timrocker Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 I was looking at the Warmoth website the other day, thinking about my next electric. And I see that they can make a strat body for you out of just about any tonewood, and have a scheme where they carve pockets into the wood's interior to lighten it and give (so they say) some better tonal characteristics. Well, that sounds just like what the doctor ordered in many ways, because I have always wanted to have a mahogany strat bod but doubt if I could endure the weight for a typical 4 hour gig. So I was wondering about this type of guitar body and hoping somebody here had firsthand experience with it. I have to tell you-I'm skeptical. Many many famous and respected guitarists have said that after years of experimenting, they have concluded that more tone is all about more wood, and more dense wood, for that matter. Conversely and related, I also read recently that Gibson came out with a version of the Les Paul that has chambers in strategic places to give you some slack on the weight issue. Anyone been there, done that? 'Tanks for the 'spectives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 If you read my NAMM article http://www.prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/articles/7EF9403C1BABC9EE86256F1900157F4A you'll see that the chambered body is all the rage right now.I just bought a 336 for myself. Bill "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Warmoth makes exceedingly great bodies and necks. If you are dissapointed with one of their hollowed-out models, they'd probably let you trade it back in on a fully solid one. Ask them about that first. The quality of the wood, and the person designing and making the body, is more important than one or another overall "school of thought". There's ALWAYS an exception to any supposed rule! I usually prefer lighter or medium weight/density wood in a solidbody guitar. Notice how many people agree that the dense, hard, heavy Gibsons made under Norlin are more often turds, while those made before and after are more popular? There are occasions when you'll find a "good one" fom that time, but those are both the exceptions to the rule, and highly subjective! I've noted that the lighter overall construction of a somewhat Les Paul-ish Gretsch makes it a different guitar, not necessarily better or worse... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Originally posted by bpark@prorec.com: If you read my NAMM article http://www.prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/articles/7EF9403C1BABC9EE86256F1900157F4A you'll see that the chambered body is all the rage right now.I just bought a 336 for myself. BillBill- that's a great article! Cool! Thanks! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timrocker Posted September 29, 2004 Author Share Posted September 29, 2004 Bill, have you been to www.warmoth.com? There is a page dedicated to their chambered bodies with some pretty bold claims. Would you mind taking a look at it and telling me if you think it holds water? Like your prorec site. A fave subject area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timrocker Posted September 29, 2004 Author Share Posted September 29, 2004 Yes, good point, Caevan-you're not just SOL if you buy a chambered body and it doesn't work out. They probably have a reasonable exchange policy. But don't you just hate disappointment and the down time? Know what I mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Well, the thing is, I don't think that you'll be dissappointed in a chambered Warmoth body! The important part of having more mass and solidity and all is where, even more than how much. That is, more mass under and around the neck-joint can translate into a fuller tone-transfer between the neck and body. Take mass away directly under and around the bridge and tail-piece of a Les Paul-stylee, and you'll lose some chunk, and sound "different than a Les Paul. (Though not necessarily "bad".) A Strat is already routed-out under and around the bridge, with those trem-springs adding their own thing to the tone. Compare a "hardtail"-Strat sometime- not the same! Add or lose mass around the sides or "wings" of the body, and it isn't going to make a huge difference in itself. Do it thoughtfully, though, and you can taylor and enhance a solidbody-guitar's tone for the better. I'm probably going to try the chambered option on a Warmoth body or two myself in the not-too-distant future. Probably ash for my first one. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 A fair number of expensive luthier-built basses with chambers are going out these days, most of them seven strings and up (I've seen Nines), I'll warrant. Part of that is because Conklin is one of the companies doing it. I don't think it's that risky to get something like this for a guitar if guys with double low F# strings are happy with them. Those low notes are a lot harder to get right. http://www.luthiersaccessgroup.com/images/instock/conklin_fullfront.jpg http://www.luthiersaccessgroup.com/images/instock/conklin_front.jpg http://www.luthiersaccessgroup.com/images/instock/conklin_back.jpg This particular one by Conklin vents its chambers out the back of the higfhly shaped body. Schweet. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Wow, 6 ( http://ilprigioniero.20m.com/grafica/badge6_.gif), that's one beautiful instrument! By the way... what is that in your avatar, a stretchey-armed stick-figure guy riding an antique velocipede? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Caevan, seen THE PRISONER - TV show from late sixties? About a cold war retirement village for people from both sides who "know too much". TV's best, from Portmerion, Wales. That's a sun shade. But I wondered if you had seen my main avatar, a tiny green stick figure with a grin and a wink holding a tiny bass, when you said that stick figure bit... Anybody here playing Conklin guitars? They make some incredible instruments - Ranging from the overseas GT series to any over the top stuff the buyer asks for. The figured woods they find and attention to detail are incredible. