Customized Guitars: WHY?

[bryanarzaga]

i wonder too. deadspot on harmonics, acoustic sound when unplug, thin sound on the upper fret etc?

for me, once a guitar has a sterile sound, then it's all dead. haha!

tsk i wish he would demonstrate, i rather listen to someone who played one, whats a sterile sound..

Hes just repeating what he reads on other forums. The real problem with les pauls is how the neck pickup becomes muddy on the Low e string on frets 2-6. Thats about it. Parang bumabayo.. di kaya ng speaker. So the ways around that are to play through a fender or old type marshall amp thats naturally bright. Its also the reason why Marshall Super Bass amps became popular in the 60's when alot of our heroes used Pauls.

But now at days, its because the pickups are too high output. If you put a 7.9k pickup on the neck.. youll get a  nice and snappy response from that low e string on those frets. I personally use this to determine a good LP. If the Low e frets 2-6 are nice and snappy but still have that LP sound... you got a good one.

There is no deadspot.. there is no lack of harmonics.. as for the sound being sterile.. each his own really. I may hear something that someone else things is not.

yeah it does differ with the other factors to consider, replacing the stock pup does help, again we differ with our way at looking into these factors but there is no dead spot

@bamf

you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall..ah i forgot how that goes

[BAMF]

I think there's a way to visually check for this deadspot thing. using a magnifying glass, focus on the area right smack on top of the neck pickup. Pluck the string. If the "null" point of the standing wave of the string is present above the pickup, then there you have it.

@bryan : dinelete ko na lang. Some other day na lang siguro

Hes just repeating what he reads on other forums. The real problem with les pauls is how the neck pickup becomes muddy on the Low e string on frets 2-6. Thats about it. Parang bumabayo.. di kaya ng speaker. So the ways around that are to play through a fender or old type marshall amp thats naturally bright. Its also the reason why Marshall Super Bass amps became popular in the 60's when alot of our heroes used Pauls.

But now at days, its because the pickups are too high output. If you put a 7.9k pickup on the neck.. youll get a  nice and snappy response from that low e string on those frets. I personally use this to determine a good LP. If the Low e frets 2-6 are nice and snappy but still have that LP sound... you got a good one.

There is no deadspot.. there is no lack of harmonics.. as for the sound being sterile.. each his own really. I may hear something that someone else things is not.

[skrumian]

thanks. very informative. i thought dead spots means... being dead. haha! just kidding. 

[BAMF]

Oh. We can even do this mathematically using wave equations.

Take the frequency of the open strings of the guitar. Convert to wavelength, in meters.

Then measure the distance between the bridge to the neck pickup.

Teka kelangan ko na umalis pero...basta. Pwede math dito and a little measuring.

From the theory of the dead spot even if there's some truth to it, it's highly improbable that all strings will have a dead spot over the same point, simply because all of the strings possess different vibrational frequencies.

[fzeppelin]

Its sad but some forumites are like traditional politicos (trapos) they dont face the issue and resort to name calling. And like trapos they dont make sense

[digitalcyco]

the reason why i keep my 16 year old custum built Les Paul-type guitar is because its the only one in the entire universe with my name on the back of the neck... which pretty much answers your question in my point of view.

[free2rock]

I know my say is just echoing some opinions already posted... It's about being original. I'm not much of a guitar expert to be able to look for an original sound that defines my tone (or whatever). But essentially, a custom made guitar is an instrument made especially for YOU. 

[firemodel55]

branded guitars, even with how good it can be from the factory, we all still have personal tastes and we all want to achieve that "TONE", by changing the pups etc, hence the term GAS. with custom guitars, we could be closer to that specific tone by choosing our own wood combination, bridge system, hardware design/material, neck scale and other specs.

This assumes, one knows what to want and has experienced the mentioned options above... In my experience, its best to leave the details to the experienced, exposed and gifted luthiers.

