10 Guitar Myths You Believe

[@MusicisWin]

Time to ruffle some feathers :D 0:00 Myth 1 - You need big hands to play guitar 2:11 Myth 2 - More gain = heavier tone 2:59 Myth 3 - Skill is measured by how long you've been playing 3:48 Myth 4 - Analog is better than Digital 4:39 Myth 5 - Beginners should start on acoustic guitar 5:36 Myth 6 - Music theory ruins creativity 6:17 Myth 7 - Beginners should start on an inexpensive guitar 7:19 Myth 8 - Heavier gauge strings are harder to play on 8:12 Myth 9 - True bypass = better tone 8:44 Myth 10 - Tonewood doesn't affect guitar tone

[@jonsalama]

I agree with what you said about Myth 10 but I'd love a comparison video showing how different wood can affect the tone

[@maverickdoe6984]

I've seen a video where the comparison is shown using a signal analyzer from the output of the guitar jack. Two virtually identical guitars except for the tonewood produced virtually identical signals. So, it's kind of hard to argue with science. Maybe the test was flawed in some way, but looked reasonable to me.

[@daddyosink4413]

@@maverickdoe6984 Fender actually made a Strat out of cardboard.... sounded like a Strat. Weird, huh? Lol.

[@rustyshackleford8308]

I disagree with you on myth 5. This is purely anecdotal, but I think it really does improve a player's techical skill and control of the notes by starting on an acoustic. I learned on an acoustic and I had a better grasp on bends and vibrato than my friends who were around the same skill level. Learning scales seems to translate to electric pretty well imo. The difference was that my friends learned on an electric

[@iangonzalez6478]

Music is Win you forgot that Stevie ray Vaughn had HUGH hands! Love the vid Tyler

[@Dylan_Sterling]

Jim Lill has a fantastic video that completely dismantles the tonewood myth with electric guitars.

[@deyanaleksich8293]

Yeah second that, the air guitar clearly proved that

[@drake7709]

@Mario Reyes bro he has the raw audio test on his website to download and like he says in the videos just because it sounds slightly different doesn't mean its the wood its him as a human probably picked slightly differently(not that there was any more than a 0.01% difference in sound anyways) and someone accidentally bumping there amp and changing an eq or gain by one would have a much greater effect. also i don't know where you got the yt compression loses 50% of the tone im not saying yt compression dose nothing but 50% is way too much and comparing wav to yt there is almost no difference.

[@FK-we1dp]

Yeah this debate is finally settled, and it totally makes sense. There is zero vibration of a solid body guitar that is affecting the way the pickups perceive the vibrating strings.

[@sgriggl]

yeah why is he citing PRS as the "expert" and not Danelectro? lol btw, your comment was top in my feed, and totally deserves that spot.

[@lococomrade3488]

Bump for the algorithm. Yes. Jim Lill is a brilliant engineer and guitarist. He is absolutely destroying Tone Myths with valid Scientific Evidence and Experimenting. It's truly the greatest series for any Guitarist that's already got Theory 101 under their belt. All praises to Jim Lill. ❤❤❤

[@casualartist4202]

someone once said "tone is in the fingers and pee is stored in the balls." I will never forget this.

[@ancientdeeds6634]

lmao

[@professorwhite7634]

😂👏

[@aedanbrady1861]

Based

[@paintedhorse6880]

If pee isn't stored in the balls then how come girls dont pee?

[@s-dew]

@George Harrison yes

[@fredsaga3708]

I used to work in an acoustics lab and did a experiment on this tonewood question. The results are, ANOVA shows no statistical difference between direct electrical signals or waves from expensive guitar and these from comparative lab setting. So if someone can tell the difference by his or her ear, he or she is either delusional or the string/pickup/electronics/amplifier setting is different.

[@bluwng]

Amen

[@CalJennings]

Lo

[@chucklee347]

I'm glad you mentioned this. Not that it's going to change anything. But there's no way the pole pieces pick up the tone after it's been sent through your guitar. It immediately picks up the tone after string is plucked and sent through your potentiometers and your amplifier. But there's no way people will be convinced. Remember there are grown adults right now today that believe the earth is flat.

[@CalJennings]

@Dustin Void mahogany on an acoustic sounds great. On an electric, not so much.

[@dingleberrio]

@@chucklee347 I believe the earth is flat AND that tonewood is a myth. The best of both worlds!

[@bkpickell]

I quit believing in tonewoods for electric guitars when I heard people playing guitars made out of glass, concrete, and resins that sound amazing. I couldn't tell the difference in those vs guitars made out of wood. Hell I've seen plywood guitars that sound amazing.

[@MrBioniclefan1]

Yeah because of there are a ton of variables

[@adamjosey1543]

I play a clear Lucite body guitar and it sounds amazing 👍

[@sweg8116]

Music is win: The ukulele is not an electric guitar The Doo: Hold my beer

[@Dr.EmmettBrown.]

sweg facts😂

[@Ness_Dreemurr]

I get it

[@tofuthericecake]

lmao a man of culture i see

[@meisterjubjub7606]

I mean Tyler's still right. Doo's awesome tho

[@svenmilicic6802]

Hahahhaha true

[@jpmetalmusic]

*Plugs Metal Zone into Line 6 Spider V* Parents: "Don't use that tone with me!"

[@alexmcilwraith9107]

That's one crappy tone you'll get Even with a noise gate

[@jessechalif2428]

@@alexmcilwraith9107 that's the joke

[@dr.winstonoboogie7302]

I like your puns

[@blacklotus3205]

Alex McIlwraith r/whooosh

[@interesting_tuna]

What if I told you, my parents have said that exact thing to me?

[@Rahel336]

Dude, the tonewood is totally myth for electric guitars, it's proven by liquid guitars which sounds as same as wooden guitars. Tonewood only applies to accoustic, guitars, not electric guitars

[@giusepperesponte8077]

Yep. This is an indisputable fact. It has been empirically PROVEN that “tonewood” has no appreciable affect on the sound of an electric guitar, period. This guy saying this fact is a myth is just embarrassing. He might as well be saying “don’t take my ‘opinion’ seriously because I think my personal feelings mean more than scientific fact.” Lost respect for him here to be honest. It’s not like he just believes what he wants and keeps it to himself, but he actively tries to pass his incorrect assertion off as if it’s a fact when the opposite is true.

[@mk_rexx]

@@giusepperesponte8077 Of course he would promote that myth. Else, daddy Smith won't send him more guitars.

[@lawnboyfreak]

@@mk_rexx I’m laughing my tail off at this comment!

[@aryopratama4622]

@@mk_rexx COME ON NOWW!!

[@lukemartin9977]

Have you ever watched any of the videos comparing the woods? It's more accurate to say that tonewoods affect the sound much less than pickups, amps, etc. but it's ignorant to dismiss them entirely. The differences are small but when amplified or accentuated with eq and effects can make a difference.

[@osemarvin2847]

Since this tonewood debate has been going on for decades, it's very clear to me, that there simply cannot be any significant differences between tonewoods. If there was, then there would be no everlasting debate over it, because practically everyone could hear it clearly. So the tonewood effect is insignificant or very subtle at best. This has to be the case.

[@destianpatrianagara1119]

Exactly. Every luthier knows this, they just won't admit.

[@aaronfreeman3890]

its a noticeable difference to those with the hearing to pickup on it. Not everyone can however so its not as widely a clear issue like it is to some

[@nathanjasper512]

@@aaronfreeman3890 Musicians claim to be able to hear a lot of things. Philharmonic orchestra players claim to be able to tell the difference between modern violins and Stratovarius violins but in double blind tests they can't.

[@aaronfreeman3890]

@@nathanjasper512 There is evidence to support both schools of thought on this debate. See Rhet Shull or Wormoth guitar comparison videos. As someone who has been lucky enough to play multiple vintage and modern custom shop guitars back to back, the sound is there and is quite noticeable to some, including myself. What happened in a test in some lab with some musician somewhere isn’t really empirical data to base a conclusion off of imo

[@MrNihema]

You show no proof that the wood has any effect on the tone of the guitar. Please find some Scientific evidence

[@loch1352]

A bit late but here’s my two cents on tone wood. If it does have any effect, it’s nowhere near as much of a change as changing your amp, speakers, pick attack, microphone, microphone placement, etc.

[@eocha24]

Agree but everyone has their own pick attack, you dont and cant change it when switching guitars

[@TECHNICKER_Cz]

absolutely

[@bernardm3066]

Yeah. Actually everything can be argued that affects the tone of the guitar. Pickup output varies with temperature for example. The point is that the difference the tonewood makes is so small compared to other factors that on average it is not possible to hear it consistently even when critically listening and A/B testing let alone in the mix when doing casual listening. On the other side there are the people that hear tone differences in guitar color and cable materials so I guess the argument will continue to go on.

[@aaronwebb1548]

It certainly doesn't matter as much as how cool you look playing it.

[@indiedavecomix3882]

Fender literally made a strat out of cardboard that sounds like a strat. Drumming on different woods doesn't translate to how the strings transfer magnetic energy to the pickups. Just because PRS says it's so, doesn't make it so. It's not like he needs to justify why you should pick his guitars over a competitor, right?

[@jeffreytackett3922]

I've built 11 guitars at this point in my burgeoning luthier career, and I feel confident in saying, "all other things being 100% equal, the wood type may have a minor affect on tone." That said, all other things cannot possibly be 100% equal. It won't happen. The odds are, your tone will be more affected by 1384737382827337 other factors, above and beyond that created by the wood used in building an electric guitar. Plug a spalted maple and a basswood guitar into the same amp, with the same cord, using the same pickups, same pick, same settings, play the same thing the exact same way, and any difference you hear can most likely be attributed to hundreds of other factors, long before the type of wood. Believing otherwise is similar to the "theory kills creativity" delusion.

[@PatatoKeftes]

Exactly. The problem is that we are all arguing about the wrong topic. It should not be about "whether tonewood makes a difference". Because it is simple physics, it does. It should be about "does it even matter, how big an impact does it have, can you even hear it or feel it".

[@KeepTheGates]

Myth 11 - PRS owns a guitar company so physics no longer matter if it conflicts his opinion.

[@tomsnow2872]

Everybody that has studied tone woods have found they dont matter in regards to solid body construction. If you have a dime or fully hollow electric guitar there are tone woods concerns to have.

[@timwhite5562]

@@tomsnow2872 this is a complete crock. Certainly not "everyone" has found this out. I've been building then for 15 years and I haven't found that out. This is a line that people read online and repeat. You literally just saw a demonstration in the video that you can clearly hear the difference, so good can what you're saying possibly be true?

[@stevewilliams2895]

@@timwhite5562 there are alot of reasons the different woods might have been making different sounds. The woods may have been larger or smaller or thinner compared to each other. He could have been hitting them with different amounts of force. I'm not under the mind set that it makes "no" difference go tone, my mindset is that most of it is marketing and 90% of people can't tell the difference and will trick themselves subconsciously to justify their purchase

[@timwhite5562]

@@stevewilliams2895 Well, I'll agree with you on the 90% not really telling them difference and that marketing plays a roll. As for what you say in the video, they looked like they were all the same in dimensions and with the divisiveness on this subject i suspect if there were differences that you refer to, that would have been brought up immediately. But i wasn't there so i can't say definitively one way oe the other. However "tone wood" has been around longer than the marketing, and i can say definitively that it certainly makes a difference. To what degree is certainly a valid argument. With literally EVERYTHING in regards to tone, response and feel there are a list of things that come into play, and undoubtedly 2 different people can play the very same 2 instruments, 1 could say that there's a noticable difference with the other person saying there isn't and not only could both be telling the truth, but both could be completely correct as well. The Amp they're playing through, how it's dialed in, the speaker, the cable they plug into it with their pedalboard, etc can result in a tonal difference in one example and have hardly any in the other. Hell, for YEARS my high gain tone i used for Sttats with single coils was an old early 70s Big Muff fuzz with an EQ pedal running into it. I used the EQ after the Muff to get a David Gilmore lead tone, and id run the EQ with the midrange bumped into the front to get a "Dimed Marshall Stack" tone. I had vintage early 60s type single coils that when clean could never be confused for anything but single coils but running into the EQ and Fuzz, if i told you it was a humbucker into a Marshall amp you'd have no reason to doubt it. I have an issue with the whole "placebo effect" argument in that in decades of experience I've literally never actually heard or heard of it really existing. The confusion i believe is, like pretty much all the other debates in this type of subject caused more by miscommunication than any actual difference in opinion. Someone playing something and hearing some quality that isn't there just doesn't really happen normally, unless there's some outside reason like they're actual hearing being effected by something. It just doesn't happen. However what does happen is that they'll be a quality to the sound that someone will either just ignore, and then later on remember it is never being there, or it may there may be something missing that again, they ignore. I think a more accurate description would be a "honeymoon phase" effect. I can't begin to count the times a client will tell me they're going to get a guitar or piece of gear. There may be 2 or more versions of whatever it is and they want this specific one because it has some quality they want, or that another model that they "don't" want. A few weeks or month later they'll come in or I'll speak to them and it turned out the bought the one they didn't want for some reason, usually something beyond their control, like it just not being available. When i mention "really, i thought you didn't want that one/you wanted the other." In response it'll usually go "yeah, it wasn't available though. But, you know what? As much as i thought i wanted it because it did/didn't have some quality, now that i have this one i realize i did/didn't really want 'whatever it is." They'll come in again maybe a a few months or year later, and they would have returned or sold they one they bought and bought the one they originally wanted. And it's almost always explained as "yeah, you know when i first got that i thought that ', whatever it is" wasn't a big deal and i liked that it wasn't present in the one i bought, but after a month i started to realize that i really did/didn't want it." Now that is how those things usually go. It wasn't that something was or wasn't there; it was. It's that for a while at least they convinced themselves it wasn't a big deal, so it's a combination of a honeymoon phase and buyers remorse. Even if there is an actual placebo effect, just like the actual phenomenon, it would only be temporary. If someone hears something when they first get it, and still hear it a year later it's because it's there. Long winded i know, it's my cross to bear (only except the times someone else has to deal with it 😬). In the end many of these different things that get argued about are either over confusion over terms (what is "tone" anyway?). The common ones is someone saying something is "bright" when a more accurate term would be having more "presence." Then there's "warmth" vs "resonance," and the BIGGEST in my experience is using "tone" when they're really describing "feel" or "response."

