Does Tonewood Matter? AI Debunks the Myth!

[@TheRealChetManley]

AI nailed it here...when you know you know...the speaker makes a HUGE difference in sound as well, probably the biggest difference.

[@thebaldshredder]

Ah yes, the tone wood myth which has been used forever to upsell expensive guitars. Amazing how my tone sounds pretty much the same regardless of which guitar I'm playing. I'm going to build a particle board guitar one of these days 😅

[@FultonStreetBeats]

That would be a fun project. I would love to see that, brother! 🙂

[@Ericka-kl4hb]

Martin's use high pressure laminated wood. Basically layered plywood.

[@kewlbreeze6877]

One thing I noticed that was left out of the better quality wood guitar consideration was, Tuning Stability. One other thing scale length impact on tone !

[@RodBell457]

Great video! What I've always thought, I've done complete pu and electronics changes, and it completely changed the guitar

[@ElvisPretzel-rv3bg]

Who's gonna be the first splinter brain to say sustain is tone wood dude!! 😂

[@theguitarprofessionals8584]

ELVIS!!!!!!!!!!

[@ElvisPretzel-rv3bg]

@theguitarprofessionals8584 Only on date night Wood matters! lol" AI facts TGP this wAs cool information! 😆 Still the guitar snobs and guitar God's won't except these facts that Tone it's in our Electronics are Amps and set-ups and fingers! 😆 In no way do I not like love or want USA made guitars I had them since 1970s and have them now they feel like a million dam bucks!! But I have $200 to $500 dollar guitars that can out rock them in every way and comfort and they feel like a million dam bucks also! 😆 I can see how a guy would want a Gibson USA because the Mahogany tree his wood came from got pissed on by a monkey and that makes him feel better and one up on the guy with the basswood guitar we will always have guys or gals pissing down our backs and telling us it's raining when it's not it's up to us to find the real facts out on things and decide for ourselves what's true what's not and we found the truth here HOPE IT Don't HURT! 😂 Peace TGP!!!

[@HumanMusicStudio]

Just the fact that you say "I could be wrong" makes me respect what you have to say soooo much more. I agree with you anyway. But there's not enough humility in this world today

[@spookytkid]

I worked at a music store for several years... The amount of myths musicians hang their hat on is mind blowing.... I would do it to my own band mates... I never, to my knowledge, bought into myths. I tested, endlessly, my perceptions as well as others. I would fool ppl all the time.

[@thebluesrockers]

Vibration or sustain will always depend on the thickness of string gauge, the distance between the pickups and strings, Also the material used for the bridge saddles & nut. The body, or lack of one will make near, zero difference. The human ear will Not be able to hear the difference. I've known this to be a fact for over 30 years. However, in the words of the late, Mark Twain "It's easier for a person to continue believing in a lie than it is for that same person to believe that they've been lied to."

[@drumsandstuff7987]

Been waiting for this one!

[@LRHutch]

Good video man. I've been playing guitar for 66 years and started working and building guitars for 40 years. I've always said tone wood is mostly a myth on a solid body guitar. When you get unto this lines, semi hollow and hollow body guitars there are some tone differences. That being said, there are some differences in certain cases with solid body guitars. Mainly the old microphonic pickups and the solid bodies that use a transducer pickup can make more difference in tone according to the wood type but still not that much and that is still mainly to how many cubic inches the body is and not it's shape dictates what kind of tone it has. It still all goes back to about 98.5 % of the solid body guitars sound comes from the electronic chain from the pickup to the speaker. Any dead or foul sounds coming from the guitar is most of the time mechanical. Have a good one.

[@kirkhunter146]

The Kind of wood used in acoustics matters greatly, this argument has been extended to electric guitars. Fender Strats can be made of Alder, Oak, Maple, Mahogany and they all sound the same. My preference is for Basswood, it is light and very resonant. If Ibanez and Sure use this wood in their Prestige instruments then it is good enough for anyone. Things that do make a difference are set necks and the break angle at the nut & the bridge.

[@TheworldofMattias]

Very interesting! I think the tone of a guitar is purely electric. But, with that said, the materials can affect the feel for the player, even a good pickguard can make a difference. nice video Mike, keep doing what you do!