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Y'know, I never caught that TV show... And, the present avatar is what I was referring to. Though I think I may recall your previous one... Have yet to try any Conklin instruments myself, though a friend of mine plays with a bassist who has a Conklin 7-string bass. Do they make guitars, as well? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdog114 Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v35/mdog114/Surf_Green_002.jpg I assembled this last year and I love it! "Never back-up more than you have to" REAL MEN PLAY TELECASTERS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 Originally posted by timrocker: Bill, have you been to www.warmoth.com? There is a page dedicated to their chambered bodies with some pretty bold claims. Would you mind taking a look at it and telling me if you think it holds water? Like your prorec site. A fave subject area.I can't adress these claims because I am not a physicist. What I have always been told was that sustain was a function of a solid instrument that did not resonate. The feedback path between bridge, nut, neck, and body needed to be a solid as possible. It seems logical to me that energy spent putting the resonant chambers in motion is energy taken away from string vibration, ergo, less sustain. But sustain has not really been much of an issue for years. Who doesn't get enough sustain? I can only tell you that the chambered guitar is making a BIG comeback. I've been a fan of them for years, but my main axes are still like Les Pauls, or my Warmoth, which is a mahogany back with a carved maple top.... very solid axes. I think that any debate on the subject is sort fo like a tempest in a teapot, in that in the long run, we are all going to buy the guitars that we feel most comfortable with, no matter what they are made of or what the construction characteristics are. Lets face it, the ever-popular Danelectro is a masonite shell over a cheap hollow frame, and they sound great. 335s sound great. The 336, which has never captured anyone's imagination but mine, is a very cool design. (thick back, 335 style top) The Gretsch RocJet, which looks like a Les Paul but is hollow, sounds great. It is really all about the sound, to anyone who is paying attention at all. Bill "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 If the body is more susceptible to respond to the amplified sound, feeding back some, as it were, it could enhance sustain... know what I mean? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timrocker Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 One thing I have noticed is that manufacturers can claim just about anything about the characteristics of sound. "Our innovation will give you more this and more that." But when you get their instrument in your hands, you may not hear anything like that claim. I am pretty serious about building a guitar, and know that Warmoth is good people. But is this claim of more sustain well, sustainable? It seems to be completely at odds with a dozen interviews I've read with various guys who play very solid, very heavy guitars. Know what I mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 Here're another thread that might interest you, Tim: http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/icons/icon2.gif hollow body Strat? If you can flag down "evets", he has a hollow body "Strat" from Warmoth, too. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boggs Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 I designed my guitars as chambered body guitars to better "control" the tone characteristics and also to enhance the beauty of the instrument with contrasting woods. Padauk by itself would be overly bright and thin sounding and the Cuban mahogany might lose some string articulation I was looking for. Combining the two (with a thin binding layer of maple between them) by using 1/4 inch thick padauk for the top and back with the 2" thick Cuban mahogany chambered section gives me exactly what I was looking for visually and in tone quality. The neck is a 2-piece Honduran mahogany neck with maple and padauk overlays on the headstock and an ebony fingerboard with stainless steel frets for a nice crisp attack yet keeping the overall tone balance warm. Chambering the body is much more than about weight. By the way, I still managed to make the guitar perfectly balanced. Take your hands off of it and it stays in place. Boggs Check out my Rock Beach Guitars page showing guitars I have built and repaired... http://www.rockbeachguitars.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Caevan, Yeah, they have tons of pics of guitars they've made on the Conklin site - like many luthier-based shops it comes down to the customer's finance and desires what those guitars have for construction, features, etc. http://www.conklinguitars.com/bizarregallery/biz8images/oneofkind9.jpg ; } ...Obviously not everybody is going to want 9-strings, fanned fretboards, etc... I was also shocked how many tacky delightrs they've built for people who must be hooked on big hair metal... They start with the Groove Tools model, which is their imported but very high quality line {common biz practice these days for luthiers whose names have swollen ; } BTW, as a lurker I always liked your avatar. Reminds me of pieces I used to see during my frequent visits to the Daystar amerind gallery/musuem/cultural center in Seattle. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Originally posted by : Caevan, Yeah, they have tons of pics of guitars they've made on the Conklin site - like many luthier-based shops it comes down to the customer's finance and desires what those guitars have for construction, features, etc. http://www.conklinguitars.com/bizarregallery/biz8images/oneofkind9.jpg ; } ...Obviously not everybody is going to want 9-strings, fanned fretboards, etc...Oh, MAN! I wanna take that bad-@$$3d machine out for a test-drive!! I, for one, am not put off by 9-strings, fanned fretboards, etc.! BTW, as a lurker I always liked your avatar. Reminds me of pieces I used to see during my frequent visits to the Daystar amerind gallery/musuem/cultural center in Seattle.Hah! You're pretty close; you may even have seen the actual object that it's a photo of; here\'s a link to a thread on that very topic... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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