[@timwhite5562]

@@stevewilliams2895 Christ that was long, im too tired from it to proofread.

[@GhostMotion7]

I just thought about the custom fender Stratocaster made out of cardboard and everybody at fender’s saying how it sounded exactly like a genuine strat

[@SteelyGlow]

Some combinations of wood can heavily affect tone and sustain in negative way, especially on cheap basswood+maple guitars. Resonances of different kinds of wood may overlap or nullify each other on some notes. It's not so markable on hollow body guitars, but solid body guitars are the most sensitive to wood choice. I.e. in order to avoid these flaws, they usually put a rosewood fingerboard on a maplle neck - it's way cheaper than trying to find good pair for basswood body in a pile of maple/maple necks. IMO the best option is to have non-wooden body or non-wooden neck (but it is quite expensive)

[@UltimateMTB]

@@DustinCarico he's just another keyboard Warrior guitar snob

[@jimmywrangles]

@@DustinCarico I agree.

[@timwhite5562]

Well, Fender is also trying to sell Strats for $1500+ made from pine bodies and convince you that you won't notice a difference, yet if you look at literature they've put out over the years whenever they release some limited run versions of existing models, like when they used to make American Deluxe Strats with Ash and Mahogany bodies, they'll tell you how much "warmth and midrange" the mahogany adds, and the "punch and articulation" of Ash compared to their Alder bodies. Fender certainly isn't the best Hill to plant your flag on.

[@daveeaton6323]

@@SteelyGlow John Suhr and Eddie Van Halen would have something to say about your maple/basswood comment.

[@roberta.7985]

Oh man, Tyler I really want to see you do an updated video on Tonewood affecting an electric guitar’s sound. Because it absolutely does not affect the sound in any meaningful way... Is there a measurable difference? Audio equipment is capable of hearing frequencies humans simply cannot. Sure, there is a measurable difference. Is there a perceivable difference??? Heck no. And PRS example of a violin being made of balsa wood? Come on, even you have to admit that is bs. Violins are acoustic. The tone is obviously affected by the wood. Electric guitars use magnetic pickups. Pickups do not “hear” resonance from the wood. They only “hear” disturbances in the magnetic field. How does wood (a non-magnetic material) affect the magnetic disturbance. It’s ok if you prefer one wood over another. There’s differences in weight that can affect your preference or even the wood grain can look prettier. But if you’re being honest, it doesn’t make a difference in the sound of the guitar. If you’ve really thought about this critically, you could certainly come up with a better answer than “why would a guitarist prefer one wood over another?” Why do I prefer Quaker branded oatmeal over store-brand? I know they taste the same but I’m stuck in my ways. It’s the same idea with guitars. People have their loyalties and emotional attachments.

[@uv7775]

LOVED! Electric guitars use magnetic pickups. Pickups do not “hear” resonance from the wood. They only “hear” disturbances in the magnetic field. How does wood (a non-magnetic material) affect the magnetic disturbance.

[@nevermind4328]

@@uv7775 No, but it's true that the strings vibrate slightly different over different materials. Even so, acoustics are always unpredictable and like the OP said the difference when you actually plug in the guitar is negligible, there are tons of more important factors.

[@roberta.7985]

@@nevermind4328 exactly. The variations in density of wood will have an affect on the vibrations of the string. But it’s not something most (if anyone) could actually perceive. A computer surely can “hear” the difference. But the bulk of a guitars tone comes from 1. Pickups 2. Bridge/Nut (connecting points of the strings) 3. Scale length. Mahogany, Cherry, Maple… they all sound the same with identical components of points 1-3 Edit: point 4. Fret material and possibly wood material if the neck. But the body is negligible

[@steves1015]

@@roberta.7985 I find it amusing you pointed out the "stuck in your ways" bit. It is so true that this, and other irrationalities play a large part in our buying decisions. There is a phrase common in fishing - some equipment is used to catch the fisherman, not the fish - I think the same is true here. In fact this channel has said before that many guitarists listen with their eyes, not their ears, when it comes to seeing some "desired" guitar on stage, so I'm a little surprised he can't see the same effect happening here. As for the argument that tonewood makes a difference, otherwise manufacturers wouldn't offer them, I don't know where others reach this absurd conclusion. No matter how "cool" PRS is, he is in the business of making, and more importantly, selling, guitars. If a guitarist thinks that wood A is better than wood B, then the guitarist is likely to pay more money for wood A, and so the manufacturer benefits. Whether that difference is real or not. The main arguments I can see for the uses of different woods wouldn't be to do with tone but would be to do with how they feel, how they resist decay, and how they respond to different environmental conditions.

[@Textra1]

@@uv7775 You didn't do high school physics? Pickups don't need to "hear" resonance from the wood. The resonance from the string transfers to the body, reflects around in the body then back up through the bridge and nut. This creates interference patterns in the string and changes it's tonal characteristics. The pickup then transduces the string's mechanical movement into electrical energy and sends to the amp. The body and neck material definitely play a non-zero role in tone. The only question is, how much.

[@kristopherdetar4346]

I just watched a video about a guy whom built a stringed guitar using a bench and a table and the sound produced was exactly the same as his high priced telecaster.

[@paulw.3967]

Yes, that was Jim Lill, as others have mentioned.

[@Chimera6297]

"beginners should start on an inexpensive guitar" in some cases this is probably a good idea because a lot of people buy an expensive guitar and let it sit and collect dust while they never learn to play the damn thing kinda sad, but sometimes a guitar player will come around and inspire them to pick it up, but that's not something someone else can give to you some people don't want to learn guitar, they just want to know guitar. they don't care about the journey, only the destination

[@silashinton6873]

On the same note picking up a cheap no name strat that plays poorly can ruin someone's opinion enough to deter them from playing. Don't buy a guitar for less than 200 but preferably around 3-500 imo starting out is a good spot for a solid experience

[@minkorrh]

I think that statement should be qualified........"beginners should start on a NYLON string acoustic". Easy on the fingers. Wider spaced strings allows for an actual chord sound without interference from other strings. Develop decent stretch, learn fingerpicking technique...........and you're totally correct, some people only want to know and don't want to learn.

[@molekyyli]

@@minkorrh I'm sorry but can't agree. IMO one should start on that type of guitar that inspires them to pick it up and practice. For me acoustic wouldn't be very tempting (and not just for me).

[@Andoroid]

@@silashinton6873 That's untrue in my personal opinion. A $100 off-brand squire won't "deter" anyone continuing to play *if* it's still a well-enough made guitar, especially if they've never even touched one before. The concept that anything less than $200 is most likely unplayable is baffling to me . (You didn't say that, but I've seen Many say this) A friend of mine bought a $90 off brand squire tele just last year, before that he had never learned a single chord. Now, it's grown his love for the guitar and he's improving exceptionally. It all depends on the maker, no matter how cheap it is. Acoustic on the other hand I wouldn't go *less* than $150 as a starter, but again, that's just me

[@subzero308]

I just don't care how someone spends their money if they wanna spend 2k$ on a guitar and they never played before who am I to tell them "don't do that"... Sometimes the more expensive the gear the more it inspires them to pick it up and play everyday... Or maybe they just wanna look at it and pick it up here and there... I have a MIM strat and custom shop strat and my first squire strat i love all them just gotta let people buy and play wat they want.

[@davecarsley8773]

Tonewoods have such a small effect on electric guitar tone that how tightly you're holding your pick that day has about 100x greater effect.

[@matsp888]

It matters a lot, for sure. That's where it all starts. Not to say the rest of the chain, including the guitar and its wood, is unimportant.

[@bradt.3555]

Nope, wood actually has a pretty large affect on tone. But I have issue with the term tonewood for reason's I stated above.

[@PaulMauser]

Mats Peterson It doesn’t matter if you’re using a good amount of distortion or gain.

[@anthonyantoine9232]

On an engineering basis this is absolutely true. The choice of materials makes a difference, but the way you pluck the strings, the way the pickups respond to the vibrations, the way the pickups are mounted, where the pickups are mounted, etc. all have a significantly higher affect on the actual tone than what kind of wood it's made out of. Unfortunately, the way they tested the necks is highly unscientific and does a piss poor job of actually demonstrating the differences, at least for electric guitars. The reason tonewood matters so much for acoustic guitars is because the wood is what's making the noise. That's why when you've got even the most minor fret buzz on an acoustic, it's very obvious, whereas with an electric you'd almost never notice it, especially if you're using any sort of distortion. The sound on acoustics and electrics are both coming from vibrations, but one's coming from the vibrations of the strings relative to the pickups, and the other is coming from the vibrations that the strings impart upon the wood through the saddle, and the same goes for violins, etc. Of course the response of the wood still does matter for an electric as it'll change how the strings vibrate relative to the pickups (neck material will affect this the most), but the difference is very small in comparison to an acoustic, where the material and shape of the body is incredibly important.

[@TheNinnyfee]

With an electric you can tweak a lot and the wood is underneath a big layer of paint, tonewood is more obvious with acoustics. But the wood of the electric will still react to its surroundings.

[@joeleeds272]

I've never written anything on KZbin but, this tonewood comment is forcing me to. As a trained luthier I'll say tonewood means everything... and nothing. If you buy a $100 yard sale guitar; slap some EMGs in it and play it through a fancy Marshall with overdrive... It sounds just like a Custom Shop Gibson with the same setup. BUT, if you play a $100 Rouge acoustic vs. a Martin or a Taylor, now there's a difference. Its all in the application!

[@ethanpearson897]

You aren't Paul Reed Smith trying to sell everyone different wood combinations, so to Tyler you aren't a credible source lmao

[@sholland42]

I’m not a luthier, but my ears don’t lie. Every single thing affects the sound of a guitar, it’s more obvious with acoustics, but same with electrics. If you put a sticker on your guitar, you’ve changed its sound. The wood matters. The strings matter. The pick matters. It all matters.

[@Logan912]

@@sholland42 I don't think you understand how magnetic pickups work.

[@elliotgreen987]

@@Logan912 I don't think you know how feedback loops work

[@Logan912]

@@elliotgreen987 Do you?

[@meinukey]

My god the arguments for tonewood. "If tonewood wasn't real, then why guitars use specific kinds of wood?" because factors like mechanical strength and resistance or ease of machining don't matter at all to manufacturers, right? Then a clip of PRS himself shooting strawmans everywhere: "are you telling me to build a balsa wood guitar?", "you want Stradivari's violins", followed by a random guy playing a marimba made of guitar necks (?). Super scientific bruh.

[@robertemerson1087]

meinukey Okay? I still don’t understand how people can still say the woods don’t matter, unless you’ve never actually picked up two guitars made from different materials. Hell even on videos you can hear the difference between a Sitka top and a Koa top.

[@robertemerson1087]

Auxiliary Stream Services One, the GT’s are electric which that has a lot to do with the electronics and amps used, most arguments for tone woods are for acoustics, while electrics can also be affected by the amount of wood used they aren’t affected nearly as much as acoustics. Honestly, have you heard a carbon fiber, glass, or any other material guitar compared to a wood guitar? The sound while similar is distinctly different. Hell, just having an aluminum guitar neck changes the tone of an electric completely. It really all comes down to taste, if you like the sound of carbon fibers then that’s up to you, buy what you like man, but there’s a reason that pro players may like a Sitka top live for an acoustic but when they walk into the studio they pick up a Mahogany top guitar.

[@flashaxl]

I think it does affect the tone for electric but it is not THAT significant that it cannot be adjusted by good EQ. When people said that the nut material affects the tone, well, it may be true but only for open strings. When you fretted a note or put a capo, the nut is insignificant. The two most important things are your amp and pickups, the rest came later.

