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LesPaulSpecial1981

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Just accept that there will
always
be other guitars out there that "sound better." Then get back to work on your writing, playing and your technique.


No one cares nearly as much about tone as guitarists do. For normal people, it's all about the song.

 

I half agree with THIS^^^^

 

BUT the other half of the story is that we play guitars that we enjoy more than guitars we don't, and tone is important.

 

For the OP......FIRST...tell us what kind of guitar you have now, what others you've tried and maybe we'll have some ideas for you

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There are very few mods (if any...) that will cause a dramatic positive change to a guitar. It could be as simple as a bone nut/saddle, and a good setup. I've found that a good phosphor bronze string is pretty much as good as the next. You could try using a heavier pick, or losing the fingerpicks, or putting fingerpicks on, or...

 

Think about what you do, what things are changeable on your guitar and with your technique, and try them out. Process of elimination. But if we're talking about an inexpensive ( under 500) laminate guitar, not a whole lot except you.

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First, most of the things about the tone of a guitar are built in and you can't change. Body size, materials, bracing pattern are all pretty much fixed and have the biggest effects on "tone" (whatever that is). I'll come back to this in a minute

 

Over the years I have experimented with some of the variables that can be changed and have posted the results here. Please note that everyone has different ideas of what sound what way and sometimes can describe what they hear. What I did was take a good guitar as a standard and change one thing at a time, recording it, and posting clips here for discussion. The main guitar was an old D-18 but I also did comparisons with several others. This is a really good way for you to experiment - record your guitar, then change one thing and record again. Listen to the two clips, decide what you like, move on.

 

In my humble, strings do make a significant difference in sound. Gauge seems to mostly affect volume or intensity - heavier gauge strings are louder and you can see that with a graphical program like Audacity. Composition colors the sound - to my ears 80/20 strings are brighter sounding, PB's a little more mellow. Age also changes the sound - I've recorded the same strings at several different stages in their life. Coatings seem to have a small effect on tone, heavy coatings do seem to muffle the string slightly.

 

Believe it or not, bridge pins can change the sound of a guitar. In my pin test I recorded the D18 with stock plastic, bone, ebony, brass and no pins (it has a slotted bridge). The brass and no pins were the most dramatic but lots of people who listened to the clips felt that there was a good reason that Martin uses plastic.

 

I haven't done much with saddles or nuts - I did try switching the Tusq saddle on a Taylor to bone and frankly couldn't hear any difference. It is very hard to do any kind of comparison - its a hassle to make different saddles so I just use bone for everything I build. My personal ethics don't allow me to use any ivories no matter how long its been dead - however some people think they hear something with FWI.

 

I don't use picks (I did for the tests but it was a generic medium plastic one) but flat picker swear by different materials. Again, my ethics wouldn't let me use real tortise shell, but you can certainly experiment here. Fingernails, attack and other techniques can really change the sound.

 

Lastly, when I say that guitars can't be changed, that is not totally true. Tony Rice hogged out the sound hole on his old Martin and both my D18 and D12-28 have had some "hot rodding". I can't say that the tone changed that much but they certainly are louder. Forumite Gitnoob has done a lot of fiddling around modifying guitars - you might find some of his threads.

 

Hope this helps. In my search for the tone I like I currently own 9 or 10 guitars and will add more to the quiver as the old GAS attacks.

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Strings are a huge factor, and they're cheap to experiment with.

 

Other than that, a guitar's tone mostly comes from stiffness and mass. You can change the mass by sticking coins in strategic places. Bridge pins have a similar effect, but the mass difference between, say, plastic and ebony is only a gram or so.

 

Changing stiffness involves using a small finger plane. Or a scraper and sandpaper. :)

 

You can also change the tone by altering the soundhole size. Obviously, it's easier to make it smaller than larger. Just tape some cardstock on top partially blocking the soundhole -- you can get a perceptible difference in tone.

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hey guys,


so I'm tired of endlessly searching for THAT guitar that has the tone I really love, because every time I think I find it, I buy that guitar and then decide that there are better sounding guitars out there like 6 months later.


so, any tips on improving the tone or just overall sound of the guitar? I'm talking specific brands of strings, getting a new nut, changing the string pegs, ANYTHING!!



Thanks!

 

 

 

what are you playing that your not happy with it ? - your avatar is of a Telecaster - are you an electric player new to the world of acoustic guitars ?

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Surprisingly, no one has mentioned having the braces shaved on your guitar. While bracing patterns can't be changed, many manufacturers leave their braces thicker than than they need to be because they have long warrantys on the instruments and therefore want them to be more structurally sound. You can have a substantial increase in tone and volume if this done properly.

 

BigAl

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First try dropping the tuning, say, from E to D. That can sometimes bring the string closer to a resonance of the guitar and give it more "oomph."

 

Then try changing the bass E to a smaller gauge. That can make the bass sound less thuddy on some guitars.

 

Then try switching between PB and 80/20. The 80/20's often "ring" a bit more IME -- they can make a muddy guitar sound more interesting.

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I'm trying to remember what the x15 body is, I think its a GA or GC which by definition is biased to the mids. If you want bass, got a dread or a jumbo. I have also always felt that Taylors in general were not particularly full bodied sounding guitars - I had a 314 at one time and even tho I like small bodied guitars, I never felt it was particularly bassy. Those are characteristics of the way they are built, you can make minor changes but frankly it won't become a bass cannon.

