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What is meant by "woody" tone?

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(@slejhamer)
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With respect to acoustic guitars especially, what is meant when someone says a guitar sounds woody? I assume it's a desirable trait ...

Any examples of woody tone? And what would be the opposite of woody - a guitar that sounds like plastic? Metal?

"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."


   
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 Bish
(@bish)
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I'm not sure either. That's a very good question.

I'm wondering if it may have something to do with being warmer and not so bright?

Bish

"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"


   
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(@rahul)
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I think its the tone which is woody. Or maybe its the wood whose tone is woody. Or maybe its the woody tone which is so woody. Aaarghhhh, can't do it anymore.

The best person to contact for any doubts on woody tones will be 'The Woody Woodpecker'.

Btw, I think woody tone refers to the sound which gives you more quality sound out of your plain 'ol acoustic. Look for solid tops and well-braced ones. Play them and all the wood is yours.


   
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 cnev
(@cnev)
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I think Ric can get that 'woody" tone on his Johnson, you'll have to ask him.

"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!


   
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(@demoetc)
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It's the timbre of the timber, not the timbre of the tin-bar.

Wow that was stretching it!

But yah, as mentioned by others, the tone/timbre. Take a block of wood and a block of metal and tap on it. You'll hear the difference with all those different sets of resonances and frequencies. Well maybe not exact frequencies, but your ear will pick up the difference.

Translate that to an instrument and the differences are amplified. I mean the box of a guitar is an acoustic amplifier in a way so you'd hear it more there than with a solid block.

Even in solid-body guitars there's a difference. I once had a solid plexiglas bass guitar which had just about no resonance in the body. The neck was wood so there was some there, but the body part of it was just pretty much dead. Which I think can be good for an electric instrument. On the other hand I have some solid-wood-bodied basses, and you can hear their own special tone even without them being amplified or plugged in.

'Woody' tone - something which sounds pleasant, organic and warm, rather than edgy, man-made, icy sterile, etc.

Sometimes with solid-bodies though, I'd almost prefer edgy, man-made, icy and sterile. ;)

Acoustics, no. Even a metal-bodied resonator has a certain warmth too it. Not the cardboard box described above, but a pleasant metallic sound. Or maybe better put, a pleasant, bright sound.


   
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(@dan-t)
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I think Ric can get that 'woody" tone on his Johnson, you'll have to ask him.

Oh... that's sooo bad! :twisted: :lol:

Dan

"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge


   
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 Nuno
(@nuno)
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I didn't know the term but just a comment about DemoEtc said. When I bought my acoustic guitar, I was checking the sound of almost all the instruments in the store. My Martin is all mahogany and its tone is warmer than other Martin or other guitars. It is not as metallic as a 'normal' acoustic guitar.

I don't know if it is 'woody' but it isn't 'metallic'. And I don't if a nylon string acoustic is 'woodier' than a steel string acoustic.

PS. Sorry for the word 'woodier' :shock: :roll: :lol:


   
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 cnev
(@cnev)
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DanT,

It's true I know he can.

"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!


   
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(@dogbite)
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woody to me means warm and organic.
opposite would be tinny; shallow, weak, metallic.
my strat with the neck pickup on sounds bell like.
my Martin is warm and rich.
the treble used to be a bit too bright.
but it has opened up and mellowed.
bright= trebley
boomy=bass.

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(@gnease)
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It's a term more often applied to electric guitars -- especially jazz boxes -- to indicate a nice, warm, "round" timbre. It is usually a clean, midrange dominant tone that is very clear and tight. The bass thumps and decays quickly, something like an upright double bass or plucked cello. Not a lot of harmonics, so there is no edginess to the treble.

-=tension & release=-


   
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(@citizennoir)
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I'm gunna +1 Gnease's description.

I described my acoustic in a different post as being 'woody' with DR Rare strings.
It has a pronounced mid too it with the sharpness taken off of the highs. And a thumpy though quickly decaying low.
(Which also has to do with the ebony fretboard)

This was in contrast to other strings that I had that were too metallic sounding.

And also I have to agree with that being used to decribe jazz boxes - T-Bone Walker had a very Dry, Woody tone with his
fat jazz box.

Fender solid bodied are also woody.
As in 'You can hear the wood'. (EC)

If you listen to a clean Strat - well.... you can hear the wood.
If you overdrive a Strat, it takes on a dual sound.
Underneath the warm overdrive is a nice dry wood tone. Like two guitars at once.
It's impossible to get rid of that sound on a Strat.

To get that woody sound in an electric, usually SC pups are needed.
HBs are usually more 'electronic' sounding. IMO

I'm about to start sermonizing on tone woods - so I'll bail while the gettin' is good :wink:

Ken

"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway

"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles


   
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(@slejhamer)
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Topic starter  

Hey thanks all! That's helpful.

Yeah I figured there's be a reference to Ric's Johnson. That thing pops up often around here ...

"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."


   
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(@ricochet)
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It's hard to keep a good Johnson down...

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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(@eirraca)
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Omg you guys stop, you're killing me :lol:


   
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(@trguitar)
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Ric, Is your Johnson a woodie? I thought it was metal? Brass ... or is that just it's balls?

"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --


   
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