westhemann Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 YOU CAN'T POLISH A TURD. i have always loved that saying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrock Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 makes me laugh every time Can Litchfield polish a taco? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 makes me laugh every time Can Litchfield polish a taco? you bet he can!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 I can polish off a few tacos with fire sauce like nobody else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEdwardJones Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 the truth is they don't use basswood in so many guitars today because of it's tone...they use it because it is cheap.basswood imo is only REASONABLY decent for high gain situations and even then alder is better.i don't really care who plays it or how you amplify it.the bottom line is that all that amplification is just to mask anotherwise one dimensional tone.alder,mahogany,and the other good tonewoods all have depth of tone.basswood and agathis and chesswood don't.bottom line is if the guys you are talking about can't tell the difference,then why would they want to argue about it with someone who can. but the question was and is do woods make a difference.the answer is YES Your first point "Basswood is only reasonably decent for high gain situations." Is, again, your opinion, and you're welcome to have it. However, that's not the gospel truth. Some people like the sound of basswood, some people don't.. I mean, off the top of my head Steve Vai, Rocky "There's Never Enough Distortion" George and Paul Gilbert all use(d) basswood guitars for a good long while and the one time I met him Rob Balducci (super nice guy for those who don't know him, killer guitarist as well) went on and on about his love of Basswood and maple bodied guitars. Old Danelectros were made out of counter tops and a pristine one costs more than my car. Obviously SOMEBODY likes that sound. Ken Parker has recounted on many, MANY occasions how he got no end of crap for his choice of construction methods (carbon fiber, basswood and poplar? POPLAR!!!!!!!!!????????) but you find so many people who swear by Parkers these days. You have ibanez making guitars out of sawdust and plastic, aluminum guitars, etc., etc., etc. The sky's the limit it seems. As they say, "Ice cream" Your second point about if the guys who can't tell the difference, blah blah blah. I'm not arguing, really. I'm just presenting another point of view. If you have woods which you think are good or better, that's very good for you. Some people can plug almost anything into their setup and get "their sound" what's the point in telling them that their favorite guitar is made out of wood that will always sound like crap? I've never said that wood doesn't contribute to the sound, I think if you read back I've said, from post one that wood definitely does influence the sound. However, more than anything I think wood determines the type of pickups you use. (Other things that I think influence your sound, your body chemistry, your body type, heat, humidity and elevation relative to sea level. Seriously, think about it) Like I said, that's only my opinion, your mileage may vary. But when it comes down to it there are a couple of facts: 1. Everybody's taste is different 2. Wood is but one component of an electric guitar's overall amplified sound. 3. We could go back and forth forever and never agree on much more than these three things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEdwardJones Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 I'm with Wes. You shouldn't need supa dupa processing to make the guitar sound good, that's what Cher does and she sounds bloody awful. YOU CAN'T POLISH A TURD. It's possible, however, that you need supa dupa to get the sound that you hear in your head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 I love it when you get into a debate G It makes for good reading while I'm at work doing nothing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 IMO body wood type is important only if you play on the clean end of the spectrum; do this enough and you will quickly begin to see the differences between woods. Neck wood also plays into it, and fretboard wood will go a long way toward determining the attack of your sound (rosewood for softer attack, maple for medium, ebony for crisp attack). (Scott, sorry I can't help it...every time I glance at your avatar, I think "diary cow"...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 I have to say that i am split with this GE Jones has a point that nowadays, due to digital electronics, the actually guitar you play matters alot less. for example. my school invested in one of the nice shiny red Line 6 pods for the school studios. a friend of mine was showing it to me and after a quick tinker he dials stuff into the processor. he set it upto replicate a Tube screamer running through a marshal stack. well bugger me it sounded pretty fecking awesome. he went through a load of stuff on there. its got presets for black sabbath (paranoid is what i heard, again it was spot on the right sound), van halen and a host of others. he was playing all this through his kramer striker. Basswood body i will add. Digital electronics can do all of this and without too much trouble. however, i personally dislike digital effects. iwould much rather have a real tube screamer and a real marshal stack and be able to plug in a real guitar that i know is goingto sound nice without me having to spend an hour programing everything into a pod. as with everything, personal preference reigns lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 Does no one play clean anymore...