[@Juzze1983]

I personally think everything affects the tone of the EG. Shape, size, wood, strings and everything else from the players style to the pic and the guitars neckjoint. The thing is: on highend guitars that top line instruments the differences become minimal and a Matter of taste. On cheaper guitars you can modify them to become better but never to the same level as a high end and this is mainly because of the construction materials of the body and neck. You can put the pickups of a highend prs or Gibson on your Les Paul copy made in the backwoods of indochina from a backyardtreewood 2 by 4 and it wont sound the same. Maybe close but not the same. I have done this and it did not work. And if someone argues that the pickups only in take the vibrations of the strings then why the hell my semihollowbody has feedback.

[@51MontyPython]

@@robertemerson1087 The tone wood debate is about ELECTRIC guitars, not acoustics. I've never heard _anyone_ say it makes no difference on acoustic guitars, so where are you getting that "most arguments for tone woods are for acoustics"? O_o Like, _what?_ _Who_ says this?

[@coaldoubt2879]

tonewood: acoustic, yes.....electric, no.

[@ShallieDragon]

To me, tonewood is a very VERY small part of the equation. It might contribute to the tone, but its impact is far outsized by the impact of the pickups, the playing style, the amp, the pedals, and the cabinet. Change to a new guitar with the same everything but different wood, and you might notice a small difference. Take the same set up and swap out the cabinet (say, a 1x12 for a 4x12), and the difference is gigantic. The other thing that convinces me that tonewood doesn't matter is Rob Scallon's shovel guitar. That thing sounds amazing, despite being a rusty piece of metal, a stick, a wire, and a pickup. Let's put it this way: if it takes 30+ years of experience as a luthier for you to be able to tell the difference between tonewoods, the difference probably doesn't matter.

[@ernestochang1744]

I like alnico 2 pickups... Dont mind me im just a guy roaming the internet '_'

[@MrsHopeunseen]

But aren't the pick-ups amplifying the tone of the wood? On the acoustic side, I have guitars made of koa, cocobolo, rosewood and mahogany. All sound different. On the electric side.. same set-up--a mahogany body sounds so much different than alder or ash.. .and a maple top, and you get a ring to the mahogany that's amazing.

[@TheGogal88]

Tone out of different wood is simply just physics. Different matterials vibrate at different frequencies therfore changing the signal being collected by the pickups. Sure changing the equipment on the output end will make a bigger diffrrence but the wood is an important part.

[@thelordpotatoesorjtswagste1945]

@@MrsHopeunseen I'm pretty sure pickups pick up the vibration of the strings. I find it ironic that tone wood makes a difference by having different densities and thickness and styles and music is win says string gauge doesn't matter, but tone wood does. Also, go check out the channel Ryan Bruce, and watch his videos of cheapest guitars and of other guitars that aren't as cheap. He barely mentions wood other than stating what kind it is and focuses more on the design and set up being the main factor in the feel of it and enjoying it.

[@robertbossart]

But the small differences makes life interesting! - and also guitars.

[@propyro85]

I really like your approach to these myths. The only minor gripe I have is the whole appeal to authority where you use a clip of PRS essentially hocking a sales pitch. Of course if you ask him, he'll tell you exotic woods make a difference you can hear. It's like going back in time and asking Bayer if their new Heroine formula is good for treating Morphine addiction, they have a stake in it, so they're going to give you the answer that sells more Heroine, just like how Paul is going to give the answer that sells more (and more expensive) guitars. To be fair, the wood does have some contribution to the tone of an electric guitar, but not nearly to the same magnitude as the quality of the strings and electronics do. Also, all of that means nothing if you're pushing your sound through a bad amp (or badly set up amp).

[@diptarkabhattacharyyaENT]

I was gonna write this out, but wanted to scroll down a bit to see if someone had raised this obvious point or not! I see you ve done it perfectly! Take my thumbs up, brother. Stupidest clip ever... like PRS gonna say "Heck no, tonewood don't matter, I m just blowing all that sweet moolah yall giving me while I laugh at your idiocy!!!"

[@aaronwebb1548]

And the analogy of a drug company selling a dangerous product based on it being incorrectly labeled "safe and effective" is once again apt. It never really goes out of style does it?

[@Coffee-nb7un]

In the context of solid-body electric instruments, I don't think tonewood is that important. If you play two electric guitars, which are basically the same in everything except the tonewood, you may notice a slight difference in tone. However, you can make both guitars sound the same by simply making adjustments to your EQ. You don't find your tone in the wood itself; you get yourself a guitar with the pickup configuration of your choice and some gear, and then you cook up your tone.

[@woodsnstrings]

I'd love to see a side-by-side comparison, with four identical instruments: maple body / maple fretboard (yes, there's a debate on fretboard wood for "tone" as well) maple body / rosewood fretboard mahogany body / maple fretboard mahogany body / rosewood fretboard Mount all four with Fishman Fluence pickups, because unlike regular wound pickups, these are printed circuits and have no variability in sound the way copper wires can. All of them through identical on-board setups (like, a Neural DSP Fortin Cali) and a standard amp and cab rig with an SM57. Don't. Touch. Anything. See how they compare.

[@51MontyPython]

To be fair, EQ doesn't affect timbre; just frequencies.

[@matthashobbies]

@@woodsnstrings idk how, but the silver sky is a huge example of tone wood, the maple board and the rosewood board on it sound completely different, it's crazy how much of a difference it was.

[@ArtyShat]

@@matthashobbies fingerboard 100% doesn't affect the sound, its such a small piece of wood that it's just impossible to make any difference, what it does tho, is have a different feel on your fingers, that's why some players like JM hates maple fingerboard because he doesnt like the feel of it and it makes him sound/play probable just 5-10% different than usual

[@matthashobbies]

@@ArtyShat haha yeah I get that, I play differently on a maple board than I do a rosewood board, the feel of maple makes me want to dig in harder while rosewood makes me want to play a little softer

[@tokyoarrow]

I believe wood “does” affect the tone of an electric guitar, but at such a minuscule level that it’s almost indiscernible. By far the most important factors for tone are the pickups, bridge material, and fret material, in that order. Actual scientific spectrometer tests have been done to prove this

[@BrianAndersonTT]

Scientific spectrometer tests? Nah I'll just show PRS endorsing playing tonewood like a marimba.

[@paulanthonyarriola6402]

PICKUPS AND SCALE LENGTH ONLY MATTERS THE MOST.

[@MidnightStorm4990]

@@BrianAndersonTT 😂😂

[@coryholte5305]

@@paulanthonyarriola6402 why does scale length matter? Is it because the wood resonates differently with different scale length? I think tonewood matters. You can put the exact same pickups on two different guitars, and they’ll sound different.

[@konstantinzarkovic7567]

Strings themselves probably matter too

[@GroovingPict]

"the wood is just there to, I dunno, look neat?" oh you mean like Les Paul's log? I mean he literally added that wood body to it just to make it look more like a traditional guitar, because people thought it looked weird otherwise. So the wood sounds different if you strike them like a fucking xylophone, well fucking duh: the guitar isnt a percussive instrument though

[@toonix1015]

"The guitar isnt a percussive instrument"... *_well obviously your havent masterd the art of guitar percussivity, if that makes any sense_*

[@R34L1TY]

yeah. non-electric guitars, wood matters to some degree, but people have made electric guitars out of metal alone, no wood.... does my ibanez with humbuckers sound like my tele? of course not but it sure as fuck isn't because of the maple neck.

[@zimty151]

Is there any evidence that Les Paul's log sounded exactly the same with and without the body? If it is loosely attached it probably doesn't contribute that much to the amplification or attenuation of certain frequencies like the neck and original body does, but it will add extra weight that affects the vibrations.

[@joshuahuf9747]

were you there when Les Paul made that model or some shit.

[@GroovingPict]

@@joshuahuf9747 Yes

[@Bigbuddyandblue]

PRS has an interest in selling “tone wood”.

[@ad1170]

Yeah the whole argument is straw mans and appeals to authority. Nothing substantial is cited prove his claim. I seem to find that the people who believe in tone wood seem to be scientifically illiterate in that their proof is people like PRS saying it’s true, some guy on the internet A and Bing two guitars or rob chapman being able to just guess one time on a blind fold video. Which needless to say are not proof as they can be discredited without any effort.

[@hughtubecube]

ad1170 - ooh boy, my man’s been on reddit 😂 in all seriousness though, some guy believing smth different to you will literally never affect your life. It’s not worth your time. Look, I get it. You like ‘knowing’ smth other ppl don’t. You like the feeling you get when someone gives up on an argument with you because you just keep coming back with novel-length replies, because it means you’ve *won*. Look, it’s a great feeling - I used to do similar things! But is your life’s goal really to convince an entire community of people you’re never going to meet that you’re right? I don’t think so... Top tip: don’t waste your energy on it, you’ll only ever get into arguments and end up ruining your own day

[@ad1170]

hughtubecube i’m not arguing with someone I’m agreeing with them. Probably helps if you wasted less time getting all high and mighty with yourself over your “enlightened” comment you would of known that and maybe took your own advice of not wasting your time in youtube comments... Also I don’t understand the reddit comment. I know what it is but I don’t understand what you mean by it. Is it the reference to logical fallacies? I actually work in research and development. As well as in clinical laboratories. I also do IRL debates/competitions. So I tend to be pretty well versed in stuff like that as well being able to critically analyze evidence. I generally don’t like pseudoscience and while it may not affect me it affects other people who believe in it. It isn’t uncommon with the “guitar youtube community” these guys are often times promoting sub-par products under the guise of review. So I will generally call out their bullshit as well as those who peddle it for them. Might not be for my benefit but it may actually help someone who is young and not as knowledgable of guitar make a better informed decision.

[@nicholasthedoor]

@@hughtubecube this is the most ironic comment I've seen in a while 😅 'smth' come on man make an effort. 🤣

[@johnsmith-de2py]

@@ad1170 it does make a difference in tone but everything else affects tone so much more that it doesn't really matter.

[@benkeating3053]

"It's just wood" Jimi Hendrix "Why you working so hard" B.B. King

[@EbonyPope]

I don't get it. Care to explain?

[@jaxenlapiene8710]

@@EbonyPope I think Jimi is saying that it’s just a wooden guitar no matter who made it, how much you payed, or what wood it is made from. B.B. told this to Billy Gibbons when talking about string gauges. Billy was using 12s and B.B. picked up his guitar and was like “why you working so hard man”. Also just a B.B. thing to say, like in his guitar style.

[@EbonyPope]

@@jaxenlapiene8710 I understand... Thanks for the explanation.

[@gt7150]

@@EbonyPope and Gibbons ended up using 8s

[@EbonyPope]

@@gt7150 I know.

[@Wesquire]

Tonewood is such an obviously practically false thing. With all the tests done, at best it makes a tiny difference. And that difference is easily masked by a tiny EQ change. It is bogus.

[@niclastname]

Literally nothing Paul said about tone wood supported his argument. All of his examples were acoustic. It would be incredibly easy for him to prove, as the owner of a company. He could EASILY make 20 mahogany guitars, 20 maple guitars, 20 ash guitars, etc and have a tech swap all the electronics (the same exact guts) through all of them and record each one being strummed with a controlled strum and record the wave forms (WITH AN AMP). He COULD prove it to be true EASILY, if it is as obvious as he says. Why doesn't he just prove it then? There is literally no reason for them not to. Why do this whole staged PR thing that doesn't address electric guitars played through an amp at all? Nobody _ever_ argues that wood doesn't affect tone in acoustics, so why is he arguing against that? Seriously someone that can do this, crowd fund it and do this so this can be legitimately settled undeniably once and for all. It wouldn't be difficult, it would just take time to keep swapping out the single set of electronics, and enough money for a bunch of guitars. The guitars don't even have to be real guitars, they can be square planks of wood with the electronics mounted to them. Hell, they don't even need a neck. Just get a rectangle of wood, and put a bridge and pickup at one end, and the tuning pegs at the other. All we're looking for is an objective change in tone, measured by the recorded waveform. They don't need to be playable guitars. If you DO see differences over the averages of the different woods (you'd need several of each wood for a good sample size, of course), then you can worry about neck and fretboard woods etc.

[@aaronmosf3t719]

Nic Lastname tonewood purists just don’t want to believe they were wrong all this time. These types of nonsensical tests remind me of how preachers try to answer the tough questions

[@niclastname]

@@aaronmosf3t719 Yeah its very odd and looks very evasive. I don't take a strong stance on either side. I don't particularly believe it but I've heard one explanation that makes some sense. Any/all of these guitar companies could prove it as I stated. Hell, anyone with a few thousand dollars to blow could prove it. It's so frustrating that nobody with the means is willing to show it objectively. On top of that, literally everyone benefits from either outcome!

[@PicksPaints]

It's really simple man, everybody that's bought into it stands to lose. Those guys that have been very vocal about it have been largely silenced by the masses. Simply because of my first statement. Paul Reed Smith, Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, ESP, etc.. they have a lot at stake, and they stand to lose a TON. The only time that "tonewood" can be heard in an electric with any sort of repeatable accuracy is with unpotted pickups. Unpotted pickups, as we know, are microphonic and therefore will pickup the vibrations of the body as well. Is it an earth shattering difference? nope. The heavens aren't going to part and the light of God Almighty isn't going to shine down and the host of angelic voices aren't going to sound. However, they feedback!

