improving the tone of your guitar?

[Digital Jams]

If you're guitar doesnt resonate and vibrate unplugged close to an acoustic guitar then you may be trying to polish a turd. You can only do so much with pickups, strings, etc...if it does ring to your satisfaction unplugged, then you can epxeriement from there. I'm not a fan of low action because i think the strings need room to vibrate and breathe, i also found lowering the pickups as close to the body without sacrificing too much sustain ( at least the bass side) gives you a cleaner, rounder tone when plugged in. my two cents. I'm a die hard strat player so i have my own theories about improving the tone that some people may disagree, so I'll just keep those opinions to myself. : )

A

From your clips you won't see me debating you regarding strat tone

I have a modded YJM-308 coming btw, Curt is passing it on to me and can't wait to try it.

 

[glpg80]

thats funny,...because i believe its you and multenman that are missing the point,...and have actualy made my point!!!,...but at this time in my life of playing guitar,..i have no desire or need to argue on a forum,...so believe and do what you feel is best for you and your playing,...i think we have successfuly given both sides of the coin,..and i have no doubt a young guitarist will grab the heaviest strings he can find and tune his guitar to dropped z,..but i hope this sticks in his head and one day maybe he will try it,..and be happy with the results

made your point? i have given discriptions and am only trying to help the non believers (shun the non believer! )

candy land jokes aside, i think its obviously rude of you to say "them there young whipper snappers grabbing piano strings and tuning to Z"

for one im not insulting any tuning or musical choices - i actually would embrace someone trying something new. thats music. however what i dont embrace is someone not keeping an open mind and realising not every person on a forum is out to argue with you - we are just having a conversation as far as i am concerned. if you cant take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

FWIW you are preaching to the quire (sp?) - i was playing 4 bar blues tuned to standard using 9's and 11's on someone elses guitar before i even hit high school. but i can guarantee you have not tuned your guitar below E standard in 21 years to experience what some of us are trying to prove. therefore your point has been shared, but realize this forum is not us against you, its a community of musicians who care about music just as much as you do no matter the tuning or string guage

 

[glpg80]

If you're guitar doesnt resonate and vibrate unplugged close to an acoustic guitar then you may be trying to polish a turd. You can only do so much with pickups, strings, etc...if it does ring to your satisfaction unplugged, then you can epxeriement from there. I'm not a fan of low action because i think the strings need room to vibrate and breathe, i also found lowering the pickups as close to the body without sacrificing too much sustain ( at least the bass side) gives you a cleaner, rounder tone when plugged in. my two cents. I'm a die hard strat player so i have my own theories about improving the tone that some people may disagree, so I'll just keep those opinions to myself. : )

A

From your clips you won't see me debating you regarding strat tone

I have a modded YJM-308 coming btw, Curt is passing it on to me and can't wait to try it.

+1, 70's strat head and strat+marshall are the two guys on this forum i would actually love to hear about how they setup their strats, killer tones and awsome strat guys

 

[pioneerprogress]

your strings, proper setup, and pickups can all make a huge difference.
If you're like me and haven't bothered to learn all the ins and outs of the workings of your instrument, just take it to a competent guitar guy, tell him what you're looking for, and let him setup your guitar and possibly swap pickups.
Depending on what guitar you've got, ANY good pickup might make a big difference (the oldest guitar I have is an Epi G400, last year I searched the used market and picked up a Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II and a Gibson 498T for under $100 for both. Spent about 30 bucks for install for each one.) I don't really know if those are my ideal pickups or not, but I can tell you it made a HUGE difference in tone, compared to the junk that was in that guitar.
And don't count out how big a difference speakers can make. I would almost suggest changing speakers before changing your amp.

 

[glpg80]

i also agree with the guys who say that if it does not resonate well or has no life to it not plugged in, than anything recommended here is really nothing more than tips to polishing a hopeless toilet floater.

i havent played a les paul in years that had that feeling, hell im hoping the new guitar i have ordered will sound great unplugged. it really on a guitar per guitar basis, and one of the reasons i try to play them before buying them.

 

[veji]

Thanks for all the good advice/suggestions
Here is the guitar i am trying to get a better tone from
https://cgi.ebay.com/1987-FERNANDES-Revo ... 23045d664b

its the same one except for a maple board.
Here are the mods i have done to it
1) floyd rose big block
2) arming adjuster
3) changed everything to chrome hardware
4) replaced the crappy licensed floyd with an original floyd
5) replaced the pickups( dimarzio super 3 in the bridge and dimarzio fast track 2
in the neck)
6) added a series/parallel switch
7) blocked the floyd
8) added 5 tremolo springs

its my first guitar so there is a reason why i am pouring in $. I am trying to get a very bright/thin sounding guitar to sound big/full/thick. Its almost there. are there other mods i can try to achieve a more thicker/meatier/ballsier tone?

 

[zuel69]

Some no name guitar player called Van Halen sure made that combo sound decent. Sting gauge is a moot point.

I think you need to try 10s some more. I used 9s for years and switch to 10s eighteen months ago and could never go back. 9s just feel and sound weak in comparison, and feel too thin and light. Then again, it could be worse, you could be claiming 9s in Eb sound/feel great