Where Does The Tone Come From In An Electric Guitar - Reaction Video

[@theyoganath3073]

He did a great job demonstrating Tone Air at the end of the video. Clearly american made air, probably made with oxygen from the 2020's, maybe late 2019, definetly not 1930's, the smog really clouds the high end. I'd like if you could A/B MIM/MIJ/MIA tone air, for reference.

[@mackk123]

The place of origin of the air makes a big difference

[@cjdubuisson]

Lmao!!!

[@JeighNeither]

You left this same comment on the original video.

[@cjdubuisson]

@@JeighNeither We should carry around our own air so our guitar sounds better... Lmao..... I can't help it...lol

[@felphero]

You also need to consider what kind of wood that table was made from

[@railmastercnr]

I’ve always bought my guitars based on 3 factors: does it feel good in my hands, does it sound good to my ears, and finally does the look grab my attention to make me want to pick it up. That’s all there is to it.

[@jamierodriguez3554]

Exactly what I do, simple, effective, ftw...lol

[@JohnDoe9764]

Nailed it 100 %

[@JuanDavidBedoyaR]

Amen

[@joejohnson8966]

And it always will be.

[@paulneeds]

The first for me. Everything else can be changed.

[@scottakam]

Saw that video a few days ago and thought it was awesome! I think the saying "you can't use reason to argue people out of a position they didn't use reason to get in to" applies very well here.

[@pumpdumpster]

"you can't use reason...", that is extremely well said, thanks for that! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@scottakam]

@@pumpdumpster I got if from Neil deGrasse Tyson. Not sure if he borrowed it from someone else!

[@davidreineke1758]

That works for the “anti-tonewood” argument also.

[@Antman-cy8ch]

@@davidreineke1758 Exactly.

[@the_algorithm]

You cannot reason with the unreasonable, is what I like to say The moment someone challenges you to "change their mind", they just stated you cannot no matter what evidence you present You cannot force someone to change a belief Cognitive dissonance is strong in the force

[@yonickfrias8799]

This made me feel so great about having a $120 squier. All I need are great electronics which are already on their way, and a setup.

[@UmVtCg]

I've got a Squier Bullet Tele a Fender Player and a Fender Player Plus Strat. All have maple necks. Now the thing that stood out the most to me is the finish on the necks. Squier has almost nothing, player has a hard Laquer on the fretboard and satin on the back and Player plus has rolled edges and a satin finish. The Player plus is the best feeling and playing. So yeah, quality does go up a bunch by spending more up to a certain sweet spot.

[@damienalvarez2957]

Good electronics and a killer amp will make any guitar sound awesome.

[@panndaacookies213]

U can mod a affinity into a custom.. btw just a few $ but not a couple grand

[@mal2ksc]

Even the cheap pots and switches sound fine until they don't because they're coming apart. There's nothing wrong with swapping them out now to save yourself the trouble down the line, but don't expect that they'll make a change to your sound. You're not solving a problem right now, but you are getting out ahead of one that may come up later. That's a good idea if you actually expect to gig with the thing and need it to be reliable, and it doesn't cost _that_ much. Keep the cheap set around though, you may need them as temporary spare parts if you break one of the nice ones! Changing the pickups is where practically all of your audible improvements are happening. It's also the bulk of your upgrade cost.

[@yonickfrias8799]

So I ended up upgrading the pickups and electronics to used made in Mexico and it sounds amazing!! You just have to Dremel a little bit for the switch to fit. OMG! It sounds freaking amazing!

[@simonsylee4362]

I was convinced that tonewood should make a difference because after all, that's what 90% of the guitar is made of. Upon seeing this, it really changed my perspective. Not that I've ever purchased a ridiculously expensive guitar because of the allegedly "high quality tonewood" used, but I sure as hell won't be doing that now. Thanks, Dylan!

[@adrianguggisberg3656]

It's not as simple as that mate. You'll always get strat sound from a stratish guitar, and LP sound from an LP, even if you use humbuckers in the strat and singles in the LP, because the sound actually comes from the scale and pickup positions. So, if you drop the pickboard off a 5k quid Fender into a cheap far east strat and set it up properly, you'll get 5k quid sound off the cheapo. However, it won't feel the same, it won't have the same sustain, it will go out of tune quicker, the neck will bend and warp with time, the tuners will give you a harder time, etc, and therefore it will not sound great most of the time, because something is off all the time. If you want to save money, you get a 1k to 3k quid guitar that you love the looks and feel of and keep it for the rest of your life. Small mods over time will let it age to become ever better and to become YOUR personal guitar with YOUR personal sound. If you don't have spare change, you can buy professional grade instruments used between 500 and 1k quid, and still really good instruments new in the same range, that will last and that you can mod to become professional grade over time. Buying a 350 quid guitar is a dead end, because they are not worth modding, they won't last and they'll make playing harder and less satisfying. Sound is overrated. You can make almost every guitar sound right and a lot of the sound comes from the amp, speaker and whatever other components you use, and how you set them up. My dad was a sensible man. He bought me a cheap, beaten up stage banger 1967 strat in 1979. I still own, love and play this instrument after all these years. Obviously I invested in a full rebuild and numerous repairs and upgrades in the electrics and hardware department over time, and it has become a stunning and quite valuable instrument.

[@Nghilifa]

@@adrianguggisberg3656 Most guitars are made with CNC machines, so the differences won't be too great. A Mexican strat won't sound and feel much different to an American Strat at all. Obviously, a custom-shop masterbuilt guitar might feel different because more care goes into shaping the neck, like on the edge of the fretboard and the frets themselves, but that's about it really.

[@BOBANDVEG]

It's just like the "string through" argument. The violin is top loaded...

[@adrianguggisberg3656]

@@Nghilifa I have a custom shop, hand built to my order and liking G&L "Legacy HSS" strat. It's one of three of my stage work horses. The other two are a Martin acoustic and a PRS Torero. The Martin is obviously the exact opposite of the other two, relying 100% on its materials, build and shape for sound. The the sound of an electric guitar is 100% the result of its electrics, the chain of components it's plugged into and their settings. If a robot was to play a super expensive and a super cheap strat with identical electrics exactly identical for 5 minutes you wouldn't be able to tell any difference in a blind test. IT ISN'T ABOUT SOUND. However, if a human guitarist plays the two, you may hear a considerable difference, because we interact with an instrument in many ways, which will result in different playing and thus different sound. What you hear is never just the sound of a guitar. It's the sound an artist (as opposed to a robot) produces with the guitar. For a novice or intermediate player it's completely useless and even counterproductive in many ways to buy a custom guitar. Though they likely will be able to tell the difference, they won't know what to make of it. You need to go through X guitars and Y hours of playing before this makes sense, but eventually you'll get to the point you'll look for YOUR guitar. In my case it took almost 35 years, but I absolutely positively assure you that I can't play nor sound with any other guitar like with my G&L, particularly not after now 8 years playing it. The same is true for my Torero, but I could buy another well taken care of Torero off ebay and it would be indistinguishable. It's an off the shelf guitar and it helped shape my playing. What I learned from it went into how I had my G&L spec'd (particularly the rear mounted controls and their layout). I didn't shape the Torero, it helped shape me. The G&L OTOH, was specifically shaped to fit me. It also shaped me in the meantime, but quintessentially it is me. So, if you ask me does a custom shop strat sound different than a mex strat, I'll say no, but yes. If you ask me is it worth it, I'll say it depends. It's just not as straightforward as people try to make it.

[@adrianguggisberg3656]

@@BOBANDVEG A violin is an acoustic instrument and as such a completely different animal altogether. But yeah, sound wise such things are almost completely irrelevant in electric guitars. They never the less can be very significant in other ways.

