crust Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 To me, they all sound mostly the same the same, Solid body, semi and full...Electric guitars. Well, maybe the amp plays a bigger part in how an electric guitar sounds. I mean, you can, with the right amp and effects, make a fat jazz box kind of sound like a solid body shred guitar, and vice versa, somewhat. Some might say "ya, it's easy", others, "ya, it's not too easy"...what do you say ? In particular, relative to the "335 vs Dot" thread, this got me thinking (bad idea ), what are the sonic differences in similar, and not so similar, electric guitars. Can a Sheriton sound like a Casino ? Can a Riviera sound like a Dot ? Can a Dot sound like an ES-355...Can a LP sound like an ES 345 ? Can an ES 345 sound like an LP ? If yes, how so...if no, why ?...lots of combinations...discuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhead Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hey crust how ya doin? Well, electrics sound like electrics etc, etc. Sort of......... I've tried swapping pickups into different guitars, and the wood, and the build (bolt on vs set neck, mahogany vs mahogany w/ maple cap) makes a slight difference, Hollow vs Semi-hollow vs Solid are all in different categories. Your amp, and maybe more important, your speakers REALLY make a difference. At least from what I've tried out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 I posted this, to start whatever discussion may follow. Let see what others also have to say. Thanks for the quick reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I did something like this when I got my Wilshire. Trying it out against a friends Epi SG (a G400 model I think) through the same amp we couldn't decide whether they sounded different or whether the SG was just louder. We plugged the SG into a PC interface and put it through an amp sim with a frequency analyser in front of it and recorded it. We did the same with the Wilshire on a seperate track, compared the two and there were some quite big differences. Putting a hybrid parametric/graphic equaliser before the frequency analyser let us boost/cut bands and we got a virtually identical sound out of each guitar after a few minutes twiddling. The Wilshire still needed a bit of a volume boost. It doesn't always work though. I've never got a convincing Tele bridge pickup sound from a humbucker but it works fairly well the other way around. To do this through an amp would take some pretty serious outboard hardware. Probably easier just to buy two (or more) guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchie1281734003 Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I basically think, that you can pretty much imitate all electric guitars with a very good Telecaster!! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not-Too-Late Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Your amp, and maybe more important, your speakers REALLY make a difference. At least from what I've tried out. This an an area that needs to be addressed. If anyone out there is into home stereo systems will have to agree that the amp, with its options/effects/speakers etc., play a HUGE roll in what comes out as the final product. One reason why many players prefer the old tube amps as opposed to the newer solid state ones. Digital versus analog. Case in point. My brother ran a recording studio for years, and in those years he had a full 24 track analog system. He eventually changed it out to a 24 track digital system, but he much preferred the analog set up. I'm no electronic buff by any means, but maybe this is why many guitar players prefer the older tube amps than the solid state, especially if they are after that warmer sound one gets from a tube amp. Perhaps my analogy with my brother's recording studio does not go along with the comparison of guitar amps, but I do know that there is a big difference in the type of amp options out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I own a bunch of different guitars because I like having a bunch of different guitars to fiddle, admire, pick up, put down, admire, tweak abit, admire, repeat. But for tone IMO, it's all about my fingerwork- fretting, attack, etc + the specific amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I wouldn't want to call myself a "tone junkie" but I must admit there is something a bit obsessive about my fascination with coil taps, in and out of phase options, varitones etc etc as well as midi and all that brings (like world instruments and orchestras!). I suppose I just like playing around with different sound and tone options on the same guitar and between guitars. But I would agree that the amp makes a world of difference. It took a long time for me to convert to tube amps but now it has to be the full tube throughput including the rectification job for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Guitars and amps are two very different worlds in my opinion. I love all of my guitars amped up in an HiFi manner with full-range systems designed for acoustic guitars with even the EQ flat, and never would buy any guitar I don't like to hear that way. Amplifying with that jazzy attitude, a Telecaster sounds radically different from a Les Paul, and several guitars of same build clearly reveal subtle differences. I also guess that's why I never bought a single one trick pony guitar... Talking typical electric guitar amps with woofers only is another story. They may even out sound differences to a vast degree, depending on gain, EQ settings, speakers and cabinets. Sometimes you won't hear the difference between a Telecaster and a Les Paul - think of the "Stairway To Heaven" studio album solo, played by Jimmy Page on a Telecaster. Being a tone chaser, I am deep into using coil split, series/parallel, and polarity - often improperly called out of phase - options, too. I didn't buy a Les Paul guitar until they came including lots of switching options. Jimmy Page knows, and Frank Zappa knew why. The pickup thing is a challenge in itself since the results are hard to predict in many