take a great guitar and a shabby amp and have a terrible tone.. but I can take a bad guitar and plug it into a good amp and it will sound really good... So, in my personal opinion.. wood doesn't affect the tone near as much as the amp does.. or pickups... just from my experience... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 I don't want to sound profane, but I didn't notice anything special in that highly distorted and saturated guitar sound. I guess I don't understand what that comment meant then. If you are saying that you cannot hear a difference in the maple bodies, that's fine, but it sounded like you had a problem with the "highly distorted" sound. I felt the need to say this since it sounded like you were putting down the heavy distortion sound as if it has no tone worth talking about. Maybe I misunderstood? I don't know if a maple body will make a difference. I am willing to accept George's comment as truth when he says it does make a difference and I wanted to help bring this up since it is such an unusual body wood for that style of music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roli Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 Yes, I do not like that kind of sound. So what? I'm not your god who tells you the truth, these are only my opinions and feelings. I'd be glad if you would build that full maple guitar you want. I'm not a barrier in your way, don't be so piqued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 well i have to side with dave on this one.tone carries through even when heavily distorted(or saturated as you put it.)every part of the guitar including body material plays a key role in attaining that sound that you find to be great.every guitarist has that personal quest to reach the goal he has in mind for HIS "perfect" sound.i have spent over 12 years trying to find my own idea of great tone,and i found it in alder,maple,walnut,and emg pickups.i like to think that maybe i can help people with the same musical tastes as me to reach thier own sound. that's why i ask those questions like "what do you listen to?" and"how fast do you play?" i try to find out specifically what the person asking the question likes and wants so i can try to be helpful without showing a preference towards what "i" use if the guy had said "i want a heavy rock sound like ac/dc." i would definately reccomend mahogany.(by the way the clarity of angus is due to very little distortion and less bass.) but mahogany,while having a heavy low end,does tend to muddy up under extreme speed muting.if you are not familiar with that type of sound you won't really notice. and i believe you are right guitarfrenzy about the amp having more to do with it.but starting with a good base does help. but really i just want the guy who posted to have as much specific info as possible. i don't care much for george lynch,but he is one of the great guitarists of my time.judas priest also had an affinity for all maple guitars. but if you want to make it all maple i would suggest using soft maple for the body and hard maple for the neck.it will be lighter that way.maple is extremely hard to work though as it is very hard.alder and mahogany sand much quicker anyway i hope all this helps sad peter pan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted September 9, 2003 Report Share Posted September 9, 2003 I'm not a barrier in your way, don't be so piqued. OK, thanks. I guess I have a hard time understanding your comments. No "pique" happening here - just trying to make two points - maple could work, distorted sound isn't without tone. The god and barrier comments lead me to believe that I may have offended you - my replies were not intended to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted September 9, 2003 Report Share Posted September 9, 2003 you guys still bickering over this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roli Posted September 9, 2003 Report Share Posted September 9, 2003 Why, it is fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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