[@niclastname]

DaveR They only stand to lose if they're prideful though. If it is false, anyone that believed it can now ignore that factor and just pick wood based on weight/aesthetics/feel etc, and the companies can decrease their costs by not worrying about that market and those more expensive materials. They can also then work on more innovation to make guitars even better and/or more profitable by using different materials that may be more stable, cheaper and easier to source, easier to work with, or other qualities other materials might have. If it is true, anyone that didn't believe it now has that information when picking guitars and is no longer missing out on that. On top of that the companies can then research into why and how it changes tone, and use that information to exaggerate, mitigate, or even change that affect in the wood or even other materials. Either way the consumer and the manufacturers benefit.

[@NautilusGuitars]

I'm doing this experiment right now! Check out my comments here in the main comment section. I'll be posting a video this year. We've done fully controlled variables on everything, all the way up to the very device used to strum the strings. The only difference is the body wood. Everything else is identical and switched from body to body. I'm doing a ton of experiments to counter every argument. Will probably even do the same experiment with necks just to cover that as well. We're in the middle of moving my shop (been building guitars for a decade), so it will be a while still, but it's intended to be the absolute end of the discussion. I'm covering every base imaginable. Even swapping two different pickups of the same make to invalidate any "experiment" that didn't use the exact same pickup, which is what we're filming now. I've used fully controlled variables on everything and have all the data recorded. All spectral analyses from direct and mic'd amp signals. It's highly controlled and very, very thourough.

[@victorlunaguitar]

Regarding tone wood I was a big believer that it had a great deal in the guitar sound. However, lately I’ve been watching blind test videos of people recording guitars with different body woods and I couldn’t tell the difference. So, it might affect tone, but does it in a significant way?

[@death32815]

Take a/b tests of anything on KZbin with a grain of salt everything is highly compressed, the wood does make a difference, but it depends on your pickups how much of a difference the wood makes, if your pickups were wax potted and totally secure with no wire movement whatsoever it may be negligible if your pickups weren't wax potted it would be more notable.

[@arthurv8905]

“Thicker gage strings aren’t harder to play, they are just harder to play if you are used to thinner gage strings” What. “Heavier weights aren’t harder to lift, they are just harder to lift if you are used to lighter weights”

[@jensleuner527]

And that coming from him right after he correctly pointed out that an electric will be easier to start out with for a beginner than an acoustic one. It's the exact same reason in both cases.

[@zac8084]

They require more force to press down but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re harder to play. I play 10’s and every time I pick up a guitar with 9’s I struggle to not bend notes out of tune.

[@IlIlIlIllIlIllI]

But he's not wrong. So, idk what you want to hear.

[@vixzen8892]

"when you are just playing the same 5 crappy blues licks over and over again" damn he called out my skill haha!

[@karangautam6054]

myth 11 steve vai is all about 1000 notes per minute and no feel

[@wpxfallen]

karan gautam that one is a fact tho

[@grey_racer5544]

omg...............i have never facepalmed so mutch in my life..... just listen to a song of hem like tender surender

[@bradoozy]

That_ugly_dude You don’t get it

[@arthurcallahan1551]

its an inside joke.

[@grey_racer5544]

i know bro iv seen the vidio i wrote the coment for +pepperoni junior cause i think he dident took it as a joke sory for the missunderstanding

[@hpspacecraft713]

You do, however, need big hands in order for people to know you're the one

[@malfunction5448]

underrated comment

[@dominikweber4305]

Your profile pic kinda scares me

[@jerroldtidwell]

"You are never smarter for not knowing something." This applies to everything. Best comment ever.

[@jacksybicki7330]

Ever have a day you were looking forward to playing and then your fingers dont agree , then you randomly pick the guitar one day and create an awesome lick. I think it may be something in your spirit that the mental,physcal, and spiritual energy flows the right way.

[@bryand.5240]

Taking the PRS testimony to heart is like believing that Silver wire HDMI cables are better because the best buy salesman told you so

[@mikee6666]

Well, technically silver is the best conductor of electricity, soooo . . . . :-P lol

[@chadcoady9025]

@@mikee6666 But HDMI is a digital signal. A better conductor doesn't change the 1's and 0's. Either you have a connection or you don't. ;)

[@Coach_Brian]

TL:DR "Though silver wire is roughly 7 percent more conductive than a copper wire of the same length, silver is a significantly rarer metal than copper. Combined with silver's tendency to oxidize and lose efficiency as an electrical conductor, the relatively minor increase in conductivity makes copper a more sensible option in most scenarios. Silver wire, however, is generally reserved for more sensitive systems and specialty electronics where high conductivity over a small distance is prioritized" sciencing.com/copper-vs-silver-wire-conductivity-5863373.html

[@Coach_Brian]

@@chadcoady9025 1's and 0's yes... but they're traveling, through the cable. Now, I have no idea if that will give you better sound, or a clearer picture, but the TV is indeed getting the information it needs faster. I'm not saying it's worth it. I honestly have no clue. But to say it makes no difference is untrue.

[@CDHGuitars]

Electricity travels the same speed through all conductive materials. Basically the speed of light.

[@MrBobwood22]

I don't know whether tonewoods make a recognizable difference in the sound of an electric guitar, but Paul's analogy is silly. He is talking about acoustic instruments NOT electric. To compare the sound of a Stadivarius to the sound of a solid body electric guitar does not prove any point. It makes more of a difference who is making the instrument. Otherwise, using the same materials and techniques that Stradivarius used would result in a product that sounded the same. Hitting a block of wood is not the same as strumming a string that is using a pickup. If there is a difference in the woods of an electric, then it is a difference so small that it doesn't make any difference to anyone but those that make money manufacturing the product. Just say we use beautiful high quality woods to craft beautiful instruments and they cost a lot of money. I like your channel Tyler, but you said that 99% of us won't tell the difference in by-pass pedals, but then claim that everyone can tell the difference in Tonewood. Paul has to say what he said because he has built a brand around that very claim. I am in marketing and understand why he would say that. I just think it is disingenuous but you have a business relationship and and click rate to worry about.

[@grey_racer5544]

I dont think you understand how sound works sound is vibration... By hiting 3 diferent kinds of wood with the same tool alows you to see what kind of vibration they pruduce if the wood has a tendency to vibrate at high frequencies it will have a brighter sound and if it vibrates at a low frequenci it has a warmer sound...... If you have two diferent guitars with two diferent woods put the same strings on both you will hear the diference right away. Most people that say this only have one guitar.. If you dont know what your talking abaut dont give an opinion on it that was the way i was raised.... Btw not everyone can hear the diference i couldent wen i started playing guitar but after a while of playing a basswood strat i got myself an all mahogny jazzmaster and i imidialy heard it was mutch mutch brighter

[@johnyang799]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmK9f2SBpr2ngas

[@grey_racer5544]

its not the pickups the pickups only made the sound more clear and aded more volume

[@FragileCreatures]

Sound is vibration. Wood vibrates in a guitar. Pick ups 'hear' the vibration. Different woods create lighter or darker tones because of this vibration and how it effects the string vibration. Besides brighter vs darker different woods will affect sustain, as they vibrate sympathetically with the strings or not. If I follow your argument a semi acoustic guitar will sound no different to a solid body, if they have the same pick ups, and that is obviously not the case. I have two telecasters: one with a rosewood fretboard, one with maple. The difference in sound and feel is so dramatic I would never buy another rosewood fretboard guitar again.

[@MrBobwood22]

Didn't really have an argument but I did have a problem with the support argument of comparing an acoustic violin with a solid body guitar. I was positing that a solid body of one type with the same pickups in a different solid body type would be, in a blind test, very difficult to hear the difference. I am glad you have such great ears

[@gruffydddavies7464]

Lol, believe what you want about tone wood, but using Paul Reed Smith as an example of why it exists is really dim. He makes his money from selling ludicrously expensive guitars out of exotic woods, so of course he isn't going to turn around and say, " this guitar made from wood harvested from the true cross that I am selling for 500,000 sounds just as good as basswood"

[@Pbnj1379]

I physically can’t do thumb chords like Hendrix with my short fingers but that’s really the only limitation I’ve found so far.

[@leninsoft7702]

Idk about that bc I have like really small hand so, yes, at first I found them hard but now I can do them so I think it's just a matter of practice.

[@TALKINGtac0]

Idk man, back in high school everyone was surrounding the ukulele players while us guitar players were kinda dismissed lol.

[@benjaminjentgen3596]

If it was Rob Scallon playing Cowboys from Hell while swinging the ukulele over his head, yeah I definitely understand why guitarists were flawed lmao

[@dominikweber4305]

I hate ukulele players

[@franklehouillier8865]

The strings that SRV used had no impact on getting his tone but the wood in his guitar did?

[@oskarileikos]

Good point

[@TheBoeboe]

yea... he claims that the string purists are sound snobs, but the wood purists arent?

[@pkwiva]

I think it's more likely the exact opposite. Strings have a much bigger influence on tone than wood.

[@sing-alongwithkevinm2462]

Yeah, strings matter..they are definitely a significant part of the equation.

[@mikee6666]

Strings absolutely have a massive effect on how the guitar sounds. Wood . . . . yeah, not so much, lol. Personally I love the sound of 9-42 on my electrics. But I'm just too damned heavy-handed to play that thin. Had to compromise by going up to 10-46 to cut down on breakages.

[@Rotwang72]

The answer “come onnnnn”. Well that sounds scientific. The examples he is talking about are acoustic. Same with wood sounds. I need some proof that wood effects the pickups.

[@DoppiaVoce]

Here’s the truth: 1) amp, 2) pick up, 3) scale length 4) type of neck joint, 5) nut and bridge 6) woods. The pattern for copying or create your guitar tone is that. Of course musician and a proper build instrument make the difference, but woods are 5% of the whole sound, when we speak about an electric instrument.

[@DoppiaVoce]

@@user-vv7gt2hu7p yes, I would put them at 4 position also

[@cbrot2001]

I loled pretty hard at “99% of us won’t even notice and 1% of us will pretend that we do”

[@ricksmith7370]

I think this concept should also apply to electric guitars and certain “tone woods”. I’m sure different woods make some sort of unique contribution to tone, some more, some less, but not as much as some people would like to believe or have you believe. Paul Reed Smith and others like him have a huge financial stake In the philosophy of tone woods.

[@williamking8684]

so you're saying that if you took two prs with the same bridge and pups but different tops or bodies and they would sound the same ?

[@EbonyPope]

@@ricksmith7370 Exactly my stance. It affects it and should be taken into conversation but the biggest influence on your sound are your pickups, strings and most importantly your hands!

[@luislombardi9658]

@@williamking8684 yes

[@section8usmc53]

@@williamking8684 Go watch the Jim Lill videos on tone.

[@mellowmonsoon278]

"You'll be shredding in no time" !! why are all these youtubers consider shredding as some kind of ultimate guitar playing status??

[@krissnygard]

Mellow Monsoon the word doesn’t have the same meaning as it did before. «Shredding» is mostly used now as a term for when you play really good, not necessarily fast like the 80’s metal bands. Like «oh man! You’re shredding!» it just means that you‘re playing really well. Many people still use the word the same way as it’s meant to be used, but you can use it in the way most «youtubers» do too

[@Zilegil]

krissnygard tbh it always meant playing fast. Shredding was a term used in the 50s

[@themistoklestheodosopoulos6253]

I mean speed, dexterity, and precision are the three metrics by which you measure technically skill. Dexterity is perhaps not always needed to shred but good shredding employs unique scales/shapes that do require dexterity, and all shredding requires speed and precision. So yea shredding is basically a good sign that you are technically skilled guitar player. A guitarist who can't shred is lacking. And sure a shredder who can't play bar chords is lacking as well but the truth is most people who get to the level of shredding do have a more robust understanding of rhythm as well. It's usually the really crafty rhythm players who know all these obscure chord shapes but then solo like Neil Young, who cling to this notion that shredding is overrated.

[@mellowmonsoon278]

Themistokles Theodosopoulos That’s a very hard attempt to sound ‘matter of fact’ on your own personal preference and opinion. There is very little or no ‘objective truth’ from a musical, scientific , historical , philosophical or any other perspective in your lengthy explanation.

[@themistoklestheodosopoulos6253]

@@mellowmonsoon278 there is the objective truth that technical skill requires speed and precision. So at the very least if you can't shred you aren't technically skilled. And no being able to play any chord shape along the neck won't change that because that's ONE element of technical skill.