[@KarklinPumpkin]

I cant believe it took till 2022 for this magnificent experiment to be done this well. I watched it this morning and then got recommended this. Great breakdown of a great video.

[@NeinFeline]

Same, just now. 3 months later 2022 🤘🧐🤘

[@Jbuginas]

1000 upvotes

[@apa5749]

a group of Brazilian luthier students already did similar experiment back in 2010. they even tried with 9 guitar bodies with 9 different types of wood. the conclusion was the same as Jim Lill's video. you can search the paper on google, but it's in Portuguese.

[@GeoffZalot]

When it occurred to me that there are great sounding guitars made from plastic, Masonite, which is basically cardboard, and sawdust held together by glue, I realized the notion of tonewoods for electric guitars was nonsense.

[@SirCarcass]

What convinced me was a video I saw where a guy make a strat out of corrugated cardboard, with a strat neck and electronics, and it sounded exactly like a strat.

[@therealdeathyyy]

Dano U2's from the 50s.. incredible guitars. Totally agree.

[@neonlights_12]

I went down a DIY guitar rabbit hole a while back and saw guitars made from resin, Legos, cardboard, sheet metal, stone, concrete, colored pencils, and glass, and they all sound good. No one better or worse than the other thanks to the high end pickups they'd put in the finished product. Only one that stuck out to me as noticeably different was the all glass one, but that had a glass neck and fretboard as well, not just a regular neck stuck on whatever custom body.

[@brendanm6921]

@@neonlights_12 You've clearly been watching a lot of burls art. Love his channel.

[@jessISaRicePrincess]

The only thing that this kind of small details like woods, shape, and finish matters are acoustics and they are very subtle already on acoustics so in electric it dare i say almost if not detectable

[@MaxPower-js1sk]

As a professional scientific researcher, I think that Jim did a great job. Anyone can poke holes in his methods and design, but look at what he achieved. Jim’s video strongly affected my recent guitar purchase of a PRS. Jim has achieved something great.

[@UltimateEngineering]

"But PRS said tone wood matters! Bro you are wrong and I'm a PRS Fanboy who is buying over priced exotic wood with strings. " Joking aside. I do believe that the material makes a difference. But this only depends on the (density) mass. The strings give off energy to the body and get some of the energy back. But I think that's irrelevant and only measurable. The mass of the body is much higher than that of the string. In addition, the body is usually in contact with the human body, which also absorbs the vibrational energy. All in one - tone wood doesn't matter. - professional german engineer.

[@watersnortmoment3734]

@@UltimateEngineering When actually tested, tone wood does have a difference, it's just so miniscule it's well beyond human comprehension.

[@guidorussoheck2100]

I dont know much but i believe nice wood is important for acoustic instruments. For electric is more of a premium thing and keeps the value of the craft ​@@watersnortmoment3734

[@rosewoodsteel6656]

If you like the PRS, buy it. They are extremely well made and easy to play guitars. Many models are also beautiful? What's wrong with that?

[@jasonjansen9831]

"professional scientific researcher" lol. Just FYI nobody in the field of scientific research would say that.

[@Ryanvatz]

Um, the Honda engines of that year used a lesser quality metal, leading to an uneven balance and therefore completely changes the tone vibrating through the bench. Plus everyone knows benches made in 1990 use a cheaper quality wood. I make sure all the benches I use are pre CBS.

[@Dram1984]

I can't believe he used Japanese engines. Everyone knows America make the best toneEngines.

[@PaulCooksStuff]

Throw in a mention of Gibson "good wood" apocryphal era and you win a goldfish.

[@therayven3147]

And the motor oil needs to be 10W 30 for the best sound... also, with it being an "air" guitar, the air quality and density also play a factor in tone...

[@williambartholomew5680]

Lol If only, one of those was an XR650, doesn't get better than that!

[@vincentcuclair5522]

😂

[@AlanArteche]

Wow, surprising how all the ELECTRIC and ELECTRONIC components make up for all the sound of an ELECTRIC guitar

[@Dram1984]

*surprised Pikachu face*

[@niteshades_promise]

🤣🍻

[@samus88]

Exacty! I got the original video recommended the other day (and now this one), and I still can't believe some random youtuber had to scientifically test this. It's literally common sense. Take two identically set up guitars, right off the self. Replace the pickups in one for different ones. Voila. Different sound. Jesus...

[@JCleggy]

I like to ask tonewood snobs about how the trees impact the way the string vibrates over a magnet. I'm sure that the wood, touching the saddle, touching the string, SOMEHOW is factored into the end product, but not in a way that matters. Lets make guitars out of all kinds of fun weird materials!

[@ts4gv]

lol

[@marpsr]

He won the internet with this video. We can all go home now. Unfortunately the “muh tonewud” true believers will mostly double down.

[@davidjairala69]

He's a shill for Big Carbon Fiber

[@DennisAlvarezMusic]

@@davidjairala69 That's really funny! Carbon Fiber acoustics sound great IMHO, although a bit different.

[@bassyey]

It's all about pride at this point, they can't back out lol

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

But why can't epeople who hear a diffnce enjoy music? Like do we have to fight?

[@darricshhh]

We cannot go home because of people like Paul Reed Smith and Nuno Betancourt are still believers. Once they are convinced (and their ilk) the work will be done. Or we just wait for them to quietly pass.

[@JeighNeither]

I'm a pro audio engineer & producer that's been paying my pricey NYC bills w/my craft for over 20yrs, so nobody is going to tell me I have an issue w/my ear. He gets all the tones in his examples to match very closely to the Anderson. It's not perfect, but all the major characteristics are there. If you didn't already know b4 the video; it's about the pickups, hardware, & build type. "Tone wood" is a bullshit marketing ploy & nothing more.

[@ThaRealChuckD]

Let me guess. You only play solid bodies.

[@PippPriss]

@@ThaRealChuckD That's the point. We are not comparing acoustics or hollowbodies. Let me guess: you paid way too much on guitars and are now frustrated. :-)

[@akkudakkupl]

@@PippPriss yes he is 😂

[@JeighNeither]

@@ThaRealChuckD Uh, wtf dude, we are talking about electric guitars? And no, I play everything from resonators to classicals, so perhaps you should stop projecting your issues in the comment section?

[@Sankeyite]

Well . 😂😂That didn't take long!

[@-DILLIGAF]

After years and years of flipping gear and spending thousands and thousands of dollars, my tone test is: would you hear a difference in a noisy bar with loud people and clanging beer bottles? If not, it's probably negligible in the big picture.

[@TheMemagNeman]

Would you hear a difference in studio and when playing the guitar? Sure you would.

[@niaralosusa]

@@TheMemagNeman ...if the guitar is completely isolated from every other sound, perhaps. In the real world there are other sounds competing for space (drums, keyboards, other guitars, bass, room noise, etc) so the "difference" is negligible.

[@TheMemagNeman]

@@niaralosusa Of course, average listener will never notice a difference on a gig, they rarely focus on specific instrument anyways. When tone is great, everyone will enjoy it even through the mix. Okay, but why would you ever test-compare guitar tones in noisy environment? If his tone test is to play the guitar in a noisy environment then he is not looking for guitar tone finesse. Tiny shift in certain frequency can make your guitar cut through the mix. On the other hand , might as well pick bass vs electric guitar, cause even overdriven tele vs overdriven LP will sound "the same" in all that hiss and noise. Then the same philosophy could be applied to anything, say pickups (which matter a lot, right, not negligible component of guitar tone). Will you notice a difference between a cheap chinese humbucker vs SD Antiquities? Probably not. Then nothing is relevant tone wise , on a guitar.

[@TheMemagNeman]

@@christopherbeddoe406 Yes, so? You can sound like Billie Eilish in studio , as well. We are talking about fundamental guitar tone, not post-processing of signal.

