Actually, that is a somewhat funny question on this discussion board especially. With all the other forums generating tremending bandwidth in discussing subtle things not easily measurable, how would you go about spec'ing a guitar? Good luck in coming up with a measure of the tonal quality of the wood... 
leadbelly said:Actually, that is a somewhat funny question on this discussion board especially. With all the other forums generating tremending bandwidth in discussing subtle things not easily measurable, how would you go about spec'ing a guitar? Good luck in coming up with a measure of the tonal quality of the wood...
LOL.. too right
I like my guitar - Monterey Stage Series.. hey shut up.. lol
im making a custom at the moment though
Unfortunately guitar tone has very little to do with any one factor, and as anyone will tell you, each guitar has a different tone. The wood, the strings, the pickups, the distance of the pickups, the location of the pickups, the wiring, the bridge, the texture and material of the nut, the kind of tremolo system used, etc. are some (not all) of the factors tht make up guitar tone.
There are indicators - Cherry wood has a 'Darker' sound, Maple is 'balanced', Spruce and Sitka have a 'bright' tonality, Fibreglass has loads of sustain, etc. But there is no way you're gonna know how a particular pickup will sound etc. based on specifications...
That's why there are no 'specs'. They will talk to you about material, finish, etc. But every guitarist will tell you that there is no way you can figure out from specs how a guitar will sound, or indeed what kind of a tone it has. There are empirical suggestions (For example one knows that the Gibson and Epi Les Pauls sound darker and heavier than the Fender Strats), but specs in terms of 'tech specs' are pretty useless (Stevie Ray Vaughan said - 'Every Strat has a different personality - the feel, the tone, the playability - they are all unique')
There are indicators - Cherry wood has a 'Darker' sound, Maple is 'balanced', Spruce and Sitka have a 'bright' tonality, Fibreglass has loads of sustain, etc. But there is no way you're gonna know how a particular pickup will sound etc. based on specifications...
That's why there are no 'specs'. They will talk to you about material, finish, etc. But every guitarist will tell you that there is no way you can figure out from specs how a guitar will sound, or indeed what kind of a tone it has. There are empirical suggestions (For example one knows that the Gibson and Epi Les Pauls sound darker and heavier than the Fender Strats), but specs in terms of 'tech specs' are pretty useless (Stevie Ray Vaughan said - 'Every Strat has a different personality - the feel, the tone, the playability - they are all unique')
Bukitoo said:
But even that is the same issue. On paper, every Duncan pickup is better than an original Gibson soapbar. A spec that is worse on paper for gain, response, etc. may actually be the characteristic sound that is sought after.
I remember reading a review many years ago where this pricey custom guitar, which advertised a vintage Gibson tone, was slammed by the reviewer for poor shielding, which the reviewer felt was a rip off for $x000. The manufacturer shot back that poor shielding was part and parcel of the 50's Gibson tone and they did it intentionally, and that you couldn't have one without the other.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.