What's causing my (2) DGT SE's to sound so different Part 2?

[Jerrydpi]

On my original Thread about how/why do the two DGT SE's I'm demoing sound so different, even after putting the same strings on them, adjusting them to have the same pickup height, same relief/action, etc., they still sound noticeably different.

Just for the heck of it, I put my ear on the side on the guitars upper horn to listen to how each one sounded while strumming the strings, and wow, they sounded completely different (the lighter one sounded brighter than the heavier one).

So this leads me to ask, is it possibly the wood causing the difference I'm hearing between the two guitars?

On a different note, the lighter ones neck feels a little smaller, less "square" to me than the heavier one, but is this possible on the same model guitar?

 

[DISTORT6]

Yes. 100%.
No two pieces of wood have the same tone. Similar, yes. But never the same.
I have several OG Singlecuts and they all are unique in tone. Same year. pickups, setups, and at one time, tuning and strings.
Over the years, I've spent so much time with them, they're in tunings and string gauges that suit them the best.

 

[Prs Mods too]

Yup, most likely the wood.

 

[Jerrydpi]

How about the necks feeling different even though they're the same model?

 

[DISTORT6]

How about the necks feeling different even though they're the same model?

CNC carves them, then they're finished by hand.
it's the "human factor".

 

[Abe]

Yours would be more solid wood than all the laminate in my (2) SE HBII's, and even those SE HBII's are distinguishable even with acoustic tone unplugged. So there's always something to it. They are a 2020 and a 2022 model, and the 2 wide fat necks are distinguishable as well. I feel I could be handed both guitars with the same kind of strings on them and know which.

 

[deathworlder]

I have 2 SE CE Swamp Ash Sandblasted; identical everything...
The lighter one(by 8 0z) is more mellow than the other.

 

[SinSir]

Everything effects everything. Plain and simple. Theres non believers out there, especially internet experts, but once you experience it real world hard to refute.

 

[Nick_S]

I had two Sambora Strats, identical spec (bar colour). They sounded completely different. One was full, the other much brighter. Same wood, pickups, bridge etc. Never could figure it out, the only variable was the actual wood itself.

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

Jerrydpi…

 

[László]

I was curious to see what the results of just changing out the strings would be, so I'm glad you followed up your original thread with this one! Kudos!

By today's standards, an electric guitar isn't a high-tech device like, say, a computer. It's a fairly simple device with lots of individual variables because of the materials used, and the things like the potentiometer and pickup tolerances involved.

You've proven to yourself that two different guitars of the same model, set up the same way, will sound different. The wood matters. If you tap different pieces of wood of the same type, you will often get a different note. different pieces and types of wood have varying resonant frequencies.

The string excites the wood via the nut and the hardware, the vibrating nut and hardware vibrate the wood, and the pickups are microphones. You'd kind of expect there to be differences from one slice o' wood to the other, really. And you'd be right.

Guitars of the same model have similarity on the macro level. That is, a 594 sounds like a 594, a Strat like a Strat, etc. But on the micro level, there are audible differences from guitar to guitar. Each one responds just a little differently from its siblings to the input of your playing.

The beauty is that it's not that one guitar is better than the other, it's that one guitar is better for you, the other is better for the next person, since we all play uniquely. Also true: Owning two guitars of the same model that both sound different from each other and work for you is a pretty interesting thing!

PRS does a good job with tone consistency, in the sense that they make very good sounding guitars and very few duds. The models are very consistent in their macro level tone. But that doesn't mean each one sounds identical to the next example of the same model on the micro level.

There are lots of self-appointed experts who've wasted their time trying to prove or disprove what their ears and experience tell them is true. Good for them; they're simply wrong. It's OK to be wrong.

 

[Rod/]

It’s always The wood!

 

[dogrocketp]

Keep in mind that your genre will affect if and how your hear what the wood does. The more processed the sound, the less the wood matters. I’m a blues/ funk player. I need a really good clean rhythm sound and then overdrive for solos. Most gigs, my only pedal is a Route 66. My amp is just a tone and a volume. That does it for me, although I have a pedalboard for that rare occasion. My rhythm playing is very much in the Steve Cropper vein, clean and economical. I can hear the difference in every guitar I own. If I used a signal processor, I probably wouldn’t hear much, if any difference. YMMV.

 

[Jerrydpi]

Keep in mind that your genre will affect if and how your hear what the wood does. The more processed the sound, the less the wood matters. I’m a blues/ funk player. I need a really good clean rhythm sound and then overdrive for solos. Most gigs, my only pedal is a Route 66. My amp is just a tone and a volume. That does it for me, although I have a pedalboard for that rare occasion. My rhythm playing is very much in the Steve Cropper vein, clean and economical. I can hear the difference in every guitar I own. If I used a signal processor, I probably wouldn’t hear much, if any difference. YMMV.

Which version Route 66 dogrocketp?

 

[dogrocketp]

I have one of each. The newer pentagonal one with the ledge is my main. The flat pentagonal one is my backup. I back everything up at a gig.

 

[Jerrydpi]

PS

I'm researching the pedal, and it seems there are two of them, one by Truetone, and one by Visual Sound.

Which Brand do you have/recommend?

 

[Johnkenn]

Have the same thing. Two DGT SEs. Same everything, but the newer one is heavier and is a looot hotter. It’s tonally darker, but same family. I set the pickup heights the same, but need to double check. Crazy how different the gain structure is. It’s to the point that when I’m not feeling lazy, I’m gonna check the older GT (bought used) and see if the pickups aren’t upgraded to something else. Because, they’re pretty stunning..and maybe a little better IMO than the new SB. Less gain and quackier - more single coily.

 

[Maertl513]

@Jerrydpi, ear on vibrating wood - unplugged - true. I confirm hearing differences, strumming the 513 RW and 513 MT. But I must not put my ear on the railway track for that.
Pickups aren't microphones, the built a magnetic field and catch everything, with is magnetically relevant: Strings in movement.

 

[Hudman316]

The beauty of getting old is your hearing deteriorates and you can longer hear those slight tonal differences that can drive you mad. I say that as a 56 year old guy that has 40 years of loud guitars and 30 years in the skilled trades around loud equipment.

Fortunately, I can still hear the difference between pickups. In my experience they have the biggest impact on electric guitar tone by a wide margin.

 

[Johnkenn]

The beauty of getting old is your hearing deteriorates and you can longer hear those slight tonal differences that can drive you mad. I say that as a 56 year old guy that has 40 years of loud guitars and 30 years in the skilled trades around loud equipment.

Fortunately, I can still hear the difference between pickups. In my experience they have the biggest impact on electric guitar tone by a wide margin.

To me, it’s like mics/pres/compressors. The pickups are the mics, the wood is like pres and comps. Mic/capsule is 80-90% and then the wood/pres/compressors color the last ten percent. But it’s curious to me how much hotter the new SE is.