# The Great Ongoing Guitar Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172 "2010-01-31T23:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 275
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5485 "2018-12-10T15:03:02Z")
> [@SigMan](#): > > I have this Parker PDF30 guitar for $200 new from Reverb com. It’s a cheapest guitar made by Parker and it’s amazingly well made. Mahogany body and Maple neck makes a good tonal set. I play it with my Vox VT40+ amp (with the British Mullard vintage tube in it) and they sounded creamy together. > > I wrote to Parker Co and asked what pickups are they? They said Duncans (not Duncan Design). They are unmarked so no idea where they’re made but they sound friggin good. I’m thinking Tone Riders. > > [https://i.postimg.cc/BZ1V6L04/S5030863.jpg](https://postimages.org/) That looks interesting. I’ve been looking for something a bit different than the Gibson/Fender/Epiphone “rut” I’m in. What is the PDF like? What is it best suited for? ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5486 "2018-12-10T22:43:36Z")
It’s kinda like an SG. The neck is accessible to the hilt and very light. It sounds like what two humbucker guitar would. Parker may say the pups are Duncans but they’re not. Not at this price point ($300 retail). They sound good though, not muddy at all like some cheap pups would. I had my share of em. They’re up for sale as I quit playing years ago. I tried playing/noodle again but the pains were too much so they’re still new old stock. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5487 "2018-12-10T22:52:34Z")
By the way, look at the specs. Good specs I must say. [http://www.parkerguitars.com/products/pdf/PDF30.html](http://www.parkerguitars.com/products/pdf/PDF30.html) ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5488 "2018-12-11T18:34:50Z")
Howdy folks!! It’s been a while. Some of you might remember me from back at the beginning of this thread along with a couple of guitar build threads I posted back in the day. Haven’t posted in a long while but I’m always lurking here and checking stuff out from time to time. Nice to see the thread is still moving. 🙂 Just wanted to post some guitars I’ve been building a playing lately. The addiction never ends. Here’s one I built for my tattoo artist. Bolt-on les paul clone with a rosewood neck: [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p3srjafel9ow9qd/IMG_0678.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p3srjafel9ow9qd/IMG_0678.jpg?dl=0) [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1v0lgktuv4uq25r/IMG_0680.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1v0lgktuv4uq25r/IMG_0680.jpg?dl=0) Telemaster I built that I’ve since sold: [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6zcupl5d3evqr1/IMG_0679.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s6zcupl5d3evqr1/IMG_0679.jpg?dl=0) PureSalem Tomkat that I bought in Portland, OR. Badass rock and roll machine with P90’s: [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ipu3f6y5o4z0xpb/IMG_0858.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ipu3f6y5o4z0xpb/IMG_0858.jpg?dl=0) Relic telecaster I built and relic’d myself. Tried to get that Steve “The Colonel” Cropper vibe: [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bgsoisc462duhs1/IMG_1092.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bgsoisc462duhs1/IMG_1092.jpg?dl=0) A pine body Esquire that I built. The license plate pickguard has tags from my birth month: [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hzwd7j1utx38dnj/IMG_1933.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hzwd7j1utx38dnj/IMG_1933.jpg?dl=0) Jazzmaster I’m working on. Relic’d MJT body: [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1u8i8yrptlyxr90/IMG_2009.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1u8i8yrptlyxr90/IMG_2009.jpg?dl=0) And the one that started this whole guitar building nonesense. Some of you may remember this one: [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/i57spblif3l7asp/IMG_1929.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/i57spblif3l7asp/IMG_1929.jpg?dl=0) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5489 "2018-12-13T01:54:00Z")
Hey, **BigShooter** , good to see you! I remember your old build threads and really enjoyed them, and I totally remember the final guitar in your list, very cool. Also love the Telemaster, please send me one 🙂 It’s really good to have you drop in again, please hang out! ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5490 "2018-12-16T12:58:49Z")
Nice guitars, **BigShooter**! I like the ones you’ve built yourself, but the one I like the most is the PureSalem Tomkat. I’m looking at picking up a used Guild S-200 Thunderbird myself, I’ve wanted one since I was a teenager. A friend’s father (who was the first person I knew that could set up a Danelectro properly) owned an S-50 JetStar. After I saw his, I’ve always had a lust for the Gumby-bodied guitars from Guild. That one’s a pretty homage. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5491 "2018-12-16T20:10:34Z")