[@niaralosusa]

@Memag Neman ...it is very important to also test a guitar in noisy environments (such as in a band situation) because that is typically where they are played. Concerts aren't played with each instrument isolated in its own sterile anechoic chamber. LOL!! There is the size of the room, the number/types of instruments in the band, the size of the crowd, the sound reflections from the walls, etc. A guitar will sound very different in a quiet room versus a noisy club or other venue. Also, the sound/tone you create in a band setting often sounds terrible when isolated. As I previously said, a tone "difference" between two guitars in isolation will likely never be noticed in a noisy environment, such as a live concert....which is a good thing!!

[@KarlKarsnark]

Leo Fender used similar "air guitars" to voice his pups. Electric guitars rely on electric signals, that's about it. Control the signal, control the sound. This is good to know. It means you don't have to destroy a rainforest, or pay a premium for something that doesn't really matter. Good hardware + Good Electronics = Good Guitar. (bolt them on whatever you want)

[@popcornsniper]

Then no one would pay more than 300$ for an electric guitar. Pickups cost almost nothing, same pots and frets. So don't expect any firm to sell electric guitar for more than 500$ if wood doesn't matter. It matters for some people.

[@andrewmcintosh2703]

@@popcornsniper There'd still be a legitimate market for expensive guitars, because there's more to a guitar than tone. There's ergonomics, the get job, nice paint jobs, quality control, quality of the individual parts (like a good floating trem), etc. An expensive Ibanez Jem is made with basswood, just like a lot of cheaper Ibanezes.

[@ryanpetriello3461]

@@andrewmcintosh2703 How the instrument feels to play and how it resonates can affect how you play it. Also flamed maple tops are badass.

[@davidkyle5552]

This was never in doubt for me...it’s the basic physics of how electric guitar makes amplified sound, ie a moving conductor (vibrating string) in a magnetic field (pickup magnets) generates current in a coil (pickup windings)...the current generated is the musical signal...it’s fantastic to finally see someone demonstrate this...proof you can mod a partscaster or Squier to sound exactly as good as your favourite Custom Shop Fender if you get the same pickups and wiring harness and setup the pickups heights exactly the same...same strings gauge (because the conductor and its position in the magnetic field of the pickups matters to the current/signal generated). Again, the physics of the system also suggest that the type and presence or absence of the body & neck tone woods will contribute to more or less sustain of the string vibration, and therefore note longevity, as distinct from tone...🧨🧨🧨

[@thejakefromstatefarm6768]

Well said

[@EpictheEpicest]

To be fair, Les Paul built his first electric guitar from a random 2x4 and added body wings later so people would believe that it was a guitar. In the 2015 movie "It Might get Loud," Jack White builds a 1 string guitar from a piece of scrap wood, pickup, and a jack. I knew a guy who built guitars out of shovels and broom handles he found in the garbage. Players have known forever that tonewood is BS, but big companies try pushing their agenda because it's what makes money

[@thejakefromstatefarm6768]

@@EpictheEpicest wood can get crazy expensive! So really it’s a good hustle. You just have to know when you’re being hustled. I know about the log and the whole story of the les pauls origin. I’ve also seen “it mght get loud”. You have to admit though les pauls definitely became a thing of beauty since the log. They’ve had their ups and downs over the years but they’ve always looked great. The key to playing les pauls is looking at every one of them that you can find for sale in your conceivable travel range and buying the ones that have the qualities a good les paul should have.

[@PartyChicken407]

However ‘sustain’ is a complex waveform and not a sine wave, so the harmonics can lose energy at different rates, which means the decay is not linear across all frequencies…. The construction still matters.

[@twopaste]

That's the simplest layer of it mate. Remember resonance? I also agree that tone wood doesent quite matter, but having some kind of sustaining body or cavity is extremely important, and regarding the air guitar example that was actually the tables. Ultimately, for me it's definitely the setup, quality of pickups and electronics, and quality of construction that actually effects tone.

[@roses7541]

I always get overwhelmed when looking for a new guitar, but this has massively changed how i look at it. It’s so much simpler than so many people make it out to be.

[@bluwng]

Learn to look at any device as a system. Look at input , output and what impacts it in between. Use logic stop listening to others. Input is string vibration, output is signal at output jack, the in between is pickups, switch, capacitors and resistors ( tone pots). No wood in that equation.

[@tonybrijeski4912]

I watched Jim's video and commented on it as well. My background is electrical engineering and I have said this forever. This is why I buy less expensive guitars, set them up myself, and replace the pickups with good ones. One of my favourite guitars is my Squire Afinity Tele that I put Fender Tex Mex Tele pickups in through my Traynor YGL1 amp on the USA mode. This is my default sound and to me nothing beats it.

[@chillpillology]

the pickups on the cheap east asian kit weren’t necessarily bad. they were just 1000 miles from the super hot wound noiseless vintage stack. The “cheap” ones were prob 5k-ish vs 18k(!!) on the duncans. Also the duncan magnets are alnico 5 vs im guessing alnico 2 on the cheapies. But they didnt sound bad to me just different.

[@jimmythefish]

I have Custom Shop 51 Nocasters in my Mexican Tele and it sounds awesome.

[@Nghilifa]

Yup. For me, if it ain't in the circuit, it won't affect the tone (as much). That's how I generally view things (setup, such as string action, fret levelling etc aside). I have a trio of CS 69 pickups in my Mexican strat (Alder body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fretboard), and it sounds K I L L E R. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

[@jimmythefish]

Conversely, I swapped the bridge pins from plastic to bone on my D28 and heard a clear difference. I think everything makes a difference on an acoustic because the thing itself is amplifying the sound.

[@tonybrijeski4912]

@@jimmythefish An acoustic can be thought of as a mechanical sound so anything in the physical realm on the guitar will have some sort of effect on the tone. An electric is just that - an electric signal which cannot be influenced by wood. Mechanical things can be influenced by wood - ie. amp cabinet as it has an effect on the mechanical vibrations from the speaker, acoustic wood top, etc.

[@vanessajazp6341]

At 2:00 The first manufacturer on that list is probably PRS, as "tone wood" is the core of their high-priced marketing strategy.

[@AndrewLewisHowe]

LOL. This guy went through a lot of extra work (forgetting about pup height and electronics), but I totally applaud his tenacity. Good scientific approach - find the problem, document the problem, fix the problem.

[@jacksmith4460]

yeh it is but here is the issue with these "scientific tests". If it was a true scientific test, a much bigger sample size is required. I would say you need guitars that are made exactly the same , in the same finish etc but with different wood options. The variables need to be controlled, so that includes the setups, string gauge and age, amps and cabs used, which might also require constant temp or humidity conditions. It becomes pretty murky pretty fast. I am still yet to see anything approaching a true scientific test of this , with thorough variable isolation controls, and a large sample size (probably 50-200 guitars are needed, maybe more). Also many pro players would also be needed to test each guitar themselves, as well as straight up freq response etc via tools. Also both blind and labelled tests would be required to work out how much is affect happens in the mind of the player and is illusory. Having said all this, it certainly seems to be the case that the wood is a small amount of the tonal composition, but there are enough other variables that could be skewing this by virtue of adding up, and potentially masking wood tonal differences, which is why the sample size needs to be much much bigger, as the average tonal properties of each wood type could be gathered and then compared. Until someone actually does this, its basically one stage removed from anecdotal (which is still important). It may be closer to the truth and a scientific conclusion , but not much. Having said this I do think Pickups, Bridge and Nut and Tuners being the biggest factors on the guitar, seem to clearly be the biggest factors, its a matter of just how big that the scientific test would answer,and whether we can perceive this (this part of any test is very hard because they need to test people with trained ears in both general audio and most important, professional guitarists, testing random people would not tell us much. Average players would tells us quite a bit about most guitarists, and pro players would establish how far that perception can go, and possibly explain if you can ever get good enough and have trained enough ears that its a big enough factor to notice

