Should you be playing your Electric unplugged....?

[rockstar232007]

The post isn't about what materials are used as I never mentioned it so let's not turn it into a 'Wood makes a difference' tirade, thanks.

Then, I apologize in advance.

What a solid body electric guitar sounds like unplugged has absolutely nothing to do with how it sounds plugged in. When plugged in the pickups, caps, pots and amp are the only things that matter. Wood plays zero in how the guitar will sound when plugged. If you believe otherwise, it is all in your head and has never been proven.

That is right, wood is for looks. I have a really great looking one piece body Strat Partscaster that I built. But there is almost no difference between it and my MIM. Read the history of what Les was trying to do when he built the "first" LP out of a 4 by 4.

Wood has nothing to do with how an amplified guitar sounds. I only play them unplugged before I buy it to find any fret buzz. Fret buzz will show up when it amplified and I may not hear it. Some one will tell me about the problem, people love to find faults. I just check the oil unplugged.

Not to derail the thread, but I beg to differ.

Every electric guitar I've ever owned sounded pretty much the same unplugged (minus the volume, of course) vs. plugged in. In other words; the various inherent "acoustic" properties of the woods were still present in the amplified signal.

The ONLY way to remove any sort of influence from the body would be to somehow isolate the pickups from the any sort of vibrations, which is near impossible, even with "floating" pickups (hence the reason most jazz-guitars that have them are able to retain much of their acoustic tone).

Anyone who doesn't "get" this, obviously doesn't understand how pickups actually work?

It really isn't that complicated.

 

[wwit]

Not that any comments will change my mind how I audition a new guitar, I will still always if for no other reason then curiosity play them acoustic before plugging in.

Does my method reflect how it will play plugged in? Maybe, maybe not. Really no exact science here. Do I believe in tone woods? Nope, not for a second. Hell, guitars have been made out of concrete, acrylic, carbon fiber etc and still sound like a guitar

And a great case in point are my JBLP and '56 LP Pro. Very similar guitars in size. Same neck shape. Gibson HB's vs. Epi P-90's. Solid Maple Cap vs. Veneer. American internal electronics vs. MIC. Mallory Caps vs. MIC chiclets. MIC Kluson tuners vs. MIC Grovers. Plastic nut vs. Bone. Same aftermarket stop/tom on both. JBLP 10 pounds vs. the 9 pound '56 Pro.

Acoustically, feel and sound they are identical. Hand me either one blindfolded and I couldn't tell the difference. Same level of volume. Same playability. Same resonance. Same sustain.

Plug them in and they are 2 completely different guitars. No matter if its clean or dirty. Same amp settings either way and its 2 totally different sounds.

 

[Alligatorbling]

I do what I want

 

[SWeAT hOg]

It's not bad, but it's the best way to practice, IMO. No distortion to hide behind, it forces you to play "clean".

I've been doing it for years.

I do this with my acoustic. Often sounds like a$$ until I get it right. But then, I play it on electric and it's as easy as pie.

 

[Stevie 202]

When I'm shopping for guitars the guys at my guitar store always ask me if I want to plug in. I say nope, I pretty much know what a Strat, Tele or LP is gonna sound like.

My concern is poor fret work, badly cut nuts, neck shape etc...
If all that passes muster, I buy it.

Bought 2 Teles, a Strat, and a LP without plugging them in first.

But that's just me.

 

[David Mccarroll]

What a solid body electric guitar sounds like unplugged has absolutely nothing to do with how it sounds plugged in. When plugged in the pickups, caps, pots and amp are the only things that matter. Wood plays zero in how the guitar will sound when plugged. If you believe otherwise, it is all in your head and has never been proven.

If it don't buzz a bit played acoustically, time to lower the action .......

I always play a guitar unplugged before plugging it in if I am thinking of buying it - sound, meh, who cares, it's entirely true that there is no correlation between how a solid body guitar sounds unplugged and plugged in, but if it feels like poo unplugged it sure ain't gonna feel any better plugged in!

 

[David Mccarroll]

Wood has nothing to do with how an amplified guitar sounds. I only play them unplugged before I buy it to find any fret buzz. Fret buzz will show up when it amplified and I may not hear it. Some one will tell me about the problem, people love to find faults. I just check the oil unplugged.

yes, of course, that would be why my Alder and Ash Strats sound as if they may as well be from different planets then?

No offense, but you are not correct there sir, otherwise every Les Paul would pretty much sound the same, as would every Strat, and I could save a bucket of money and play MDF bodied reissues instead of vintage Strats?

 

[Progrocker111]

What a solid body electric guitar sounds like unplugged has absolutely nothing to do with how it sounds plugged in. When plugged in the pickups, caps, pots and amp are the only things that matter. Wood plays zero in how the guitar will sound when plugged. If you believe otherwise, it is all in your head and has never been proven.

Hm, then why Strat with PAF pickup and the same electronics will not sound the same as 50s Les Paul with the same pickup and electronics?

Why nearly all electrics then differ in acoustic tone too? You can have two same model Les Pauls from same years, with the same setup and they can have significantly different acoustical tone or sustain.

 

[ChunkyB]

The two things that I've noticed between playing unplugged vs. plugged in:

1. As has been mentioned, you can sometimes get fret buzz that is audible when playing unplugged, but not when plugged in.

2. Sometimes strings can sound dead unplugged, especially the low E. But when you plug in, they don't.

 

[cybermgk]

'An electric guitar is made to be played through an amp, so when you play it unplugged you will hear things that might make you think something is wrong'

I would agree with the assertation above, for the scope it encompasses. To me, the statment is simply stating, we play an unplugged guitar slightly different than when it is plugged. AND, that that different playing technique, can make the guitar sound like it has fret issues, etc. To that, I agree. I'll practice and noodle in front of the TV, unplugged all the time. And, I definately strum and even pick harder than I would plugged in. And yep, that will occasionaly buzz a string, that normally wouldn't even buzz, plugged in.