I won [this beauty](https://app.box.com/s/8idv0n9tjbuee08z2moglhglmk8evwc4) in our company holiday raffle on Friday. Limited Edition 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster. It is so damn nice. It really deserves a much better guitarist than me, but I’m going to do my best with it. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5492 "2018-12-17T15:47:21Z")
> [@Anamorphic](#): > > I won [this beauty](https://app.box.com/s/8idv0n9tjbuee08z2moglhglmk8evwc4) in our company holiday raffle on Friday. Limited Edition 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster. It is so damn nice. It really deserves a much better guitarist than me, but I’m going to do my best with it. Lucky! That is a nice looking guitar. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5493 "2019-01-30T04:25:36Z")
Ok, so I’ve been pretty firm in my position that tone wood is complete nonsense, and occasionally kind of vocal about it. I felt that if it didn’t realistically change the way the pickups and string supporting hardware behaved, it wasn’t going to affect the sound of a solid body guitar. Then I watched [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbyg0d1njk0) from Tim Sway. He built a maple slug with pickup and neck that he can use to switch out of several tone wood bodies that he’s CNC routed to fit the slug snugly, recorded into a direct input. No tone controls, volume knob or amp to get in the way of the test, and he strums/sustains an E chord on each. Much to my surprise, even with the wood supporting the pickups/strings being the same, they all sound a teeny bit different. The tone woods all sound largely the same, as well as the heavy exotic wood. The poplar and the solid core door scrap sound brighter, and maybe a bit more complex. The MDF sounds somewhere between the bare slug and the tone woods. I suspect this test really is revealing how density affects the tone, and if the MDF slug holder was thicker, it would probably sound more like the tone woods. So, I was wrong, even wood that doesn’t support the strings and pickups has an effect on the overall sound. However, in the case of the woods that are usually revered, this difference seems very small. Plus, reclaimed solid core door might sound better. Be sure to watch the end where he edits together several takes with the different guitars through the amp. They all sound pretty close, but there are differences. So, it’s my hat to eat, but with those caveats it’s still pretty tasty. Oh, and I’m getting an $85 used(in my case), around $140 new Epiphone Les Paul Special I - bolt on neck w/P90s. Lots of cheap guitars are pretty great, and I have high hopes for this one! ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5494 "2019-01-30T04:48:00Z")
Missed the edit window, but [here is his follow up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM7wDZENKEM) with just poplar, mahogany and swamp ash playing a song through that reverbrocket. The differences are a little more pronounced in that case, I can actually kind of pick out which one is which with my eye closed. I can certainly tell when they switch. I still kind of like the poplar better, but the others kind of catch up when the amp is in the mix. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5495 "2019-01-30T06:09:02Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Missed the edit window, but [here is his follow up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM7wDZENKEM) with just poplar, mahogany and swamp ash playing a song through that reverbrocket. The differences are a little more pronounced in that case, I can actually kind of pick out which one is which with my eye closed. I can certainly tell when they switch. I still kind of like the poplar better, but the others kind of catch up when the amp is in the mix. Wow. I’m really surprised to hear that much difference, especially in the second video; it’s pronounced even to me, and my ears are so bad they ride in their own wheelchair. So I was wrong as well. Heh, great minds think alike (and fools seldom differ). But I still maintain this: that of all the many guitars I’ve heard - made out of wood, Lucite, MDF, carbon fiber, concrete, cardboard, or greasy grimy gopher guts, I’ve never actually heard a guitar body that actively sounds BAD, and I think that the vast majority of time spent dwelling on this issue instead of factors that contribute far more to your guitar’s tone, (the electronics, y’know?) is time wasted. At least for me, anyway - an EQ pedal is cheaper, faster, and much more effective. But OTOH, I guess everybody needs a hobby. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5496 "2019-01-30T15:07:08Z")
Tone wood does make a difference. I swap pickups a lot (always chasing a tone) and found one sounded better in Mahogany than in Alder. The other pups from Mahogany sounded better in Alder. As a result I matched the Carvin M22 set (T&V) that was in my Harper (one piece Mahogany) to my Carvin DC127 (Alder with Maple top) and the opposite with the Seymour Duncan D’Activators. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5497 "2019-01-31T05:46:52Z")