[@wordragon]

@@jacksmith4460 -You are hilarious. He replicated the tone without the parts that are frequently said by manufacturers to give tone and justify their extravagant prices. That was his hypothesis. It wasn't to test every electric guitar and pickup. His conclusion is that, in his test to achieve the tone of his specific electric guitar, the features that were essential to achieve that guitar's specific tone were the final list at the end of his test. You redefining his test with a new hypothesis and criteria is actually wrong in this case. What is correct is if you wish to expand on his tests and test many guitars and many pickups, that would be your experiment, including a new hypothesis. But, his experiments still utilized the scientific method. The "variables" you are referring to are features he proved don't matter(finishes, wood options, etc.) to achieve the tone of his specific electric guitar, and if you read his lists carefully, he did control the setups, string gages, etc. It is also clear he played the guitars in the same room with each modification, so you can say he had the same environmental factors present at the various stages of his tone tests. His approach was very scientific. He controlled all of the factors that remained common through his tests. He even acknowledged that he didn't account for the pickup proximity in earlier tests. So, he went back and rigorously controlled this variable and redid some tests to find that it indeed mattered more than other variables then continued using that control to confirm his conclusions proceeding. Just because you are not accepting his list of what he controlled doesn't have anything to do with whether or not he followed the scientific method in his experiments and modifications. Many scientific experiments of the the 19th and 20th centuries that are accepted as fact, or science today, were done with less control. And, there are studies going on now, take COVID vaccines, that are being tested with little control and being pushed out and called "science". Science is not the domain of one opinion or one group's opinion. It is a tool that all people can use to find a specific conclusion to their questions.

[@qwertyzxcv123]

@@jacksmith4460 you just don't want to admit that you've been duped to buying expensive guitars due to their wood. Dummy.

[@niaralosusa]

@Jack Smith ...your logic holds true only if you believe that wood makes a difference with en elecyric guitar. The video proved that you don't even need wood to get a great sound. LOL!!

[@geoffreybrown8895]

I though the same at first. I don't think he forgot anything. I think he wanted to actually demonstrate some scientific method and problem solving skills by showing how rigorous you must be to objectively examine something as subjective as tone. Also, how the difference in the circuit between pickup and jack so dramatically changes the tone and response.

[@3days2retirement]

Hey Dylan I saw Jim's video the other day and it was very eye opening, he could have been a scientist in another life lol. Your video and commentary was a perfect pairing to his video. You've expanded on his points and translated what it all means. Thanks Bro!

[@nickagervasi]

I bought in to tonewood for a long time. On an acoustic I can still get behind some of the tonewood conversation. But on an electric guitar I look for a guitar with the pickup routes, neck feel and weight I am looking for.

[@jimmythefish]

Yup. An acoustic makes sound in a completely different way.

[@deadoctopi5070]

@@jimmythefish exactly. Luthiers don't spend all that time "tuning" a guitar top because it's inaudible. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@c.r.blankenship9040]

It definitely makes a difference on an acoustic - the best example of how much being the extremes of wood vs. carbon fiber vs. metal cellos and violins. They all sound very, very different. It also makes a big difference with drums - again, the extreme example being a wood drum set vs. an acrylic drum set. They sound totally different.

[@nickagervasi]

@@deadoctopi5070 Yep! Some of the sound of an acoustic also comes from the bracing, body size, shape, top wood, back wood, side wood and everything else. They pretty much all make a difference when you are talking about something working to project sound. So that is why I mentioned it. On an acoustic I still will hear out the tonewood conversation because I think there is something to it. But on an electric, like I said, any more I believe in finding something that can house pickups you like, that you like to play and that you like to look at.

[@TedSchoenling]

On an acoustic tonewood is very real. it IS how the sound is being amplified.

[@michaelcordero5588]

The Air tone depends on the conditions like: polution, humidity, global warming, and oxygen levels.

[@th-pl3nx]

Don't forget altitude my friend.

[@shironeko8971]

@@th-pl3nx you mean attitude (atmosphere of the room)?

[@ScottfromBaltimore]

In the Queen set at Live Aid, Brian May broke a string and picked up a Telecaster for a minute. It sounded like the same guitar. - as far as I could tell from watching it on youtube.

[@LarsPallesen]

Brian May always plays a Telecaster on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (as does Freddie). It wasn't because he had broken a string on the Red Special.

[@ScottfromBaltimore]

@@LarsPallesen Ah! Thanks!

[@JazzRockswithAdam]

I damn near spewed my drink all over the room when you said, “He didn’t even tap-test it! I call BS!!” Ha! I laughed so hard. I watched that video of Jim’s last night and thought the same as you. “Oh boy! This is gonna rustle some internet feathers!” He clinched what I have believed for years. Good idea doing a reaction video. Nice one Dylan!

[@BobbyCulpepper.srv3fender]

Acoustically or unelectrified all those other factors do come in to play sound wise. Also anything that effects feel and vibe I would argue effects the sound because it effects how you play and enjoy it which greatly effects tone. But electrified, pickup and pickup height have the biggest changeable factor in tone. If only it was this easy to narrow it down with amps

[@ricmel8008]

This is the greatest comment ever

[@JohnDoe9764]

Yep, like Darrell Braun once said, people tend to "transfer" knowledge etc from the acoustic guitar to the electric.

[@iraevans2013]

The speaker is more important than the amp

[@tobins6800]

And manufacturing tolerances for everything. Then there's the player, did the player drink the same beer out of the same side of the mouth. Put the left shoe on first or right, play with shoes on at all, if that's the case, take the right one off first or the left.

[@jonahguitarguy]

Great job on this Dylan. His load in and set up time must be a killer when he's gigging that last rig. Unfortunately folks have brought over what they knew to be relevant in the acoustic guitar world to the electric guitar world. Where neck and fretboard wood and of course body wood make huge differences in acoustics it just doesn't play out in solid bodies. Then having most high end builders and custom shop folks perpetuating the myth doesn't help a thing.

[@93greenstrat]

Pickup height is critical. I had Fender Strat with Texas Specials and hated them with the factory set up. But someone suggested lowering them which I did and the results were pretty striking.

[@vorpalblades]

It's amazing how many people never adjust the pickups. I've been playing 35 years, have literally met no one else who has done it. Mind-boggling. But they'll go through 2-3 sets of pickups. Speakers also make a huge difference.

[@vorpalblades]

It's amazing how many people never adjust the pickups. I've been playing 35 years, have literally met no one else who has done it. Mind-boggling. But they'll go through 2-3 sets of pickups. Speakers also make a huge difference.

[@fezmey6117]

Once the pickup and pickup height were matched, the biggest difference I could hear was the tight versus loose neck pocket. Even then, it was SUBTLE. I have been a guitar nerd for almost 2 decades, and I can say that this has been one of the most definitive tests I have seen on the tone wood debate. If you aren’t playing clean jazz or a miked up acoustic all the time, where even then it is a fairly subtle difference in tone, it doesn’t really matter at all. I think the best advice to take from this is to have fun and “play” music/guitar.

[@danielstryhanyn7278]

Thanks Dylan, this just confirmed a lot of things that I already knew. The pickup height, right pots plus the player!