[@diptarkabhattacharyyaENT]

I know this point is useless, but like many others, I am fairly convinced about the "tonewood" answer:- A string vibrates between 2 metal points (fret and bridge)- leads to altered magnetic signals- and electrical dipoles in the loops--this trickle of alt. current is picked up, amplified, etc for the sound. Now the counter-argument is the wood somehow resonates and creates a harmonic which is picked up by the magnet. If I told you a man jumps on the earth and made the earth vibrate, would you call me an idiot? (I assume so). The mass of the string and the wood are very similar ratios, so there is no real possibility for the wood to vibrate based on the string's vibration. Except, where you hit a D on your guitar and your window starts to shake- that s called a natural frequency wherein the frequency of the string coincides with the natural frequency of the wood and makes it vibrate (like positive feedback), but unfortunately that is a frequency-specific thing. SO believing that a string weighing a few mg can somehow cause a slab of wood weighing a few Lbs into vibration tells me a. you should go back and look through high school physics OR b. you re making a hefty pile of money and have skin in the game Also, before anyone brings up the acoustic guitar debate, please understand that the column of air in the guitar is what actually vibrates and amplifies the sound, the wood is really the casing of the amp in that case, and yes the tone of the wood makes a difference in that case. Thank you for not letting me change your opinion at all! :)

[@RinGoGuntheR]

"My fretting hand can stretch longer than my picking hand..." *Tries doing that myself* OMG, it's true

[@timwood958]

I’ve heard cardboard electric guitars, plexiglass electric guitars, foam core plastic guitars. Makes no difference. Acoustic? Totally different issue. Paul Reed is selling you guitars... not the best to listen to. He said, “It has to make a difference, right?” He’s selling you a $3,000 board of Wood.

[@MacXpert74]

I like how your name is "Tim Wood" when the topic is 'tone wood' :D

[@waynebrown1394]

If you have a guitar in your hands that sustains for ever can you not feel It and hear it case closed. Now take the top 3 different kinds of wood used in good guitars does it make a big difference that you can hear or feel. No unless you have perfect pitch and there are not many people to there that have perfect pitch. Also I have heard this about this cardboard guitar on a lot of comments but yeah to see or hear this thing. So if I had a PRS and squire and I said Tim I want to give you a guitar but you can't sale it what one will you pick?

[@aidanfriedfeld8889]

Tonewood can definitely make a difference. Not as much of a difference as people like to think but it makes a difference.

[@chadcoady9025]

I have a Tim Wood guitar and it sustains more than my Tone Wood guitar.

[@GreenSt]

Tim Wood Paul mentioned violin....and stradivarious the famous violin maker. Not solid body electric guitars. That is a tottaly different subject

[@ChristopherRoss.]

Just my 2 cents on the tonewood thing: 1) PRS has a steak in being able to sell guitars at a markup because of the wood they use. To me that makes his testimony inadmissible as evidence. 2) in a resonant instrument (acoustic guitar, violin etc), of course the wood matters. The sound is RESONATING IN THE WOOD. Electric guitars are not resonant instruments. 3) as I understand it, guitar pickups don't use sound pressure levels to capture sounds, as microphones do. They measure vibration s in magnetic field. Still a magnet moving in a coil, but not responding to air pressure so much as the pole pieces are responding to the metal strings. So the body and neck wood would only affect the tone insofar as it changes how the strings vibrate, and the slight vibration that makes its way through the body and transfers into the pickup (which would mostly be low end info). 4) I once heard a physicist say that tone wood shouldn't be a thing because physics, but he would have to do math and experiment to be sure of its impact. 5) Misha Mansoor did something of an experiment: with his signature guitar he had a few different prototypes that were identical, save for the wood used. He concluded that yes, the wood made a difference; however it was very small, especially by comparison to changes that result from pickup swapping, and that the specific wood used did not matter nearly as much as the density of the wood. Wood from a spruce and a mahogany body could sound the same if the density is identical, and even then most people would not be able to hear the difference anyway.

[@AbsolutEden]

3) I did my own experience on that. I pasted a pressure microphone on the body of a stratocaster and recorded it through the mic. I Can assure u it wasn't low end. More like low end to at least 1/2kHz. Structure borne noise phenomena

[@ErwinLiszkowicz]

Chris McCartney of course pickups make more difference but wood matters still. Even Misha says that he prefers basswood. If the difference was negotiable why would he say so?

[@offbeatinstruments]

I think the tonewood debate focuses too much on the idea that the body resonates, when in fact it is much more to do with absorption. Woods and body shapes will absorb different frequencies across the spectrum, so what is happening is that the pickups are reproducing a reduced spectrum. Of course the tonal nature of the pickups will dominate, but they are reproducing the vibrations of an already altered note. I happen to have guitars made of different materials, a Travis Bean and a Parker Fly. They do have a brighter, louder sound because the stiffness means less spectrum is absorbed. Anyway, Strandberg Guitars actually tested this with Fourier analysis: guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com/2014/12/28/the-impact-of-wood-choice-in-an-electric-guitar/

[@JPMergens]

On your point 1), saying his testimony is inadmissible is like saying the plumber who spends all day doing plumbing should not offer an opinion on what components are likely to do if used in a plumbing repair. While I recognize he has a vested interest, I also have seen PRS buck industry trends in his process and state many opinions contrary to others in the industry, so I've got to disagree with you on that.

[@ChristopherRoss.]

@@JPMergens my point is that there is a conflict of interest. That makes it inadmissible evidence in my book. A plumber will know what the best part is, but will sell you the most expensive one so their 15% markup on materials nets them more money (this coming from someone who works in the trades, to boot). I've also seen things like getting kickbacks from people for using their product over a less expensive but superior one. It could be that PRS is seeing kickbacks from the lumber industry. The boutique crowd just loves things like tone wood and true bypass and the like, and they have money to throw at these things, so why turn away those customers when you can cater to them and reap a profit?

[@pjstraightedge]

I don't believe that there is ZERO discrepancies between tone woods in electric guitars, but I do believe it is extremely exaggerated in how much it actually impacts said tonal discrepancies between different solid body guitars.

[@alextempletYT]

This video is so damn funny to me because every time Paul Reed Smith talks about tonewood he shifts the debate to acoustic instruments almost immediately.

[@gsvetomir8536]

The question "Does tonewood affect guitar tone?" is ill posed. This might be the reason for the vastly different answers found on the internet. Only certain reformulations of this question support unique answers: (1) Does tonewood exist at all? (2) Does tonewood affect the sound of acoustic instruments, e.g. acoustic guitars, violins, cellos, etc. (3) Does tonewood affect the sound of unplugged solid-body electric guitars? (4) Does tonewood affect the amplified sound of solid-body electric guitars equipped with magnetic pickups? The correct answers are: (1) Yes, of course. Different types of wood clearly have different mechanical properties and thus resonate differently when cut into the same shape. (2) Yes, it does. A crucial design goal of these instruments is to transfer the vibration of the strings to the wood. For this reason, the bridges on violins or acoustic guitars are typically made of very light wood. Both the string vibration and the vibration of the wooden body generate the sound waves that you perceive. (3) Yes, it does to a small extent. However, a crucial design goal of electric guitars is to PREVENT the transfer of vibrations from the strings to the solid body. For this reason, the bridges on electric guitars are very solid and often made of steel. An unplugged solid-body electric guitar clearly produces a fainter sound than an acoustic guitar, because the large wooden body does not generate strong sound waves. The radiated sound waves that you perceive mostly originate from the string vibration. (4) NO, it does not. Although the tonewood faintly influences the sound waves radiated from the wooden body [see (3)], the magnetic pickups are insensitive to its faint vibrations. Their geometric and electric properties (distance from strings, impedance, etc.) shape the sound. People that argue with (4) may equally claim that the guitarist's belly, which clearly touches the solid body and changes its vibration, influences the tone. An obese guitarist thus must have a radically different tone than a thin one ;) There exist a book addressing all these issues in German language [see e.g. digital.bib-bvb.de/publish/content/44/7373126.html].

[@mikee6666]

" An obese guitarist thus must have a radically different tone than a thin one ;) " A genuine lmfao at that one! :-D

[@guitarisfun7055]

You have a lot of spare time

[@warmtoiletseat5596]

This is correct. On a live band setting no one from the crowd would yell "sweet mahogany tone with with 0.69% moisture you got there!". Plug it to an amp and go to the monitor room you won't hear the difference.

[@memphishancock6483]

I genuinely want to watch a person fix a car in any way with just a screwdriver and hammer

[@TheUltimater72]

Memphis Hancock installing a new battery! Don’t even need the hammer

[@hockleyrambler]

Or PRS play his guitars with a hammer.

[@RainStickland]

Lots can be repaired on a car with those. A socket set really opens up the possibilities, though.

[@xSamWaynex]

Most brakes can be replaced with just a screw driver and a hammer.

[@Anonymous-xn2xh]

then you have to check out the Old Top Gear’s Toyota Hilux durability tests

[@ugur7227]

There is a correlation between being a PRS snob and claiming that woods matter for sound.

[@KealohaHarrison]

Claiming that SRV’s tone was incredible because of the strings he used is like saying Maya Angelou’s poetry is powerful because of the typewriter she used

[@eog5217]

Not a very good analogy

[@woodsnstrings]

He also got carpal tunnel on tour and switched down to 10s just before he died. Nobody noticed, but his bends went insane.

[@TheBoeboe]

"string gauges does not affect tone" "the wood totally does! and every one can tell!" like wut boi?

[@keithw453]

His point was that heavier string gauges are not harder to play

[@mikeyg8133]

He clearly said string guages affect tone the player had more of an effect on tone than the strings alone

[@MrVirgilVox]

Lighter strings = heavier sound. Beato made a video about this.

[@joshuahuf9747]

that is not what he said

[@dylandoge1627]

Virgil Vox for chugging riffs thicker strings sound better. For boomer riffs lighter strings work better

[@AntonioKowatsch]

You're almost correct on all points. The thing with the tonewood is not true, however. A friend of mine is a luthier and he built me a custom guitar that is made out of acrylic and sounds just as good as any of my "tonewood" guitars. When I asked him about the tonewood myth he told me that it's just a lie that is being purported by big companies like Gibson so that they can charge premium prices for their guitars. I'm going to trust my common sense, experience, and the opinion of a person who handles tonewood on a daily basis over your opinion. Sorry, mate. p.s. I have an academic background in physics and chemistry. When I say that tonewood is a sham I mean it. The way in which the sound on an electric guitar is generated has nothing to do with the wood that it's made out of. Yes, if you strum your guitar really hard its body is going to resonate but that resonance doesn't alter the sound that is picked up by your pickups. Anyone who claims that the opposite is true doesn't understand physics. And FYI, that demonstration that Paul Reed Smith did there was the most idiotic thing I've ever seen. Electric guitars aren't played like a percussive instrument so he proved nothing (just like dumb he is, maybe). The example with the violin was very bad. I am also a classically trained violinist so I do know how the sound on a violin is being produced; long story short: it has no commonality with an electric guitar.

[@Damaged262]

His point was about Frank Sinatra being dead and so is Stradivarius, it's as simple as that. So, you being disrespectful towards his comments just proves you are a troll. Much like the loudmouth he shut down. When you can provide me with a luthier studio where you make guitars for sale, I'll be happy to accept your opinion, AFTER I've tried one of your instruments. Until then, please be quiet, you are just full of blather as far as you've proved. You'd think you were making a point and until you have a basis for that point, I'm not really interested in blather. Please tell me you make guitars for retail sale, I'd love you to prove me wrong in my point, I like being wrong, but I'm still gonna need you to prove you have the expertise to back your point. Until then, go join a flat earth society, you make about as much sense as they do.

[@shaunmason3243]

Yes, ask James Trussart about tonewood. His guitars are exceptional, cost $3000 and are made of perforated steel.

[@wolfyhii5446]

Hey, I have an idea! How about we all just play guitar... And have fun with it!

[@danielsgrunge]

Perfect

[@guitarwayneo]

Tone wood on an electric guitar only makes a difference acoustically. That is the only time you hear the wood. The pickups are not detecting subtle differences in vibrations in the wood. They only register the metal string that is vibrating over the magnetic field of the poles. There are many video's on youtube of guitars made from concrete, crayons, ramen noodles, 2"x4"s, lego's, cardboard and many other materials and they all sound like a normal guitar through an amp. PRS makes a lot of money on people believing this myth.

[@warmtoiletseat5596]

True. I agree. But hey many guitarists are traditionalists and tonewood is religion.

[@kjell159]

I prefer my pedals being made from rosewood. It gives a smoother, warmer tone. In all seriousness, I play shakuhachi, a Japanese wind instrument. And the molded ABS plastic 'shakuhachi yuu' is a cheap shakuhachi respected & endorsed by several shihan (masters). There is now a type of shakuhachi made from metal alloys, and it is a completely professional instrument. There are practice instruments made from PVC tubing, from several types of wood (yes, mostly just for the looks and ease of crafting the wood as some types of wood are more prone to splitting etc.), ... The bamboo mostly used is the species Phyllostachys bambusoides (madake), but other types of bamboo have been used like golden timber, moso, etc. Some have even made them out of clay, but that's difficult to make as the dimensions change with the firing in the oven. I tried making a clay shakuhachi once and it broke in the oven. The bore diameter, hole spacing, hole sizing, blowing edge angle, wall thickness, tapered bore (not a cylindrical shape) etc. are important parameters. But the specific type of material on a freaking wind instrument isn't even a huge parameter in the eventual sound color, let alone an electric guitar. You don't bash the body of your guitar like it's a drum, you pluck the strings. Sigh... 'tonewood' 😂 maybe 0.001% of importance That's why there are great sounding guitars that sound identical to wooden guitars, made from solely metal, with fluid tanks instead of wood, plastic, even pencils and cardboard, carbon composites, etc.? People have made instruments out of vegetables. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpPcmGOaZtOdoZI Even the MDF body in this video sounds 99% identical to the others. 😂

[@jaybone23]

Throws to Paul Reed Smith as the ultimate arbiter on tonewood and electric guitar; PRS talks about violins, microphones, the human voice, and some guy plays wood blocks. I wonder why I'm not convinced.

