Guitar guys! RG450 pickup upgrade. Recommendations?

[Cerpin Taxt]

You're trying to say that the fretboard material is going to have an effect on sound? On an electric?

Eh. no. I would go as far as even arguing that even on a body, something exotic like ebony isn't going to sound a damn bit different from Ash or whatever is used in the cheapest of solid body guitars.

If it doesn't somehow effect the way the strings vibrate, it's not going to do shit to the guitar's amplified sound.

Lol ok, dude.

 

[phucheneh]

Lol ok, dude.

Lol, learn how an electric guitar works, dude.

I'd love to hear one of the people who claim this shit actually try and scientifically explain how different woods cause the signal induced in pickup coils due to the vibration of metal strings across them to be more 'bright,' 'twangy,' or any of those other words commonly used to describe guitar tone.

String gauge. String material. Pickup placement, height, ect. Saddles, nuts, and anything else with direct string interaction. These are the kinds of direct, physical things that affect how your guitar sounds. Plus the electric/electronic side of things, obviously.

But which hardwood parts of your guitar are made from? Gimme a fuckin' break.

 

[Fritzo]

Lol, learn how an electric guitar works, dude.

I'd love to hear one of the people who claim this shit actually try and scientifically explain how different woods cause the signal induced in pickup coils due to the vibration of metal strings across them to be more 'bright,' 'twangy,' or any of those other words commonly used to describe guitar tone.

String gauge. String material. Pickup placement, height, ect. Saddles, nuts, and anything else with direct string interaction. These are the kinds of direct, physical things that affect how your guitar sounds. Plus the electric/electronic side of things, obviously.

But which hardwood parts of your guitar are made from? Gimme a fuckin' break.

Yeah, that Les Paul guy was such a quack.

 

[phucheneh]

That's your point of argument?

The guy who built a guitar out of a piece of 4x4?

Again- say one single scientific thing about how wood choice makes a difference in an electric guitar. I challenge you, because you can't. This is why every single person to ever make such an argument has had to resort to 'it just does, man!'

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

That's your point of argument?

The guy who built a guitar out of a piece of 4x4?

Again- say one single scientific thing about how wood choice makes a difference in an electric guitar. I challenge you, because you can't. This is why every single person to ever make such an argument has had to resort to 'it just does, man!'

Keep going. Please. :whiste:

 

[master_shake_]

i own both...

they feel the same.

but meh wasn't an option.

 

[MentalIlness]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=749855695058334&set=vb.174770879233488&type=2&theater

 

[DigDog]

You're trying to say that the fretboard material is going to have an effect on sound? On an electric?

yes.

i'd go with "play them first" (or rosewood, if not)

 

[TheAdvocate]

Im certainly no guru, but I own 5 guitars now and here's what I can tell you:

I prefer intonation from the neck, I tend to play up near the frets quite a bit just because I like the sound.

That said, I cant tell a damn bit of difference in the sound based on the fretboard. The neck? That's an entirely different issue. Different woods in the neck will convey different intonation, and IMO sustain as well.

PS - can we have the digital vs acoustic (amp, pedals) debate next? That one's never been done before, either.

PPS - I dont care for Ibanez guitars, so feel free to discount everything I say as absolute heresy.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

PPS - I dont care for Ibanez guitars, so feel free to discount everything I say as absolute heresy.

You're crazy! I love their necks, especially in their basses.

 

[smackababy]

You're crazy! I love their necks, especially in their basses.

I think Ibanez are good in the lower price range, but once you start buying more expensive guitars, there are much better options IMO. Not that their higher end stuff is bad, just that there are better guitars for around that price. But, I am an ESP guy through and through. I will never buy anything else. =)

 

[TheAdvocate]

I dont play bass, and my first acoustic was an Ibanez. I still have it and I don't love it. I also briefly owned one of their artcore hollowbodies. Wasnt a fan of the quality.

Ibanez seems like a 7 string metalhead guitar maker to me. Maybe those are better than the ones I have played.

I kinda prefer high end Fenders, Gibson 335's (and derivatives) and casino styles, smaller shop makers, and I love my Gretsch 5422 12 string electromatic. I have different tastes than most.

 

[z1ggy]

That's your point of argument?

The guy who built a guitar out of a piece of 4x4?

Again- say one single scientific thing about how wood choice makes a difference in an electric guitar. I challenge you, because you can't. This is why every single person to ever make such an argument has had to resort to 'it just does, man!'

I'm willing to guess that if you were to see the raw signal that came out of the guitar that you'd see a difference in tones. However, they are probably so slight, that the human ear might not be able to actually tell a difference because the electronics, strings, pickups, etc will make much more of a difference.

But if you took two identical guitars, one made of maple and one mahogany and played notes, I would have to assume there would be a small difference due to difference density of the wood.

 

[HumblePie]

The difference in sound between the two on electric is indistinguishable. Seriously no real difference in sound quality or output. Slight difference if we are talking acoustic. Still it's a matter of preference as both materials sound good.

So the real difference is in how it feels in your hand. I find most electric guitars so lacquered up you can't really feel the difference in wood anyhow in your hands. So deciding based upon the wood composition is really just ePeen bragging rights in cost. Personally I always pick based off function, performance, and comfort first. Then I pick off of looks afterwards.

Funny thing is, my favorite acoustic is my strange Fender Acoustic with the scallop heads that was a very limited run. For a simple acoustic, it had a nice feel and sound to it.

