Do ten tops affect sound?

[watelessness]

The best way to prove it is to play every one ever made.

 

[Huggy Love]

Well, between the two of us, we're 2/3 of the way there...

No, we're still only 1/2 there, Bodia left out chauvinistic male boobtalk, political strife, gun law tension, and PRS signature artist bashing.

...........and nobody brought up Nickelback yet either.

 

[rugerpc]

Excellent examples of subjects and speech not allowed per the rules.

http://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/official-forum-rules-read-em.920/

http://forums.prsguitars.com/help/terms

 

[bodia]

I'd just like to add that I am in full favor of @@@@@, and as far as politics, I really think that everyone who is in favor of @@@@@@@@@@@@@ is a ninny. Don't even get me started on @@@@@@@@@@.

In closing, I love everyone, and everything. Peace, hope love.

 

[Huggy Love]

Excellent examples of subjects and speech not allowed per the rules.

http://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/official-forum-rules-read-em.920/

http://forums.prsguitars.com/help/terms

You're absolutely right, I was just.........uh..........um....... pointing out ...............what we shouldn't say.............yeah, that's right.......that's what I meant...............what we shouldn't be saying.

(But I do admit I wish there were less restrictions on artist bashing)

 

[Mixstar]

I still prefer a Rizla personally.

 

[11top]

Yes.........but only dolphins can hear the difference.

 

[Stephen Rudnick]

This is just my experience with figured top guitars...I grew up in Red Bank, N. J. and was always in The Guitar Trader. I played well over 150 original LP GT's, bursts, et.al. Out of all of these guitars, the one that was hands down, the best playing, sounding, and feeling, was a plain top 1959 burst, which had faded to a nasty green border with the yellow center. The back was still red transparent. No unbroken solder joints, a magnificent neck carve, and perfectly weighted and balanced. The tone from the neck pickup was clear, never muddy, even played with distortion. The bridge pickup sounded like a tele on steroids and the two pickups worked perfectly together. Yet, no one wanted to even try this guitar out, because it was so plain and ugly looking.

This guitar had the sound that I still try to think of when comparing any other guitar to what I consider, the holy grail.

Now, I'm sure there is another guitar, by some company, someplace, that beats the one I played, and probably has a figured top. It's bound to happen, but there is no set rule that I am aware of which states that figured top guitars will, and do sound better then plain top guitars. It's all in God's hands, as to which guitars are the "special ones". There is just no way to control that fact at any time, or guarantee success.

Having stated that, I would think that PRS is trying their very best to see that their guitars are all as special as can be hoped for by the players, in the way they care for every detail of the building process, as much as is possible.

The closest I have come to consistency between guitars is from my XOX Audio Tools guitars, which are built in a mold from a roll of carbon fiber cloth.

 

[Spikedog007]

I had to look up the XOX Audio Tools guitars but I'm glad I did, those look pretty cool, and there's no figure in the top to worry about sounding better or worse.

 

[László]

I had to look up the XOX Audio Tools guitars but I'm glad I did, those look pretty cool, and there's no figure in the top to worry about sounding better or worse.

The XOX ones are cool; not necessarily my thing, but they have an interesting vibe, a bit less traditional in tone due to the material (just my opinion) but ya gotta hand it to them for coming up with something really different.

 

[G-Man]

I think the blue ones sound much better.

 

[Stephen Rudnick]

Carbon fiber has a wider frequency response then wood does. I get all the tones from these that I got from wood guitars, but the sound is more 3D. My wood guitars tend to have a 2 D sound and more focused. It's hard to explain unless you have played one.

While they do look more avante-garde, in comparison to other companies that build carbon fiber guitars, XOX Audio Tools are actually more conservative looking by comparison. In comparison to other guitars, the three that I have are all very consistant one-to-the-next in sound, feel, and other ways.

 

[pjdude]

IMHO, highly figured maple tops tend to 'brighten' the inherent tone of the guitar more, as opposed to not-so-highly figured maple tops.

My opinion only.

 

[László]

Carbon fiber has a wider frequency response then wood does.

Yup, they're different. I've had carbon fiber neck and carbon fiber guitars. The cf neck was on a bass, and the thing had a very wide response. Same with the acoustic. I got them for stability for travel for some projects I had in different countries.

Different can be good! I found myself more of a traditionalist re: the tone, but I kinda wish I'd kept the bass.

 

[Stephen Rudnick]

Les,
I never had a cf neck only, but I am aware of these from companies like Modulus. Back when they first came out, I had an Adamas cutaway prototype, It was one of the very first ones ever built. I used that guitar instead of my Martin D-41, and Gibson SJ-250 C, which is now in a museum. The Adamas just sounded better. I have not had occasion to play acoustic guitars much any longer, since the work I am currently called upon to do is all electric.

My wife did buy me a Yamaha Silent Guitar, which amazingly enough, has a nice acoustic electric sound, but I hardly ever get to play that either.

 

[László]

Back when they first came out, I had an Adamas cutaway prototype, It was one of the very first ones ever built.

Yup, I had an Adamas as well, that's the CF acoustic I mentioned. However, I think the neck may have actually been wood; it's been a long time, and it's hard to remember.

 

[CatStrangler]

IMHO, highly figured maple tops tend to 'brighten' the inherent tone of the guitar more, as opposed to not-so-highly figured maple tops.

My opinion only.

Interesting, IME the brightest LPs I have played have been the ones with the plain maple tops. Flame maple is all over the place and I find quilt maple tends to be too warm for me a lot of the time and tend to avoid it, perhaps my loss. Just goes to show varied people's experiences are.

 

[Stephen Rudnick]

Yup, I had an Adamas as well, that's the CF acoustic I mentioned. However, I think the neck may have actually been wood; it's been a long time, and it's hard to remember.

Les,
The Super Adamas neck was black walnut with an aluminum "I" beam and truss rod configuration. The part of the fret board that hung over the body was reinforced with carbon graphite strips underneath. The truss rod was adjusted from inside the body through the hatch on the back of the body.

I believe the lower model Adamas guitars were lammed maple with walnut strips. These were the ones with the flat peg head face. Mine was the Super Adamas with the carved top peg head.

 

[11top]

This guy claims to hear the difference with a 10 top.

 

[László]

Les,
The Super Adamas neck was black walnut with an aluminum "I" beam and truss rod configuration. The part of the fret board that hung over the body was reinforced with carbon graphite strips underneath. The truss rod was adjusted from inside the body through the hatch on the back of the body.

I believe the lower model Adamas guitars were lammed maple with walnut strips. These were the ones with the flat peg head face. Mine was the Super Adamas with the carved top peg head.

I think I had carving on the peg head. It was 20 years ago, so...