Strange Guitar Things You Probably Don’t Know

[@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar]

I had a blast making this one, thanks for checking it out! Member's Exclusive Video at Fourthwall.com (Like Patreon) waylonmcpherson-shop.fourthwall.com/supporters/videos/60826

[@jpalberthoward9]

In 1987, I found an old P90 from the 50's. This was way before all of the vintage corksniffer hair splitting madness, and so it was just an old used pickup from the parts bin. I put it in my goldtop, and immediately I got the effect you're talking about. If I cranked it and walked slowly towards the amp, the sustain morphed into a beautiful musical Santana kind of feedback that is very controllable with the volume control, and where you're standing in the room. (The amp is a '55 Tweed Tremolux 5E9). The next time any of this stuff changes hands will be at my estate sale. It's amazing how little actual gear you need if it's the right stuff, and it's all in good working order, huh?

[@NedJeffery]

So you're saying the problem with my guitar tone is I'm too fat? Well that's a good a reason as any to loose weight.

[@scr3wtap3]

Camp 1: Tone is in the gear! Camp 2: Tone is in the hands! Waylon:

[@scottyvalero3691]

We need more videos like this with obscure details that brings you one step closer to the tone you’re chasing. The things that make a good guitar and a great guitar different are often small percentages stacked one on another. Awesome video.

[@BeesWaxMinder]

This is why I try and make the back of guitars as resonant as possible including a bracing system not dissimilar from the top's

[@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar]

cool!

[@jpalberthoward9]

Have you ever wondered what an X braced spruce back would do? is it worth the expense and labor to try?

[@spacewolf9585]

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar I was involved in the construction and release of the Vo-96 acoustic guitar synthesizer unit that takes advantage of the multiple harmonic notes up and down the length of the vibrating strings. It does this using electronic servo controlled magnetic coils arranged in opposite poles. It was only at around 40% of its total capability when the first 100 were released and they were game changers in what guitar could be in my opinion. Love the deep dives and thorough explanation of how technology, technique, and tone are all involved in “your sound”.👍🤙🖖

[@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar]

I Just checked it out, cool unit, thanks!

[@wideyxyz2271]

I remember recording a song with my band a ways back. it was just bass, drums, keyboards and rhythm guitar with a few licks but on listening to the track we could all swear we could here a violin/fiddle in the mix! harmonics!

[@Dr.Pepperdave]

The guy who mixed it snuck it in...

[@davidgreenwood6029]

The devil stepped in.

[@zabtej1645]

"Because I am not currently pregnant..." :D:D:D

[@sharleyNZ]

he is planning to ;D

[@mooseymoose]

Harmonic inversions are cool too. If you strike the low F with a hard attack and immediately stop the string while holding the three top notes of an F barre chord, they ring out the next inversion.

[@RedbackRecordz]

Well I must be a lot nerdier than I thought cause this was bloody interesting! Very informative! I always learn something from your videos, keep up the great work 🤘🤘

[@michaelchristy2212]

Fabulous information Waylon. Ask folks who have played flying Vs with somewhat microphonic pickups if the wing's resonance contribute to the sound. Tone machines. My buddy had a tele that was so lively and rich sounding back in the 70s. One of the things was, you guessed it, you could yell into the bridge and hear it on the bandstand. Like you said, there is a balance. Keep up the great work.

[@geraldstewart9399]

Such a great video, loved it!

[@picksalot1]

Interesting topics and very good demos of each phenomenon. I was aware of all of them, as I test everything I can on my guitars. The weird low notes that can be heard when playing combinations of certain high fret intervals are a result of "Sum and Difference tones." Regarding the "sound dampening" that takes place when your stomach touches the back of the guitar, I also noticed a dramatic effect on my Strat if I didn't use the cover on the Tremolo Spring Cavity in the back of the guitar. I know a lot of guitarist remove the cover and prefer the results, but doing that significantly degrades the sound of my Strat. YMMV

[@ksharpe10]

Wow never thought that could make some difference.

[@gregkowalewski4576]

Dude! Nerd away! That’s why we all subscribe to you! No apologies! lol!

[@alexisjordan3303]

"pregnant people" was the setup, "I'm not currently pregnant" is the delivery

[@DMSProduktions]

Anti wokism!

[@stickmanmusic5840]

That subharmonic bend was crazy. I've played for years and never noticed that!

[@robertdonosobuchner3129]

It's simple physics, but I like it. It's all about the impulse energy and the resonance and refection of the guitar construction. Maybe you can get more of the guitar sound if you combine the microphonic pickup with a plate of bronze that is fixed to the body. Bronze is a very good resonating material and it could increase the resonance in the pickup... It's always great to watch your videos! It's one of the most inspiring KZbin channels that I watch.

[@swimasfastasyoucan]

I have a friend that can get 3 notes from the same string and fret..the 10:26 real note and 2 wierd harmonics..it's impressive

[@FuzzWoof]

One trick I learned back in my session days was to always wear a strap when playing acoustic sat down, it's very easy to subconsciously pull the guitar against your body when it's not supported and not even realise you're doing it, having a strap lets you support it in places which won't dampen the vibrations.

[@anthonybowers7571]

I have nearly always stripped the polymer finish off any electric guitars I owned , they resonate much more without , plus sometimes you find great looking wood underneath !

[@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar]

cool :) That might make a good video!

[@davidyelland908]

When I want to go for old style feedback sustain with my LP, I lean forward to let the body hang away from my body. Will only work with a real amp and some volume of course.