[@HoffmasterB]

Hello my friend. Hope the holidays are good for you! I look forward to all your videos!✌️♥️

[@DaringDan]

I love when people think that by presenting facts, logic, and common sense that it definitively will get through to people and end an argument.

[@BallisticEvents-e6i]

I always knew this - my Ephiphone sounds way better than many original 59 Les Pauls. Here's the proof!

[@2hi2dye]

I think the pallet guitar wrapped that up

[@theguitarprofessionals8584]

More tonewood? I hear Elvis wakes up with WoodTones!!! are we in a vacuum bubble?

[@bass-hiroshimanick2534]

This was interesting listening to AI talk about guitar and tone facts. I’m one of those people who can’t tell the difference between woods, pickups, strings, bridges or nuts. Everything sounds the same to me. Yeah I know I’m terrible.

[@jamesraymondsmith]

hey man, thanks for posting your videos. They're very entertaining. I've had lots of amps and guitars. All I know is the best tone I like is a cranked black face fender, which I have with a Allen brown sugar kind of a cross between a a brown face fender and a black face. Got a 15 inch speaker but anymore I'm playing these little portable amps. I've got lots of gear so I try to find young people that need a guitar or something like that at schools donate one. Hey is that a Ouija guitar up there? Wow I saw those when they came out. I'll be praying for you buddy lol like I said, keep it up very entertaining

[@vincentmorelli1013]

For me it's more of a feel thing than a tone thing. I don't like super heavy instruments but I prefer a little heft over something that weighs nothing and neck dives.

[@MrMinddoctor]

Well that's the job of manufacturers, to create a competitive edge in order to sell more product. It's a bit like PRS when he questioned whether one would prefer something made from exotic wood or plain old pine... of course people would go for the exotic, the word itself is a very cool marketing tool and he wants you to buy his product to give himself a better life. Exotic sounds like it is not common and that it's special... we all want to be special and by extension we want our stuff to be special too. If there were a tree growing on the moon, of course I'd want my guitar made from it, even if it sounded no different to one made from second hand pallets pulled out of a skip. I think the real reason this argument rages on is that whilst people focus upon the irrelevant they can ignore the important issues like music theory, practice and technique that would all help to improve the sound of any instrument. It's hard to be good at your craft, much easier to put the onus upon inanimate objects as to why the sound you have is not the one you want...

[@JohnCaughell]

My 200 buck chibson LP sounds better than my buddy's 5k gibson, cause it was under 5% the price and I'm basically scrooge. And with the same strings, plays and feels almost exactly the same.

[@robbrobb5543]

Your meaning to tell me that the final output equalizer is responsible for the most shifts in tone and timbre? Yes knobs the speaker is an equalizer itself and the MAIN one in your chain.

[@mtake100]

The only time tonewood becomes an important factor is on an acoustic, classical or flamenco guitar, most notably the soundboard (top).

[@jasonrichardson8531]

Smart idea you are ahead of the curve 😊

[@rxrinaz6536]

Obviously nobody was willing to take my $10k challenge. Just make an episode that proves , if you take ONE pickup and drop it in each and every guitar you have ? They will all sound different. And end the tonewood myth FOREVER !!

[@willros6128]

Ai is already proven to be corrupted by the controllers . It can’t be used for deciding issues.

[@djhogan65]

I think that the effects of tone wood may exist, but their effects are tiny and are absolutely overwhelmed by the effects of pickups, pots, electronics, and amps, so the tone wood effect is almost irrelevant. Sustain though, that is strongly affected by the materials used. I suspect that a looong sustain may induce harmonics effects (I have seen this effect when making Native American Flutes, different timbers vibrate differently in your hands), perhaps they have a subtle effect on how the strings vibrate and maybe add a little colour…. But even then, a small change in amp settings will overwhelm the effect. I do love the feel though of a solid mahogany body resonating when I play, and I love the solid feel of an ebony fretboard …. I think the tone wood thing is really about how it feels to the player. I enjoy buying low priced second hand guitars that are well constructed and changing the pickups and electronics, and I am sure that sound wise some of them will at least hold their own against the most expensive guitars out there.

[@ukesmagic6860]

Too me its always made sense that any acoustic instrument relies on using the best possible tonewoods, electric guitars not really. What makes me laugh is that the big names producing electric guitars keep the myth going and people just fuel it because they keep buying them and talk in depth on the forum's of guitars they dont really no nothing about.

