built Two nearly identical teles and one sounds thinnger!?!?

[tantamo]

I built two teles - both have classic vibe thinline necks, MJT swamp ash bodies, fender aftermarket pat pend bridge. The saddles are different, the thinner sounding one has glendales and the thicker sounding one has unknown saddles but they look to be something nice.

When I play unplugged so as to remove the variable of pickups, the second guitar just sounds thinner and and doesn't ring out as much.

any advice for thickening up the tone? Or do you suppose the first one just has a nicer piece of wood?

[EsquireOK]

Everything will come together differently on different guitars; no two body/neck combos will sound exactly alike. That said, you also have stated that the saddle types are different between the two guitars, so they are not identical in terms of specs when it comes to one of the most important features in a guitar's tone.

I say put them through an amp and see what you hear. No point in judging two electric guitars against each other by playing them in a way in which they are not used in the real world. Amps are the great "equalizers" (literally and figuratively) when comparing electric guitars.

[tele12]

Switch the necks. I'm betting the thin sound follows the neck. But maybe not, if it stays the same switch the saddles between guitars.

[hwy145]

I had this problem with mjt finished all parts wood (neck and body). I could not get the guitar to sound full. I switched everything out, and nothing helped. It turned out to be the body neck combination (all other variables checked/ replaced).

When i suspected the pickups were the issue, Don mare told not to start spending money on it. He told me that some wood parts just don't blend well. I ignored him, but he was right. I parted it out, and sold it.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by tele12

Switch the necks. I'm betting the thin sound follows the neck..

+1

My opinion, that choice of neck, you're stacking the deck against you. Thinner necks have further to go to sound great. Section is your friend.

[tantamo]

In my experience necks have almost no effect on the tone. I remember one case I was particularly worried about swapping a thick ebony fretboard neck for an all maple neck and the guitar sounded identical afterward. Also remember I'm using the same exact neck on both guitars.

as far as judging acoustically, I mean that the thin sounding one sounds thinner amplified, which is actually what brought me to comparing acoustically so as to verify it's not the pickups.

I think it must be the saddles, I assume glendales are good quality but maybe this set was made for twanginess.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by tantamo

In my experience necks have almost no effect on the tone. I remember one case I was particularly worried about swapping a thick ebony fretboard neck for an all maple neck and the guitar sounded identical afterward. Also remember I'm using the same exact neck on both guitars.

as far as judging acoustically, I mean that the thin sounding one sounds thinner amplified, which is actually what brought me to comparing acoustically so as to verify it's not the pickups.

I think it must be the saddles, I assume glendales are good quality but maybe this set was made for twanginess.

I like that "Televakia"!!

My experience is the opposite, that even supposedly identical necks often sound different. When they all (all!) seem the same, then there's something else in the chain that is messing the guitar up, before the neck can even offer its contribution as it were.

And I am absolutely not talking about unamplified guitars here. Every opinion I offer is about amplified guitars. I don't pay that much attention to what they do when not plugged in.

[surfoverb]

try seating the neck by loosening the screws about 1/4 trun, while strung up and tuned to pitch. Screw them back down and if its out of tune the neck wasnt seated properly.

could be 1 neck wasnt seated properly, the other was.


after that try the saddles.



if not that then its probably a variable that you cant control-some necks or bodies just dont sound that great together.

also what I would do is put a slightly thicker bridgeplate on the thin sounding one. a Squier CVC plate is just a tad thicker than the Pat. Pend and in theory should produce a less twangy Tele.

[H. Mac]

My experience is that the thicker the neck, the better the sound.

Here's a clip where Mike Eldred explains that the neck has a greater impact on tone than the pickups (from about 1:15 to about 2:20).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA-CX...eature=related

Why not try swapping the necks around and see which one sounds thin after the swap?

[Phelonious Ponk]

Over there at the other end of the cord is your amp. Turn the treble down a bit. Or turn the bass up. Or both. Does it have a mid knob? Try that one too. Thicker is in there somewhere,

P

[xtrajerry]

Originally Posted by surfoverb

try seating the neck by loosening the screws about 1/4 trun, while strung up and tuned to pitch. Screw them back down and if its out of tune the neck wasnt seated properly.

could be 1 neck wasnt seated properly, the other was.

after that try the saddles.

Absolutely do this first.. I tried this on several guitars one afternoon. My 74 strat was not seated correctly. The improvement in tone & sustain was obvious. Only takes a minute too.

[xtrajerry]

Originally Posted by H. Mac

My experience is that the thicker the neck, the better the sound.

Here's a clip where Mike Eldred explains that the neck has a greater impact on tone than the pickups (from about 1:15 to about 2:20).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA-CX...eature=related

Why not try swapping the necks around and see which one sounds thin after the swap?

Thanks for posting this..

[Mark Davis]

The neck and body resonate differently.

Sometimes its a good match other times it ismt.

Thats why when you go to a big store where they have several of the same model there are slight differences in sound between identical models.

[surfoverb]

yeah I dont think its the size of the neck at all. Both guitars have the same exact neck and only 1 sounds thin. this whole bigger necks=better fad will be looked at in 20 years like we look at the 1970s heavy=batter fad.

Jimmy Pages number 1 LP has such a skinny neck on it nobody here could probably even play it, yet his tone is to die for.

[tantamo]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

The neck and body resonate differently.

Sometimes its a good match other times it ismt.

Thats why when you go to a big store where they have several of the same model there are slight differences in sound between identical models.

In the end I think it's got to be this. I did try re-mounting the neck but nothing changed. I could experiment with saddles but if glendales aren't going to make it sound better what will?

[tele12]

Originally Posted by tantamo

.... I did try re-mounting the neck but nothing changed. I could experiment with saddles but if glendales aren't going to make it sound better what will?

Did you switch the necks from one guitar to the other?

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by tele12

Did you switch the necks from one guitar to the other?

+1

Despite the hassle, I hope you will consider it. You have the perfect opportunity to test the "neck focused" tone hypothesis.

[Paul G.]

Originally Posted by surfoverb

yeah I dont think its the size of the neck at all. Both guitars have the same exact neck and only 1 sounds thin. this whole bigger necks=better fad will be looked at in 20 years like we look at the 1970s heavy=batter fad.

Jimmy Pages number 1 LP has such a skinny neck on it nobody here could probably even play it, yet his tone is to die for.

This.

All these theories about Thick necks, Heavy saddles, fingerboard material, blah blah, they come and go. Experience tells me these generalizations are just so much nonsense.

The fact is each piece (bridge, neck, body) has its own resonance. Sometimes they fight each other. I've built theoretically amazing guitars that didn't have "it". I've owned skunk guitars that sounded incredible. Two ES335s next to each other in a shop a few years ago. One was nice, the other decidedly not. Serial numbers about 20 apart.

Swap the necks. Swap the bridges. You've got doubles, so have at it.

P.