[@orryfishburne5326]

I am so grateful for u, Dylan and Jim from this video u are reacting to for opening my eyes to the importance of pickup height. Ive had a 7 string Schecter for years now and i always hated its tone, but love the way it feels, looks, and great construction. Ive been contemplating buying new pickups for it, but decided to try messing around with the pickup height after watching this video and boy did it do the trick. The pickups were so high that the output was distorting even into the cleanest of the clean amp settings (JC40 so arguably the cleanest amp u will find. Lol). I lowered the height quite a bit and now my clean tone on this guitar sounds phenomenal. Now im going to try messing around with pickup height on my PRS SE 24 Custom to see if i can fine tune it more to my liking.

[@freakbiker]

My first question is always "Why is there NEVER an ugly piece of "Tonewood"? If it's truly about better tone than you'd think ugly AF pieces would find their way in with all the nice flamey birds eye pieces.

[@SirSneakerPimp]

Dylan, thanks for highlighting his video. I watched it not long after he uploaded, and I thought it was fantastic. He explained what many of us have been trying to tell people for ages. And at the end he played the ultimate AIR guitar!

[@NJackDunkley]

In the past when purchasing guitars from online retailers I buy 3, adjust them (setup and pickup height) and test through same amp etc… Invariably, to me, there is always one that sounds and feels better - then I send 2 back and keep the one I like. Now I know this is subjective but how does one account for the differences in tone and feel? For my part I believe I pick the guitar that gives most immediate response ( usually the most acoustically loud) I believe that “feel” of a guitar is what influences my playing the most and thus, as the mantra goes, “ tone is in the fingers”. I believe body and neck materials influence how acoustically loud a guitar is and so for my part body and neck construction (including the wood) is important to the feel and thus the tone that comes from me.

[@qwertyzxcv123]

Nah, you've been just duped and just finding reasons to lick your wounded ego.

[@adamfunck7133]

You've hit on the real take away point from this entire discussion... Since pickups and setup are the things that truly control the output, the player is completely free to pursue the "feel" that gets the best performance from themselves. The player is the sound.

[@djt6546]

​@@qwertyzxcv123 Strange response... Take 3 identical guitars and they can sound different. Set them up identically they can still sound different. Swap components around and they can still sound different. I don't believe anyone gives a monkeys what a guitar is made of, other than marketing for manufacturers. But a guitarist sure does care about which guitar they pick from a bunch of identical guitars. NJackDunkley has a great approach, where possible, try multiples of the guitar you want to buy and then pick the one that you bond with the most. It doesn't matter if it cost $$ or $$$$$. The money is irrelevant as what feels and sounds good to an individual player has nothing to do with cost. I think the only people going nuts over this tone wood debate are those with some kind of inferiority complex, who have a bee in their bonnet about expensive items. Humans make good quality cheap, but also extortionately priced products in all walks of life. I don't think people buy expensive guitars because of 'tone wood'. They just like the guitar, it's different to the regular production line and while it sounds good, so what, so do well setup cheap guitars.

[@epicmage82]

Exactly! People in the cigar box guitar community figured this out pretty quick, and got really creative with builds. I saw one guy shredding a shovel guitar. Literally made out of a shovel. DIY instruments can be a great hobby, and people sell them for hundreds of dollars.

[@lukeyduke79]

Most of my guitars at this point are SX strats that have had all the hardware and electronics upgraded and professional setups and they play great and sound great and stay in tune like a champ.

[@seanandben]

Hi Dylan. I've been a professional guitarist for over 30 years or more, and I have a pretty decent collection of guitars. I am firmly "in the camp" that the tonewoods make absolutely no difference to the sound of an electric guitar at all. If you fret a note on a Les Paul's abalone fret marker for example and fret a note on the wood, the tone is no different whatsoever - and the same can be said for all the fancy maple tops etc. The only thing that can affect the tone is the parts that the string actually touches when you just strum across the strings without fretting anything. Everything else is purely cosmetic! Tonewoods play a big part in the sound of acoustic guitars, but none in the sound of an electric.

[@dezmodium]

To be fair the other stuff isn't just cosmetic. Some of it is for the comfort of the player. I maintain that if a guitar has a comfort feature that makes playing more pleasant to you, the player, like jumbo frets, or a specific curve and thickness to the neck, or the position of your knobs and switches, then that will make a big difference because it affects the player and the player makes the biggest difference in sound in this situation.

[@ScottfromBaltimore]

This is great! I liked when you said, "ding ding ding!" Where to draw the line at too subtle to matter is probably a personal choice. But in terms of bang for the buck, this makes a strong case for correct setup and good pickups. It's really nice to know that I can make some of the most effective improvements to a guitar's sound with some allen keys and a screwdriver.

[@anotherstart1]

Enjoy your videos! Awesome spirit about you.

[@barryprovost4597]

Love this vid, Darryl Braun has a similar comparison where he keeps chopping away at a guitar between sound tests, barely a difference. Add in stories like Satch playing a squire or EVH playing a steinberger with rusty strings, they still sounded like them. Play what you want and can afford, have fun, practice and play!

[@taylor12elementvb]

Dylan. Thank you so much for covering this topic regarding 'tone wood' and all the pieces that go into making the sound that emanates from a guitar. This was a super vid. Please keep doing what you do. Love your channel. Cheers from Canada.

[@devinwilliams4038]

This is amazing. Absolutely brilliant. I have been on the “tone wood doesn’t matter” train for years.

[@vanessajazp6341]

A number of years ago, some guy made a similar video about guitar tone, debunking the whole tone wood myth. At one point he actually constructed a guitar body out of a cinder block and compared it on a frequency analysis to a regular guitar that had the same pickups, strings and hardware. There was no no difference.

[@alexhuevera939]

no measurable difference on electric guitars. But it helps sell a lot of expensive guitars to the guitarded.

[@therangersinger]

I've watched many of his videos. Dedication to bringing forward just the facts on whatever he is doing is top notch.

[@Aaronius_Maximus]

The fact he was able to make the scrap wood guitar stay in tune long enough to demo it is amazing in itself.

[@lalchan]

Am i missing something?? As long as the string's contact points( tuner, nut, bridge saddles) are the same and the body has minimal to no compression what would cause the tuning to go out (or is this just some sarcasm that went over my head)

[@mthew6721]

@@lalchan maybe because the plywood doesn't have a truss rod I guess? Dunno.

[@clownpocket]

@@mthew6721 The truss rod goes in the neck. Not the body.

[@raybbaby]

What do you mean "scrap wood"? That looked like a perfectly good 2x4 to me.... 😆

[@bobjob140]

This comment is nonsense. Stop pretending.

[@marcoangels]

Love it! Probably the best reaction video to the best guitar gear video I've ever seen. (Coincidentally, I watched Jim Lill's video just yesterday.) I have a small mastering studio and spend countless hours going over tiny sonic details to get the best sound possible -- often kicking a mix back to fix problems. In 20+ years I think I've asked for a change in guitar tone once. From a gear perspective, most of what guitarists obsess over (me included) almost never make or break a performance. It's great to see such an honest and meticulous test. My humble opinion: tone = player, speaker, pickup, setup, then amp (in that order). Everything else tends to be a wash.

[@whssy]

It proves that the argument for expensive guitars is how they feel and look rather than the materials they are made of affecting actual tone. A nice guitar makes you want to play it more - but sometimes the "worst" guitar is the right one for the sound you want.

[@chocomalk]

I think most builders do not charge more for "tone wood" , it is more of the fact some wood is harder to acquire and more expensive or harder to work with

[@ricmel8008]

@@chocomalk you hit the nail on the head

[@Nghilifa]

@@chocomalk Some wood being harder to acquire is one thing, but other than some extra workmanship being done to it, it doesn't really justify the extra cost of lets say a CS Strat that's made out of alder an maple, just like almost any other mass produced strat for example.

[@chocomalk]

@@Nghilifa uhhh the dif in price for a piece of Alder and a piece of "maple" can differ wildly, like what kind of maple? There is on other aspect of price I didn't mention and that is how desirable something is.