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 i have an old acoustic guitar so i rarelly play clean on my electric lol. i still do a bit but for strumming the acoustic sounds better lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEdwardJones Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 Does no one play clean anymore...? I do. A lot more now than I used to. Body wood makes more a difference there (IMHO, and yours too, apparently). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEdwardJones Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 I love it when you get into a debate G It makes for good reading while I'm at work doing nothing It's because I talk a lot, isn't it? As we say down here way south of the Mason-Dixon line, "I get it honest" you should see my momma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrock Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 I play clean most of the time. My amps a liability, it came with my first guitar. Still, I want to build one to match my guitar and case (once they're built too). Project ToneMonkey continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 I love it when you get into a debate G It makes for good reading while I'm at work doing nothing It's because I talk a lot, isn't it? As we say down here way south of the Mason-Dixon line, "I get it honest" you should see my momma. as we say here JUST south of the mason dixon line, you've got the gift of gab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEdwardJones Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 as we say here JUST south of the mason dixon line, you've got the gift of gab My wife, from JUST north of the Mason-Dixon line says "Dang, shut up already!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vendelcrow Posted December 15, 2003 Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 I think agathis is a made up trade name (for the music industry) for some cheapo, third grade wood. It would probably become pulp, if it wasn't for the japanese / korean guitar giants. None of my books on world woods mention it in any way by that name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 Does no one play clean anymore...? Yes, but most often with a chorus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Page_Master Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 hello everyone funny you people talk about agathis. some dude from the bank came over tonight to sort some **** out with the mortgage. now he plays guitar as well and he is from new zealand. anyway, i told him i am building an axe and showed him my progress, he was impressed. he then told me he used to build guitars beck in new zealand out of Kauri Pine, a native tree to New Zealand and Australia. Kauri [a Maori name] is the common name, the real name is Agathis australis or robusta. now the name might have australis [as in Australia] but the Agathis australis is the New Zealand species, and the Agathis robusta is the Australian species. he built guitars for 15 year out of this, so i think he knows what he is talking about. he also said that Kauri makes very beautiful tone wood. he said: 'it sounds like nothing i have ever heard, it is gorgeous'. [i don't necessarily agree with him as i am sticking to what i know. mahogany, maple and ebony] i then asked him, 'why are cheap guitars made from Kauri then?' he said: 'yes, it is quite a very cheap wood to buy, as there is somuch of it, but it only has a bad reputation because guitar companies have used it on their cheapest models of guitar and bass.' so there you go! Page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Page_Master Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 hi again just one other thing. if electric guitars were invented in australia or new zealand, perhaps Agathis would be the equivalent of say Alder or Basswood. all in all, if we don't let our personal opinions get in the way, you can't really say Alder is better than Basswood or Basswood is better than Agathis, they are different tone woods that produce different tones. and it is for this reason to say that Agathis is not a bad wood at all. if it was a bad tone wood they wouldn't use it at all. BUT I STILL THINK MAHOGANY IS BETTER. see, that's my personal opinion getting in the way, i just prefer the tone of Mahogany over Agathis. That's All Folks! Page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 here`s some kauri (swamp kauri) guitars , and its a beautiul looking wood! if a guitar looked that good i would`nt care what it sounded like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 oops, forgot the link.... here it is! www.langcaster.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nordic Gawd Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 ah yes the langcaster. I've heard great things about it. the swamp kauri is an extremely rare and old old old wood. AND ITS SO BEAUTIFUL, but is it really worth paying that much? in my opinion no but it sure is a GREAT guitar. listen to the demo. its got a great sound to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nordic Gawd Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 * the swamp kauri they use is old. my fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 the agathis guitars i have played have been very bland in tone.....i don't know if these are the same woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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