dmsean Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I'm doing my first build. I'm wondering what kind of tone I might get out of it. I've got a walnut body, Maple top, Cocobolo neck with a Pau ferro fret board. I'm going to deep set the neck just because. Let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotYou Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) I'm doing my first build. I'm wondering what kind of tone I might get out of it. I've got a walnut body, Maple top, Cocobolo neck with a Pau ferro fret board. I'm going to deep set the neck just because. Let me know. It's depends on the actual pieces you're using, but it sounds like it might be a good combination for blues. It's tough to say though. If you're never worked with cocobolo before, be careful. The dust is a skin and lung irritant. It's especially bad for your lungs. Ebony will do some nasty stuff to your windpipe, lungs, and nostrils, but cocobolo is much worse for most people. I've heard of people being sent to hospital before because they sanded and sawed it without a mask and their lungs suddenly stopped wanting to work. Edited February 13, 2009 by NotYou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 potentially (because all wood varies a great deal!!) a bright top end with strong mids from the body, the fretboard should have a warmer/softer attack that will help balance that out... not so sure about the coco's influence but i imagine it keeping everything nice and tight and hifi whilst still adding a little warmth personally i would be considering a chambered body to keep the weight and brigtness of the walnut/maple body to a minimum your mileage may vary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddW Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 what kind of pickups? what amp? what scale length? what gauge strings . . . Sorry, but while I agree the woods are bright, if you're using a short scale and HBs, it may not be that bright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Sorry, but while I agree the woods are bright, if you're using a short scale and HBs, it may not be that bright. indeed... but even with a short scale and humbuckers it has the potential to be a brighter mix than another short scale humbuckered guitar built with some other woods, and it still has the potential to be brighter than a bright telecaster depending on the individual woods was i really supposed to mention every last factor or possible outcome? or just the general idea of what kind of tone I might get out of it like was asked for!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmsean Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) Holy Crap, Ok let see I had already planned on chambering the body I figured it would help with the weight. I'm going with a 25.5 in. scale. I usually use 11s but might go heavier. I got a set of Seymour duncan hotrodded humbuckers the SH-2 & SH-4 combo. I've got a bugera 5150 copy tube amp. The Walnut is a fairly staight grained book matched piece about an inch thick, The maple is a highly flamed book matched piece about a 3/8 thick, the Coco is and extremely dark extremly resonant piece, it will be solid one piece except for the peg head joint except for the Pau Ferro. Edited February 13, 2009 by dmsean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmsean Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Sorry, but while I agree the woods are bright, if you're using a short scale and HBs, it may not be that bright. indeed... but even with a short scale and humbuckers it has the potential to be a brighter mix than another short scale humbuckered guitar built with some other woods, and it still has the potential to be brighter than a bright telecaster depending on the individual woods was i really supposed to mention every last factor or possible outcome? or just the general idea of what kind of tone I might get out of it like was asked for!! This is the exact type of info I'm looking for thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I'm doing my first build. I'm wondering what kind of tone I might get out of it. I've got a walnut body, Maple top, Cocobolo neck with a Pau ferro fret board. I'm going to deep set the neck just because. Let me know. To borrow a reference from another site..."That combination of woods is going to really provide you with some phenomenal mid-hump." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 It probably won't be as "snappy" as a traditional Tele or a Strat on the basis you're using what I call "slower" woods. The maple top may address the warmness of the rosewoods and add a little extra top end perhaps. Growly perhaps, or mid-humpy if you will matt ;-D Some slightly-hotter-than-trad PAF variants would be wicked according to my imagination on this in the neck, and I would perhaps go Tone Zone in the bridge position. That is purely just me however. Oh wait, did I just mix SD and DMs there? haha Go for it - sounds like a good looking and nice characterful combination. Stop debating and make with the dust and chips already!