[@RobScenity]

Thnx so much! MassCool reaction vid, between the 2 of you, I think we can finally put the old 'tone wood' thing in the shallow grave it deserves! I've been arguing with people for years and now all I need to do is direct them to this vid. I'm glad I finally found your channel, as almost every vid you've done has been helpful. Thnx again and keep it up!

[@ChrisHendrix117]

I’ve found, the guitar you feel makes you look the best is usually the best sounding. All these ancillary arguments about budget and materials boil down to preference. I agree, the electronic components and setup thereto make the biggest changes. But the gear with the most playtime wins!

[@ivandel7788]

2x4 guitar sounds more treble, I think it is for the body size ? Maybe it is an air guitar but the bridge and tuners are between two tables and that gives resonance to the strings, right?

[@1HYB]

He did a great job. And I'll say this... I've wanted to build my own partscaster but was really afraid that no matter what I did, it would sound like shit. Feel is a totally different story obviously but I think I might do it now.

[@robertlewis8024]

Thanks for turning us on to this, Dylan. Interesting AND entertaining. After 40 plus years doing setups and repairs, I always tell players that any factor CAN make a difference, but you might not be able to hear it. If it sounds good to you...it's good.

[@ChrisSchaffer]

I love tonewoods because some of them are extra pretty ;) really good reaction to an excellently done video! Please keep hammering away on the point that playing and HAVING FUN are the most important things about holding an instrument. I've been playing guitar, bass, and even occasionally piano (really my first instrument) for decades off and on again as a hobby. I am terrible, my technique is sloppy, and my odds of getting a record dealing are probably continuously declining into previously unknown negative territory. But I like playing music, hell I even just like making noise, and we need to get back to that just being fine.

[@vladimirpoutine7522]

I love nice looking woods to but that's about where it ends. PRS invented the idea of 'tone woods' for electric guitars as his sales pitch. He even admits it in an interview somewhere here on KZbin.

[@smittypsrandomguitarstuff2106]

I just discovered this channel. Very cool stuff, Dylan!

[@willburrito9710]

The guy is as much a pure engineer as he is outstanding musician.

[@oliverlangrall2014]

I just watched this video after doing some research for my keyboard warrior battle with some folks on another video of yours about PRS and “tone woods”. I know it’s futile, but still a great video and I loved your reaction. Thanks!

[@DylanTalksTone]

Glad it was helpful!

[@roy-batty]

Wood to me mattered in two scenarios: if it's too soft or too ugly. I don't like wood that's easy to imprint when bumped and I like pretty patterns. That's about it. Not even the weight bothers me all that much.

[@CAGED1702]

Brilliant! Thank you Dylan! What a great and insightful video! I LOVE it when things get de-mystified like you and Jim do. I always knew that the importance of so--called tone-woods was minimal. But this demonstration is a real eye-opener for many...or so it should be! Kudos guys! 👏

[@nathanjasper512]

I think you nailed this one. If you need to put the guitar down in a lab and use a robot and strip away every bit of distortion to tell the difference then it really doesn't matter.

[@VitorMachadoProf]

I had already watched the video and I completely agree with you. I'm glad you made this presentation, as it supported what I thought. Excellent work from both. Greetings.

[@tmenet]

I think I have a theory why their are "tonewood" believers. When I was a kid in the 60's the word "tone" was layman's term for EQ. Today tone is used to describe sustain, attack, technique, distortion everything! Mr. PRS is a tonewood believer but one day he said something that makes sense. If you have a guitar with high moisture, resin, or just basic sponging, it can dampen certain resonant notes. I have had guitars where some notes were not as loud and would not even let a loud amp feedback. Sustain is the thing that some woods are bad at. The EQ is all in the pickup. I.e. tone...

[@PartyChicken407]

The term you’re looking for is timbre. Tone is the over simplified term everyone over uses. And everyone here commenting that ‘the wood only effects sustain’ doesn’t seem to realize that that sustained energy isn’t exactly a pure sinewave, it’s a complex waveform loaded with tons of harmonics. And since the density of the wood effects the sustain of different frequencies at different rates, the sustain across the frequency spectrum isn’t linear. The construction matters.

[@timothypotter2137]

Amazing! Thanks for having the cajones to do this.

[@InZomnia365]

I have reduced hearing and tinnitus, and I could still hear a difference for most of the comparisons. But it's such a minor difference you NEVER would've heard if you weren't listening for it back to back. 90% of tone is in the player and electronics. Maybe 5-10% comes from the construction of the guitar, but it's not something you can hear in a musical setting.

[@TedSchoenling]

put it in a mix and tell me if you can hear a difference.. betcha can't in the mix.

[@iurigrang]

Can you hear a difference in a way that isn't explainable by it being different takes? I can pick apart 2 takes on the same guitar if the tone is that clean, but I'm not sure this is the only thing at play here, funnily enough, mostly on the 2x4, not the air guitar.

[@johnstevens3567]

This is so cool, to me this says "Buy a guitar that feels great to you, and inspires you to play" you can pretty much make it would how you want later.

[@musicman0423]

The guitar isn’t just a “sound generator”. It’s an extension of the player.

[@adamyo9003]

Loved your video and analysis and the way you encouraged us to watch the original video as well which I will now do. This is the proper way to do a reaction video. You added something new and elaborated on it with your own opinions. Subscribed.

[@kelleyjones9475]

Awesome. To each their own, but this was just wonderful seeing a big dose of reality introduced to the church of guitar myths. Good job Dylan.

[@weightoawesome3455]

I know this is a year old. But I love Jim and I love your channel, Dylan. So I am stoked to watch this whole vid!

[@WayneMemphisMojo]

I've watched the original video & come to many of the same conclusions as Dylan did. HOWEVER my opinion is, the strings produced the initial tone & each of the other non-electric parts (hardware and wood) act as dampeners of that original string tone. None are better or worse just depends on what you're looking for (tonality wise). NOW as far as body finishes, choose what ya like (similar to colors).

[@dejadejayoutube]

nicely put

[@NotThatOneThisOne]

Yes, but the tension on the strings to produce those specific tunings would calibrate whatever tiny dampening to the strings variances in wood might produce. The bubble wrap in the pocket demonstrates that pretty well. If you can tune it reliably, the stiffness under tension will be pretty much the same. Where wood does effect tone, imo, is how the guitar feels in your hands.

[@brushstroke3733]

I just got my first pair of replacement pickups (Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates) and finally understand how much difference the pickups make. The sound comes mostly from the pickups, indeed.

[@sihall1975]

I watched this video the other day and thought it was great, and this is a great reaction too. There is so much horseshit being peddled in the guitar industry and electric tonewood is high on that list. People will swear they can hear big differences because they believe they can, and confirmation bias means they won't change their belief regardless of whatever evidence is put in front of them. How about you do a video on capacitor materials? It's like tonewood, and people swear that NOS paper in oil capacitors sound 'better' than modern materials, and pay a shitload of money for them, when for me (and there are also scientifically conducted tests which prove it too) it's only differences in value due to manufacturing tolerances that make a difference, not material.

[@Lantertronics]

I'd love to see more blind studies on things like capacitors, where the presenter refers to them as capacitor A, B, C, etc. instead of the exact type. People listen with their eyes.

[@jb_50w78]

The problem with things like capacitors is the tolerance, so that’s hard to test reliably. All the differences people hear are just due to tolerance in the capacitance value. And those old style capacitors had a lot more tolerance than modern capacitors…

[@Lantertronics]

@@jb_50w78 I've seen a few videos where people measured capacitances and tried to select ones from different families that matched. At that point I suspect any differences I heard were largely from the player, being human, not being able to play the same passage exactly the same way every time.