[firemodel55]

dont be confused bro
its really down to personal preference.and a whole lot of other reasons.. (SO WHY IS A GREAT MAJORITY GOIN GAGA OVER A GOOD SOUNDING REAL 59 BURST?)
most (including me) plainly dont like or got bored with their current guitars that they want to customize it( repaint, pups/electronics..etc) (IT CAN ONLY MEAN THAT YOUR GUITAR DOES NOT SOUND GOOD IN THE FIRST PLACE)
some more experienced players would have a guitar built accdg to their specs and what-not so the guitar would "fit" them.. (ITS FUNNY, WAIT TILL THEIR NEXT MODEL, IT SEEMS THAT THIER FIT CHANGES QUITE OFTNE E.G. EVH, SLASH, JOHN PETRUCCI, STEVE VAI, JOE SATRIANI, PAUL GILBERT, ETC)
..some just want to restore old guitars, and customize to their liking

Just my 2 cents... Am not shouting... para lang ma-iba ang reply ko.

[firemodel55]

Branded guitars are good but not perfect. They have design flaws that go uncorrected and if you know what those are you would want to make your own design based on the original and eliminating all those design flaws. Im a fan of a Les Paul but it needs a lot of improvement so had one custom made after i made my own design:
1. The set neck construction and craftsmanship of a Les Paul is many times inferior to a bolted construction but manufacturing-wise it is cheaper for them to produce. So in my custom guitar its gonna be bolted or a neck through body.
I HAVE HEARD GOOD SOUNDING SET NECKS THAT BEAT NECK THRUS BY MORE THAN A MILE. AND I HAVE HEARD REALLY REALLY BAD SOUNDING BOLT ONS TOO.

2. Les Pauls are 22 frets yet many of your favorite rock leads go 2 more frets than that so you will want it 24 frets. Besides scientific data show that the neck pickup is right smack on the dead spot on a factory LP making the rhythm muddy. By having the scale to 25" and 24 frets all these problems will be totally eliminated (listen to a PRS).

MY LP TYPE GUITAR NECK PICKUP SOUNDS BETTER THAN 99.99% OF ALL PRS GUITAR NECK PICKUPS OUT THERE.  ITS NOT MUDDY AND IT CAN BE MORE DEFINED THAN A MAJORITY OF NECK SINGLE COILS.  BY THE WAY, PRS GUITARS ARE NOTORIOUSLY KNOWN NOT TO BE ABLE TO CUT THRU THE MIX.  BUT I HEARD A COUPLE OF PRS GUITARS THAT CAN CUT. LETS PUT IT THIS WAY, A 25 SOUNDS DIFFERENT THAN A 24 AND 3/4.  SO DOES A 25.5 SOUND DIFFERENT.  THERE ARE GOOD SOUNDING AND BAD SOUNDING EXAMPLES FOR EACH.

