metal guitars

as in guitars made of metal not for MetaaaL

saw the Melvins last night and Buzz was playing an Electrical Guitar Company all aluminium guitar
http://www.electricalguitarcompany.com/index.php/model/King-Buzzo-Standard/fuseaction/models.77d7eb47.htm
wondered if anyone owned or had played a metal guitar and what they thought of it

Aristrides from Holland makes some metal guitars. Adrian Vandenberg endorsed them. You clicky HERE! And HERE.

Personally, I don't really believe in body material = big sound differences in electric guitars. I think it's a LOT of fluff, makes me laugh to hear people go on and on about "the maple cap makes it brigher" and "all mahogany makes it sound dark". Once amplified there's not much difference! It's mostly about construction and the material where the strings rest on the instrument. My 2 cents anyway...

The Chad wrote:
Personally, I don't really believe in body material = big sound differences in electric guitars. I think it's a LOT of fluff, makes me laugh to hear people go on and on about "the maple cap makes it brigher" and "all mahogany makes it sound dark". Once amplified there's not much difference! It's mostly about construction and the material where the strings rest on the instrument. My 2 cents anyway...

i did an extensive comparison of two guitars that are identical in every respect except the body wood

the red one is poplar, the brown one is ash.
when playing the guitars unplugged there was a substantial difference in sound. really very noticeable even to the non-player. but as chad said, once amplified... , it was very difficult to hear the difference between the two. only with multiple testings, switching between A / B guitars, could i hear some very subtle differences. certainly only noticeable to the player. and not really distinct enough from each other to be identifiable in a blind test, at least not by me. it was only apparent because of the A/B sound checking.

Mike, everyone knows that RED guitars sound better. DUH! Wood grain guitars don't have the right amount of bite. And black guitars are better sounding for playing serious metal.

And pink sounds best for 80's hair metal.

I think there may be a nugget of truth in here, somewhere.
I can confirm that at least in top end acoustics, not only the woods used but also the bracing has a substantial impact on the sound.

Even when amplified there is usually a noticeable difference. Mind, you need to be using a proper acoustic amplifier or it all sounds like poo.

In electrics I think you get more tonal variation from the signal chain than the wood, BUT the body/neck material absolutely affects things like sustain.

In a live gigging situation, all bets are off. You may as well be playing a Hello Kitty. Pink of course.

Right on Barry. And sustain or lack thereof will often speak to the constructionof the electric guitar, as well. Construction also makes a moderate difference in amplified tone. Woods (or metals) may play a very small part in amplified tone, but like Barry said, when live all bets are off!

Although some guys SWEAR that two identical guitars with different "tone" woods will sound dramatically different to one another when amplified (like one mahogany and the other alder).

But two identical guitars both constructed using the SAME "tone" wood (like both guitars being alder) may sound dramatically different to one another ALSO!

Add to the points raised already is the issue of neck joins, ie bolt on, set neck and neck thru.

I have, or have had, examples of each and am seriously pushed to tell the difference between 'em when they're amplified, which after all, is the raison d'être of an electric guitar!

Like the whole body wood discussion, I tend to feel there's an awful lot of snobbery rife in certain circles which I won't subscribe to; if the bugger sounds good, that's enough!

And for the record, the most spectacular wood I've ever seen in a guitar body is the 45,000 (!) year old swamp kauri used by Langcaster guitars in NZ....

If you like guitars that look like an oil slick

An acquired taste, you think?! He overdoes the gloss clear a little... but the wood itself is just gorgeous!

http://www.langcaster.com/

So reading between the lines Mike what you are basically saying is you'd play the one on the right sooner than the one on the left 'cause even though they might sound virtually similar the ash body would make the player look better while playing, irregardless of what Chad might say of red guitars.




... the other reason being too obvious to need stating, of course.

I think I mentioned this once before in a thread long ago...Bob Taylor (he of Taylor guitar fame) got so fed up with all the wood snobbery that he actually built an acoustic guitar out of the wood scavenged from a battered up wooden shipping pallet. The thing amazed the testers in a blind test.

His point? It was the bracing that gave it voice, not the wood. You can read about it on the Taylor site.

Buzz' guitar sounded awesome on Monday btw, but I'm a sucker for humbuckers through a big muff turned up LOUD

which is what made me ask the question

thanks for the interesting answers, I think a bank holiday weekend of compare and contrast awaits

Resonator guitars like Dobro's do sound different. I remember Taj playing one at a concert I attended long ago. And this is a great record by the way (with Jesse Ed Davis)!: Taj Mahal Another nice one: Mark Knopfler

Resonators, sure. Quite a distinctive sound alright.
Let us also not forget the Travis Bean guitar with its aluminum neck/headstock. Combined with Koa wood it was a back breaker!