[@sihall1975]

@@jb_50w78 Sure, that's exactly what I said. So you measure the capacitors to identify those made to the same or very close value in each material, and put them up against each other

[@jb_50w78]

@@sihall1975 the problem is that you won’t find any with close to the same, even a low tolerance of 1% or less has a big difference. And usually they use ones that have 5% or more. But there are differences besides the capacitance actually. The frequency response can vary based on the type of capacitor. Because it has what are called parasitic effects. Basically the capacitors in real life has an equivalent resonant circuit with some frequency response which also varies. It is more complicated than just a simple capacitance in real life. I think it could be possible that contributes to the difference in sound. But all those things vary so much.

[@hotlaundry3353]

this was great. Thanks for putting this together

[@ScottMcdonaldMusic]

This was fantastic. I’ve heard so much conflicting information. Paul Reed swears wood makes a difference. Clearly investing in pickups is the first priority.

[@Dram1984]

Paul Reed Smith makes money convincing people to buy expensive woods.

[@Ayyem93]

Did you notice that he used the wood as an acoustic percussive instrument to "prove his point"?

[@Dram1984]

@@Ayyem93 the tonewood people deliberately confuse the issue. Nobody doubts woods have different acoustic properties. It’s just that ELECTRIC guitars aren’t acoustic instruments.

[@ScottMcdonaldMusic]

There’s definitely a difference on acoustic guitars, age type of wood all shape the tone. People have been misled to believe that electric guitars are the same. I was led to believe that

[@EmptyMirrorMindful]

Finished thru it, awesome! I do have one question. You didn't mention signal path differences. Wiring, quality of pots, connections and wire. Could you comment quickly on that by chance? Thank you for doing this!

[@Jameskeith1972]

This is absolutely one of my all time favorites! Good job gents! Thank you for squashing the myths! It’s in the hands, pickups, and electronics no doubt. I’ve owned enough crappy guitars to know!

[@JoeHansRobles]

What about Hollow and Semi-Hollow bodies? Do chamber do any effect in tone?

[@ChronicMetamorphosis]

I heard a difference in the first air guitar demo, but Dylan and Jim are right, its negligible. Not worth paying a premium for. Consider this, if tonewood mattered as much as some claim, why didn't Leo Fender use spruce or cedar, a wood traditionally used in acoustic instruments for centuries? The people who advocate for tonewood, I'd be interested to know if they tune their guitar by ear. If they can't do that, I wouldn't take their opinion seriously, and before someone cusses me out as an elitist, do some research and practice the skill yourself. Also, I'd be interested in what a professional classical violinist hears, or even a conductor. Being around those people opened my ears to a deeper perception of sound that I wasn't aware of.

[@shreyashverma9753]

You just gave the whole of "rational " guitar community the argument to put forward for tone wood fans. If you can't tune guitar by ear don't even bother.......... Tbh I think the denser the wood the better and I just think it would really help if the bridge was on the same piece of extended neck wood, to get more sustain.

[@ChronicMetamorphosis]

@@shreyashverma9753 😉

[@vorpalblades]

The only reason those woods were originally chosen was the large surplus of lumber from furniture manufacturers that was readily available. Not for "tone" reasons.

[@vorpalblades]

@@andrewbecker3700 yeah, I was there.

[@dougburchfield7364]

@@andrewbecker3700 Mahogany is still used because it's still abundant and cheap. It stays in shape due to its density, like maple. Early highly prized Fender Esquires and Telecasters had pine bodies (great "tone wood"). Ash and Alder were used later because the pine was prone to splitting and cracking. Gibson used Mahogany due to their pipeline for acoustics using that wood for back, sides and necks. It's a fairly soft wood so ebony or rosewood were used for the fretboard to help with neck rigidity. "Tone wood" for electric guitars is a non-factor for actual tone.

[@Murphy_R9]

DYLAN. when adjusting Pu's should you start with the P'u (in this case a Humbucker) as high as possible then back it down little by little until you hear the tone you want? I do not really like to go by " recommended heights" i see from some p'u manufacturers.

[@kensimmons3356]

Wood is just really the platform to mount all the other components on. I think it needs to be a good quality wood mainly for stability and not necessarily for sound. It should be dried and stabilized so it will maintain its shape. Of course you want to apply a finish to the wood to protect it from the environment. And a good quality wood will take a nice finish and be very pleasing to the eye. I've watched a lot of videos on this subject and the differences in tone especially on electric guitars is very small as not to be a great factor. The components are the main factor.

[@Daniel_Antonio_Arellano782]

I saw that video. It was incredible! Very informative. That air guitar is crazy.

[@radoslavivanov7782]

Moral of the story: don’t concentrate on “tone-wood” so much, but concentrate on doing a proper setup and more importantly, on extracting better tone from your instrument using your fingers (a.k.a. becoming a better player).

[@caseykittel]

19:49 right. not hearing a difference, but as the player a lot of things affect the feel - even the look sometimes. I find the info in this video so freeing. it's almost more important to choose the pickup sound you like. p90?

[@jeremiahzillig9728]

Wow! That’s great! That’s the worlds first lapless lap guitar. Now all I need to do is carry around two work benches with guitar strings strung between them. The point is, when you make a guitar with an actual neck and body that gets played everything does make a difference; precision construction tolerances, quality solid woods, hardware, pickups, an nuts (haha) all effect everything about a solid body guitar. Not to mention the guitar’s ability to stay in tune when playing. Maybe y’all just proved Paul Reed Smith’s point that it’s not what the wood and other parts add to the guitar sound, it’s what it doesn’t take away from the sound. I don’t like PRS but they do make great guitars.

[@stevehandley8649]

Some good points, thank you. I thought about this whole thing in reverse. Can I hear a difference between the Anderson and the 2x4? Yeah, there’s a slight difference, but it is slight. If I wanted to make the Anderson sound as crappy as the partscaster in its original form, what would make the biggest difference? The pickup, every time.

[@lfaf9509]

When it comes to tone, there are many things that can affect it, and many things people think can affect it. The player and the pickups (position on the scale and height} and the amp (speakers play a large roll) are the absolute biggest parts of what a guitar sounds like. If you did it right, you could take a Telecaster body, with the wiring and pickups from a Stratocaster, and they will sound Identical. Or you could take a Strat and modify its scale to be 24.75 and slap in some Burstbuckers and the proper wiring and pickup placement and you wont hear a difference between that Strat and a Les Paul. The key to those is ensuring you have the right pickups and wiring and the pickups are at the same height and position between the two guitars. The wood its self plays no actual roll in the tone, how the neck connects to the body plays no roll in the tone, and if set up right even the bridge its self won't play a roll in the tone, the nut material wont play a roll.. I should point out that a badly cut nut will affect things as that will effect tuning stability and even intonation, and if the tuners slip then that will affect things as well, as your guitar is constantly going out of tune lol.. The video Dylan just watched, is just one of many videos that disprove the concept of tone wood, there are some metal channels that have done it with metal music, there are some more classic rock type that have done it, and then their is the video Dylan just reacted to. The concept of tone wood does one real thing though, it sells guitars for higher prices then they would otherwise sell for. People think the reason why one guitar sounds better than the other, is the wood that guitar is made out of, and thus the sellers and manufactures can get away with adding a premium onto the price for the wood choices. Its the same thing as cheap yellow paint, when it was first used on guitars it was a cost saving measure, and now it is sold as T.V. Yellow or T.V. White.. The same goes for Sea foam green, it was a cost saving thing and now people have been sold on the idea that these colors are premium when in reality they are just cheap paints lol. Put simply, if you can convince the buyer that some cheap part of your product makes the product so much better than others, you can charge way more for that cheap part. If a business has a choice between adding a 2 dollar part and charging 100 dollars extra for it, or adding it and charging 2 dollars extra for it, they will go with the 100 dollar up charge every time, and if they have to manipulate or lie to you to get you as the buyer to fall for a 100 dollar upcharge, then they will.. This is why Tone wood is pushed so very hard by big company's and even your local store, because like sex, it sells products.

