Cool video and interesting insights! The weight of the guitar matters much more if you’re standing for a while playing, especially if your back hurts and are trying to wield a 12# Les Paul. Also, the lighter ones are a little easier to throw behind your back and over your shoulder. 😂 I think the Friedman guitar with the maple board would sound a little brighter because of the feel under your fingers and the because amount of pressure to ring the notes compared to the ebony. I do believe that the density of the wood is relative to the amount of sustain and resonance. I went down the rabbit hole over guitar shapes and pickups and came to the conclusion that amplifiers and speaker cabinets make significantly more of a difference than the subtle nuances between different guitars.
This is heresy!!! But all true 😂. I would even go so far and claim that weight relief vs. non-weight relief is also total BS. My 2011 Gibson LP Standard is one of those “awful chambered piece of $#!t” guitars from Gibson’s worst QC era… Mine ist built flawless, I dropped a new wiring harness and Seymour Duncan pickups and it has mopped the floor with all of the newest Slash and Standard LP I’ve compared it to. Like you said, if you want to sound awesome, get a good amp with the right cab and practice your chops 😉.
Every LP I have owned have shown me that the heavier weight ones sound bigger and better. Don't get me started on weight relief guitars. They lose their balls in the mids.
My theory is that different guitars naturally have a note they make based on the wood in the guitar the same way a marimba key makes a note based on how much wood is in the key you're hitting. That would come from the density (which would vary throughout the wood) and size of the chunk of wood which would give you the weight of that chunk of wood. That's literally exactly how Wittner tunes a tuning fork during manufacturing, removing material till it makes an exact note. Now if you get lucky with a chunk of wood, it will resonate at the same frequency as a note which is the root of a common key on the guitar such as E, A, or D. I have heard Steven Fryette talk about how Tom Anderson would choose necks and bodies which naturally resonate a perfect fourth (inverted fifth?) away from each other. Who knows how hardware and electronics feed into all this. So my theory is that weight matters, but not in a way that would ever be predictable or therefore useful when shopping online beyond comfort.
I agree with you on the weight is BS. If it plays well and sounds good? I wouldn't care if it's 15 lbs. Are we all playing live for over 3 hours? lol. Same thing can be said of the neck radius. Thin is better? is it really? If you practice and play a guitar for a while radius doesn't matter. I can play a shredder and my Gibson Custom Shop R8 just as well and fast. The R8 is a fat baseball neck and I don't have big hands. If it feels good and sounds good? buy it, simple. It becomes a problem when we say this is the best, this is the best brand instead of playing more. All brands of guitars is a tool of sound, each one feels and sounds different.
Guys want lightweaight guitars that are resonant. Well if the strings are making the whole guitar vibrate it is robbing energy from your strings. If you want sustain then you want mass (all else being equal). The more mass in your guitar the more energy is isolated in the strings.
The second video I've watched of yours and I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say. It took me a long time and many arguments with old school friends to come to these conclusions. My maple fretboards did not sound brighter than my rosewood. My heavier guitars did not sustain longer than my lighter guitars. My mahogany body guitars with nitric cellular did not sound warmer than my polyurethane alder bodies. The conclusion that I keep coming back to over the last 20 years is that pickups and amplifiers make nearly all the difference in your sound. Like you I have owned over a hundred guitars and currently still have 40 or so. The guitar is with nearly identical specifications like bridge nut and pickups sound exactly like the other guitars that will have the same bridge nut and pickups even though they're vastly different in shape size and weight and material
In most amps, changing power tubes will only result in a very small difference in sound. Maybe 5-10%. This is because on most modern amps all the gain comes from the preamp, not the power amp, so tube choice isn’t that important. You’d get more difference changing preamp tubes. On something like an old Marshall though, they do make a significant difference because a majority of the gain is coming from the power section.
Tone caps have a tolerance window. Even when the tone pot is wide open the cap still effects the tone. There are no two pickups which are perfectly identical. They also have tolerance parameters. Two "identical" Les Pauls that were built withing minutes of each other can sound different. Those differences have nothing to do with the weaight of the guitar. Your pickups give zero effs about any of that.
Also, if tone is really in the hands then if you cannot make a Squire Tele and a Crate 112 combo sould like a 59 Les Paul and a 69 Super Lead full stack then you just suck at guitar.
