Ash Strat Body - Chambered or not?
GAH, IT'S ANOTHER QUESTION FROM ME.
Why have I not been banned for this yet?
Anyways, there are many many affordable chambered ash bodies on the Warmoth site with nice looking grain, and only a couple of solid ones. Of the solid ones, there are a couple of lighter ones (3lb - 4lb) so I'd opt for one of those. But what are your experiences with chambered ash strats? I know consensus on the LP is generally not amazing, but there are some who love it. Is it a case of suck it and see, or is there a tonal ballpark I can plan for? It'll have fairly vintage output single coils and a vintage style P90 in it, and a vintage style bridge (got talked into it by a black strat in a shop...). Obviously, chambered bodies come light (between around 2 and a half pounds to 3 pounds) but frankly, strats are so light, I'm not too fussed by having a featherweight. I've found a youtube video of a fellow with a chambered strat and it sounds excellent, but then, he's a very good player which helps!
Warmoth reckon they're amazing, and I'm open to ideas. I'm guessing the difference is a bit more subtle, because strats are already sort of 'semi hollow' with the trem cavity.
Discuss!
Can`t comment on their strat bodies but I have a chambered tele body by them.
It sounds less edgy than a solid tele body,having a more rounded tone,suits jazzy
sounds.Does rawk also,just differently!
Hope that`s of some help.
It is a help - I'm not sure I'm looking for a very specific tone, just a warm, woody strat tone. Sounds like a chambered is as likely as solid to deliver, from that account. Rounded is good, too. From what I know, ash can vary widely from piece to piece anyway, so it might be worthless trying to plan out that way. So long as they sound fine, I'm happy!
Weight relief is evil and unmanly on Les Pauls... but chambering/hollowing seems to suit some Fender style guitars. I have a fully hollow Telecaster, done like a Danelectro, and it sounds the mutts nuts. The only issue I have is strap balance sadly.
Blues musician,teacher, designer and manufacturer of Oil City pickups, horse owner, sex god and chocolate hobnob addict.
Guitar Weasel blog
Haha there is a badge of honor in carrying a full weight LP? :P Yeah, I did wonder a bit about the balance on a strat (neck heavy) but because of the location of the strap buttons, I don't know how much of an issue it would be. Hopefully not an issue at all. Sitting down might feel weird though, the neck is a flamed maple one piece so could have some weight behind it.Originally Posted by TheGuitarWeasel
Weight relief is evil and unmanly on Les Pauls
I would expect the balance to be better than a Tele ... due to the long horn (ooo er missus). Of course there's a badge of honour with a full weight Les Paul ... real men drink bitter, eat hot curries, fart, belch and have heavy guitars. Everything else is hopelessly sissy! Bring back the seventies, real men, real women ... and the kids got plenty of exercise running away from BBC employed paedophiles!
Blues musician,teacher, designer and manufacturer of Oil City pickups, horse owner, sex god and chocolate hobnob addict.
Guitar Weasel blog
Ooo, too soon? Too soon?
Hmm... Nah :P
True that, though I'm not very manly. having about 9 pickup combinations doesn't scream 'man' - one high output humbucker with no controls at all, now THAT'S man.
I just finished wiring up my loom, ready for your pickups by the way (well, all but the pot that has not arrived yet). Turns out I need about another few inches of wire (damn my inexperience leading to slightly too long connections in places where they are not needed). Still, it don't half look neat compared to my LTD! Grounding the volume and cap to the top of the pot was a bit of a bugger though. I'm also hoping I've used long enough wires for the output jack and the other pot from the 3 way switch, too. It would be a right bugger if I had to cut it all up and re wire it. Still, I'm going to order more wire just in case. I've just got to try and remember the control cavity is going to be smaller than I'm imagining it... Right?!
If you think Les Pauls are heavy , try a Yamaha SG2000 ,
Haha actually, the SG2000 I tried a while back was really light! Not too light, but balanced well with the neck, and certainly not comparable to an LP. Heavier than a Gibbo SG though.
All the ones I have seen , admittedly , mostly early 80's ones were so heavy you wondered if white dwarf matter had fallen in somewhere ,
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