3. Although branded guitars are expensive most of their installed hardwares or finishings are not, like plastic inlays and nut, cheap fret wires, China made electronics etc. In a custom you can buy all the high quality parts that you can afford and you can be sure that theres no cheap plastic on your guitar whats more the nut and the saddles can be graphite.
I DONT LIKE GRAPHITE... I PREFER TITANIUM SADDLES. NUT I USE ARE BONE BUT I HAVE HEARD GOOD SOUNDING GUITARS ON DELRIN NUTS.  YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY LOOK AT SOME OF THE HIGH END GUITARS OF PRS -- THAT INCLUDES PRIVATE STOCK.  NO CHEAP PARTS THERE BUT A MAJORITY STILL SOUND DEAD. CONVERSELY, I HAVE HEARD CHINA GUITARS THAT SOUND BETTER THAN BAD SOUNDING USA GUITARS WITH BETTER PARTS AND WORSE SOUNDING LOCALLY CUSTOMIZED GUITARS WITH USA PARTS... GO FIGURE
4. You are actually paying 70 percent of your money to the brand name the 30 percent is the real price of the guitar ( I may be wrong but there is truth to this) If you go for custom you get 100 satisfaction. Money well spent besides you can put your name on the headstock instead of a name of somebody who doesnt give a damn on you.
SO BUY 2ND HAND AND GET A DISCOUNT...AS IF THE CUSTOM GUITAR HAS A BETTER BRAND NAME... NOT TRUE... I HAVE HEARD 100% CUSTOM THAT SOUND LIKE 100% CRAP... MY MANG RUDY CUSTOM SOUNDED BAD
5. Brian May made his own guitar literally, Page and Slash dont use factory Gibsons their LPs are custom ghost-made by other people. You may want to read that on their websites. YEAH BUT I STILL THINK THERE ARE BETTER FENDER CHINA GUITARS THAN BRIAN MAY'S GUITARS.  PAGE TO MY SHOCK ORDERED TWO CAROLINAS FROM MCINTURFF AND SLASH SEEMS TO USE NORMAL AND BAD SOUNDING GIBSONS ON STAGE TOO.  BY THE WAY, FOR INFO, I AM ON MAX BARANET'S EMAIL LIST.  AND IF YOU READ CLOSELY HIS WEBSITE AND IN MY CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GUY HIS GUITARS ARE ANYTHING BUT CUSTOM... IN FACT, THEY STRICTLY ADHERE AND COMPLY WITH SPECIFIC FACTORS THAT MAKE THE GOOD SOUNDING BURSTS SOUND GOOD.  KALOKOHAN SA KANYA ANG PERSONAL CUSTOM KUNG HINAHABOL MO ANG TUNOG NG TUNAY NA 59.


Note: To all fans of LPs Im with you so pls dont be offended. My message is clear "Mistakes can be corrected" so thats why I'll go for a custom guitar
[/quote]

whew... my 2 cents lang.  I had to capitalize to differentiate my response.

[firemodel55]

So here's the question:

Why do you want to get a Custom Guitar instead of buying the real deal?


- Is it because of the wood you want to use?
- Is it because you want to make your own design?
- Is it because you can't get the sound you want from a branded guitar?

Well, I have outgrown custom guitars for various reasons... but for most of the reasons I can think of:

1) Because People think local wood can sound more unique than commonly used guitar woods... yeah some do... Unique nga pero ang sama ng tunog.
2) Because People think that making their own designer clothes looks cool... Unfortunately, like designer clothing, designer guitars after the first time diminish in value.  It has the great WHOAH look on your first gig and it becomes ordinary after repeated gigs because people are now used to it.
3) Because People cannot afford to get a good sounding branded guitar so they pretend to believe that their cheaper custom luthier can come up with something sounding better.


Please post your reasons. I'm really confused. Thank you!

[deltaslim]

British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory was asked, "Why climb Mt Everest?".  His answer: "Because it's there!"

You ask: "Why have a custom guitar built?" My answer: "Because you can!"

No 2 people are the same and it would be very boring if we all wanted the same thing. Let's just be thankful that in this day and age, we can have custom built guitars made locally  Better to have that option and not exercise it, rather than not have that option at all.


As for the debate on whether custom gtrs sound better than production gtrs, that's pointless and fruitless.  You can't predict a guitar's sound based on specs alone (Arie told me before that he is wary of doing customs because of this reason; not sure if he still feels the same way).  You gotta try it, test it, and compare it AFTER it's made before making any conclusion.  Even then, your evaluation will only be valid for you and for that specific case, not all custom gtrs vs all production gtrs.

[arkeetar]

Branded guitars are good but not perfect. They have design flaws that go uncorrected and if you know what those are you would want to make your own design based on the original and eliminating all those design flaws. Im a fan of a Les Paul but it needs a lot of improvement so had one custom made after i made my own design:
1. The set neck construction and craftsmanship of a Les Paul is many times inferior to a bolted construction but manufacturing-wise it is cheaper for them to produce. So in my custom guitar its gonna be bolted or a neck through body.
I HAVE HEARD GOOD SOUNDING SET NECKS THAT BEAT NECK THRUS BY MORE THAN A MILE. AND I HAVE HEARD REALLY REALLY BAD SOUNDING BOLT ONS TOO.

