It'd sound like this...
Some recent discussion has made me wonder what guitars would sound, play, and feel like if they weren't made of wood. In particular, in this post deeaa talks about how with a thick laquer coating, a guitar may as well be made of plastic.
So what if a guitar was made of plastic? How would it sound? Parker makes some of their fly guitars out of carbon fiber, don't they? Hagstrom uses some sort of plastic on their fretboards, I believe. So what if the entire guitar was made of synthetic materials? Would you notice? Would it be possible to build a guitar that sounds exactly like an all-mahogany counterpart without using any woods?
I'm guessing most guitar makers don't use synthetic materials because it's hard to convince people to buy non-wood guitars, but I'm just curious about the whole thing and whether it would be a viable solution if someone wanted to do it.
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
It'd sound like this...
"I happen to have perfect situational awareness, Lana. Which cannot be taught, by the way. Like a poet's ... mind for ... to make the perfect words." - Sterling Archer
or this!
Or this!
I have a Switch Innovo 4 guitar that is made of "Vibracell" (plastic). It sounds quite good, actually.
It has EMG select humbuckers and a Wilkinson trem. I'd say it's a bit like a bright sounding LP type guitar.
The company went out of business.
Guitars
Wilburn Versatare, '52 FrankenTele(Fender licensed parts), Fender USA Roadhouse Strat, Fender USA Standard B-bender Telecaster, Agile AL 3000 w/ WCR pickups, Ibanez MIJ V300 Acoustic, Squier Precision Bass,
Amps
Ceriatone Overtone Special, Musicman 212 Sixty-Five, Fender Blues Jr., Peavey Classic 30, Fender Super Reverb, Traynor YCV-40 WR Anniversary w/ matching 1x12 ext. cab, Epiphone SoCal 50w head w/ matching 4x12 cab (Lady Luck speakers), Avatar 2x12 semi-open back cab w/ Celestion speakers
Pedals
Digitech Bad Monkey, Digitech Jamman, DVM's ZYS, Goodrich volume pedal
Interesting. Some quick googling says that the Vibracell is supposed to mimic mahogany. Do you think it does a convincing job at that?
That might be the sad fate of most companies that try to do this. I for one would be interested in trying a guitar made of something other than wood.The company went out of business.
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
"I happen to have perfect situational awareness, Lana. Which cannot be taught, by the way. Like a poet's ... mind for ... to make the perfect words." - Sterling Archer
Baxter is one of the best guitarists out there, and also a very intelligent guy technology-wise. His acrylic (?) guitar really dispells the "tonewood" stuff that is so often argued on guitar forums, at least to me.
In what I think is a more critical area, acoustic guitars, the newer carbon fiber composite guitars have gotten very good reviews - no wood at all.
I think "traditional" is the key word in the discussion, as some people are loathe to embrace new ideas that conflict with old, firmly-held ones.
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
Eric:
http://www.caguitars.com/guitars.cfm
BTW, HPL and particle board aren't the same thing
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
From: http://www.pbmdf.com/High-Pressure-Laminates
HPL is produced by saturating multiple layers of kraft paper with phenolic resin. A layer of printed décor paper is placed on top of the kraft paper before pressing. The resulting sandwich is fused together under heat and pressure (more than 1,000 PSI). Because phenolic and melamine resins are thermoset plastics, the curing process transforms the resin into plastic by a cross linking process that converts the paper sheets into a single, rigid laminated sheet.
And particle board is just what its name implies - board made from wood particles, sawdust, etc..
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
Particle board, in general, isn't known for its structural strength, so it's not good for stair treads, etc., where bending forces are involved. Laminates like plywood are much stronger.
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
Zackly!
I've noticed in the tonewood discussions that 335s, etc. are never mentioned - they're all made out of plywood!!!!!
Living in Oregon, I've become quite aware of deforestation, so I'm all in favor of alternatives to destroying our beautiful forests.
Yup. That, reduced weight, and the march of innovation and technology are the main reasons I'm interested in this sort of thing. I think someone (Jet City, maybe?) was working on vacuum-tube replacements at some point too -- ones that would sit in the tube sockets but weren't actual tubes. I think that's another interesting idea. Isn't there some sort of regulation on where tubes can be manufactured, or did I just dream that up?
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
Ever played a Rainsong? (<======clicky) Nice rich sound (& pricetag!) without harming any trees at all.
"Always go heavy on the effects and try to blind the audience with expensive gear." - hubberjub
I mean, no offense, but I don't really see why, like guitar players from Creed, or something like that, are on the cover of guitar magazines. Almost anybody can sit down and learn to play those songs.
Dweezil Zappa
You want alternative materials? Try this 80s British wacko project. LED tone controls and an external power supply? Check! Moulded frets? Check!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_Electraglide
Electric: Fat strat > Korg PB > TS7 > DS1 > DD-20 > Cube 60 (Fender model)
Acoustic: Guitar > microphone > audience