[@JBergmansson]

He also has a vested interest in people thinking that expensive tonewood is needed to make a great guitar.

[@TheBoeboe]

"tone wood makes a difference! here, let my give you an example by not playing on guitars!"

[@Coach_Brian]

Do believe a plastic electric guitar would sound just like a Les Paul?

[@TheBoeboe]

@@Coach_Brian yes. Depending on the pickups, and setup on the amp.

[@Coach_Brian]

@@TheBoeboe im assuming you think there's no difference between a hollow guitar, or a solid guitar? Other than weight?

[@matteorayner4273]

So if I play my guitar with a hammer... That's when the wood used will make a difference?

[@hockleyrambler]

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that

[@cherrysmoke33]

Yes

[@Doormin]

When you play the neck with a hammer, that is the most direct way to demonstrate how vibration affects it's tone. However, vibration is not only caused by hitting with a hammer, it is caused also when you pluck the string of your guitar and the whole instrument vibrates. They hit the wood with a hammer so just to make it that much clearer that the woods are different

[@therayven3147]

If tonewood didn't make a difference, then how does clip on tuners such as "SNARKY" work... Surly they use vibration to determine the tuning of the guitar...

[@diptarkabhattacharyyaENT]

@@Doormin Er, except when you fret the note the 2 endpoints are the metal fret, and the metal bridge and the string is vibrating between the 2 points. There is literally NO contact between a vibrating guitar string and the neck!!!

[@arthurvandelay7677]

Former vibration test tech for a missile lab here. An electric guitar is a system designed to produce pleasing tones or notes based on vibrating elements producing harmonics at certain nodes depending upon where the operator terminates the functional length of the element. The element or string also sends vibrations through the multiple points where it contacts the rest of the system (bridge, fret, nut, tailpiece, tuning peg) and the vibration of the neck and body feed back into the string. Depending upon the density of the material and resonant frequencies, certain modes will be accentuated and others may be diminished. So although the primary output comes from disturbance of the magnetic field of the pickup(s), the behavior and modes of the vibrating string will in large part be governed by the system to which it is anchored. Which material is "best" (there is video of a concrete guitar that sounds pretty good) is another discussion , but without a doubt it makes a difference, no matter how slight it may seem.

[@TheApsodist]

This comment won't reach the anti tonewood crowd unfortunately

[@BrianAndersonTT]

PRS proof of tonewood impact on ELECTRIC guitar: Playing tonewood like an ACOUSTIC instrument (Marimba) Great, now I know for sure it's a scam.

[@NautilusGuitars]

To everyone claiming tonewood affects tone on an electric, it doesn't, plain and simple. On an acoustic, it can make a huge difference. On a solid-body, it does not. At least not in any noticeable capacity. I've been building guitars for over 10 years and have put this to the test several times. I've recently done an experiment with fully controlled variables. The ONLY difference was the wood of the body. Everything else was the exact same(literally all the same parts and electronics), including the device used to strum the strings. We used spectral analysis to accurately measure the difference, and it is so minuscule that you can hardly even *see* the difference. Hearing the difference is virtually impossible, and once you add an amp and effects, there's no way, even using spectral analysis, to tell the difference. The material does affect the sustain (denser=longer), but we're doing experiments to see if porosity affects the tone as much or more than just density. I'm going to be publishing a video of these experiments and their results hopefully this year when we compile all of the data. But one thing is absolutely certain, Tonewood has no noticeable effect on the sound of a solid body guitar.

[@nirke_]

Hey, man, any chance I can get notified when you release it?

[@attomicrooster7823]

Aristides guitars.

[@PicksPaints]

+Jimi Warner I'm pretty much on board with this. Paul has an axe to grind, and absolutely wants everyone to believe in "tonewood" because he has something to sell. Just like every other guitar manufacturer. Wood does have an impact acoustically, and sustain, as does the thickness of the finish. Unless you're using unpotted/microphonic pickups, the "tonewood" myth for solid body electrics, is really just that.. a myth. What people forget, and fail to realize, every pot has a slightly different value, every pickup (even machine wound) has a slightly different value, every capacitor has a different value. These things make up 95% of the tone of that guitar because they're in circuit. Move JUST a pickup from guitar A to guitar B, and it will sound different. Not because of the wood, because the electronic components in the circuit are different. I keep waiting for someone to show this, maybe in your experiments, you can add this to further kabosh the tonewood myth. Move the pickup, then move the whole circuit. Hey kids: Do you want a completely different tone from your guitar? Change the value of the pots in your guitar! Take the tone pot out of the circuit.

[@gooshnpupp]

@@nirke_ same here

[@216trixie]

Jimi Warner I used to also believe mistakenly, that tonewood doesn't matter on an electric. It very much does. See Johann segborns' videos.

[@GrimYak]

I understand this is a few months old but the tonewood debate has to die. In an electric guitar 99% of your tone is affected by the strings, pickup, pots and even the wire you used to connect all of them. The type of wood may affect sustain or timbre but is almost negligible that you wouldn’t be able to hear. An electric guitar pickup is nothing more than piece of magnet with coil wires that produces a magnetic field, when a string disturbs that magnetic field that’s what we hear as sound (of course translated by the amp from electric signal to sound again). The magnetic field does not care what type of wood you use, all it cares about is there is a vibration. This is mostly affected by how strong your magnetic field is, how conductive your wirings are and pots and even how pure and magnetic your strings are. You can see some here spinditty.com/instruments-gear/The-Great-Electric-Guitar-Tonewood-Debate-Solved. Also, the example when PRS has the guy using the woods as like a xylophone is a stupid example, the electric will never pick those up.

[@davecarsley8773]

Wood definitely effects the tone. What people who make expensive guitars don't want you to know is that it's only about 0.000467% of the tone.

[@SammyBoiBeThicc08]

This couldn’t be more true man

[@CHAOSMOVEMENT]

Why don't you just play cardboard guitars then? They're infinitely cheaper and if it breaks you just throw it out.

[@CDHGuitars]

m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYDSY3tjjJyXbKM Cardboard guitar.

[@poe12]

Why not compare spectrums not the sounds? Nobody does. Nor the opponents nor the proponents...

[@KomboAndy]

3:48 Yeah yeah, but pushing buttons and flicking switches always brings me a joy I cannot describe. That alone makes analog more fun to me.

[@KomboAndy]

Also you learn more about the instrument and electronics in general (I built a fuzzpedal for under 5€)

[@greevar]

Tone wood in solid body guitars is a marketing myth. Tone wood only applies to an air pump, which is what an acoustic guitar or violin is. The strings vibrate the air around them, which vibrates the front and back plates of the guitar, which pushes air out through the sound hole, and creates the sound of the guitar, in an acoustic guitar. The stiffness of these two plates is what affects the tone of an acoustic guitar. A solid body guitar has no air bladder, thus tone wood has no effect on solid body guitars. At best, it could be argued that the density/hardness of the wood might affect the sustain or perhaps reflect/absorb certain frequencies. However, the difference is so negligible that it is indiscernible when introduced to an audience within a mix of other instruments to the point that it's inconsequential. PRS is not an unbiased source. He is in the business of selling guitars, and benefits from perpetuating the myth of tone wood in solid body guitars as a marketing tool to sell more guitars.

[@51MontyPython]

So how do pickups actually make the sound? Surely it has to be about more than just the frequency of the vibrations of the string, otherwise different guitar strings of varying materials/gauges wouldn't sound different, as long as they're tuned to the same pitch. Right?

[@Komatik_]

​@@51MontyPython They pick up the frequencies, but a string doesn't only vibrate at the fundamental. A signal that's only the fundamental is a sine wave. No normal instrument produces a pure fundamental, they produce a series of overtones as well, and what those overtones are and how loud they are relative to each other and the fundamental are why instruments sound different in the first place. Those different sounds get summed up into one set of air pressure fluctuations, which our ears receive and brains record as sound. Microphones and pickups do the same thing: The thing they measure gets them to vibrate or otherwise change state accordingly and that's our signal. Same with speakers: They're just cones of stuff like paper with a magnet slapped on at the end, and a variation in the magnetic field gets them to move back and forth according to the signal. That recreates the air pressure fluctuations of the original signal, and we have sound. Different guitar strings will have slightly different profiles on tone, attack, sustain and the like, so they'll sound a little bit different from each other. The pickup just picks up the sum total of the differences.

[@-1subswithoutuploadingavid621]

Being a keyboard player I don't have to worry about all your pedal and tone wood nonsense! The trade-off being I am extremely envious about how cool guitars look and how they are much more individual than keyboards haha

[@MinecraftMasterNo1]

Yes but do you have *MIDI* ????

[@-1subswithoutuploadingavid621]

MC_Master Nope I actually don't XD, been meaning to but it's too complicated for me lol, I ain't a gear guy

[@Jinx-iw6zb]

But can you headbang while soloing?

[@brandynkazali7160]

bro piano is harder than guitar :/ plus gets more girls these days

[@Jinx-iw6zb]

Brandyn Kazali that depends on what you play C'mon dj gets all the girls

[@patrickgambill9326]

Just my two cents as a physics student, Tonewood does have some affect on the tone. For any hollow, semi-hollow, or acoustic guitar, there is a very clear difference. For solid body guitars, the main difference is due to sustain and due to the weight of the guitar. If a guitar is not plugged in, there is a difference, just like an acoustic guitar. When it comes to a guitar running through a compressor, a distorion pedal, and an eq, the wood makes pretty much no difference compared to the pick ups.

[@richardmetzler7909]

Maybe "these morons" don't give a damn about how their guitar sounds unplugged, because what matters to them is how it sounds in the rehearsal room, on stage and in the studio? It's an *electric* guitar after all.

[@richardmetzler7909]

+Noir Spectre: I did miss that :-/ Nevertheless, I just don't believe it. Is your mahogany guitar the same in every other respect as your basswood? Bridge, neck construction, strings, pickups, pickup position? If not... well, it could be anything.

[@beezusKritso]

That is a fucking stupid argument. Two guitars are not going to be EXACTLY identical in every regard except for the wood choice, so you kind of look like a moron.

[@slavesforging5361]

i hate to break it to y'all, but the wood is NEVER the same either. it's not created in a lab. it fucking grows. show me God's quality assurance and then the arguments about keeping everything exactly the same will matter or make sense. it's all just the best you can do. it tickles my heart strings to go down my wall of guitars (all made of different woods at the moment) and strum the strings to listen to the differences unplugged. if you strummed my guitars with me blindfolded i could tell the difference without issue or hesitation. i love my lighter guitars when i sit with them because i can feel them resonate more. The plywood warlock in my icon is the most resonating guitar i've ever touched and my favorite i've ever played. my Mahogany charvel has got to be some wierd ass mahogany because it has acoustic properties like no electric i've ever picked up. all these sounds ABSOLUTELY carry over into their electric tone. i can hear that shit clear as day. i'm that guy at Music Go Round that is fiddling with an electric and doesn't want to plug it in. shit i might even buy the thing without plugging it in. i can change the electronics later if they're gutting the actual tone of the instrument, or just not picking it up right. electronics are easy. matching your electronics to the one of a kind snowflake that is your guitars mother nature sacrificed tree? That takes an effort born of love.

[@watermelonhelmet6854]

That's why this argument is so pointless. Physics says that the type of wood in an electric guitar body WILL affect the tone. Sure, the signal is generated by the string vibrating over a pickup...but because that string is connected to the guitar body at both ends, the material the guitar body is made from will affect HOW that string vibrates. It will absorb and dampen certain frequencies and reflect and 'enhance' others.... so different woods will sound different. The thing is, once you factor in the differences in pickups, string type, amp type and how the guitar is set up... the actual difference the wood makes is insignificant. This whole argument is like arguing whether having a 1lb weight in the trunk of your car will affect its performance. The laws of physics say yes, it absolutely will. Would someone actually driving the car notice any difference? No. That's the answer to this debate: Does the wood an electric guitar is made of effect the tone? Yes it does, but not enough to notice.

[@aacmsguitarensembles2759]

This video is fantastic! So many great pieces of valuable information. There were a couple times where I thought you missed some great points that would have supported your arguments. I think there were just enough that I can make my own video so hold your breath for that.

[@lostinalbion4223]

Tonewoods matter because they sound different when you hit them with a hammer - just like how we play guitar :D

[@GuitarsRockForever]

#1. Yes you do need big hand if you want to play certain song. My hand has short pinky, it is physically impossible for me to reach certain chord. #10. You are smarter than that. Nobody would disagree with the tonewood argument on acoustic guitar. But on solid body electric guitar, the tonewood would be the last thing to have effect on tone. The electric would be the most important, and the neck, the construction (eg. Bolted neck or neck through), the body wood, the string, the nut, the bridge, and even what pick you use, would have more impact to the tone.

[@romainb182]

"the body wood"... so do you mean...tonewood?

