Robert Lavin
New Member
Hello,
Me again.
So I'm fortunate enough to have a pair of SE 245s. A 2011 maple topped and a 2015 plain mahogany.
I've posted a thread about my first impressions, but after a bit more playing I'd like to talk about it as bit more (sorry!).
Both have fresh strings of the same brand and gauge, action, pickup heights and pole pieces adjusted as identically as possible. Pickups are stock in both although the maple topped has pickup covers.
They do definitely sound different. There's more going on with the maple top - or rather the note I play doesn't stand out quite as much from the background harmonics.
The mahogany is more in your face. The played note is more prominent but there's less going on (less complexity?) in the overall tone.
I'm wondering why there's quite a marked difference, at least to my ears.
I'm not a huge proponent of the woods making a big difference on tone. I can see how the vibrations of the body might feedback into the strings and affect the tonal quality but I'm not convinced it's a huge effect.
So that leaves pickup covers vs no covers. Again. Not convinced by the covers affecting the tone per se but I can see that the actual pickup coils might be slightly further away from the strings (allowing for the thickness of the cover).
Or the nut. Stock nut on the maple cap, something that might be improved (it's white) on the mahogany, although it does look quite similar in form.
Or it's just general, but unsatisfactory from an understanding perspective, variation between individual guitars.
Anyone got any thoughts on this? Am I talking rubbish?
Me again.
So I'm fortunate enough to have a pair of SE 245s. A 2011 maple topped and a 2015 plain mahogany.
I've posted a thread about my first impressions, but after a bit more playing I'd like to talk about it as bit more (sorry!).
Both have fresh strings of the same brand and gauge, action, pickup heights and pole pieces adjusted as identically as possible. Pickups are stock in both although the maple topped has pickup covers.
They do definitely sound different. There's more going on with the maple top - or rather the note I play doesn't stand out quite as much from the background harmonics.
The mahogany is more in your face. The played note is more prominent but there's less going on (less complexity?) in the overall tone.
I'm wondering why there's quite a marked difference, at least to my ears.
I'm not a huge proponent of the woods making a big difference on tone. I can see how the vibrations of the body might feedback into the strings and affect the tonal quality but I'm not convinced it's a huge effect.
So that leaves pickup covers vs no covers. Again. Not convinced by the covers affecting the tone per se but I can see that the actual pickup coils might be slightly further away from the strings (allowing for the thickness of the cover).
Or the nut. Stock nut on the maple cap, something that might be improved (it's white) on the mahogany, although it does look quite similar in form.
Or it's just general, but unsatisfactory from an understanding perspective, variation between individual guitars.
Anyone got any thoughts on this? Am I talking rubbish?