 

Tuning to D or D# of course will shift everything to the bass - if thats what you want, go for it . I downtune my 12 strings, but I think that some smaller bodied guitars can have a full bass while tuned to concert. My humble - try a long scale OM or 000, probably in rosewood, and see what you think.

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I'm trying to remember what the x15 body is, I think its a GA or GC which by definition is biased to the mids. If you want bass, got a dread or a jumbo. I have also always felt that Taylors in general were not particularly full bodied sounding guitars - I had a 314 at one time and even tho I like small bodied guitars, I never felt it was particularly bassy. Those are characteristics of the way they are built, you can make minor changes but frankly it won't become a bass cannon.


Tuning to D or D# of course will shift everything to the bass - if thats what you want, go for it . I downtune my 12 strings, but I think that some smaller bodied guitars can have a full bass while tuned to concert. My humble - try a long scale OM or 000, probably in rosewood, and see what you think.

 

the Taylor x15 is the jumbo size.

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hey guys,


thanks for the feedback! now to answer a few questions: 1) I am not new to the world of acoustic, I've always been an acoustic and electric player. 2) My main acoustic guitars are a 1996 Taylor 815c and a 1990s Alvarez DY-52. IN BOTH CASES I feel like the bass notes are too dull or not crisp enough. This is why I was questioning whether or not I should just get a nut replacement, or if that would even change anything. I use size .13 strings on them, of any particular brand, so there is certainly room for experimentation there, and I would love to hear what has worked for you guys.


thanks again!!

 

Firstly....I agree with virtually everything that's come up in this thread ( :eek: !).

 

Second, DO play around with your strings! I mentioned in another thread a while back, that I've FINALLY got the type of sound I was hoping for out of my Lakewood. I'd put on some slightly heavier strings (to try to get more out of the guitar)...and HATED them, everything sounded dull...so I went the opposite way and put some Silk and Phosphor stings on.....(lowest tension strings I've ever played I think). The sound is fantastic! Everything responds much better, the basses boom out....I was shocked!

(I don't really like the rubbery feel of the strings, but I'm watching a lot of Manouche jazz stuff and that helps! :lol:).

 

I'd suggest going down from 0.13 (never had strings that heavy on any of my guitars)....take a risk, try silk and phosphor, or try PB 0.11 just to see....let us know how it goes.

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hey guys,


thanks for the feedback! now to answer a few questions: 1) I am not new to the world of acoustic, I've always been an acoustic and electric player. 2) My main acoustic guitars are a 1996 Taylor 815c and a 1990s Alvarez DY-52. IN BOTH CASES I feel like the bass notes are too dull or not crisp enough. This is why I was questioning whether or not I should just get a nut replacement, or if that would even change anything. I use size .13 strings on them, of any particular brand, so there is certainly room for experimentation there, and I would love to hear what has worked for you guys.


thanks again!!

 

Nut work only benefits open strings, which in most cases means it benefits ... ummm ... none at all.

Bridge/saddle work is a starter, but IMHO anything beyond TuSQ doesn't offer that much more. TuSQ is nice to work and fairly consistent in quality. Bone might give you 5% over TuSQ, but the consistency issues and the pain (read: smell) to work with ain't worth it. Dunno about ivory, but I doubt it's worth the moral, financial, CITES ... issues that come with it.

 

Strings are a starter, but playing/technique is even more. Try to find a proper technique, first. Bass response depends hugegy on where, how and with what you attack the string. I have bought a Baritone and boy does it give you a lesson in attack. If you attack it right, the bass is a killer, if you 1/2 inch off, it's a mudpit. Same applies to picks. Never underestimate the power of the right pick. Tenacious D weren't too far out, here. Really.

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hey guys,


thanks for the feedback! now to answer a few questions: 1) I am not new to the world of acoustic, I've always been an acoustic and electric player. 2) My main acoustic guitars are a 1996 Taylor 815c and a 1990s Alvarez DY-52. IN BOTH CASES I feel like the bass notes are too dull or not crisp enough. This is why I was questioning whether or not I should just get a nut replacement, or if that would even change anything. I use size .13 strings on them, of any particular brand, so there is certainly room for experimentation there, and I would love to hear what has worked for you guys.


thanks again!!

 

Buy a Martin D28, and the bass notes will be more than enough.

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Other than changing the strings or bridge material I don't have much to advise that would have an effect.

 

One thing I do know. A guitar can sound a LOT different to the player than it does to someone standing 10 feet in front of him. Try it sometime. Play a guitar and then have someone play it FOR you while you stand 10 feet away.

 

Things like the overwhelming bass that you hate when playing the guitar yourself might sound perfectly balanced to the listener.

 

Another angle is that guitar that sounds fantastic live might be an absolute bitch to record...while a dead sounding plywood guitar sounds very balanced and refined into the mic.

 

Really resonant expensive hand-made acoustics might feedback like crazy once you put a pickup in them and try and use them on stage...while again, a dead department store Harmony plywood box becomes the perfect tool converted to electric/acoustic for stage work.

 

Bottom line: Every guitar will have strengths and weaknesses, it's up to you to find them and exploit them.

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i agree with the previous posters concerning a string change. i thought my j-45 was a 'little dull' but i attributed that to old strings. most of the recommendations for that guitar suggested .013s ... i went with medium light .012s ... i like them. i do like to play a lot open chordings and play 'up the neck' a little so ... i think a major consideration for you should be your playing style. i do know that if i was some sort of finger picker i probably would have ended up with a different guitar ... but i've got a keeper to my ears.

 

of course, it could be laziness and being older that keeps me in this guitar ... not that completely particular concerning the sound ... or maybe not ;)

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