Hey Darrell, why not glue it back together and bust the myth that multi-piece bodies aren't as good for tone?

"That's when I learned people listen with their eyes!"" - Les Paul, 1940.

Err Darrell, ..when I said you could borrow my guitar....

I think it's because it's red. Red guitars have the best tone.

That’s the most extreme relic job I’ve seen someone do. It must be worth a lot of money now.

How many guitars do you have? Darrell: 40.125

May we take a moment and appreciate what this guy does? He cuts guitars, he buys lots of guitars, amps, pedals, pickups, different strings etc...just to give us the knowledge and facts for free, meanwhile costing him big bucks. Cheers up, mate! As a thank you i like on all videos and watch em until the end as a way to return the favor. Keep up the good work and we will keep supporting you. All the best from Bulgaria!

Alternate title: How To Make A Travelcaster.

I've seen some pretty heavy relic jobs, but this is a whole new level.

*to show you the power of flex tape I sawed this guitar in half*

I did it on my acoustic guitar and there is a huge difference!;) Studio one❤️

That looks totally sick! Can you test on a 1959 gold top Les Paul? I'm thinking of doing this mod.

do heavier gutarists sustain longer?

How to convert your strat to a steinberger

I love how this demonstration destroyed the sustain myth ! That was so informative !

I've been saying this for years. The bridge affects 95% of the sustain along with the density of it's metal composition. Fixed bridges sustain longer than floating since the springs absorb string oscillation. The density of the wood the bridge rests on will give or take a negligible amount(denser wood=longer) since soft wood resonates and absorbs string oscillation (energy). It's simple physics.

You should use wood glue and put it back together to look like Frankenstein stitches

Kudos to Darrell. Man, talk about going the extra mile. What a fantastic video!

When I was running a music store my opinion was always “If it sounds better to you, then it sounds better.”

Back before this debate was a “thing”, I thought it was a no brainer. Once I dove into it and watched all these tests, I eventually came to this conclusion. The parts of the guitar most responsible for your sound are the nut, saddle, pickups and most importantly, your technique. The reason you buy an expensive guitar is because the attention to detail means it’ll be more stable....tuning and intonation will stay put and your setups will last. Fret ends won’t poke out as much and often times it’ll feel better to play which will, in turn, make you play better. Not always but often. Not only that but you buy into a company’s legacy when you buy one of their best instruments. My American made fenders and martins (this is a different story...wood matters more here) are very inspiring to play because I’m strumming an instrument which has a storied lineage with roots tracing back not only to some of the most significant events in popular music but our country’s history as well. Don’t buy a high end solid body electric because you think the mahogany is going to sound better. Buy it because you want one...because it feels good to play...and because, in some weird way, it connects you to some of the greatest musical minds who’ve ever lived. And you know what? If you don’t wanna shell out the cash or somehow feel that these companies are “ripping you off” by charging what they do, buy something cheaper. There are so many great offerings under $500 nowadays, it’s almost mind-boggling.

Sounded like the low end thinned out a bit as the body got smaller.

I guess we can say that you've made CAstratocaster

I would glue it back together :D Thank you so much for the great experiment Darrell!!!

Great video. Really insightful test results (although I am not too surprised). I also think you did an excellent job putting the results into perspective, especially for a topic that can bring out strong emotions on both sides of the argument.

He's the coolest, chillest guitar dude on here dude that's why I like him man i don't need cheesy bros tryin get some laughs, i need my guy DB he's the man chill gets to the point cool accent and just a likeable guy, keep rockin Darrell!

Great video. This initiatives help a lot to put an end to many unscientific conceptions regarding guitars and their construction. May I suggest you another topic? Tele bridge stringing: through bridge vs through body

After the sawing part ,i involuntarily blow at the screen.😂😂

wonderful video on sustain...truly eye-opening experiment. very well done. excellent experiment technique..thank you sir, very informative not to mention very brave! Musta been fun cutting it up though...

Les Paul already demonstrated this with a paper mache guitar, playing with real musicians, no one knew the difference. There seemed to be some skepticism regarding the concept of a solid body guitar verses a hollow body such as the old f hole guitars. This was when electric guitars were first being experimented with.

You really need a warning on this. I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight, for fear of having dreams about a smiling guy with a chainsaw coming after my guitars. Oh, jeez, it's gonna be a long night...

I was always skeptical about weight and tone woods ever since i was a teenager in the mid 90's. You just confirmed my suspicions with this experiment. Thank you so much.

