Chambered vs. non-chambered.

[Beyond Black]

My buddy is having a custom guitar built. He's going with a bubinga body. Bubinga is a very heavy wood, so he has weight concerns. He's considering having it chambered. What's the difference in tone between chambered and non-chambered bodies?

 

[Death by Uberschall]

More lively, more open sounding, slightly warmer.

 

[locoed]

IMO all guitars react different,as well as wood,one of my les Pauls is chambered and I hate the way it sounds and it feeds back,could just be this one certain guitar though.
On the other hand,I have a Tele that's semi hollow and it's super fat sounding,but I'm not sure if that could be considered chambered.
To bad he can't try both out before they're built.

 

[Tawlks]

Chambered. If it's a heavy wood then definitely, lots of players complain about Les Pauls etc beacuse of the thick mahogany slabs.

IMO unless it's a studio guitar, the big difference in comfort is more important than the small difference in tone.

 

[stratotone]

Big difference in tone IMHO. I have a semi-hollow PRS Cu22 that is super comfortable to play, and owned a regular Cu22 at the same time.

semi-hollow compressed the notes more and was IMHO a better guitar for blues/classic rock. The other one was tighter and more immediate.

Just my opinion.

Pete

 

[EXPcustom]

Chambered sucks for high gain types of music.

I also hate it when there are small wood chips inside a chambered guitar.

IMO chambered guitars just suck in general, just buy a semi hollow bodied guitar.

 

[fearhk213]

Chambered sucks for high gain types of music.

Not always. The tightest, most articulate, & aggressive guitar I own is chambered. It's amazing for high gain because of it's clarity. The rest of the construction techniques, woods used, etc play a big role so it just depends on what the builder was trying to achieve by chambering and with the whole design.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

My Blue Warmoth Tele is chambered and it does metal and hard rock very well.

 

[Tawlks]

Big difference in tone IMHO. I have a semi-hollow PRS Cu22 that is super comfortable to play, and owned a regular Cu22 at the same time.

semi-hollow compressed the notes more and was IMHO a better guitar for blues/classic rock. The other one was tighter and more immediate.

Just my opinion.

Pete

What kinda music are you playing on it? IMO it's down to the pickups, some pickups let the wood 'breathe' but if you're using EMGs I wouldn't bother all that much about tonal differences as they dominate the guitars sound IME.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

if you're using EMGs I wouldn't bother all that much about tonal differences as they dominate the guitars sound IME.

 

[amiller]

I've got a chambered LP std. and a non-chambered LP std. The chambered sounds full, warm and yet articulate. It sounds good at any gain setting. The non-chambered LP sounds unfocused and a bit harsh...less musical. On the other hand, My EBMM Y2D is not chambered and it sounds full and articulate.

Yeah, I think it all depends on the individual guitar and not just whether it's chambered or not...IMHO.

 

[zuel69]

Emg's just give a little more of whats there already.

if you're using EMGs I wouldn't bother all that much about tonal differences as they dominate the guitars sound IME.

 

[EXPcustom]

I was going to suggest that using a super high output pickup or something with a EMG is not really recommended for a semi hollow or chambered guitar if you are going for high gain stuff use a mre low output pickup, but then again I think chambered bodies suck because of all the feedback issues I had with those types of guitars. YMMV

To me its why fuck around and risk it just get a solid body, I dont think Bubinga is that heavy. They make drum shells out of it and if I recall correctly it weighs the same as maple.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

I was going to suggest that using a super high output pickup or something with a EMG is not really recommended for a semi hollow or chambered guitar if you are going for high gain stuff use a mre low output pickup, but then again I think chambered bodies suck because of all the feedback issues I had with those types of guitars. YMMV

To me its why fuck around and risk it just get a solid body, I dont think Bubinga is that heavy. They make drum shells out of it and if I recall correctly it weighs the same as maple.

Now I agree that a hollow body guitar can feedback, but I've never heard of a chambered body feeding back.

 

[EXPcustom]

I was going to suggest that using a super high output pickup or something with a EMG is not really recommended for a semi hollow or chambered guitar if you are going for high gain stuff use a mre low output pickup, but then again I think chambered bodies suck because of all the feedback issues I had with those types of guitars. YMMV

To me its why fuck around and risk it just get a solid body, I dont think Bubinga is that heavy. They make drum shells out of it and if I recall correctly it weighs the same as maple.

Now I agree that a hollow body guitar can feedback, but I've never heard of a chambered body feeding back.

That is the problem I encountered with chambered bodies in my personal experiences if the guitar had either active or high output pickups it would feedback at high volumes but not as bad as a semi hollowbody. When a low output was used it sounded fine.

Like I said YMMV but that is what I encountered.

 

[JakeAC5253]

The stronger the pickup magnets the wider the magnetic field and the more things like body wood and construction will come into play. That's why EMG's are generally considered 'neutral' pickups because the pickups magnets are very very weak and boosted with an onboard preamp. The magnetic field isn't large enough that the wood and surroundings plays a heavy role in the tone. Use a JB or something comparable and it'll sound different in different body styles and wood combo's.

 

[Tawlks]

The stronger the pickup magnets the wider the magnetic field and the more things like body wood and construction will come into play. That's why EMG's are generally considered 'neutral' pickups because the pickups magnets are very very weak and boosted with an onboard preamp. The magnetic field isn't large enough that the wood and surroundings plays a heavy role in the tone. Use a JB or something comparable and it'll sound different in different body styles and wood combo's.

Thanks dude, that's what I was getting at..

 

[Beyond Black]

Thanks for all of your help guy's. Always appreciated. The body style he's building is the Jackson "Death Angel." He will be using EMG's. He plays brutal thrash through a Framus Cobra. I should have added that info in the original post.

 

[Sixtonoize]

The stronger the pickup magnets the wider the magnetic field and the more things like body wood and construction will come into play.

How so? Wood isn't ferromagnetic, so it has zero interaction with the electromagnetic field.
The only thing that can modify the magnetic field and create voltage (and thus, sound) are the strings (or anything else that's metal and vibrating).

It sounds like an interesting theory - I'd like to know more of the specifics of how this works.

 

[JakeAC5253]

The stronger the pickup magnets the wider the magnetic field and the more things like body wood and construction will come into play.

How so? Wood isn't ferromagnetic, so it has zero interaction with the electromagnetic field.
The only thing that can modify the magnetic field and create voltage (and thus, sound) are the strings (or anything else that's metal and vibrating).

It sounds like an interesting theory - I'd like to know more of the specifics of how this works.

I'm not sure I am the most qualified person to explain that theory, that is just my understanding. It does seem to hold true as far as I can see.

In my mind, the bodystyle, wood, and chambering (if any) will affect the way the guitar resonates and since the strings are grounded to the guitar they will resonate with the guitar and stronger magnet pickups will be more sensitive to the slight differences. The bridge type (string thru vs. floating vs. locking) is a more important aspect of guitar construction IMO. String thru and neck thru means that the body wood and construction will play a more important role in the tone of the guitar.

Sorry for the ramble, just my thoughts on the matter. I would only get a solid body myself, not a fan of the "chambered" sound in a metal guitar. They have their uses though.