2. Les Pauls are 22 frets yet many of your favorite rock leads go 2 more frets than that so you will want it 24 frets. Besides scientific data show that the neck pickup is right smack on the dead spot on a factory LP making the rhythm muddy. By having the scale to 25" and 24 frets all these problems will be totally eliminated (listen to a PRS).

MY LP TYPE GUITAR NECK PICKUP SOUNDS BETTER THAN 99.99% OF ALL PRS GUITAR NECK PICKUPS OUT THERE.  ITS NOT MUDDY AND IT CAN BE MORE DEFINED THAN A MAJORITY OF NECK SINGLE COILS.  BY THE WAY, PRS GUITARS ARE NOTORIOUSLY KNOWN NOT TO BE ABLE TO CUT THRU THE MIX.  BUT I HEARD A COUPLE OF PRS GUITARS THAT CAN CUT. LETS PUT IT THIS WAY, A 25 SOUNDS DIFFERENT THAN A 24 AND 3/4.  SO DOES A 25.5 SOUND DIFFERENT.  THERE ARE GOOD SOUNDING AND BAD SOUNDING EXAMPLES FOR EACH.

3. Although branded guitars are expensive most of their installed hardwares or finishings are not, like plastic inlays and nut, cheap fret wires, China made electronics etc. In a custom you can buy all the high quality parts that you can afford and you can be sure that theres no cheap plastic on your guitar whats more the nut and the saddles can be graphite.
I DONT LIKE GRAPHITE... I PREFER TITANIUM SADDLES. NUT I USE ARE BONE BUT I HAVE HEARD GOOD SOUNDING GUITARS ON DELRIN NUTS.  YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY LOOK AT SOME OF THE HIGH END GUITARS OF PRS -- THAT INCLUDES PRIVATE STOCK.  NO CHEAP PARTS THERE BUT A MAJORITY STILL SOUND DEAD. CONVERSELY, I HAVE HEARD CHINA GUITARS THAT SOUND BETTER THAN BAD SOUNDING USA GUITARS WITH BETTER PARTS AND WORSE SOUNDING LOCALLY CUSTOMIZED GUITARS WITH USA PARTS... GO FIGURE
4. You are actually paying 70 percent of your money to the brand name the 30 percent is the real price of the guitar ( I may be wrong but there is truth to this) If you go for custom you get 100 satisfaction. Money well spent besides you can put your name on the headstock instead of a name of somebody who doesnt give a damn on you.
SO BUY 2ND HAND AND GET A DISCOUNT...AS IF THE CUSTOM GUITAR HAS A BETTER BRAND NAME... NOT TRUE... I HAVE HEARD 100% CUSTOM THAT SOUND LIKE 100% CRAP... MY MANG RUDY CUSTOM SOUNDED BAD
5. Brian May made his own guitar literally, Page and Slash dont use factory Gibsons their LPs are custom ghost-made by other people. You may want to read that on their websites. YEAH BUT I STILL THINK THERE ARE BETTER FENDER CHINA GUITARS THAN BRIAN MAY'S GUITARS.  PAGE TO MY SHOCK ORDERED TWO CAROLINAS FROM MCINTURFF AND SLASH SEEMS TO USE NORMAL AND BAD SOUNDING GIBSONS ON STAGE TOO.  BY THE WAY, FOR INFO, I AM ON MAX BARANET'S EMAIL LIST.  AND IF YOU READ CLOSELY HIS WEBSITE AND IN MY CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GUY HIS GUITARS ARE ANYTHING BUT CUSTOM... IN FACT, THEY STRICTLY ADHERE AND COMPLY WITH SPECIFIC FACTORS THAT MAKE THE GOOD SOUNDING BURSTS SOUND GOOD.  KALOKOHAN SA KANYA ANG PERSONAL CUSTOM KUNG HINAHABOL MO ANG TUNOG NG TUNAY NA 59.


