Guitar 'Voices'

[Reel 2 Reel]

For the most part I can hear certain guitars with certain voices..like the

Gibson 'ES-335' that Larry Calrton uses..

and 'Les Paul' that a lot of guitarists use.

or a Gibson 'L-5'... One of Lee Ritenour regulars..

Even the hot voice of a Gibson 'SG'.... Angus Young

and 'Lucille' a Gibson 'ES-355' ... Of course ...B.B.King

Also the differences between a 'Stratocaster' and a 'Telecaster' are very distinctive...

Now acoustic guitars are a little harder...I can usually tell the difference between an 'Archtop' and a 'flatop'..

The Ovations have a very distinct sound all their own...Hughie Thomasson - The Outlaws

Then the classical nylon or catgut strings...

But for the umpteen thousand models of regular flatops out there ...and the materials they're made of kinda makes it a little harder...

 

[luvvinvinyl]

Silver plated steel strings v. bronze/brass is a fairly easy dinstinction, too.

(Think "SS vs tube" sound)

 

[Rockmonton]

also flatwound versus roundwound, i can pick up a lot of this stuff too, but for me its mostly being able to voice out the amps and settings real easy that i like

 

[bOUddha]

I saw Leo Kottke playing a carbon fiber bodied acoustic about two weeks ago...it was on TV, so I didn't really get a chance to lend a critical ear.

 

[Reel 2 Reel]

I saw Leo Kottke playing a carbon fiber bodied acoustic

Most likely an Ovation....that is what the round backs are made of...to give them the voice they have...

I once had an ovation 335 copy that was made entirely of that material...boy!! do I kick myself in the backside for that one...probly the one thing I regret getting rid of in my whole life!

OH!!...and that '72 Chevy Caprice I once had!....

 

[WhiteSE]

There is a company that makes guitars out of 100% carbon fiber....a friend of mine plunked like 4K one, and it sounds bloody tremendous...he had some awesome new and vintage Martin, Fender, Alvarez, Guild, and that guitar kicks some serious sound quality butt..plus, unaffected by variations in weather...

 

[Pickoid]

There is a company that makes guitars out of 100% carbon fiber....a friend of mine plunked like 4K one, and it sounds bloody tremendous...he had some awesome new and vintage Martin, Fender, Alvarez, Guild, and that guitar kicks some serious sound quality butt..plus, unaffected by variations in weather...

The carbon fiber guitars are made by Rainsong. I have played a few, and they sounded "okay" to me but not as good as a typical comparably priced conventional guitar. However, being impervious to humidity and temperature is a huge advantage, so I can see the appeal. They're made in Hawaii, I think. They look pretty cool, too.

 

[Rockmonton]

hmm, i wonder how hard it'd be to do that..... i think i've got a new DIY project!

 

[WhiskeyRebel]

When you imagine the sound of a Gibson Byrdland played through a tweed Twin, are you picturing some slickster in a tuxedo sitting down and thumbing out mellow jazz, or a shaggy nutjob racing around in a buckskin loincloth? Same rig different tone.

Ovation also has a model with a molded back and a carbon-fiber top. I tried one at GC one time. Weird. Its acoustic sound reminded me of the electric sound of a piezo-equipped acoustic. Like you are hearing purely the sound of the strings with no coloration from the body.

What really surprised me was the sound of the Martin ALternative X with an aluminum (that's why the AL is capitalized) top. I expected a resonator type sound but it just had a warm, punchy, loud, normal acoustic sound.