Interesting comparison Darrell. Thanks. It's really illuminating and really silences the BS discussions and claims about "tone woods". Your point about the feeling and resonance against your body is more meaningful when choosing a guitar. Thanks much mate!

The test that every guitarist wished to see but no guitarist in the world dared to do!!

Dude, awesome shirt!

Fantastic information test mr darrell. Thanks

One of the most interesting videos I've ever seen on electric guitars! You are a genius!

you now own the heaviest relic Stratocaster in the world courtesy of curiosity science and a black and decker jigsaw 😂😂😂

Kudos for actually doing this out on the snow.

Darrel you beat me to it! This was on my list. Great job!!

Love the video. Really appreciate it dude

Thanks for the video! So good to see someone doing tests instead of just spewing opinion. So the body weight isn't so important, how about the headstock? Does the fender fatfinger really work or are they pure placebo?

Well, after this at least you know those strap-locks and locking tuners you added aren't gonna change your tone! :p The guitar did become slightly more "mid/upper-mid" focused as I mentioned in the video, but the EQ charts show that it still had a nice usable balance across all frequencies :)

Fun! Great, informative video!

Very useful video. Thanks a lot!

I have noticed that my sg is more affected by the band when playing on stage my les paul. Sounds more the same if I am playing alone or with the band but what a great experiment. Playing for about 60 years. I got a lot of over priced wood. Get a guitar that is comfortable and some great pickups. I like wagers. Thanks for the great video

I think the neck has more impact to sustain. I have a headless guitar and there is a noticeable difference. Great video.

I would love to see that guitar hang on the wall for all your other videos. And props to the new into.

Darrell, you make the coolest darn videos! Always informative and entertaining! Thank you sir!

Drill some holes across the body thru the sustaining blocks and see if that changes things? Maybe Les Paul was right building the first guitar on a plank of a 2x4? Electric guitars just need a foundation to bolt down the mechanical parts. The wood is just window dressing then and a way to boost up the cost? Might save the rainforest by using a cheap composite material.

As a musician, I really appreciate this video.

Great experiment! I'm about to build a lap steel, and knowing this help immensely in my design and wood choice, thanks very much!

Subscribed! Cheerful and informative channel! Love your content man! Keep up the good work, also your subscriber comunity seem to have a great sense of humor!

You're not auditioning for Discovery Channel, are you? 😁

I'm thinking that possibly the increased sustain that players believe exists in a heavier instrument, is not a function of the total mass at all but rather a function of the density of the wood itself. I would love to see this demonstration, swapping the neck and electronics between a very heavy strat body and very light strat body. Obviously the woods would be different and this may the source of increased sustain that may (or may not) be real..Cheers and Thanks

Congrats Darrel!! Very cool videos! We need one Epi Sheraton VS Gibson 335!

That was very interesting!!! Thank you for explanation.

Love these myth buster videos.

I was wondering if my new Soloist had more sustain because it's body is bigger and 3 more pounds on average than my Strats. I never noticed a difference, but I thought it was my playing...thanks for the experiment Darrell!

Bravo to you. There are audiophile sites that insist on the noticeable difference between types of power cable or usb patch cable but curiously none of those people seem to have the basic technology for actually measuring and displaying waveforms of the end results of the different setups. I love this video, thank you!

Nice guitar collection on the wall bro !

That poor Fender Elite Stratocaster! Well now you have a travel guitar 😁

Now you have a Strandberg!!

Great video!

thanks for this great test man , keep it up

I heard that the larger CBS head stocks have more sustain than the pre-CBS head stocks on Strats. Darrell, are you ready to cut into the head stock?

Great travel guitar!

Good Job Man! 🤠

Very interesting topic Darrell

Its funny you did this video. I had seen John Mayall and the bluesbreakers. And John Mayall plays a strat configuration guitar with a basically chopped up body and is really small. Hearing it being played it diddnt seemed it didnt loose any sustain and still sounded great

Awesome video and you have just upset so many people who will swear the heavier the guitar the "better". LOL

Awesome video!!!!!!

Darrel, --- [1] you have provided a masterpiece of a vid. Finally, after 65 years of rock-n-roll, guitar size & weight does make a difference. --- [2] Thus, for many years, with my Steinberger-style, small-body, headless guitars, I have been correct. My most lovely, light, small, & beautiful headless [a] two Steinberger Spirit GT-Pro Deluxes (HSH; one white & one black) & [b] one Hohner G3T (HSS) with replacement Seymour Duncan pickups are genius strokes on my part. My back appreciates these three wonders of practicality ... & now tone & sustain. --- [3] I almost feel like a genius. :) :) :) Richard

I’m guessing the strap was why the sustain went up for the last cut. Mass helps with sustain a little bit, but only because it makes it harder for your body to dampen the vibrations. The strap isolates the guitar from your body, so it meets less resistance.