cases. Surprise may lurk in any pickup swap. A guitar's design, woods and construction affect tone significantly, and they may fuel or diminish certain pickup characteristics. Just my two cents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Zeplin Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 A lot of it depends on the amp. Low watt solid state amps with 6 or 8 inch speakers will sound the same no matter what you plug in to them. Usually pretty crappy. I like 10" speakers the best whether solid state or tube. Also speaking of tube to my ears they let the notes ring crisper and smoother but that is what I hear. Even my wife can notice a distinct difference between my SS Marshall and Mesa Boogie tube amps. I don't have a lot of guitars but I can say that each does indeed have its own voice, but amp settings for one guitar won't necessarily work for another guitar. It can pose a problem when using multiple guitars live bit you may have to find a compromising setting that works for all. If possible I would encourage you to rent a good quality tube amp for a week and try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I basically think, that you can pretty much imitate all electric guitars with a very good Telecaster!! Steve 100 likes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Yeah, every time I play my Telecaster, I wonder why I need anything else. Then, I plug in my Strat, or SG, or Les Paul, or "Lucille", or Ric, or Gretsch...and then I know! When playing "Clean," there's a BIG difference, in all my guitars. Run though a lot of distortion, or overdive, and other effects, not so much. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Rule #1: - any electric guitar can sound like any other electric guitar. A Casino can sound like a Gretsch which can sound like a Strat which can sound like a Vox Phantom which can sound like a Tele...and on and on Rule #2: - exception to rule # 1 is a Rickenbacker 12 string. No guitar can sound like a Ric 12 string and a Ric 12 string can sound like no other guitar. Rule #3: - what gives us different tones is the amplifier, not the guitar. A Telecaster into a Marshall sounds very different than a Telecaster into a Vox. Same guitar, why different sound? The amp. I have 17 guitars. I chased tone. I realize all I needed was the very first guitar I got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 whenever I start learning a new song, I look into how the original tone was created. I came across this when I was researching Mississippi Queen::::: Leslie West Decodes his Mississippi Queen Tone “These days, I can pretty much get the ‘Mississippi Queen’ tone out of any guitar. Larry DiMarzio once told me my tone was in my right-hand attack, and he was right." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not-Too-Late Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 I did something like this when I got my Wilshire. Trying it out against a friends Epi SG (a G400 model I think) through the same amp we couldn't decide whether they sounded different or whether the SG was just louder. We plugged the SG into a PC interface and put it through an amp sim with a frequency analyser in front of it and recorded it. We did the same with the Wilshire on a seperate track, compared the two and there were some quite big differences. Putting a hybrid parametric/graphic equaliser before the frequency analyser let us boost/cut bands and we got a virtually identical sound out of each guitar after a few minutes twiddling. The Wilshire still needed a bit of a volume boost. It doesn't always work though. I've never got a convincing Tele bridge pickup sound from a humbucker but it works fairly well the other way around. To do this through an amp would take some pretty serious outboard hardware. Probably easier just to buy two (or more) guitars. Bottom line - it's all boils down to what you play it through. To really test out each guitar. Play them through a clean channel. You can change all the variable after the guitar to make then sound very much the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Sorry (maybe its just me) but there's no way I can get a Gibson or Epi to sound like a Strat in position 2 or 4 in a clean setting (i.e the classic Strat sound) no matter what amp - so I reckon pickup type and spacing has a significant impact in that case. Then again this hasn't been jumped on by others so maybe I've missed something. Once you introduce overdrive its another story of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 that's why I have more than 1 guitar of each style that I have.......I generally use the same amp settings, and each guitar has a diff. tone on those same settings. I notice it most w/my Strats and LPs......but it's all due to diff. p'ups/pots/caps in each guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Marlowe Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 I basically think, that you can pretty much imitate all electric guitars with a very good Telecaster!! Steve Esp with a split coil humbucker in the neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Zeplin Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 To me, they all sound mostly the same the same, Solid body, semi and full...Electric guitars. Well, maybe the amp plays a bigger part in how an electric guitar sounds. I mean, you can, with the right amp and effects, make a fat jazz box kind of sound like a solid body shred guitar, and vice versa, somewhat. Some might say "ya, it's easy", others, "ya, it's not too easy"...what do you say ? In particular, relative to the "335 vs Dot" thread, this got me thinking (bad idea ), what are the sonic differences in similar, and not so similar, electric guitars. Can a Sheriton sound like a Casino ? Can a Riviera sound like a Dot ? Can a Dot sound like an ES-355...Can a LP sound like an ES 345 ? Can an ES 345 sound like an LP ? If yes, how so...if no, why ?...lots of combinations...discuss. If they all sounded the same you would only need one guitar. You probably could make them sound alike but why would you want a Casino to sound like a Les Paul, for example. I have a Les Paul that sounds like a Les Paul, an SG that sounds like an SG. My Casino sounds like a Casino. Like someone else mentioned once you add effects and distortion it all gets thrown out the window anyway. The true tone is unplugged. And I stress again how important a good amp is. Playing through an $85 solid state amp with a 6" speaker and expecting to sound like Jimmy Page or whoever you wish to emulate is asking too much in my opinion. Invest in one decent tube amp, one that has multiple output levels so that you can switch to a lower wattage when you don't want to bother the neighbours. There are several brands out there like Vox, Orange, I use a Mesa Boogie 5:25 for this reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchie1281734003 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 What happened to the line 6 variaxe, wasn`t that an all in one guitar? Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 What happened to the line 6 variaxe, wasn`t that an all in one guitar They are still about, but they're called the James Tyler Variaxe now. They're much better actual guitars than the originals were and now have real pickups as well as the electronic simulations. I didn't find the simulations that convincing though, and £1000.00+ for a Korean built Les Paul takes some thinking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 I was totally blown away by the origional "VG Strat" that Fender offered......still on my bucket list too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Here's my take on what's been posted, so far, and in no particular order. 1) The Leslie West quote, absolutely. Playing technique is a big part of the equation. I could go out, replicate all of the equipment and settings someone uses. but not sound the same. At least, not exactly (that's relative, I guess). 2) Which brings me to the post saying that a very good tele can imitate all electric guitars. Imitate, maybe. Replicate, not exactly. 3) The amp, and more specifically, the speaker, play a large role in tone. Agreed, 100%. 4) A RIC sounds like no other guitar and no other guitar sounds like a RIC. Again, agreed, 100%. I have X-amount (insert appropriate number here, dependent on the date) of different guitars for several reasons. I think that they do all sound different. I also think that they all feel different, too. And some, like the RIC, actually inspire, with their particular tone and feel, differently. Sometimes I like a longer scale (Fender) or a much shorter scale (RIC). Sometimes solid body, but usually a semi-hollow or hollow body Could be the pickup type, too. Then there's the whole tone wood thing. Ever get in an argument with an acoustic guitar guy about whether the wood-type on an electric guitar body or neck, makes a difference? When playing a certain song, I automatically go to a certain guitar, because I've found that it feels/sounds right, for that song, so I play it better. I know that I'm not the most proficient player around, especially technically, so I need every advantage I can get to sound better. That guitar was chosen because it inspires me and sounds right, on that song. If that's what it takes to sound better, then darn it, I'm going to buy more guitars! Love the topic, by the way. Next opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Rule #1: - any electric guitar can sound like any other electric guitar. A Casino can sound like a Gretsch which can sound like a Strat which can sound like a Vox Phantom which can sound like a Tele...and on and on Rule #2: - exception to rule # 1 is a Rickenbacker 12 string. No guitar can sound like a Ric 12 string and a Ric 12 string can sound like no other guitar. Rule #3: - what gives us different tones is the amplifier, not the guitar. A Telecaster into a Marshall sounds very different than a Telecaster into a Vox. Same guitar, why different sound? The amp. I have 17 guitars. I chased tone. I realize all I needed was the very first guitar I got. Sort of true, sort of not. Strings and pickups can make a big difference. A dense solid body guitar with humbuckers can get get a more singing sustain that neither a big hollowbody jazz box nor a single coil solidbody can replicate without the use of pedals or other devices. And I'm sorry, but a Strat is never going to sound like Wes Montgomery. I've heard Joe Pass play jazz on a Telecaster, but the tone is different than on a hollowbody Gibson. You can use pedals to help one guitar sound more like another, but if you run a guitar straight into the amp, the differences are apparent. And yes, amps make a huge difference, but again, the same amp will sound and respond differently with different guitars. The same guitar can sound very different with different pickups, too --- Gretsch makes several models available with either single coil Dynasonics or double coil Filtertrons, precisely because of those differences, and an SG with P-90's sounds different than an SG with humbuckers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drog Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Electric guitar sounds come down to these things: 1)Guitar scale length 2)guitar pickups 3)Guitar pots,caps 4)Guitar amp ( tube/solid state, what kind of tubes, caps and transformers,preamp(s). 5)Speaker, cab size,open/closed 6)effect pedals 7)Strings (type, gauge) 8)picks(gauge,materials),fingers 9) this is one of the biggest missed items in the sound we hear from (insert artist name)... The sound board and producer, effects. This is afterall the sound we hear on the recording and the biggest influence in the final sound. We really have no idea what (insert artists name) rig really sounds like, only the producers version. 10)guitar cable 11)Mic(type,placement),direct 12)Room size,shape,materials 13)Not to be missed, the players hands and approach to the instrument. I will sound different than you on the exact same guitar/rig. I probably have missed a few things, but you get the idea, my .02cents on sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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