> [@SigMan](#): > > Tone wood does make a difference. I swap pickups a lot (always chasing a tone) and found one sounded better in Mahogany than in Alder. The other pups from Mahogany sounded better in Alder. > > As a result I matched the Carvin M22 set (T&V) that was in my Harper (one piece Mahogany) to my Carvin DC127 (Alder with Maple top) and the opposite with the Seymour Duncan D’Activators. Well that’s sort of a different argument, I think. Unless these guitars are exactly the same, there are other factors different between them that affect the tone. In those videos, most of the bodies are the exact same shape, the masonite holder is thinner than the others. Due to him controlling the stuff that’s holding the strings and pickups by making them a single unit, he’s eliminated even the structural parts that would be different, unless you count holding the slug containing the neck/pickup/bridge assembly being made of more firm material being structural. Even though he eliminated the major functional parts as being a factor, the parts hanging off the sides of where the guitar meets the road had an appreciable effect on the tone and even the apparent volume of the guitar. It wasn’t huge, but it was undeniably there. At this point, I’m going to have to re-think my position on whether the _shape_ of an electric solidbody affects the sound. If all the stuff that’s just hanging on a solid body affects the sound where you can hear it, why wouldn’t having more or less of it suspended in different shapes not affect it? Again, it ain’t a huge difference to where I’d choose one guitar over another if there were a difference in price - amps and guitars have tone controls, and pickups change more than the wood does. But it does exist, and I can’t deny it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5498 "2019-01-31T14:25:00Z")
I don’t know about the shape of the body but the mass of it. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5499 "2019-02-02T04:38:12Z")
> [@SigMan](#): > > I don’t know about the shape of the body but the mass of it. You know, I was in the same camp for the most part before seeing those videos. I could see the mass of the structural components affecting the sustain and the tone. But he’s not even changing the structural components, this is wood that’s hanging off of them. So, it’s just a part that’s hanging off of the parts that make the guitar happen, and it’s affecting the tone with the waves that it’s resonating with and reflecting back into the functional components. It’s not a large difference, and I would expect the shape to have even less effect, but now I think it’s almost surely there. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5500 "2019-02-04T21:06:53Z")
So I’ve been unhappy with my VinoCaster and never really got it where I wanted it to be tone-wise. I built it with Fralin Blues Blade p/u s and a Warmoth 72 Thinline body and a Bigsby. I installed a 4 position switch but did custom pots and vintage wiring with a switch to phase reverse the bridge PU. I’ve decided to remove the phase reverse in part because the switch is euchered (basically a kill switch now), and replace it with a diy Black Ice distortion option. Additionally, I’m planning on installing [this](http://www.toneshapers.com/toneshaper-nextgen-wiring-kit-ng01-long-split-shaft-pots-4-way-switch.html) Tone shaper kit. I still want to build up a kijiji special with a HB/P-90 combo but for now I’m going to try this out and some time down the road do a custom neck. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5501 "2019-02-04T21:27:37Z")
I don’t believe in tonewoods for solid body electrics. Don’t think they have a single solitary thing to do with sound. That’s just me. That being said, here is my new favorite [“tonewood”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBWc5Ye-uLU). What exactly do they make pencils out of, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5502 "2019-02-05T04:50:00Z")
I’m quite familiar with the combination bridge / vibrato tailpiece of a Stratocaster. I’m curious about the vibrato tailpiece of a Jazzmaster / Jaguar and have some questions. 1. Can the arm be easily removed? As easily as the arm on a Stratocaster? And if the answer to 1 is ‘yes’ 1. On a Jazzmaster, on a properly set up tailpiece, if I a) slightly depress the arm, b) put the button in the lock position, c) release the arm, and d) detach the arm will the vibrato tailpiece then be as good as a hard tail? ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5503 "2019-02-05T12:10:18Z")
They look like the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5504 "2019-02-13T18:38:01Z")
I’ve never been one to believe in tone woods for _electric_ guitars. Do [pencils](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBWc5Ye-uLU) make a good tone wood? Who knows, but this guitar sounds terrific. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=274) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=276)