You've missed the point. The weight of an electric guitar has nothing to do with the sound. The weight of the guitar hanging off a strap which is on you is the issue. The less weight you hang off the strap the better for your health over time. Particularly if you don't start out built like a champion powerlifter. It should have all fallen into place now. Anyone trying to sell you a giant log or half a tree is someone who doesn't give a damn about your long term physical heath. Because you do want to be playing into your old age without messing yoru body up don't you?
This is also BS. Look at Billy Sheehan touring with a double neck bass at 70 years old and he is fine. If someone handle a 8lbs strat I'd suggest there is something seriously wrong with their physical fitness and has nothing to do with the guitar. At weights as low as those it should not matter for a normal male.
@@mbgmail5911 Your argument does not work. Try thinking it through. The opposite of what I said is that the heavier the weight hanging off the strap the better. You want to play a 200lb guitar? No? By picking out one man you also fail to challenge the point. Is Billy Sheehan every man and woman playing a guitar? Is he the mean, mode, or median of guitarists? No? The point still stands. The less weight hanging off the strap the better.
@@YeatzeeGuitar Haha yeah I agree. While modelers will never "feel" like my old 1976 Marshall Bluesbreaker, they sure as hell sound great for recording. My Bluesbreaker sounded great for recording too when you're in a massive pro studio and can crank it, and have a great producer who knows how to mic up that amp properly. Sadly my days in big studios are now long gone so yup, a modelling we shall go 😎
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for me, the weight of the guitar is more for comfort
Cool video and interesting insights! The weight of the guitar matters much more if you’re standing for a while playing, especially if your back hurts and are trying to wield a 12# Les Paul. Also, the lighter ones are a little easier to throw behind your back and over your shoulder. 😂 I think the Friedman guitar with the maple board would sound a little brighter because of the feel under your fingers and the because amount of pressure to ring the notes compared to the ebony. I do believe that the density of the wood is relative to the amount of sustain and resonance. I went down the rabbit hole over guitar shapes and pickups and came to the conclusion that amplifiers and speaker cabinets make significantly more of a difference than the subtle nuances between different guitars.
This is heresy!!! But all true 😂. I would even go so far and claim that weight relief vs. non-weight relief is also total BS. My 2011 Gibson LP Standard is one of those “awful chambered piece of $#!t” guitars from Gibson’s worst QC era… Mine ist built flawless, I dropped a new wiring harness and Seymour Duncan pickups and it has mopped the floor with all of the newest Slash and Standard LP I’ve compared it to.
Like you said, if you want to sound awesome, get a good amp with the right cab and practice your chops 😉.
Every LP I have owned have shown me that the heavier weight ones sound bigger and better. Don't get me started on weight relief guitars. They lose their balls in the mids.
Enjoyed this. My favourite Strat weighs 8lbs 11oz and is perfect for me but the internet would tell me it’s crap.
I have had three back surgeries. The weight of everything and anything matters to me. It has nothing to do with tone or sound, to me.
I said this in the video at 22:45. Guess you didn't make it that far. Weight can be for comfort, sure, but it has zero impact on tone.
My theory is that different guitars naturally have a note they make based on the wood in the guitar the same way a marimba key makes a note based on how much wood is in the key you're hitting. That would come from the density (which would vary throughout the wood) and size of the chunk of wood which would give you the weight of that chunk of wood. That's literally exactly how Wittner tunes a tuning fork during manufacturing, removing material till it makes an exact note. Now if you get lucky with a chunk of wood, it will resonate at the same frequency as a note which is the root of a common key on the guitar such as E, A, or D. I have heard Steven Fryette talk about how Tom Anderson would choose necks and bodies which naturally resonate a perfect fourth (inverted fifth?) away from each other. Who knows how hardware and electronics feed into all this. So my theory is that weight matters, but not in a way that would ever be predictable or therefore useful when shopping online beyond comfort.
I dig the videos and channel. Any chance we could get a cool guitar tour and see your awesome collection?
Sure man!