[@CaveMonkey72]

The constrution of an instrument affects resonance but, it's a subtractive effect. Try several guitars unamplified and you can feel this... A "Brighter" guitar will vibrate heavily because it is absorbing energy from lower harmonic frequencies. A "Darker" guitar does the opposite. Wood density and mass will change the frequencies that are absorbed. This doesn't mean that one is better than another, just that there are multiple flavors available.

[@CyberChrist]

+GuitarsRockForever Change the fingering, your position, focus on more stretching or use a shorter scale length :P

[@bluechicken8626]

#1 also playing leads stuffs. Like some string skipping on a harmonic or melodic minor scales. Basicly some Paul Gilbert's style.

[@williamking8684]

you realize the neck and body ARE tone woods you dense glue sniffer

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

Shill noun 1. an accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others. Paul Reed Smith is the *LAST* person you should believe as far as tonewood. He has a vested interest in the belief that you need all this exotic highly figured wood to sound good. He's made countless millions selling the myth. I have played guitars made out of carbon fiber, clear Lucite, and I made one out of a counter top like the English guy did just to see for myself. EMG pickups don't give two shits what's under them. They will sound identical both to your ears and to a microphone with frequency detection software. Now, with an acoustic, the wood, the bracing, where the bracing is located, the glue used...there are a million variables and they all critical to making a guitar sound different. Take an acoustic made out of all mahogany. It will sound so much darker (I hate those descriptors too, but I cannot think of any others right now) than one made of maple. HUGE difference. Is it a single cut? Is the sound hole located in the center vs the Ovation style that has multiple offset sound holes? Yes, the wood makes a pronounced difference in acoustics. Electrics you just want something that is hard enough to keep it's shape, not be too affected by temp and humidity, looks good and is a comfortable weight. If you think you can tell the difference between a maple fretboard vs a rosewood...you are not being honest, or are full of shit. Scott Grove had two identical Strats in all specs with Lace sensors, except one had a maple board and one had a rosewood. There was no difference in tone. None whatsoever. I-fucking-dentical. And yes, that's an industry term

[@alphaenemyplus8376]

Jim Lill destroyed the tonewood argument. You might like the feel, blah blah, but it fucking doesn't.

[@stefandobrev2238]

Disagree with myth 7 for a couple of reasons: 1. Beginners could waste a lot of money if they find out guitar isn't for them. 2. The feeling of a lost investment could make someone play it, even if they don't enjoy playing guitar. 3. If someone needs a better guitar to become a better player, maybe they aren't good enough in the first place. A good musician can make even the cheapest instruments sing. 4. Inexpensive =/= bad. If the beginner knows where and what to look for, they can get a killer guitar. 5. No other musical community will recommend for beginners to start with expensive instruments. I doubt you can find someone who says "Don't waste money on a $500 drum set, get yourself a nice $2000 one" or “Beginner cellists shouldn't start on a $1000 cello, but on a $5000 one with a $1000 dollar bow" (And yes, this is how expensive cellos are. A thousand dollars can get you a really low end cello while 5K is the usual price of a mid-end one.)

[@Coffee-nb7un]

As long as the instrument provides high quality for a reasonable price. Even high-end instruments can have crap features (terrible headstock dive, sh*t tuning stability, etc.)

[@stefandobrev2238]

@@Coffee-nb7un Agree

[@PrateekJain-pi9jc]

Let PRS do a double blind test of tonewoods. I dare him.

[@Coach_Brian]

are you saying that he wouldn't be able to distinguish the difference between maple or ash; because there's no difference? Or that he couldn't accurately identify the change in the woodtone? Because if you're saying there's no change, I would implore you to research more.

[@Coach_Brian]

@⸚ sound is a vibration. That "density" changes the field of vibration. The vibration is picked up by the pickups... This isn't homeopathy... it's basic science. Now, is it such a huge change that it totally changes the entirety of the tone? No. But it does it change the tone, albeit minimally. But it's not as cut and dry as you're making it out to be.

[@Coach_Brian]

Lol www.fender.com/articles/tech-talk/do-different-woods-affect-your-electric-guitar-tone

[@joshuafreedman7703]

⸚ Thank you. It's so gratifying to know that you are so much phenomenally smarter than Paul Reed Smith. EVERYONE!! Please be aware I am being condescending to a stupid person; truly stupid people never realize that they ARE, in fact, stupid.

[@Coach_Brian]

@⸚ jesus... meet Dunning- Kruger, everyone...

[@redstrat1234]

Smith's tonewood analogy to a violin and singers vocal chords is completely ludicrous. Music is Win - you are a smart guy, how can you not see that the comparison is completely flawed ? - and using that video as evidence of the claim is equally insane. (even if you are dedicated PRS supporter) It's in every guitar makers interests to perpetuate the tonewood myth. Why the hell would they want to go anywhere near disproving something that makes them $millions every year. Of course tapping isolated different wood guitar necks will sound different. What about this, make all of those necks fittable to say a standard tele body with standard pickups/controls/strings, install the necks them one at a time, play and video record them - use same amp and settings - no pedals and publish the results. I guarantee, no manufacturer would go anywhere near doing that for obvious reasons - we'd all see that the emperor has no clothes. It's amazing to me that because someone taps on an unfinished uninstalled neck and of course gets a different sound, people's critical faculties fly right out of the window and they believe that's some sort of undeniable proof. Then again, if I spent thousands on a guitar I would have already bought into the tonewood myth and I would convince myself that I still hear a difference - whether there was one or not. (after all, I couldn't bring myself to believe or accept I was fooled all along, right ?...)

[@aaronmosf3t719]

redstrat1234 reminds me so much of people defending their religious beliefs

[@NautilusGuitars]

You're so spot on here! I've been building guitars for 10 years now and have done experiments that I'll be publishing on here soon (see my comment to this video). I have been very adamant in disproving this myth to my customers, to the point where some of them get angry. If it was true, I'd have every interest in perpetuating the idea because it's way more marketable. But the reality is that it's simply a myth. And seeing Tyler go braindead and completely defy logic here was jarring, to say the least. Seeing someone, especially someone who I perceive as intelligent, arrogantly and confidently defending absolute nonsense is almost personally embarrassing, it's so cringy. AaronBigsby, that's so true. It's just like someone giving up on everything pertaining to reality, simply to defend their religion. And I have to reiterate the point about Smith's argument. Tapping a neck blank to "prove" anything is so damn idiotic I can't even be nice about it. It's the most disingenuous, illogical, stupid thing imaginable. It's like tapping on an uninstalled subwoofer cone and claiming, "see, that proved that the finished speaker can reproduce sub-100hz frequencies at 200db without compression or distortion! Duh, idjits!" Um... There's WAY more to a finished speaker (or guitar) than that, you disingenuous prick! Gahh... It's just absurd.

[@redstrat1234]

It just goes to show that an otherwise intelligent, knowledgeable, experienced guitar guy can look at the PRS vid then completely abandon his critical faculties and believe he's seeing absolute and incontrovertable proof positive (which is PRS saying it's so and someone tapping guitar necks) that tonewoods are a real thing - that pretty startling really. But then again he's hitting over forty five and a half thousand views so far, so maybe he knows exactly what he's doing...

[@ClikcerProductions]

I feel like the only reason people believe wood has a significant effect is because they don't understand how pickups work. THEY ARE NOT MICROPHONES PEOPLE! And the whole point of solid body electric guitars is that the body barely resonates, thus meaning it has virtually no effect on how the string vibrates in a well constructed guitar. If it doesn't effect the string, the the pickups wont pick up and change

[@redstrat1234]

Exactly, but the hardest thing in the world is convincing people they've been lied to, especially if they have a $4000 dollar investment in the lie. They need it to be true or have to accept that they have been completely fooled and had their pockets picked big time because of a myth. Many ego's will not accept that.

[@christopherbrown7234]

100% agree.This was your best info video in my opinion and you're keeping your word, your videos are better but they have all been great. Theory, develop your ear and practice are the root of the most important thing for any musician.

[@lorcanrowley133]

Yes, because Paul Reed Smith doesn't have a motive to push the idea of tonewood.

[@ChristianVazquez12]

Okay, let me break this down for you: The wood of the guitar DOES affect the way the guitar sounds, because the sound resonates differently with different wood. But the thing is, if you're planning on using an amp, the wood makes no difference. Yes, the sound resonates differently on different wood, but guitar pickups don't pick up sound, they pick up electromagnetic signals let off by your strings. And those electromagnetic signals don't resonates differently with different wood because *_electromagnetic signals don't resonate_*

[@chlorine1713]

@Underground Frenchy you seem to think piezo acoustic guitars are the only ones in existence

[@zitnbit]

Underground Frenchy What you said is pitch not tone.

[@diptarkabhattacharyyaENT]

@Underground Frenchy And vaccines are very bad, Right?

[@avns4910]

tonewood only affects the sound in acoustic guitar, it really doesn't matter which type of wood you have on electric

[@iancurrie8844]

No. Either the string is vibrating at the right frequency and it's in tune or it isn't. There's no magical way to oscillate.

[@Logan912]

Yes, the wood absolutely does affect the tone... when played acoustically. The main difference that it makes for a guitar is resonance, and it's a minuscule difference at that unless it's a hollow body/semi-hollow. Guess what magnetic pickups don't detect?

[@mikeyg8133]

Idk man the wood on my electric guitars definitely sound different when not plugged into anything the basswood sounds very different mohagony

[@Valaskjold]

@@mikeyg8133 what your electric guitar sounds like acoustocally is irrelevant.

[@bradt.3555]

Magnetic pickups pickup how the string is vibrating. The wood affects how the string vibrates. That's part of why acoustics sound different.

[@bradt.3555]

The pickups pickup how the string is vibrating, the wood affects how the string vibrates. That's part of the reason acoustics sound different.

[@Diandredofus]

@@bradt.3555 Except that effect is negligible, if not non-existent. The strings aren't even in direct contact with the wood. Plus the body of an electric is just a slab of very thick wood. It dissipates 99% of the sound. It doers not behave like a thin membrane like an acoustic for it to impart any tonal qualities.

[@jmitzenmacher5]

11:04 yeah, but we aren’t micing the wood... This whole thing is more like saying the mic stand makes a difference, or the singer’s clothes. Obviously it will have some small effect, but the singer is what is important. Now for acoustic guitars, you actually can mic the wood.

[@NicoMoratinos]

The reason behind the selection of Woods is not for the "tone" is just for how available are those Trees in certain regions. And how profitable it becomes.

[@meedlies]

Yes wood affects tone. The question is, by how much? It’s probably 99% of tone is pickups, amps, setup, pedals and the player and 1% is the wood. But does wood affect the tone by affecting the player. Does the weight, feel, smell, affect how the player interacts with the instrument? I don’t know but it’s fun to think about. Also, it affects acoustic instruments much more but build quality makes a huge difference there as well.

[@finno2290]

does the smell affect it? *sniiiiiiifffff*

[@meedlies]

Jay Walker Don’t act like you don’t give your guitars a good sniff. We all do.

[@nataliagonzalez1698]

Jason Simkowitz My acoustic smells good af

[@TheJaysimus]

See, that's the way I look at it It may not affect anything on the guitar itself (excluding the sustain, possibly), but players are affected by even the tiniest changes in the instrument they play...it's all very subtle, subconscious, changes, but they're very much there

[@johnyang799]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmK9f2SBpr2ngas

[@Clearview68]

Myth 11 - People who post videos on youtube are experts on everything. Myth 12 - People buy guitars based on what type of wood they're made of. Myth 13 - Guitars are only made from wood. Myth 14 - Hitting blocks of wood on a table with a mallet is a viable test of what sounds an electric guitar produces.

[@rockindavebyron3960]

Yes, tone woods do make a difference. I've been playing since 1974 & have seen all kinds of changes in the guitar industry & they all make a difference, including string guage. If you play a 'G' note on your high 'E' string on the 3rd fret & play that same 'G' note on the 8th fret on the 'B' string there will be a bit of a thicker sound on the B string than on the E string. Another way you can tell is if you use a guitar synth with the Bass sound ( using you regular guitar) , you'll get a heavier tone playing a C note on the 8th fret low E string than on the 3rd fret on the A string, I've had to do this many times during recording & in live performance situations. Still a GREAT video my friend, Rock On & God Bless.

[@natasrules]

the glazing for Paul reed smith is crazyyyy

[@ruisousa7967]

Wood affect the sound on electric guitar, the same way mp3 affects cd sound...

[@zdude0124]

Lol..... it does get a little digital.. worse on satellite radio tho

[@fosatech]

Brace yourselves! The tonewood comments are coming....

[@TheRealCeeJai]

*nods sagely* Yes, I too play guitar by pounding on the wood of the body.

[@chucklee2995]

I know right, that such bull shit of course hitting a piece of wood with a different piece of wood gives different tones, but with solid body, pickups, amplifier, and many other variables, you can't tell mahogany from concrete, that's the damn truth, people are just ignorant, believe anything that tickles there fancy,

[@qua7771]

@@chucklee2995 No it's not. I used to think that way when I was a beginner. After 40 years of playing and building various guitars there is defiantly a tonal difference unless all you play is ultra high gain or a tone of effects. People that think they know everything usually don't, and people that have experience realize their is more to learn (Dunning Krugar effect). The sole reason most comment sections, and discussion boards are full of misinformation. What makes things worse, is that once people establish an opinion in their minds, they tend to refuse to change it regardless to contrary evidence (conformation bias). Because of this this, we have misinformation being spread on a grand scale. It all is rooted in a quick, cheap and easy mentality.