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Man...I think it's going to be very bright...the walnut may save it though...walnut is a creamy,warm toned wood(standard open grained walnut,not those fancy claro figured pieces)...not bright at all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Pickups and hardware can change the over all tone more than the woods (depending how much output the pickups provide). But no matter how it sounds, those are some attractive woods, some of my favourites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Meh..in a way,but you are still amplifying the signal the wood is giving... Anyway...if that were completely true,then the alder Jacksons would not sound so much better than the poplar Jacksons....just for example... You can also EQ out the unwanted frequencies with your amp...at least some of them....but I think that is not the point,is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I vote that comment be stricken from the record Wes you daft git. Electric guitar pickups do not amplify the sound of the wood - they induce a signal within the pickup coils through vibrating strings moving within their magnetic flux. The wood and other materials the guitar/hardware are made from interact with that vibrating string length stretched over it through sympathetic resonance and the coupling of the nut, bridge saddles, frets, etc. Acoustically, the instrument may sound different of course. Scale and string tension will also define "tone" or more accurately "timbre". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I would have to say that they walnut I've used is not as bright sounding as maple, but I wouldn't describe it as warm. It has gotten a brighter tone, but definitely creamier than maple. Not as bitting. Now I personally love the JB/Jazz combo, but I think that JB might be a bight too bright of a pickup for walnut. I would have gone with a Custom Distortion or a Custom Custom. They cut the highs a little more, but you guitar is likely to end up brighter to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Ross Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 (edited) Now I personally love the JB/Jazz combo, but I think that JB might be a bight too bright of a pickup for walnut. I have a JB/59 combo in a Walnut guitar, and it's definitely not too bright of a tone. It's very balanced & pleasant sounding. But I'm in the camp that thinks the woods play a minor part in the overall tone. Edited February 14, 2009 by DC Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I vote that comment be stricken from the record Wes you daft git. There are many ways of looking at it,but which do you think is easier for the average member of this forum to understand,my simple wording or your convoluted essay that means exactly the same thing in the end(wood affects tone to a large degree)... Seems as if you just wish to show how precise you can be My advice is this...if you pick dense,bright woods,expect your base tone to be bright...you can try to make up for it through hardware,pickups,scale length,all that garbage,but in the end you might be better off with better combinations of wood...depending on what you are looking for...I still think I have owned more guitars of varying woods with similar hardware and electronics than most of you guys...(well over 4 dozen I should say...90% of which had floyd original trems and EMG 81/85 sets) So I do know very well the role wood plays in the tonality of an instrument...though I may not "know" much else... FYI I still think the best tone( to my ears) for metal comes from mahogany neck/body,3/4" hard maple cap,and an ebony board...or an all mahogany with an ebony board...both are nice for everything else I like alder body,maple neck,ebony board... still have not tried Limba...but that is soon to come... anyway...just my opinion...but it is at least as valid as any of yours... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I think we've touched upon an interesting topic, just how much of everything (amps, pedals, woods, hardware etc.) make up "tone". I have no idea how to start making a list of percentages and what not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 I came into some 2-piece Maple glue-ups that will be good for body blanks. Not being a big fan of Maple for bodies, (actually I have never built a Maple bodied guitar, just going on heresy and common sense) ...I am looking forward to chambering the hell out of one or two for experimentation to see if that will knock down some of the brightness and make a great sounding chambered guitar with a softer top cap, like Mahogany (now THATS a turnaround!)...I have never run across any threads of anyone who chambered Maple for bodies...should be interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 apologies to toddw for my grouchy response on friday - i have been ill with food poisoning and should really stay away from forums when i aint feeling well anyway, i am a fan of walnut guitars... without wishing to get into the whole 'what plays the most important role' debate my experience tells me walnut guitars do have strong mids and highs. That doesnt make it an uncomfortable brightness but its definately a characteristic i have noticed thats different to the more common guitar woods (i nearly said tonewoods then ) i think walnut works particularly well with P-90's. compared to the brightness of maple i would describe walnut as creamy i also think maple can sometimes be an appropriate choice for a body wood. i have played some maple bodied guitars that were piercingly bright, and some that sounded pretty decent. They all had the strong top-end but i dont know why we automatically see that as a bad thing, its an important ingrediant to the mix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmsean Posted March 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Well I tried to upload a few pics of her yesterday but was not successful. Today my stain came in so I went ahead and stained it. I used one of the tutoials from this site. I must say the flamed maple is OH MY GOD I think the house is on fire!!! I must say holy jeez I've never, yep I said never, seen a top like this before. I'm hoping to get some pictures uploaded soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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