I completely agree with everything you said. That silver prs is amazing
I agree with you on the weight is BS. If it plays well and sounds good? I wouldn't care if it's 15 lbs. Are we all
playing live for over 3 hours? lol. Same thing can be said of the neck radius. Thin is better? is it really? If you
practice and play a guitar for a while radius doesn't matter. I can play a shredder and my Gibson Custom
Shop R8 just as well and fast. The R8 is a fat baseball neck and I don't have big hands. If it feels good and
sounds good? buy it, simple. It becomes a problem when we say this is the best, this is the best brand instead
of playing more. All brands of guitars is a tool of sound, each one feels and sounds different.
Guys want lightweaight guitars that are resonant. Well if the strings are making the whole guitar vibrate it is robbing energy from your strings. If you want sustain then you want mass (all else being equal). The more mass in your guitar the more energy is isolated in the strings.
Nice job, Mike. Most truthful video on the internet right here.
Thanks Chris!
The second video I've watched of yours and I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say. It took me a long time and many arguments with old school friends to come to these conclusions. My maple fretboards did not sound brighter than my rosewood. My heavier guitars did not sustain longer than my lighter guitars. My mahogany body guitars with nitric cellular did not sound warmer than my polyurethane alder bodies. The conclusion that I keep coming back to over the last 20 years is that pickups and amplifiers make nearly all the difference in your sound. Like you I have owned over a hundred guitars and currently still have 40 or so. The guitar is with nearly identical specifications like bridge nut and pickups sound exactly like the other guitars that will have the same bridge nut and pickups even though they're vastly different in shape size and weight and material
And also switching tubes is bs imo.
In most amps, changing power tubes will only result in a very small difference in sound. Maybe 5-10%. This is because on most modern amps all the gain comes from the preamp, not the power amp, so tube choice isn’t that important. You’d get more difference changing preamp tubes. On something like an old Marshall though, they do make a significant difference because a majority of the gain is coming from the power section.
Tone caps have a tolerance window. Even when the tone pot is wide open the cap still effects the tone. There are no two pickups which are perfectly identical. They also have tolerance parameters. Two "identical" Les Pauls that were built withing minutes of each other can sound different. Those differences have nothing to do with the weaight of the guitar. Your pickups give zero effs about any of that.
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Hail my very heavy, NEVER weighed 78' LP Custom. It rips.
Also, if tone is really in the hands then if you cannot make a Squire Tele and a Crate 112 combo sould like a 59 Les Paul and a 69 Super Lead full stack then you just suck at guitar.
Sounds awesome and sounds like sh.t doesn't mean anything, but weight of the guitar means a lot in terms of sustain when played clean.
You've missed the point. The weight of an electric guitar has nothing to do with the sound. The weight of the guitar hanging off a strap which is on you is the issue. The less weight you hang off the strap the better for your health over time. Particularly if you don't start out built like a champion powerlifter.
It should have all fallen into place now. Anyone trying to sell you a giant log or half a tree is someone who doesn't give a damn about your long term physical heath. Because you do want to be playing into your old age without messing yoru body up don't you?
This is also BS. Look at Billy Sheehan touring with a double neck bass at 70 years old and he is fine. If someone handle a 8lbs strat I'd suggest there is something seriously wrong with their physical fitness and has nothing to do with the guitar. At weights as low as those it should not matter for a normal male.
@@mbgmail5911 Your argument does not work. Try thinking it through. The opposite of what I said is that the heavier the weight hanging off the strap the better. You want to play a 200lb guitar? No?
By picking out one man you also fail to challenge the point. Is Billy Sheehan every man and woman playing a guitar? Is he the mean, mode, or median of guitarists? No?
The point still stands. The less weight hanging off the strap the better.
Totally agree. But all your guitars sounded like equal shit because your signal chain was shit, lol.
I want in on these controversial take videos Mike 😆😆
Give me your hot take Tanner! 😅
@@eldoradoguitars6456 get me on a mic and who knows what I'll say. I can be your devils advocate 🫡🤣
(modelers sound better than amps, and why I don't care)
@@YeatzeeGuitar Haha yeah I agree. While modelers will never "feel" like my old 1976 Marshall Bluesbreaker, they sure as hell sound great for recording. My Bluesbreaker sounded great for recording too when you're in a massive pro studio and can crank it, and have a great producer who knows how to mic up that amp properly. Sadly my days in big studios are now long gone so yup, a modelling we shall go 😎
All I hear is your amp.
Heavy guitars suck.