Do you think it is a fair comparison using a Strat??? The Tremolo keeps the strings suspended and the bridge not in the wood like a non Trem guitar!! Might be an interesting second examination.

All this reminds me of an old avant-garde classical organist/pianist in Sweden, Karl-Erik Welin who once "played" a grand piano in a televised concert with a chainsaw. He sawed it too scraps during a 10-15 minutes piece (ha!), and actually accidentally cut himself in the leg, so the blood flowed quite visibly. Directly after it he got interviewed and was asked "Oh dear, that didn't wen't very well, you hurt yourself", in which he replied "No, I played a wrong note..." .

WoW that was surprising to me also! Thanks!

Interesting!!! Having this mythbuster issue solved can you try a lighter weight guitar with Temperament Fret vs. a normal weight that is to test what really causes sustain to improve significantly

Great video concept. I have a Strandberg that weighs 4.5lbs and it sustains with the rest of my guitars. Guess you proved it! :)

Love it! Fretless as well? Whenever I get the tone wood guy in my ear, I have my 2 words ready: Holdsworth, Steinberger

I really enjoy your channel and I appreciated this video very much. It didn't turn out like I expected but it helps me determine which guitars I want to purchase. Thank you very much!

I’ll be damned... i was totally expecting a different result,.. huh, wow ok then awesome. Thanks for sacrificing your guitar!

“ Oh by the way.....this video was sponsored by Steinberger...”

Was a good test. Great video.

Yes - the point about resonance and that feel of vibrations when played unamplified really does help. The rest was quite surprising.

"Weight" or "size" in my experience only comes up (intentionally or not) in regards sustain as a surrogate for density - e.g., a 10 lb Les Paul vs. a 8 lb Les Paul - same size but very different density, and some argue different sustain. Further, the resonance that might matter is probably most centered on the bulk of material between the headstock and the bridge, including the density of the neck, with the rest of the guitar contributing less to sustain. The question would be: would a very dense-wood bodied guitar have more or less sustain than a very light-wood bodied guitar - of the same size.

Very cool experiment!!!! Great! It seems to me that lesser wood is more sustain if you look at the waveforms! You could take snips between 3rd and 4th second of the recordings and analyze them for RMS levels! It seems there is more energy in that region on the last takes... If you send me the wavs of your recording or share them on the net I could test that! Please share the raw data so us crazy guitar fools can analyze further!! Maybe I could do a test where we put a guitar body in a vice to make the body weightier... Myths are busted right here!!!!

Ah, the Edmonton snow is lovely and warm. Sawdust helps prevent slippery steps, good job.

fun with Squire's in the wood shop! Great science! Thanks. Snow in the backyard? You live up north / north east?

*2:00** when you buy that "Used - Like New" guitar on Reverb*

Listen to the fat E on these clips at 8:40 and just concentrate on that E resonating while he picks the other strings and you will hear the depth of that note resonates less and less with each cut

Perfect! You made a great point. The difference between bridge picking and neck picking has tons more of a difference than heavier guitars. I own a mahogany S series Ibanez. The lightest, I think, of all Ibanezes. I love the weight and the tone. Been defending my choice for years. Thanks!

Good explaination.. thanks

Don't worry, she's not dead yet!! Take a listen to the guitar put back "together" on my Instagram!! instagram.com/darrellbraunguitar/

If more weight made guitars sound better, we'd be gluing blocks of lead to the body. If higher density made guitars sound better, we'd better make the body out of cast iron or steel. Plywood can get surprisingly heavy too, especially if it's made out of very thin aircraft grade sheets. If lower weight made the guitar sound better, we'd be better off dumping wood. Funny that some people don't like the sound of a metallic nut, but most everyone seems happy with metallic frets! Where are my bone frets?! I am left wanting a stainburger style guitar.

Interesting video. BTW - is that sonar you are using?

Amazing!

I don't think the weight of the whole instrument matters, but the density of the wood. A more dense kind of wood is probably heavier also. Like plywood compared to mahogany for example. Maybe you should compare bodys made from different kinds of wood.

You should have left it plugged in a recorded it while cutting!

Hey Derrel, thanks for the great video! Are you going to test other factors I've been told impact sustain, like bolted vs glued vs through neck? Special thanks for mentioned Toyota Hilux, used to own 15yrs old one...solid as a rock

Very interesting dude!