[@bradmckinnonplastering]

I don't even play guitar but man your videos are so interesting!!!

[@MrSheymie]

Harmonic notes that ring when striking an open string are also a major triad! Notes on low E string for example when hit open are 1,3,1,5,1,3,1 from the E major scale (i.e. the harmonic notes on/near frets 0,4,5,7,9,12). Is a flat seventh also just perceptible on/near fret 10 on the low E string? Never heard about this until very recently on Kiko Loureiro from Megadeth on his KZbin channel. No wonder a major chord on an electric guitar can ring so many magic-sounding notes when played through a cranked amp!

[@ksharpe10]

Used to play an 68 Gretsch Blackhawk guitar, it had the WE Called it Tuning Fork bridge on it. I tried to eliminate that a couple times but always had to put it back in, It somehow fought uncontrollable feedback. I think Gretsch technical name was SOUNDPOST BRIDGE.

[@thomasdc2439]

I think slightly microphonic pickups are the secret of good sounding Les Pauls (I'm not familiar with Strats or Teles though). If you have a guitar with "good" wood, one that resonates and has a great acoustic quality and then add a slightly microphonic PU, it will have a huge impact on the sound. I am on a hunt for such a Les Paul. So far, I've played only two. But they were way too expensive for me :D. The sound difference to a LP Standard was huge. But it of course depends what and how you play. For some players it might not matter at all. Or it might be even distracting for them.

[@WithCarePlz]

This is probably why Firebird pickups have a strip of maple inside them. My 1991 Firebird V Celebrity edition has the gnarliest microphonic pickups, it makes it feel like you’re playing a dangerous animal that will lose it’s mind at any second. It’s fn incredible straight into a princeton reverb. But it also picks up the most insane harmonics too from the resonance plus the firebird pickups. It’s definitely a guitar that will make you work on muting strings lol

[@basicforge]

When the guitar vibrates, wouldn't the pickups move very slightly relative to the strings, and this would add to something to the signal that comes out? I would be subtle, of course.

[@garyhundsrucker7771]

I tried a few different” personal female vibrating toys” over the pickups and fretboard and bridge of some guitars and got some cool effects and at times it almost had a theramin/ebow effect .I was a little worried I might mess up the pickups magnets but they seem fine!

[@jimir68]

Interesting I have a one question if you don’t mind. Your experiment with the humbucker pressed against the wood, most humbuckers are suspended in a body cavity attached to a plastic pickup surround by a spring and a screw does this reduce the pickups ability to sense the vibrations in the wood?

[@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar]

Thanks for the question, it does but not that much, I made this video, installing a humbucker in the back of the guitar. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYKvm3ito7ulnJI

[@philwood9760]

6 minute mark; radio signals in amplitude modulation (am radio) have a carrier wave, and sidebands, not to mention harmonics of the frequencies.

[@musicafteroldage]

Did this gentleman just completely destroyed the infamous tone wood debate? PRS is going to get this video down!

[@brothermunkdrums]

That extra low harmonics freakin crazy

[@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar]

Yeah bro, super cool :)

[@basicforge]

Did you try it with a piezo acoustic guitar plugged in?

[@jerrymander1492]

With a Amp and effects pedals you can get any sound you’re after

[@harimathur2191]

Aaaaah! So that's why my guitar sounded rubbish, but when I sold it, the new owner had great tone!!! I am fat, with central obesity. 😢

[@thesjkexperience]

A nice way to say beer belly’s thin your tone. 😂

[@meistariaron1854]

the pickup that picket up the sound of the wood was microphonic, you could also talk into it, you fix it by wax potting it

[@Ashton...333]

for those wondering a pickups microphonics is cause by the wax potting and how the coil is sealed

[@thesjkexperience]

And the tension on the wire when winding.

[@danwhite2035]

I'm Pickin' Up Wood Vibrations!!!!! Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar]

Haha, nice :)

[@carlodevivomusicontent2138]

wow

[@sound-wizzard]

Tone in the electric guitar is pickup placement and how you play. Everything else has been thoroughly debunked.

[@alexisjordan3303]

Agree if you include the pick in how you play

[@tankdarla637]

I am going to make guitars with a pregnancy cut out on the back, kind of like an extreme version of a strat belly cut. I am gonna be rich!

[@rickc2102]

an open string has more overtones than a fretted string

[@haldasinger6440]

sounded better with the "baby"

[@castleanthrax1833]

I heard a noticeable difference when you were playing the electric guitar acoustically. I didn't notice anything when it was plugged in, and I don't think it matters anyway, because most of the time (at least when you're standing) it'll be resting against your body. I don't really see any way of playing while standing up to leave a gap between your body and the guitar, and it's bordering on a tonewood type debate to even bother.

[@Chemist1076]

Leave an EAR gap behind your guitar!

[@ak47deluxe]

So, I'd imagine that the large bellyof a fat guitarrist would have the same effect, rught?

[@mikeregan3265]

Zero difference.

[@blcouch]

“Pregnant people”? Not pregnant women, but “pregnant people”? Wow.

[@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar]

Thanks!

[@lordthicknipples-gt2oq]

idk I've met some guys with beer guts so round, I could've sworn they were due in a week

[@TheRealcdawg22]

I couldn't really hear the difference with the acoustic, but with the electric there was a striking difference.

[@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar]

Thanks for checking this out, Get those headphones on, massive difference in the lows with the acoustic, or just try it yourself on your acoustic, cheers :)