[@ryanevans371]

@@qua7771 So, you start out by telling us that you've been playing 40 years, that based on those years of playing tonewood ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY makes a difference, and that only "beginners" think otherwise. Then you launch into a lecture about Dunning-Kruger, and about how only people who realize they still have more to learn can actually learn anything. Which is it? For somebody who likes to lecture about experience, having more to learn, and confirmation bias, you seem awfully sure of how right you are, and awfully dismissive of people with other perspectives. Does confirmation bias apply to you, too...or just everybody else? I haven't been playing for 40 years...I've only been playing for about 30. In those 30 years, I've never noticed that tonewood made any appreciable difference. Any difference that does exist could easily be attributed to dozens of other factors. I suppose I'm just a "beginner" who doesn't realize he has more to learn. Tell me, will my magical enlightenment...that point where I'll recognize that your experience matters and mine doesn't...happen right at year 40, or will it maybe happen at 38 or 39? ...or is it maybe possible that you don't know everything either?

[@qua7771]

@@ryanevans371 I had built guitars for 40 years. Why don't you have this discussion with a professional studio session musician. See what they think. Your tone with me suggest that you are protecting a preconceived notion, and that any further discussion is a waste of time. I'm not going to waste my time or yours.

[@ryanevans371]

@@qua7771 So long as you take some time to examine your own preconceived notions. I know you believe yours are right and everybody else's need a good lecture, but my experience is every bit as valid as yours. It's only the one of us that keeps making half-assed hypocritical appeals to authority.

[@eurly93]

Tonewood in electrics is a myth that has been PROVEN. People have literally suspended strings, made guitars from 2x4, even concrete, and they all sound identical. All that matters is the electronics and the strings.

[@hino-ucanada4506]

10:29 Getting one of the biggest egos in the business with a massive self-interest in promoting tone wood to weigh in on the tone wood debate? Come on man. Paul then goes on to talk about acoustic instruments... which has never been part of the debate among reasonable people.

[@AR-zq9hq]

I've been to one of PRS seminars. It was more of an act than an informative event. Instead, talk to some non big name master builders in your area, those guys really know their stuff.

[@guitarales]

ahahaha right, nobody that sells guitar (even guy like MusicIsWin, that i admire and love) will ever accept tonewood does not matter. They don't address directly the matter, instead they say things like "why then everybody is using wood? they are all crazy?" Nice way to demonstrate it matters. But the Lorentz force is a FACT and it cannot be denied.

[@AR-zq9hq]

@@guitarales Dan Armstrong made a pretty neat and iconic guitar with only a wooden neck...also there were Veleno, which weren't as popular though

[@MaestroJericho]

@@AR-zq9hq Aristides is doin a great job making guitars with zero wood and they're praised for their resonance as well, I've had a few PRS cores and they make great stuff but agreed to the comments above.

[@martinskanal]

Hey mr Music is Win! I really like your channel but I have to call you out on this one:) Show us one guy - just 1 guy from 7 billion people (including mr Paul Reed Smith who happens to build truly awesome guitars) - who can listen to random recordings of electric guitars and consistently decide what woods they are made of. That guy does not exist. Not one guy on planet earth can listen to series of 5 strat recordings and consistently pick out the one guitar with the rosewood fretboard from the four maple necks. Why is that? There is no guy who - by listening to recordings - can consistently pick out a random maple cap LP from four random all mahogany LPs. Why is that? Mahogany is not mahogany. Alder is not alder. Sugar maple is not sugar maple. Anyone who builds xylophones or marimbas knows that wood density varies within a species and even within a tree. That is why he cannot make a perfectly tuned instrument by measuring only the outer dimensions of the wooden bars. How dense the wood is, how well dried out it is, how it is cut - there are many factors that will attribute different acoustic tonal properties to two pieces of wood even from the same tree. For an electric guitar, the actual construction and the hardware (the pick-ups, pick-up position, type of bridge, nut, frets, strings, scale length) is much, much, much, much, much, much more important than species of wood (as long as the woods are within some minimum specs of density and tensile strength). Our ears are rather imprecise tools. Already decades ago we built devices that can better can "hear", recognize and separate different sound frequencies to much tighter specs than any human ear can. And to date there is no audio spectrography device who can recognize particular wood species by letting sounds resonate through different woods. I am very, very skeptical about the extent a different woods make significant tonal differences in an electric guitar. I truly belive that the electromagnetic pick-up only get very limited feedback information about the wood from a vibrating string - and that these variations in the amplified tone hardly can be attributed to certain species. I am pretty pragmatic about this. If the human ears could pick up significantly different sounds from different wood species in electric guitars, we would not be making vague statements about it - we (or at least some of us) would in fact be able to recognize wood species WITHOUT being told in advance that what we are hearing is ether "x", "y" or "z". And there would be both audio spectra analysis that could say useful things about tonal differences between amplified sounds in different wood species AND digital wood modellers who could make your maple neck sound like mahogany. But fact is that if we want to discuss tone, there are several more important factors at play than wood species. Like you yourself say: SRV's hands have a bigger impact on his sound than the string gauge he uses, and I might add: certainly much, much, much, much more relevant impact to sound quality than wether his strat was made of ash rather than alder. I don't make exotic claims about being able to hear wood species in an electric guitar, but there are certainly significant differences between the amplified sounds of different electric guitars. Even two similarly spec'ed mahogany/maple capped les Pauls can sound differently. I just think it is way more reasonable to ascribe the variations in amplified sounds to other factors than wood. And I have science on my side: How hot a pick-up is, how close to the strings it is adjusted and how far from the bridge it is mounted will have dramatically more impact on sound that wether the body is made from Honduras or any other mahogany. Paul Reed Smith makes awesome guitars. But when people use him as a witness in the tone wood debate I believe they are forgetting that "tone woods" have been the bread and butter of his business for decades. People buy his "private stock" guitars with crazy beautiful grain and they pay premium dollars for this - and many of his customers are convinced that these woods are important to the way it sounds. Unless Mr. Reed Smith is a fucking moron, no-one will never hear him say: - Ash or Alder? There are no-one who'd ever Having said all of that: I love playing acoustically resonant electric guitars. I truly believe the way they respond acoustically to my picking, feel against my stomach and under my fingers as I strum the instrument, etc..This might certainly affect how I perform with my instrument, and thus indirectly affect my tone. There are in fact several good reasons for paying attention to the acoustic properties of an electric guitar, but buying a guitar online from Guitarcenter believing that the word "mahogany body" will tell anything significant about how the guitar will sound like amplified is just bollocks. Anyone looking for "the one" will always be better off trusting their ears and hands and actually playing the guitar they are curious about, rather than r e a d i n g and t r u s t I n g flashy adjectives and lofty claims about what the wood in the guitar is supposed to do to its tone. It is a classic example of confirming bias.

[@bradt.3555]

He didn't say that he could tell the different types of wood, or one wood sounds better that another, that stupid, two pieces of the same type of wood sound different and tone is subjective. My argument is with people who try to say the wood doesn't affect the tone or it all happens from the electronics etc., etc. I've swapped too many pickups between too many guitars to be made to believe the wood doesn't play a large part of the tone. The guitar creates the tone, the PU colors it and all the rest of the parts add or subtract something. It's funny after all the years of owning, buying, selling, the ones left that are my favorites are all mahog with maple cap. I'm not saying they sound any better than alder or ash except to me. If the knuckleheads that tell me to learn how a pickup works knew how the movement of the string causes current to flow differently, well I took electronics in HS 1970's, and did electronics and electrical work all my life,sorry getting off track, I know how a pickup works.

[@oliverlangrall2014]

The way that pickups work, by picking a string that disrupts a magnetic field, the wood of the guitar has no bearing on that signal. I'm pretty sure there are scientific studies about this too- I remember reading one a few years ago. I also build guitars and what really makes the biggest difference are the pups, scale length, strings then the nut and bridge saddles and electronics. The type of wood has always been a cosmetic and tactile decision when choosing for myself.

[@andyt6191]

If a guitarist puts his hands together lining up the knuckles look at the creases in the fingers! The fretting hand fingers tend to be noticeably longer my longest finger almost 1/4" longer than the corresponding finger of the plucking hand!

[@shaft9000]

With all due respect - You were answering the wrong question, and so was Paul. The Balsa argument is a non-sequitur, because Balsa is categorically disqualified from even medium duty wood-work purposes. It is an extreme example of such a soft species (in all cuts) that it can barely hold screws in the first place, let alone a bridge under tension(!) What's next, a stryofoam guitar? The thing is that the CUT of the wood in fact is what makes the bigger difference than the species, time and again. Ask any woodworker. The species? Not nearly as much, especially when the electronic pickup and amplifier is dominant in defining to the sound. Acoustic guitar tops matter far more (but even here, the cut takes priority before the species - as no law says "sitka or spruce!"). When going from any suitable wood to a synthetic-compound top, the solid body with different tops can barely register any effect to the resultant waveform at the jack output signal . There is not the gaping resonant sound-hole cavity in a solid-body for this to matter anywhere nearly as much. SO, guys.... Getting tied in knots over the cost and aesthetics of electric guitar-woods affecting the final fraction of a percentage of the sound is a 1st-world problem/luxury if there ever was one :) Your picking/fingering style, or a change of speaker, or hell just getting your ears cleaned at age 40(lol) - may make 100x more difference to the resultant sound you are getting than the species of wood ever could. You've been defending getting hosed by DISPROPORTIONATE sales-pitch woo-woo, is all. So just get over it. It's no biggie, and we can still be pals :).

[@TALKINGtac0]

@Hideo_22 You're not crazy. I'm no guitar genius but it's basic physics.

[@ethanpearson897]

@Hideo_22 the short answer is that, they don't.

[@briankaszuk5025]

shaft9000 I’m glad you are happy with your plywood guitar rock on man

[@perihelion7798]

@@briankaszuk5025 Yeah, but Les Paul played his scrap pine 4X4 guitar for years...

[@ChrisFranklyn]

I do believe the wood can make a difference, but I also believe Paul Reed Smith's arguments were like the staged actions of a lunatic and nonsensical.

[@thekon1298]

Chris Franklyn he also used acoustic instruments like violin as an example which doesn't support Tyler's argument

[@LeMusicienDuPasse]

The wood will make a big difference on acoustic instruments, but the amp, the pickups and the nut and bridge are more for it than the actual big chunk of wood that is an electric solidbody guitar. Of course, if you choose mahogany vs alder it will make a difference whilst unplugged. But if it is plugged in a good amp with good speakers, I don't think the wood has a lot to do there.

[@chadbouterse8617]

I have a two PRS custom 24 guitars. They have the same 85/15 pickups, the same nut, the same mahogany body with maple cap, and the same core bridge. One is a maple neck and one is a mahogany neck. Played on the same amp with the same guitar cable, the tones are totally different. The Maple is way brighter and the mahogany is way fuller with the same tone nob and pickup settings. Tonewood is real.

[@respincycle2582]

David Massicotte yeah sure, tone wood might not be the biggest factor in tone but it definitely matters. You say the bridge and hardware have the biggest effect, however the wood that bridge and the nut is anchored to affect how the very same bridge and nut vibrate, which also affects how the strings vibrate. Different woods have different densities, therefore a guitar with a mahogany body will sound different than a guitar with an alder body. Also, notice how if your guitar is plugged in with the amp on you can slap the body of your guitar and this will make an audible noise through your pickup showing that wood does have an effect on the strings vibration. To wrap it all up, when you hit a string that vibration goes through the string, into the bridge and nut, into the wood and the whole body, and down the neck all at basically the same time. These vibrations are all received by your pickup. So the tonewood, the type of nut, the type of bridge, the shape of your guitar, or even any dents or scratches in the neck or body have varying amounts of effect on your tone.

[@LeMusicienDuPasse]

Chad Bouterse What you don't realise is that not even two pole pieces in a pickup are the same. So, from one pickup to another the sound drastically changes. I'm a drummer and even two cymbals, same size, same series, same metal, etc don't sound the same. The magnets, the wiring of the coil, everything can slightly differ and make a huge difference. Tonewood isn't what you think. It works on acoustic guitars, but not as much on solidbody electrics.

[@ExpatZ266]

What PRS says about one of it's marketting angles isn't exactly using an unbiased source who is interested in only demonstrating the facts. Other than that spot on. BTW there are now a ton of very good demonstrations on why tone woods doesn't mean anything to an electric guitar. Ttransducers and control filter caps however are the tone shapers for electrics. You know, speakers, guitar side cap values and pickups and for recording mics and mic placement. Not really a debate any more, easily settled by honest testing and that has been done. Buy specific wood types for your guitar because you like nice pretty wood or are concerned about weight and stability, any other reason has no basis in reality.

[@acook213]

Myth 11: PRS is completely unbiased and has no financial interest in keeping the myth of tonewood vis-à-vis electric guitars alive.