The body and the neckOriginally Posted by robinbowes
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Every one I've played has has a soft, weak tone that I personally can't stand - played acoustically as well, it's not the electrics. I've totally replaced them with good stuff on my friend's one and it still sounds the same. Hence, it's the body and the neck - the bridge and tuners don't have enough of an effect to make that much difference, even though they make some. I'm not a fan of Japanese Fenders anyway though, despite the reputation they have. I've just never played one I thought was really great, they all seem to lack a degree of resonance and power. (Although the Fotoflames seem to be worse.)
But, I know a lot of people do like them. I also think that one man's "soft and weak" can be another's "mellow and warm", so I can understand that it might be what I dislike about them that's exactly what you like. I'm not trying to be harsh, just describe what (and why) I hear in the tone of these that I don't like.
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I think it's more likely in the body wood and construction than in the necks. The ones I've seen have been either all basswood or basswood with a thin alder cap (if they had the 'photo' on one side only). I think basswood works with some kinds of guitar and not others. I have two Strats at the moment with almost identical hardware and pickups ... one with a solid alder body and one with a solid basswood one. While both guitars sound good ... the alder one definitely has the more 'Stratty' tone. They both have identical necks, so the basswood would appear to be the factor there. I've had plenty of 'super-strats' that work fine with basswood so I'd tentatively suggest that either the higher output/humbucking pickups suit/mask any sound differences; or that vintage style trems don't 'couple' well and transfer all the right frequencies to the softer basswood.The body and the neck
Every one I've played has has a soft, weak tone that I personally can't stand - played acoustically as well, it's not the electrics. I've totally replaced them with good stuff on my friend's one and it still sounds the same. Hence, it's the body and the neck - the bridge and tuners don't have enough of an effect to make that much difference, even though they make some. I'm not a fan of Japanese Fenders anyway though, despite the reputation they have. I've just never played one I thought was really great, they all seem to lack a degree of resonance and power. (Although the Fotoflames seem to be worse.)
But, I know a lot of people do like them. I also think that one man's "soft and weak" can be another's "mellow and warm", so I can understand that it might be what I dislike about them that's exactly what you like. I'm not trying to be harsh, just describe what (and why) I hear in the tone of these that I don't like.
Blues musician,teacher, designer and manufacturer of Oil City pickups, horse owner, sex god and chocolate hobnob addict.
Guitar Weasel blog
+1. Secondhand Danos can be terrific value.
Last edited by tbm; 15th November 2012 at 04:08 PM.
"Of course it would happen to a foreigner. It's typical." - Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham
Another Year Of Rock
I like my Fotoflame Strat. The original pups were crap (bar magnet types) but it sounds as Straty as a Strat can be since I put Kinmans on it. It was s/h and a bit beat up, but it had the best neck of any I tried in the shop at the time. It also came with graphtec saddles. It sounds almost as good as my DG strat and cost an awful lot less!
And, on a similiar theme there's Gibson Junior/Specials which I've always been rather partial to.
It's perhaps not quite the same thing but I've always found nice old single P90 SG Juniors in particular a lot more appealing than some much more expensive (vintage or new) stuff. And I don't think all those pictures of Pete Townshend rocking a Special were because he coudn't afford a Standard :-)
Nasty, brutish and slightly above average height
Holy thread resurrection Batman!
I've just belatedly realised that I do actually own a genuine contender for this which I believe doesn't need any apologies, appeals to subjectivity, or other spurious justification...
Ladies and Gentlemen I give you the PRS Mira.
OK so it's not by any stretch a cheap guitar but, at the time I got mine there was clear blue water between it and the rest of the (US built) PRS range and (as far as I can tell) it gives nothing away to it's either it's (much) more expensive cousins in the PRS range or anything short of CS Fender/Gibson products and it'll give those a run for their money in terms of sheer slickness of execution.
It plays and sounds great in a "like a Gibson SG only better..." kind of way, and, in spite of an entirely straightforward electrical layout (2 humbuckers, a 3-way selector, master tone, master volume, global coil split) it's astonishingly versatile.
Arguably it's only faults are that it's a little too slick and a little too much of one-stop, do-it-all deal which can lead it it being perceived as a little characterless, or at least that's my justification for the fact that while it was my go-to, default gigging tool when I was playing in a band it tends to languish at the back of the cupboard in favour of more traditional stuff like my Telecasters, Strat, and Singlecut soapbar SE when I'm noodling at home.
I genuinely believe that the Mira punches way above it's price in all respects.
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