Was I WRONG About My Guitars? | Friday Fretworks

They sound fantastic. So why did I change my mind? 🤦🏻‍♂️ A closer look at heavy guitars and the tonal myths that surround them. Do they really sound better or worse than lighter guitars?

Key points:

0:00 Intro
0:06 JAM! (Yamaha SG1000)
1:16 Old magazines, old opinions...
2:01 My 9lb 'Partscaster'
3:01 Polar opposite
3:44 JAM! (w/ Slash 2012)
4:39 Why do some guitars weigh more than others?
5:20 The drying process
5:32 PRS' drying process
6:12 'More weight = more tone'
7:08 Why were they making heavy guitars?
7:29 Chicken or the egg?
8:13 Are all heavy guitars bad news? Shootout
8:42 In the blue corner...
8:52 In the red corner...
9:10 COMPARISON
10:20 In conclusion
11:26 Ultimately...
11:53 JAM! (9lb Strat)

[ChrisBuckGuitar]

So, heavy = more sustain or light and lively? Which side of the fence are *you* on? 🤔

[alexbooth]

The mix of brute force and delicacy with your right hand is absolutely mesmerising. Truly unique.

[williamsimanjuntak]

Jesus Christ that opening jam dislocated my lower jaw

[FracturesInTheSky]

Only Chris could have Slash and Miles Kennedy as his rhythm guitarists

[Wargasm]

And here I thought you were just some YouTube kid with phenomenal playing abilities. I kept thinking to myself, “that dude has the minerals”. Then you plop down a video of you and Slash on a boss. Nice one. You deserve all the good things that come your way. You’re a badass player. I’m typically a metal guy as blues rock tends to bore me shitless most of the time. But when you play, people feel that shit. And that’s powerful. You’ve got a gift. And it’s incredible to behold. Godspeed 🤘🏻

[frmcf]

Chris, if you'd come up in the 70s, generation of Clapton, Page, Gallagher and Beck, I genuinely think that you would by now be considered a guitar legend.

[LennyJohnson]

The intro is sublime. Lovely sounding Yamaha SG1000 too 👍

[MikeBradleyofficial]

Completely forgot that you played with Slash SO SO cool!!... Great playing as always mate!

[PeteWizzle]

I also just sorted through a few piles of old magazines. I, too, came across a few things.

Interesting video. Thanks, Chris.

[marcusl]

As ever, sensational playing and superb, well researched presentation. These videos are little gems.

[CarlosMartinez-xpol]

my guy casually threw footage of him playing with slash like an absolute badass

[theguitarelectric]

Chris,
Wow what a tone in that opening jam. Most of that tone is in your fingers; man you have a wonderful touch. Very inspiring. Cheers

[billywebb]

Tasty licks on the outro!! Man, you can really play!

[murky]

the intro jam - WTF, my mind is blown - again!

[FangPaw]

I'd suggest that it's not so much about mass, but more about how the vibrations are transferred the body. A glue joint acts as a partial barrier to sonic transfer. Thus neck-thru guitars (like the Yamaha SG2000/3000 series) will generally have better sustain than set-neck guitars. The brass sustain block of the Yamaha probably helps, too, by maximising the contact area of the bridge to the body. It's worth noting that a deep neck tennon - as featured on the legendary Gibsons of the late 50's - increases the contact area between neck and body.
One way to improve sustain on a bolt-neck guitar is to make sure the end of the neck is pressed tightly against the end of the neck pocket. This can be done by slackening the neck attachment screws by a quarter-turn while the guitar is strung up and tuned to pitch, and then re-tightening the screws. Doesn't work on all guitars, but it transformed one of my Strats.

[catch]

Hey Chris! While you clearly like the traditional guitar: have you ever considered a modern monstrosity like a Strandberg, Aristides, Ormsby, Claas or something of the sort? It would be fantastic to see you talk about your experience with one of those designs. Thanks for making my day with your awesome playing; I really enjoyed the jams in this one.

[hussledupgamejam]

Soo... when are we gonna peep the Chris Buck Collection? 😏

[rocknrollguitar]

Im sorry i have to correct you on the density of the Wood. The diffrence in density of the Wood comes from wether the Wood comes from the core or the sides of the tree trunk.
That's why Wood for fence posts is always from the core of the Wood, it is harder and denser so it is less prone to rot due to weather and or moisture in the soil.

If you want to know more on Trees/Wood let me know, me and my dergree in forestry are happy to help!

[okiwatashi]

I’ve challenged several people to prove that heavy guitars sustain better, no one has so far. I have a very heavy ‘80 les Paul deluxe, which I love, but typically I think lighter guitars sound better, I think because the wood can only absorb frequencies. It’s all cork sniffing, but if “you” like it, it’s good!

[stevengaryballmoonbugmusic]

Hi Chris, I enjoy your videos and you're a terrific player. I'm a former professional guitarist from Baltimore, Maryland and played with a lot of bands beginning at age 15. Did some studio sessions backing a few songwriters, plenty of road work primarily with a soul group based out of Washington DC. We played 6 nighters mostly in nightclubs and I spent plenty of time in hotels hahaha. To the point, I've burned through a lot of guitars and amps from 1965 through 1990 and regarding your Yamaha SG 1000 in the late seventies I owned several Yamaha electric guitars beginning with a sunburst SG 1500, upgraded to a black SG 2000 that I later replaced the pickups with Gibson PAFS. I also had a Yamaha SA 2000 ES 335 style semi hollow body and for a brief period a Yamaha three pickup Strat style guitar. Played them all through a Lab L5 twin twelve amp with JBLs D 120 alnico speakers then a 1983 Mesa Boogie Mark lll. Those Yamaha models were awesome but I really should have held on to that Yamaha SA 2000 semi hollow, oh well, young and foolish Steven Gary Ball/ Moonbug music.