Hollowbody and Acoustic sound with amp

[dagdred]

Allright gang, hoping this is not the kind of story hated by all. Casino with Gibson pickups -- sold for a minor setup problem -- had a nice woody sound. Looking for a single cutaway.

What are the factors for best woody sound? Very good, or best Jazz archtops may be liked without this quality, but suits my taste.

Annnd: Which promotes that woody sound? Choose one or more:


single coil or humbuckers
maple top or spruce
laminated top or solid (even pressed)
bridge -- metal or wood
after market pickup -- bridge or try K & K Pure Mini 3-head transducer on archtop?

Moved this back to the Guild section since I did try the current spruce top with Dearmond -- a very electric sound to me.

 

[dagdred]

Part of the answer, from K & K Co.:

We do not recommend the use of our Pure Mini pickup on arched (or curved) top instruments. The pickup requires a flat area to be installed, absolutely flat, which is difficult to find in most archtop instruments. Some customers have installed the Pure Mini in archtop instruments and reported good results, others have had difficulty getting a decent sound.

 

[adorshki]

Well, I'm not an electric player and I don't mean to sound flip, but I think this is going to be a case of "The Indian not the arrow".
Wes Montgomery's nickname for example was "the Thumb", not "Master of the L5".
Still I think it's probably more than coincidence that he and another master of woody tone, Kenny Burrell, picked top-of-the line Gibsons with solid carved tops and wood bridges.
A '51 Super 400CES had P-90's, this was likely what Burrell would have had at the time, starting out with Dizzie Gillespie.
Montgomery's go-to pre-'58 L5 shared a carved top, wooden bridge, and single coils but the one heard most in recordings was actually special ordered with a single humbucker in the neck position.
(Personally when I want the woodiest tone from my D25 I play right over the fretboard extension with bare thumb)
So even though I firmly believe in "the Indian not the arrow", I can certainly understand wanting to know what your favorite Indian's favorite arrow was, as a "proven platform", and those guys would be mine, for that sound.
If you're already well aware of all that, my apologies for coming off "pedantic".

 

[parker_knoll]

Personally I think a vintage LB-1 in the neck is super dry and woody, although they are variable. I'm very happy with that neck sound, just as I am with a good P90 in the neck. I actually preferred the LB-1 in the neck to a Dearmond. It's one of the reasons I came back to Guild after brief flirtations elsewhere (shhhh).

I've only ever had laminated, but I've had Maple (DE-400) and Hog (SF III). Currently rocking the DE-400 and very happy with the neck sound.

 

[dagdred]

Yes I tried the Dearmond on the current A-150. It seems a definite electric sound overriding woody acoustic.

 

[Neal]

Three months ago, I had exactly zero electric guitars.

I now have a '59 Gretsch Clipper (all-laminate maple thin-line cutaway) with a simple white soap bar single coil that is the woodiest electric guitar I have ever heard, in my limited experience. It is fully hollow, with 24.75 scale.

I am awaiting the arrival of a circa '54 Guild X-200, deeper body, no cutaway, with a laminated spruce top, laminated maple back and sides, and Franz single coil pickup. It is also fully hollow, but a full-scale 25.5". I am eager to A/B it against the Gretsch to see what differences there are in tone.

I also have a more modern Guild '97 X-170 Manhattan with two humbuckers, all-laminated maple, sound post, and two humbuckers. It is a stellar-sounding guitar, but I would not describe it as especially "woody".