Note: To all fans of LPs Im with you so pls dont be offended. My message is clear "Mistakes can be corrected" so thats why I'll go for a custom guitar


whew... my 2 cents lang.  I had to capitalize to differentiate my response.

I consider this information not an opinion 

[firemodel55]

British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory was asked, "Why climb Mt Everest?".  His answer: "Because it's there!"

You ask: "Why have a custom guitar built?" My answer: "Because you can!"

No 2 people are the same and it would be very boring if we all wanted the same thing. Let's just be thankful that in this day and age, we can have custom built guitars made locally  Better to have that option and not exercise it, rather than not have that option at all.

As for the debate on whether custom gtrs sound better than production gtrs, that's pointless and fruitless.  You can't predict a guitar's sound based on specs alone (Arie told me before that he is wary of doing customs because of this reason; not sure if he still feels the same way).  You gotta try it, test it, and compare it AFTER it's made before making any conclusion.  Even then, your evaluation will only be valid for you and for that specific case, not all custom gtrs vs all production gtrs.

Arie still feels the same way about custom guitars... Not that he cannot do one for a customer.  He can and still does but he feels depressed if it does NOT sound as good as his Tele.  Kasi raw anong ipapakita niyang mukha sa customer kung hindi kasing ganda ng Tele niya ang tunog? 

By the way just for info, since I order from Cliff and Gene, and I can decide to order custom... Since they know my standards they usually discourage me.  They only give me a go signal if they feel that they can be certain of their wood OR that the guitar that I am trying to customize does not depend a lot on wood e.g. hollowbodies.

Suhr and some of its dealers are going thru the extent of hand picking for me upon request.

Thorn has not entertained an order from me because he feels he may not be able to meet my expectations when it comes to sound... His just being honest I guess.

What I like about these luthiers is that they are some of the BEST in the world and yet they know that some of their guitars can sound extraordinary and that some of their work can sound average.  Unlike some of the local luthiers, who promise that it will sound good.  KUNG MAY GANOON, I WILL BE THE FIRST TO CHALLENGE THEM.  I AM WILLING TO BET THAN ONLY LESS THAN 5% OF WHAT THEY DO WILL ACTUALLY HOLD UP TO THE BEST SOUNDING.

[bryanarzaga]

dead guitars..i have tried bad sounding ones but what is a dead guitar to you guys? 

[cosmic]

Customize in what way???

Question: Why would artists like EJ, EC, SRV, etc.. use the same brand but has different designs and specifications?

Opinion: Simply because they dont want to customize or change the original image of their guitar brand. But they could rather change the specs (eg. neck profile, pickups, color etc.) according to their respective preferences.

Agree??

*** I tried it once, it didnt work.
*** Big guitar companies are spending millions for research to provide the best guitars, and yet we would say its a crap if it didnt sound good? A known luthier would agree to that.
*** I would think of having a customized guitar only if i want to keep it forever, iregardless of how it would sounds and look like,, coz i couldn't sell it anyway hehehe. who would want to fit your own briefs?   

[woaheasylang]

one good reason is, you can have it made the way you want it to look 

[skrumian]

i don't think foreign artist are really looking for "magical" sounding guitar. more or less, they are after what guitar works for their style and looks, and what the company offers them. After all, they have support techs that can make  their sound "magical."

[lateralis]

The word itself says it all -CUSTOMIZED.

[wh1t33rick]

customized =personalized= satisfaction

[thr3ten]

a friend showed me a custom built, 100 percent hand made classical. a no frills plain looking guitar, that to me made it even more appealing. all i can say is it's worth every penny the 80 thou pesos he had to dish out.  it is imo the loudest nylon guitar 

[Yui.Demonia]

and this (no, I have no idea who owns the one in the middle):

hmm yung nasa gitna, black cross bass, yung bassist ng banda ng friend ko ang may ari.  XD

[mj_high]

to get what i really want.

i want a telecaster with 24 frets.  the only one i've ever seen was a james trussart custom guitar. no other company makes this and i don't think i can afford a james trussart.