[@jimmyd12001]

So is it all in the fingers, maybe that's a another myth 🤔

[@hellboundTX333]

Its all pretty subjective. But ive personally owned probably 100 guitars, and ive had some that just sound muddy with no sustain no matter what pickups is installed. Also had a NOS SG that i loved, but no matter what pickups or electronics i installed, it sounded like a thin piece of tin with no bottom.

[@user-abcxyz-xr2eg]

Now, I have 3 strats: a fender USA, a Squier strat both from 98 and a newer model Yamaha pac 612. They sound rather similar as I am using same cable and same amp. My ears - due to my age - are not the best anymore, but I like the sounds of all three. Different sound doesn't mean better or worse sound to me. I suppose the Fender has better quality parts, but I prefer the slightly thinner neck of the Squier and Yamaha. Then I do have a Gibson Tribute, a Spear LP and a Harley Benton SC 450 plus. They have -in my opinion, but I maybe wrong - the same neck shape and also the sounds are rather equal. The Gibson maybe again have better quality over all, but when playing (always sitting as a bedroom player) I don't feel differences. My conclusion as a non pro: Cheap or expensive guitars don't make such a big difference as there is in price. Btw, the expensive Fender and Gibson were bought second hand for a very reasonable price. I bought them cause I also am influenced by these historic names as a must-have gear. I admit that I love my Tribute the most as a LP-guy, but I am not sure about the reason why as it is not the sound. It's rather just the feeling to play a big G. It is also obvious that a good player will always sound better on a cheap guitar than me on an expensive one, so the most important part are the fingers.

[@Ibaneddie76]

The amp speaker, pickups, player are most important! Once again the old saying (Eddie Van Halen could play a strung up fart) and still sound better than all of us! If you believe in tone wood no sweat go spend an extra $3000 for an AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA flamed Brazilian butt plug tree top if that rows your boat, that's why America rules!

[@willdenham]

Les Paul selected mahogany specifically and maple for the top. He wanted all mahogany for his Customs because he thought it produced a mellower sound. He was a jazz cat all the way. Les had good ears and yes it's all very subtle. I tend to think it's a chain, and each material type/capacitor, etc. within the chain contributes to the final result. It also depends on what you're playing. Hard rock in a mix, not so much. Jazz solo performance, little more. The unpotted PAF's are thought to pick up some of those nuances with wood. Probably more in the fingerboard and top than the body.

[@petedetraglia4776]

You can put an active EMG 81 and 85 on a 2x4 and it would sound amazing...LOL

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

Wood has ZERO effect on a magnetic field

[@w1zard0f0h]

Everyone knows a guitar gets it's sound from it's color. Only black guitars can play metal music. I have an orange Gretsch and it can only play rockabilly. LOL.

[@Real_Epic]

devil's advocte: you can mute the strings with your left hand and knock all around a les paul with your right knucles and hear the body interacting with the hanging pickup. sustain is the most important aspect because humbuckers all sound the same (relative to output impedance) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@MAX96MENDES]

F A C T S . - Dear FULTON STREET BEATS, do you happen to have a written copy of that A.I. response. I would Love to have a copy. Please !

[@mattbarker1411]

Tonewood only applies to acoustics if we're being honest, and even then its minute......

[@wallyinthebox1]

I remember TW wars. I would comment its in those nobs that you turn on the equipment you are using. Thanks Mike

[@colinbarr2130]

Ai is just Wikipedia dude. It's just searching and pulling whatever answer that seems to have the majority of the presents online. That's it. It's not coming up with a definitive yes or no. It's saying yes or no based on a numbers game. It's flawed from the beginning. Tone woods are important. Yes, electronics and strings are incredibly important to tone and electric guitar, but the sustain and the reverberants have a lot to do with the wood that you use. Some woods do not bounce back vibration which causes a string to vibrate in a much shorter length of time. Some woods are very vibrant and will bounce the vibration over and over again. Continuing the string to vibrate in a much longer pattern and that's coming from years and years and years of testing and trying and doing

[@Robster-Craw]

minimal doesnt mean not at all. and not all pickups just pick up sound through magnetics. some are microphonic i think almost all are semi microphonic. When you mute your strings and thump the guitars body you hear the thump. Does this mean the wood impacts the tone? id say yes some but not a lot by any means. Why does this argument have to carry on so long? like religion and politics people believe what they believe.

