A dawg...

[Gibson CS]

you can't liven up a dead piece of wood - it either works or it doesn't.

almost

you cant get mojo from a mojless guitar

=D

[RichCI]

I agree. Though isn't unplugging them the best way to compare tone.

*I* don't think so. The pickups and amp have a much larger influence than the wood over how a solid body guitar is going to sound but the wood has the biggest influence over how the guitar is going to resonate or vibrate. I like to play them unplugged first just to save time when shopping for a guitar; if the thing doesn't vibrate in a way that I like it to feel, then there's little point in bothering to plug it into an amp and I move on to the next one.

[RichCI]

almost

you cant get mojo from a mojless guitar

=D

 

Don't make me smack you' date=' Beavis.

[retrosurfer1959]

I agree to a point that with electrics you can work to improve the sound. I think you can make almost any electric sound good, great well that's a little more interdependent on variables like wood and density. Now if were talking acoustic guitars than hell yes I won't ever buy an acoustic without playing it or hearing it played it's a living breathing combination of all the variables and it's a lot harder and more expensive to bring a bad acoustic up to mediocrity at best.

 

Electrics I buy used and sight unseen all the time and then i rework them and I'm usually pleased with the results. Especially with Fenders I buy Telecasters based on look and condition I have never had one that is tone dead yet after a rebuild. New pickups and hardware and even a new neck if required and that slab of wood will sing.