Family extension

[Lucke Luke]

*Drum roll*...

I noticed an advert yesterday morning for an UES60 with Bareknuckle Mules + hardcase and just couldn't resist. Guy was selling quickly and so I got a very good deal for the lot. The guitar's in mint condition... other than a hairline crack along the neck/body joint. Not sure if it's due to rapid change in temperature or something else.

I love it. It kind of has put a question mark over the importance of wood versus pickups. Now it doesn't have grain as pretty as that of frederikb's ES100 that he's selling... but overall I'm super impressed.




What are your opinions on the influence of wood on the sound? More precisely expensive vs cheaper. I do realize that there's also an aspect of craftsmanship/quality.

L

 

[Reborn Old]

Congrats on your holiday find Luke !

I personally think that over 90% of a guitar's tonal qualities depend on neck selection at build time, and glues used to bond the neck to the body.
To a far lesser extent, body wood choices can affect overall brightness or darkness.
There are some good inexpensive guitars ... Edwards + midrange Greco LP's come to mind, and I'm sure there are others.

 

[Paladin2019]

I've got a similar crack on mine. As the temperature changes the two separate bits of wood change shape in different ways and the cracks happen. It can happen on any set-neck guitar.

Personally I'd have put Stormy Mondays in a semi, but I have Mules in my LR and they are amazing!

 

[Lucke Luke]

I've got a similar crack on mine. As the temperature changes the two separate bits of wood change shape in different ways and the cracks happen. It can happen on any set-neck guitar.

Personally I'd have put Stormy Mondays in a semi, but I have Mules in my LR and they are amazing!

I take it, it's no big deal then

I have never heard or had the chance to compare Stormy Mondays to anything. In fact this is the first time I've come across mules. I'd be quite curious to try them in my SG... but after realizing that installing pickups in an ES335 is a bit of a delicate job... I'm more reluctant More importantly, I really dig the way it sounds now.

Reborn Old, yes I'd probably agree with your comment about the influence on 'brightness' and 'darkness', hence why I questioned whether there would be much difference between an electric with a better piece of wood, versus a cheaper piece (assuming everything else, including the pickups are the same).

Not that I'm disagreeing, but what's the basis for your 'selection of neck/glues joint' comment? It never crossed my mind.

 

[Reborn Old]

The glue discussion is more common amongst builders I think.

A lot of builders use synthetic glues because they are far easier to work with and have longer set times.
These glues contain compounds that can isolate or attenuate higher frequencies.

Hide glues on the other hand have glass like qualities and transmit all frequencies without compromise and are less likely to creep with time.
With very tight fitting tenon joins glue choice is probably less of an issue.

Another plus with hide glue joins is that they can be unglued using
steam injection if required. Synthetic glue seams cannot be unglued even though they can move very slightly over time.

 

[Peter Mac]

Hi guys,

Seriously, wood is the most important factor. The better the wood and the construction - the better the guitar will respond - regardless of pickups. Hide glue is always the peferred glue too for the reasons listed above by Bob.
It's like an equasion really. A $1,000.00 stereo with $100.00 speakers will sound worse than a $100.00 stereo with $1,000.00 speakers.
The same with wood. Mules may be a great sounding pickup, but they will always sound their best when used in a wood made from properly prepared premium tonewoods with single or matched pieces.
Too many guitar manufacturers use cheap or unripened wood just to get volume sales. They are usually heavy or sound bland or both.
Personally I tend to avoid anything that has Basswood, Poplar, Nato to name a few. I check every part of the guitar to find joins - even laminated fingerboards are suspect. Multipiece bodies are out if more than 2 as are multipiece tops.
Again the equasion - the more pieces of wood used, the more synthetic glue used, the more tone and sustain is lost. Gibson learned this the hard way during the '70s.
So... aged tonewoods + hide glue + great pickups = Outstanding guitar.

Peter Mac

 

[Diamond]

John Suhr says a Basswood body with a Maple top is the "Holy Grail" of tone woods.