[@SoloSi2024]

Strumming two different teles here, unplugged. Different woods and different bridges. Acoustically, they both sound completely different, but how much of that reaches the pickups?

[@RoboticusMusic]

2 identical Gibson SG's using same mahogany will sound radically different, I've tested this myself.

[@DylanTalksTone]

You moved all the hardware and electronics to test this?

[@RoboticusMusic]

@@DylanTalksTone Probably no hardware difference out of the factory so I wouldn't test that theory.

[@DylanTalksTone]

No pickup swap?

[@RoboticusMusic]

@@DylanTalksTone Stock. Same year, probably even same season, I could never get the second SG to sound like the first no matter what configuration of adjustments I tried, the wood used was Mahogany but it seemed much darker in tone than the previous. It was almost night and day. Most of these tests are fudged. I would recommend going to guitar center and trying some identical guitars and see for yourself. The only time you will hear 2 different guitars sound the same is in these really poor and limited tests that aim for middle of the road results rather than pushing a guitar and expressive amp to their extremes. There's no way thousands of people who sent back guitars and got replacements they were happy with or vice versa were hallucinating, or all the pros in interviews who complain about waterlogging of wood absorbing vibration are hallucinating. These tests only say one thing: If you're a generic clinical player you will make any guitar sound boring and samey. I do believe that same species and source of wood can vary about as much as different species from different eras for the same guitar, and that seems to be the consensus. Guitar players typically want a perfect guitar with no dead spots on the neck that sounds great with every picking intensity. A good example is driving 50 different cars all at 30mph, it's not a useful test for most drivers.

[@diotough]

I mean - considering electric solid body guitars were made to reduce/eliminate feedback issues by eliminating resonance it should be obvious that the wood has at best a negligible effect.This is the whole point olf solid body guitars. Can it still make a difference? Sure, if it gives you a certain feeling as a player. But that's about it. But always remember: this is about solid body guitars, not semi-hollows or hollow bodies! In those guitars wood DOES make a difference since wood types have different physical properties which will result in a different resonance behaviour.

[@kenthhamner2641]

Air my ass. Nobody with a stem background here. The mass of the table the strings were tied to isn't air!

[@TheMemagNeman]

Also, it's a massive double neck guitar. But...don't break the illusion of AIIIIRRR GUIIITAAAAARRRR!!!

[@lfscrazy]

Correct. Nobody with a stem or any other kind of reasoned thinking background in this comments section!

[@MyWordPressGuy]

Hey...can I test the tone capacitor in my strat without disassembly? (plugged in cord?)

[@ViolentLee]

I saw this before you did the reaction video and my first reaction was "Dylan needs to see this!'. What a great video!!!

[@BackWoodsBillyCraftBeerReviews]

Justin Johnson has a video of him playing a guitar made from a SHOVEL.. SOUNDS GREAT ITS THE PLAYER THE ELECTRONICS THE STRINGS THE TUNNING MACHINES. THEN THE BRIDGE. & NUT.... THEN THE BODY MATERIAL THEN THE FINISH... OH YEAH THE PLAYER IS MOST DEFINITELY IMPORTANT. SET UP IS CRUCIAL...GREAT VIDEO

[@timwoodruff]

This is super fascinating. How does this factor in when you start looking at thinks like Hollowbody and Semi-Hollow vs Solidbody? Because that seems to be noticeably different. Is it just the attack and sustain that differs? I imagine the same pickup in a Les Paul vs a 335 or a Jazzbox would probably have a similar core tone, with different amounts of sustain.

[@samizdat113]

@12:20 it looks like he is picking a little closer to the bridge. I didn't notice that when I watched the original video. Good catch on the hand position.

[@MSStateBulldawg83]

Hey, Dylan. I just stopped by. This was an excellent video! Very much worth watch. Best!

[@MarksGuitarsCom]

All pickups are indeed microphonic to varying degrees. Microphones, speakers and guitar pickups all use the same principle of coil, magnet and transfer of sound to electric current or in the case of the speaker, current to sound. Whether or not you can hear the varying degree of pickup microphonics in tone is the question. It’s definitely there.

[@parismetro2012]

it is indeed there and ovelooked ~ small details matter to top artists

[@bwest-s1w]

Beg to differ. Sound is physical vibration through the medium of air. Your ear detects this motion, actually physically as does the receiving element of a microphone, by its own movement having been impacted by the actual physical vibration through the air. Think of it as a water ripple hitting the shore. A pick up on the other hand simply produces electrical current when a metallic object is moved within its magnetic field. This is a universal principle and the reason why alternators, generators and electrical motors work. Where on a guitar pickup is the mechanism receiver that that detects vibrations in the air?. Disect one see if you can find it. All you will find is a magnet with wire wrapped around it, you could isolate it, plug it into an amp and scream at it until you are blue, your voice will not come out the amplifier.

[@iurigrang]

There's no transfer of "sound to electric current" happening. A ferromagnetic material's movement is being turned into electric current, and also into sound through the air, but the air, and therefore the sound, are irrelevant in the transfer process

[@noodletribunal9793]

his newest video about how NOT EVEN THIS MATTERS(to some extent) because of the fact that all guitar weve ever heard has been 1. recorded through a mic or mics(close mic to amp) 2. run through the mixing and mastering process and 3. heard through whatever device you listened to it through is even more intense lol. its the best argument for "just make music" and it even got through to an obsessive perfectionist like me. well, it helped a lot, i still worry, but thats just me. we should just write and play music! is the main point of his series. oh and save money

[@malcolmhodgson7540]

Your summary is so good, it is from the heart as a musician. Nobody listens to music through an oscilloscope!!!!!! I have been saying this for forty years, used the same guitar for almost everything, changed the effects to model a particular feel and sound. But of course I have always understood the electronics! Nerds 0 - Musicians 1 !!!

[@williamandersonwainwright6145]

I actually had a question about this I was hoping you could answer. Do you think this conclusion would change if you had a set of pickups that were not wax-potted? They will pick up vibrations from the guitar if you tap on the body or mess with the knobs and switches a certain way. They’re often found in older guitars - surely these would pick up some sort of tonal characteristic of the wood? Regardless, it’s really clear the tone only comes from the pickup and whatever it will pick up, and the only thing most pickups pick up are strings.

[@jdl2180]

I watch a video the other day comparing wax potted to non wax potted pickups and they sound exactly the same. the guy doing the comparison thought they sounded exactly the same and he was expecting there to be a big difference.

[@TJEvans98]

When choosing woods for my guitar builds, I only have a few variables that I consider....first and foremost is ease of work...I've never worked with Wenge, for instance, but I've read and heard that it is a MAJOR pain to work with...I don't need that kind of headache. Second is weight, I like guitars to be comfortable, yet balanced. I don't want it to be too heavy, but I also don't want neck dive. And third is the desired finish....if I'm staining/oiling the guitar, I certainly won't be using a 3 piece Basswood or Paulownia body...I'd be looking for Ash, Alder, etc...likewise, choosing a colored wood (Padauk, mahogany, etc.) will determine what kind/color of stain I would want to use. If I'm painting a body....I'd pretty much pick anything, Poplar is good. I would have liked to see if there is a difference between painted/cleared finishes, Nitro vs. Laquer vs Enamel, as well as stained/oiled...of course, with 3-4 coats of paint, and numerous coats of clear, you've pretty much taken the wood out of the equation, anyway.