 

[Parasite68]

My air conditioner in my car doesn't perform quite right along with the fact that I can't shift it out of "park" and into "drive" unless I start it and have it running. Kinda reminds me of how all my electric guitars sound if they're played unplugged!

 

[Clifdawg]

If I'm looking at buying a guitar, I spend about 95% of the time playing it unplugged, and then plugging it in to check if everything works well.

The way I see it, I can easily change the way a guitar sounds through an amp. It's much more difficult to change the way a guitar feels. I agree that playing unplugged tends to make fret buzz more noticeable, but if you understand that going in, it doesn't matter. Unplugged, I can still differentiate between normal buzz from vibrations and abnormal buzz from fret or setup issues.

Plus, I want to hear what it sounds like acoustically. That sounds ridiculous, but I'm in the camp that wood type and quality does in fact alter tone, because wood affects vibrations, which affects tones and overtones, which affects how a pickup translates that signal. If a guitar is resonant and full and rich unplugged, I can pretty well guess that it will sound resonant and full and rich plugged in - barring any major electronics problems like shorts or poor grounds or the presence of EMG pickups. [Joking :winkwinknudgenudge:]

 

[KP]

Hm, then why Strat with PAF pickup and the same electronics will not sound the same as 50s Les Paul with the same pickup and electronics?

Why nearly all electrics then differ in acoustic tone too? You can have two same model Les Pauls from same years, with the same setup and they can have significantly different acoustical tone or sustain.

If what you say were true, you must be able to identify every guitar in the attached post. Give it a try and get back to us.

Take a chance. I would like you to identify my guitars by sound only. There is no trickery involved. They are all played with the exact same amp settings. They are all set at 10 for tone. They are all played on the neck pickup. I really would like to see if anyone can tell the difference. Good luck.

A. Epiphone Les Paul with Rockfield SWV pickups.
B. Fender Stratocaster (MIM) with Custom Shop '69 pickups.
C. KPW Tele (Swamp Ash 2 piece body) with Original Vintage Tele pickups.
D. KPW Tele (Alder 2 piece body) with Custom Shop Nocaster pickups.
E. KPW Strat (Swamp Ash 1 piece body) with Custom Shop '54 pickups.​

Here are the clips. Do your best.
Click Here Sound Clip 1
Click Here Sound Clip 2
Click Here Sound Clip 3
Click Here Sound Clip 4
Click Here Sound Clip 5​

 

[Curmudgeon]

The way I see it, I can easily change the way a guitar sounds through an amp.

Plus, I want to hear what it sounds like acoustically. That sounds ridiculous, but I'm in the camp that wood type and quality does in fact alter tone, because wood affects vibrations, which affects tones and overtones, which affects how a pickup translates that signal. If a guitar is resonant and full and rich unplugged, I can pretty well guess that it will sound resonant and full and rich plugged in - barring any major electronics problems like shorts or poor grounds or the presence of EMG pickups. [Joking :winkwinknudgenudge:]

I have to agree. I had 2 Elitists. The '07 just has a wonderful, singing quality unplugged, and it rang out much louder than the '02. Plugged in, the '07 has sustain for days, and a very rich, well-defined tone. The '02, not so much, so I sold it. Same model, same hardware, same pickups, different outcomes!

 

[Clifdawg]

KP, I'm not sure your challenge is fair for a number of reasons, but I'll bite.

1. KPW Tele (swamp ash)
2. KPW Tele (alder)
3. Epi Les Paul
4. Fender Strat MIM
5. KPW Strat '54 pickups

 

[Progrocker111]

If what you say were true, you must be able to identify every guitar in the attached post. Give it a try and get back to us.

Sry, but you really want to tell us, that ES175 with PAF pickups will have the same tone like Strat with the same pickups? Lol

So only pickups matter, thx for info, i will buy cheapest Asian Les Paul and put there some old PAFs and will have regular Burst tone.

And i forgot, identifying guitars in clips is like trying to feel to ride in Ferrari based on youtube clip.

 

[KP]

KP, I'm not sure your challenge is fair for a number of reasons, but I'll bite.

1. KPW Tele (swamp ash)
2. KPW Tele (alder)
3. Epi Les Paul
4. Fender Strat MIM
5. KPW Strat '54 pickups

You got two right.

 

[KP]

Sry, but you really want to tell us, that ES175 with PAF pickups will have the same tone like Strat with the same pickups? Lol

So only pickups matter, thx for info, i will buy cheapest Asian Les Paul and put there some old PAFs and will have regular Burst tone.

And i forgot, identifying guitars in clips is like trying to feel to ride in Ferrari based on youtube clip.

Will not even try? So much for your theory.

 

[Stage Fright]

I play best when I am plugged in with my effects so I feel I am getting the most benefit out of playing being plugged in and cranked up.

 

[rjwilson37]

It is very important to me, how the electric guitar sounds acoustically. I play it that way a lot, when I am just picking it up for about 20-30 minutes in the morning before heading to work. I can't plug in and jam, it could possibly wake someone up and I'm just not that rude to wake someone up before they need to get up.

I am one of those people who picks up a guitar and plays it acoustically to see what the true sound of the guitar is, which comes through the amp when you play I believe. If you have a bad piece of wood, and the guitar sounds like crap acoustically, I really do think that guitar won't sound as well plugged into an amp. I can play all my guitars acoustically and they sounds fantastic, which is how I play and use them when I'm adjusting/setting them up, except for pickup height if it needs to be adjusted.