Thanks BigJay!

I think the problem is always going to be that no two guitars sound the same, and there's no way to quantify the various factors that set them apart from each other. In the case of my two Strats, I couldn't say which differences could be ascribed to two-piece vs four-piece, maple vs ebony, large headstock vs small, CS 60s pickups vs Lace sensors, 6-point vs 2-point bridge, plastic-tipped tremolo arm vs plain steel pop-in arm... umm — let's see, one of them still has an extra decal on the back of the headstock from Fender Australia, perhaps I could peel that off and listen for a difference...

Maybe if there was a way to instantaneously reconfigure the molecular structure of a guitar body we'd be able to make a comparison... we need some boffins on that immediately; it's a pressing issue!

But if I could truly have my way, I would have an instrument fashioned from a single bonsai rosewood tree that had been trained to grow into the form of a guitar over a period of centuries.

I'm certainly not disagreeing with you... I'm of the opinion that any change in the physical properties of a guitar will affect the way it sounds, myself. The extent to which those effects are audible or measurable is open to debate, which is something we like to do.

Like anybody else, I'd have a shopping list of preferences if I were to order something to be custom built, and by specifying certain woods and construction methods I'd be hoping for a result that approximated my expectations... but I wouldn't be completely surprised if I found something off the shelf that I would have said shouldn't have had the sound I was after, but nevertheless did.

You brought up a good point. There was actually a Discovery Channel episode on what you are referring to. The episode was about the sound qualities of the Stradivarius Violin, on why such violin had such rich human voice like qualities that sets it apart from other violins. Scientist have found that it was indeed the molecular properties of the wood that was used at the time the violin was made. Many thought it was the varnish or the finish Stradivarius used on his violins that produced those rich human voice qualities. The woods used were from the black forest. Scientist stated that about the time period the violin was made, there were much less pollutant in the atmosphere and much more oxygen in the atmosphere to feed the surrounding vegetation that the molecular structure of the woods were much more dense compared to now. Perhaps, Discovery Channel would rerun that episode again. I saw it about a year ago. It was a very interesting episode, and perhaps can give light to why older guitar like the 50 and 60s strats may sound better due to the older better woods due to its molecular properties???

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

All this conjecture is moot. We'll never solve this without quantifiable data.

Anyone have a 1 piece body they are willing to put through the paces, ie, record it with a a really high fidelity recorder. run it through an oscilloscope, and chart its tonal ranges etc. then cut it in half, glue it back together, and repeat all the tests?

That would be the closest we could come. As every piece of wood varies from every other, its the most consistent we could make the experiment.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

How can you tell in the first place if it's 1 or 2 or a 3 piece body?

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Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008.
Final Assembly Date: July 30th, 2008
Model Number: 013 4700 587
Serial # MZ8031252

If it's a "solid color," you have to slice an inch and a half off of the bottom of the guitar ...

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

WHAT

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Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008.
Final Assembly Date: July 30th, 2008
Model Number: 013 4700 587
Serial # MZ8031252

Usually the finish will subside ever so slightly into the seams... if you hold your guitar with the light glancing off it a certain way, you can often see a straight depression or two running the length of the body. On a brand new instrument they may not be visible at all.

I think the best will be a one piece- maybe that should have been an option in the poll.

People get all scientific about the tone of a fender- type/thickness of finish, how many bits of wood, maple/rosewood/ebony, C/V/U neck shapes... the list goes on.

The fact of the matter is, the majority of the tione is lost because you have a bolted on neck, a pickguard & floating bridge, non- angled headstock... I could go on but I wont.

A strat is as toneful as a candy apple.

Give me a neck-thru with tone cavities, no pickguard, hardtail bridge, and an angled headstock- with next to no finish like a violin.... and Ill talk about tone.

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My doubleneck strat has a floating trem on one neck and a hardtail, thru-body stringing on the other. Same body, very similar MIM Maple necks ... and the two necks have very different acoustic (i.e., non-electric) qualities!

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Ive seen your guitar in other threads mate- It is a very nice strat(s) indeed!!
A fine example was made in the custom shop in surf green- with lace sensors. Its in a glossy guitar book with heaps of pics- If i'd remember Id tell you

I used to have a job with a violin maker and he hated the fact that I was soo into guitars. They have this whole hierachy of tone going on. But I understood it- and he had a point. You cant argue about tone with someone who crafts & plays an instrument made entirely of finely figured wood- apart from the strings of course. You cant do that on a strat

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