[@ilciclistaabdel]

Nice to meet you friend 🤝 Like 77 💖💖

[@GCKelloch]

FFS, AI is just a mish mash of various sources. Whoever says denser woods absorb more vibration does not understand damping. Density generally decreases damping, but softer woods absorb more highs. However, tighter grained woods generally resonate less, and resonance drains string energy. The loss is reflected in the strings. Which freqs are drained by a piece of wood is impossible to predict. There can be many resonances, but the main resonant freq probably drains more than the others. Yeah, the difference it makes can be pretty subtle.

[@literal_lee]

Yes, yes, yes.... but are these differences audible or predictable ? Science and measurements say not so in electrical guitars.

[@GCKelloch]

@@literal_lee I did say the differences are not predictable. I've seen measurements that show as much a ~6dB differences at various frequencies on different strings with different body wood. 6dB is way above audible. FB material also matters more than any piece of wood in a guitar. It's the first softer material than the frets to absorb or reflect string vibrations. The bridge on electrics is much too heavy for string vibrations to cause it to vibrate nearly as much as a fret, depending on how much the surface fibers of the FB vibrate.

[@literal_lee]

@@GCKelloch I'd like to see those measurements. Until that time I will hold on to what I saw from Jim Lil and Boudreau Guitars, who build to identical guitars of different woods with everything else staying the same.

[@jeromewagschal9485]

The only wood that matters and makes a difference is morningwood...Hell, it can make your girlfriend/fiancee/wife reach very high frequencies...

[@BallisticEvents-e6i]

to cite greg koch: "like a banshee in heat".

[@minimini4276]

Glen Frikker has already proven it doesnt with an electric guitar...acoustic yes electric NO

[@mikelmarion]

I need all the toannnnnn man!

[@cooljp1531]

AI is stupid and it just spits out nonsense it picks up from the internet ( It's like an imbecile with a very good memory ) . Wood does matter and this is coming from somebody whose main guitar has ZERO wood in it and there barely is a body ( Steinberger composite from the 80s ). I can hear a difference by just changing a pick, some strings sound different. Everything matters, it's just a question of how much. In order of importance work backwards ( Speaker cabinet > amp > guitar > different parts on the guitar ) I mean, angle of the pick and where you pick, closer to the neck or bridge will sound different, so let's stop this stupidity that it's only electronics that matter. You can say that it does not make a significant difference ( to you ) , but you can't say it makes no difference.

[@APMTenants]

By using Jim Lill as the basis for your question, you contaminated the response. You have to realize that AI doesn’t have original thoughts or ideas. It is aggregating whatever has already been written on the internet about the topic. You are basically asking the AI to give an answer with confirmation bias

[@FultonStreetBeats]

There is much more than Jim Lill that AI drew from. AI gave all references of data, which I will be showing soon. Some examples , Such as scientific conclusions about energy transfer, Strings and magnetic fields (ZME) SCIENCE. & (New science news). Well documented principles of electromagnetism and magnetic flux. (Also) THE DISCOVERED PRINCIPLES OF Michael Feraday. Also, Multiple researchers of technical study in the fields of acoustic conferences, with physical principles in vibration, resonance, and electromagnetic induction. ALL of these sources (and more) will be in an upcoming video soon.

[@Vermonster23]

The people who are arguing about Tonewood are the people who play shit box guitars. That’s OK, amazing players can play shitty guitars. It doesn’t mean they know anything about how the sound works. If you’ve actually played a high-quality vintage instrument, you will notice that there are differences.But if you’re playing Jackson that has a half an inch of plastic coat on it and then I don’t think it really matters. Have fun that’s what really matters!

[@MrPinkStrat]

I always could Never figure out How a Pickup Could Hear WOOD ? To me an Electric Guitars Sound is Pickups & AMP ! ...Change the Pickups from Muddy to Clear The WOOD plays No part in this ..... THE Tone of the AMP has Many Variables More Bass .. Middle Treble ..Reverb... Wood HAS ZERO TO DO WITH THAT ! WOOD makes a Difference in ACOUSTICS ...This for Me is Where the Delusion Came from !