So what makes USA's "sound" like they do?

[selters]

It's all in the fingers. Carlos Santana will sound like Carlos Santana whether he plays a PRS Dragon or a King Kelly with a Floyd and EMG's. And Kerry King will still sound like Kerry King whether it's with an EMG equipped BC Rich neck through or a stock Squier Hello Kitty Strat...

They will sound like themselves because they are themselves. Some people refer to players' techniques as their "tone", but that's not really tone, it's just the way they play.

[bill4117]

another factor may also be differences in the where the lumber was harvested. as an example i once worked at a lumber mill where we cut eastern white pine. when pine and cedar grow together pine takes on the reddish color of cedar and gets very dense (i can tell you a reddish colored pine board is heavier therefore more dense then a normal white pine board). therefore maybe the wood is genetically the same but growing area has a serious affect on the woods characteristics. one way to tell may be to take matching guitars with different tones and weigh them both. any more then 2 or three ounces difference i'd say would definately affect tone and sustain. just my humble oppinion.

[Bert]

it's not the ebony... I have two USAs with rosewood boards and they are definitely more punchy and have better attack than my old MIJ model 4.

[diego_inc]

Rob, can you tell me the specs of the 2 guitars that you first compared. What USA to what Import? Body style, woods, hardware and pups/electronics. I too have noticed differences in my guitars... All of them sound different and I think I have explanations for all of these differences, but I need to know the details of your first set of comparisons.

[Larz]

USA costs more, thus it sounds better. Next question?

[petez0r]

USA costs more, thus it sounds better. Next question?

^this.^

[sixx_ gunner]

This is an interesting topic. Will have to keep tabs on the input here.
Thanks.

[THOMO]

USA costs more, thus it sounds better. Next question?

Funny that, I've been buying early 80's Tokai's and Burny les Paul copies. Guess what sounds better when compared to an original Les Paul...........

[Spivonious]

I'd say it's the ebony fingerboard. It's much denser wood than rosewood, and would therefore absorb less of the sound, leading to a brighter attack. The same reason that maple bodies are brighter sounding than mahogany.

[ozzuk1]

My personal experience with USA/Jap Jacksons, take my sls-3 it sounds good sustains really well feels good stays in tune well, but comparing it to an SL2H-T, is that the paint quality is higher on the usa therefore it feels and imo sounds a little better, then you have the electronics which the Japanese Jacksons dont have as good pots switches etc as the usa's...as for the JB it isnt a pickup that worked for me in my SL2H I'm much happier now i've got a bkp nailbomb set in there, stock it had excellent sustain though, a little more now i've added a big brass block, which has added some warmth to the tone too...

So my experience has shown me that while the usa's increase in quality and superiority might not be justifyable with the price increase for some players those who can tell the diference will benifit from the differences...

I was also pleasently suprised to find that my SL2H doesent have that ugly and horrible grounding screw sitcking through the trem cavity by the claw..

[Grim]

The "tone is in the fingers" claim is nonsense... Listen to the characteristics of the sound. First, don't IMPROVISE when you pick up the guitar, Unless you can replicate that during your comparison. If you're playing a pentatonic solo it's going to sound pentatonic no matter what the fuck you play it on; but if you listen to how the NOTES are sounding through the amplifier, it's a different being. That's the tone, which some people apparently can't hear. I'll tell you this, If I play through each of my amps with the same guitar it will all sound completely different to me. If I switch guitars on the same amp it will still sound different. It's not in the hands, that's just your flavour of guitar playing, not your tone.

[toejam]

The "tone is in the fingers" claim is nonsense... Listen to the characteristics of the sound. First, don't IMPROVISE when you pick up the guitar, Unless you can replicate that during your comparison. If you're playing a pentatonic solo it's going to sound pentatonic no matter what the fuck you play it on; but if you listen to how the NOTES are sounding through the amplifier, it's a different being. That's the tone, which some people apparently can't hear. I'll tell you this, If I play through each of my amps with the same guitar it will all sound completely different to me. If I switch guitars on the same amp it will still sound different. It's not in the hands, that's just your flavour of guitar playing, not your tone.

Tell that to Ted Nugent. He played through EVH's rig one time and still sounded like himself and not EVH.
EVH playing through anybody else's rig, still sounds like EVH.

[Skizzwizz]

Ok, folks, before wars start and cyberspace blood flows.lol
I live in Japan, and have had the Japanese make and a USA: as an American, I felt a pang of guilt getting a Japanese one, but they are good...however, the USAs are good because there is just better quality all across the board Aston how they are made. I regretted selling my USA mades, because of some dumb reason...ESP makes great copies but for what they charge for a custom job, you could get a Jax made for much less.
Alder is what I dig, but EMGs just get too bright on an RR for me: too cold...Duncans fit best, maybe. No doubt USAs just have the umph! No need to explain!

[hotrod128z]

I can understand the tone starts from your fingers deal. I sound like , well me. Just as said EVH will sound like EVH on any guitar/amp combo. BUTTTTT..... I tried a little something just to verify. I plugged in my 1983 Gibson Explorer 1(mahogany body/maple neck) /w original Dirty Fingers in the neck and Tone Zone in the bridge. Plugged into my 1st gen. Peavey 5150 and played Am pentatonic real quick. Guitar volume-10 tone-10. Played both pickups. Then after that I plugged in my 1995 Ibanez S540LTD(mahogany body/maple neck as well) /w stock QM1, QMS1, and QM2 pickups. Plugged into the same 5150 on the same exact amp settings. Guitar volume-10 tone-10. The results, I still sounded like me playing but the sounds were so much different between the 2 guitars. Huge difference in sound. Now to my ears the tones sounded just like my playing, but the lows, mids, treble all sounded completely different as well as sustain. My wife could tell that I was playing a different guitar each time without knowing that I was swapping back and forth. She said that both she could tell it was me playing, but things just sounded different.

hope that helps


hotrod

[rjohnstone]

Tell that to Ted Nugent. He played through EVH's rig one time and still sounded like himself and not EVH.
EVH playing through anybody else's rig, still sounds like EVH.

I'll back that up.
I sound like shit regardless of what rig/guitar I play through.