 

[Fritzo]

Keep going. Please. :whiste:

I think he's referring to this study that came out some time back:

http://www.guitarsite.com/news/music_news_from_around_the_world/electric-guitar-wood-myth-busted/

The problem with that study is things like wood type and thickness were not measured. I can tell you from a physics standpoint a thicker, dense wood will cause more powerful resonation, resulting in higher sustain than a thinner, light wood. This is why Les Pauls sound deeper and more heavy, while something like a Gibson SG sounds lighter. Effects and overdrives can make any guitar sound like any other guitar these days though, so it's a bit moot.

[quote="z1ggy, post: 36550032"]I'm willing to guess that if you were to see the raw signal that came out of the guitar that you'd see a difference in tones. However, they are probably so slight, that the human ear might not be able to actually tell a difference because the electronics, strings, pickups, etc will make much more of a difference.

But if you took two identical guitars, one made of maple and one mahogany and played notes, I would have to assume there would be a small difference due to difference density of the wood.[/QUOTE]

Electric guitars have signal processing (tone knobs, resistors, etc), so tone isn't affected so much as sustain. Sustain is how long a note will play once you hit it, and high sustain results in a more powerful sound.

 

[PlanetJosh]

Looks like some serious talent on this site. Or sounds like.

 

[HumblePie]

Keep going. Please. :whiste:

Uhh, I think I remember more than a few studies on this. For electric guitars, since the pick up is measuring the vibration of the string itself and not the bounce back of the air off the material, the material type of the body of the electric guitar doesn't matter. You can place the strings, pickups, and coils on a school desk and it would sound the same as it would on any guitar if the placement is done exactly the same. The materials used in an electric guitar for the body makes zero difference to harmonics of the sound being sent to the amp from the coils.

Now the body makes a HUGE difference in acoustic guitars, but matters not at all in electric guitars. Want better sound out of an electric guitar? Use better strings and better electric pieces like the picks and coils.

 

[HumblePie]

Looks like some serious talent on this site. Or sounds like.

Meh, I dabble. Nothing serious at all. Was better at piano when I was a kid though. Only reason I have guitars is because most of them were gifts.

 

[Fritzo]

Looks like some serious talent on this site. Or sounds like.

Reads like?

I've been playing for nearly 30 years now (at one time professionally). Now I'm reduced to sitting in front of my computer playing games with Pandora on, and when a cool jam comes on I keep my guitar next to me to play along

 

[MentalIlness]

Can anyone recommend a tuner ? The amp has a built in tuner. But is a standalone tuner better? Worse?

 

[Platypus]

re: your new question

I swear by the peterson strobostomp strobe tuner. It's definitely the most accurate one I've owned, it's accurate to 0.1-cent.

Looks like they discontinued it and now offer the stomp classic.. never tried that one but their other products have never let me down. It's a bit expensive but it's an awesome tuner.

 

[MetalMat]

Can anyone recommend a tuner ? The amp has a built in tuner. But is a standalone tuner better? Worse?

The amp tuner will be good enough unless its a PIA to operate.

If you have some bucks and want a stage tuner a Boss TU-3 is great but any cheapo stage tuner always worked fine for me.

And make sure when you tune that you are plucking the strings at the force you intend to play.

 

[phucheneh]

I'm willing to guess that if you were to see the raw signal that came out of the guitar that you'd see a difference in tones. However, they are probably so slight, that the human ear might not be able to actually tell a difference because the electronics, strings, pickups, etc will make much more of a difference.

But if you took two identical guitars, one made of maple and one mahogany and played notes, I would have to assume there would be a small difference due to difference density of the wood.

This, good sir, I can agree with. If you compared two guitars with all identical parts and identical body dimensions, but way different woods, there could be a bit of difference...to, like, a computer. But not a human.

To the person who mentioned that it did matter to neck (not fret) materials, Re: intonation and sustain...I also say, okay, plausible.

But to the 'lulz you noob' people...meh, keep drinking the koolaid. And I also gotta laught at people who want to say that [popular line of guitars] are known for sounding more [blank] than [other popular line of guitars]. Well, no shiz, because there is a lot that is different between them. Saying it's a function of body materials rather...well, everything else...that's silly.

ANYHOO...about tuners...try not to laugh here...but 'G Strings' for Android. It's quite fantastic. Doesn't even seem to matter how shitty the phone is...it somehow figures out the pitch and gets you pretty damn close.

If I plug into my preamp and use software (Amplitube), it's much more picky, and it becomes obvious than the phone app is doing some rounding to make it easier on you. But either way you go about it, the guitar still sounds in tune. I've even set up intonation with G Strings, and it did a pretty damn good job.

 

[uclaLabrat]

I think Ibanez are good in the lower price range, but once you start buying more expensive guitars, there are much better options IMO. Not that their higher end stuff is bad, just that there are better guitars for around that price. But, I am an ESP guy through and through. I will never buy anything else. =)

When I was in HS/early college, I used to drool over the Ibanez guitars, especially the S series...then I was in the market to buy one when I was about 22, and after playing a bunch of different ones, I ended up picking up an ESP. They make some really solid guitars, I ended up getting a mahogany set neck for like $600 and it's an awesome guitar.

 

[Phoenix86]

Reads like?

I've been playing for nearly 30 years now (at one time professionally). Now I'm reduced to sitting in front of my computer playing games with Pandora on, and when a cool jam comes on I keep my guitar next to me to play along

Which you should maybe record and put on soundcloud for us, then, maybe it'll be sounds like.