Hello all,
Much of my own delight in perusing the various threads here at this outstanding forum involves discussions regarding the latest electric guitar hardware...bridges, tailpieces, pickups, tuning machines, finishes, etc....
I have learned quite a bit about such things here, as I am sure that many of you readers have as well.
I would like to address a very pivotal and primary aspect of the sound of the electric guitar...one which I feel may get far less attention than it deserves...the unamplified, strictly acoustical sound of an electric guitar...and why it is of real importance.
I shall limit my "lecture" a bit in order to (hopefully) generate questions in the Socratic style; therefor, it will be encumbant upon the readers to make this thread a success, by means of some of you asking good questions that I can help develop into a true understanding of the subject-at-hand.
1) The acoustical nature of any electric guitar imposes firm boundaries/limits upon what can ever be heard thru the speaker cabinet.
The acoustic/unplugged sound of any electric guitar will reveal the limits of it's amplified tonal capabilities.
Let us imagine the acoustic sound of an electric guitar as being the fence that surrounds a baseball park; there is a bit of space surrounded by a hard boundary.
The "fence" represents the limits of what the acoustical nature of the given guitar can produce, tonally; the space surrounded by the "fence" is the place within which we can influence the tone via hardware, pickups, strings and the like;
We can "steer" the amplified tone this way and that way via hardware, string, and pickup choices...but only within the boundaries of the "fence".
We cannot efficiently boost any frequencies that do not reside (with any strength) in the acoustical nature of the guitar.(It is true that via various types of electronic trickery an extended harmonic series can be generated...I am talking about the basic, organic tones here).
This may be why we often end up "chasing our tail" when it comes to trying to mod a guitar to our liking; all too often, what we want to hear is something that does not reside in the acoustical nature of the instrument, and therefor cannot be had by any means.
2) Recognising/hearing the acoustic nature of an electric guitar.
In contrast to, say, a D-28 or any other wholly acoustic guitar, the tonal qualities of an electric guitar (the "ballpark"...remember?) are not so immediately apparent. Obviously, an acoustic guitar is designed to "speak" by means of it's loud acoustic nature..."what you hear is what you get".
This is no less important in the case of an electric guitar, but it is harder to hear and thus to judge it's acoustic "voice".
Because the amplitude of the unplugged electric guitar is weak, we must consider how to listen to it, in order to best judge it's potential.
a. Be sure that new strings are installed on the guitar. We need all of the help that we can get!
b. Take the guitar into a small, resonant room...a smallish bathroom can be perfect...and play the guitar. The room will act amplify the sound..and the sound of the room has to be taken into account...but any small, reflective space will help.
c. While playing, ocassionally press your ear against the side of the guitar. This will not be an accurrate representation of the sound, but it will give you extra information regarding the low mids and bottom. Remember that these lower tones have the least amplitude (thats why your Strat sounds so "stringy" when you strum it casually...you are hearing the higher frequencies the easiest). It is hard for the string energy to move that solidbody to any loud register in those lower frequencies...but they are there..
d. Invite a learned friend to listen too.
e. Take the guitar into your oft-used living areas, and play it unplugged there as well. Your brain has become very used to the acoustics of those areas (TV room?) and thus these are good areas to listen for "good tone".
That is enough for now.
Suggested Topics for further discussion include (but are not limited to)...
1. What attributes am I listening for?
2. Why does the acoustic tone affect what I hear out of my amp?
3. If the acoustic tone is so important, why then should I care, if my sound is built from wholly electronic means, ie, massive amp gain, signal processing, and the like?
4. If the acoustic sound is so important, why am I getting such a different tone from my new pickups/bridge/tailpiece/etc?
5. What about the role of chambers in a semi-hollow electric?
I will be happy to address these questions...should questions like them actually arise.
But the main aim is to get you all talking about these things among yourselves, every bit as aiming Q's at me.
I am not aware that this topic has ever been adressed in print, anywhere, to any great degree...I may well be wrong.
Get talking..I'll be around.
Your friend Terry
