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Do you let your guitar breathe?
Have you removed the tremolo spring cover for improved tone?
Have you removed the paint in the pickup cavities?
Have you scraped the paint away under the bridge?

Some of you may know the site where I got these things.

How far do you go to make or let your guitars body breathe more? If you had a new guitar would you remove paint to let it breathe? Is this crazy or sensible?

I don't see how it'd make a difference. If it did, it would be so negligible that it wouldn't be worth all the trouble.

I have stripped the paint off two strats in the past - was a real pain to do and I wouldn't recommend it necessarily, but I do feel there is some improvement in tone, but that could be wishful thinking.

Much easier to do what I did for my latest project: bought a bare body which got the same result with much less work! Actually this one is without doubt the best sounding guitar I have ever owned (even people who know nothing about guitars remark on how good it sounds) , although how much of that is due to the bare wood is questionable.

Finished them all in Danish oil and then beeswax by the way, which is easy to do, looks great and is easy to maintain.

I am now stripping the poly finish off an acoustic to see how that works; its not an expensive one!

I don't think any improvements are to do with 'breathing' by the way. I think it might just help the wood resonate a bit more, and maybe having no paint between the wood and the metal parts helps with that too.

Anyway, like I said, I think it helps a bit but I can't be certain.

For what it's worth . . .

FYI Here is where I got this.

Most quot;newquot; guitars are sprayed today with a polyester type of finish. I think letting the wood breath is a non issue. The wood can't breath thru this type of finish. If it were Nitro.... now allowing it to breath may make a difference. IMO the best thing you can do to make a guitar sound better is to play it. The wood needs to vibrate and this is the best way to get the wood to move.


Originally Posted by Guitar ToadDo you let your guitar breathe?
Have you removed the tremolo spring cover for improved tone?
Have you removed the paint in the pickup cavities?
Have you scraped the paint away under the bridge?

Some of you may know the site where I got these things.

How far do you go to make or let your guitars body breathe more? If you had a new guitar would you remove paint to let it breathe? Is this crazy or sensible?

I don't see any of these doing much of anything. Play your guitar.

1..I doubt anyone could hear these differences in a live band or on a recording...no one says 'that strat sounds like it was recorded with the trem cover off'.

Well, I've heard mention around here of finishes that allow a guitar to breathe and resonate better and then I see this guys list of guitar improvements at singlecoil.com who promotes letting your guitar breathe easier/better by scraping the paint in non-visible locations on the guitar. I don't really believe that I would make much difference.

But, I wanted to toss it out for the forum experts to kick around....I'll put away the wire brush and forget about removing the paint in the pup cavities

I'll leave the trem spring cover on also.

First of all, it's Breathe not Breath. Breath is what you have and it's usually bad.

Secondly, this is idiocy. It's like splitting hairs.

Tighten the screws... well, yes. Especially the ones that hold the wheels on your car.

GS


Originally Posted by GuitarSandwichFirst of all, it's Breathe not Breath. Breath is what you have and it's usually bad.

Secondly, this is idiocy. It's like splitting hairs.

Tighten the screws... well, yes. Especially the ones that hold the wheels on your car.

GS

Going to a non-floating vibrato/bridge by adding springs and tightening the claw was definitly and improvement in tone. Switching to DR Pure Blues all nickel strings also made a noticable improvment in my strats tone. I do agree with the guy on those things, I have to say I scratch my head a little bit on removing paint and removing the tremolo cover.

Whats with the trem cover? Never heard that one (altough I've seen folks without their covers).

Don't forget to remove the control cavity cover on rear routed electrics... let the pots breathe the open air...

This is lunacy. The inside of the trem cavity is also finished, so what good does removing the cover do? Any poly finish is a hard, impermeable finish and isn't going to let the wood quot;breathequot; anyway.

Some people are so obsessive about tone it's disgusting. What's next? Let's talk about how 3 ply pickguards suck up more tone than single ply pickguards. Ready. Set. Discuss.

My first thought when I read any lists like this one, lists that are devoid of context or lists that aren't specifically attempting to offer solutions to specific problems is this: What is quot;betterquot; tone?

Would these changes cause a change in the amplified sound of an instrument? Quite possibly, but why should I believe that it would be an improvement, especially if there's not a specific problem that a) these changes are designed to adress and that b) I'm hearing that problem in my instrument?

It's not like there's a linear and objective scale of bad to good tones and that certain things automatically place an instrument at a particular point on that scale.

I remove the trem covers on my Strats to make string changes easier. It has no effect on tone whatsoever. As for removing finish around the pickups ... ???

There's a fine line between customization and lunacy.


Originally Posted by ratherdashingI remove the trem covers on my Strats to make string changes easier. It has no effect on tone whatsoever. As for removing finish around the pickups ... ???

There's a fine line between customization and lunacy.

How fine is that line?

I was thinkin' 'bout using a dremel tool to make some gills in the back of my strat so the baby can breathe.

I share my albterol inhaler w/ my guitars.

I've heard that chopping off the neck with a rusty hatchet can greatly improve resonance. ne1 have ne thots on this?

one of my superstrats has more dings and screw holes from mods and stuff, plus i'f thrown it around and dropped it a few times.... Lots of finnish damage.....

Odd part is a Stew Mac video i watched it said to keep the finnish in good repair and the guitar will last... Showed that you should remove the adjustment for the truss rod and paint some finnish in there so no moisture damage gets in the neck that way...

I've had a few guitars that don't have any finish, and they do resonate and breathe more, but there's also a little less high end crispness that a finish gives a guitar.

Honestly, who cares... just plug in and jam, and forget about all the second hand 'blues lawyer' advise.


Originally Posted by GearjoneserI've had a few guitars that don't have any finish, and they do resonate and breathe more, but there's also a little less high end crispness that a finish gives a guitar.

Honestly, who cares... just plug in and jam, and forget about all the second hand 'blues lawyer' advise.

I've been wanting to make a few RAW guitars for myself.... since i'm making the body and neck i can fix any trouble that comes my way from playing an un-finnished guitar...... may use a bit of oil to help the wood....