And here I thought you were just some RUclips kid with phenomenal playing abilities. I kept thinking to myself, “that dude has the minerals”. Then you plop down a video of you and Slash on stage.....like a boss. Nice one. You deserve all the good things that come your way. You’re a badass player. I’m typically a metal guy as blues rock tends to bore me shitless most of the time. But when you play, people feel that shit. And that’s powerful. You’ve got a gift. And it’s incredible to behold. Godspeed 🤘🏻
Chris, if you'd come up in the 70s, generation of Clapton, Page, Gallagher and Beck, I genuinely think that you would by now be considered a guitar legend.
I don’t think he would be the guitar player he is without the influence of all those guitarists you mentioned. His 60s/70s influences are quite pronounced in his playing and I don’t think he would have been an innovator like Page or Beck.
not so fast my friends ... there were plenty of really great guitar players back then that you will never hear from .. why ? because they never composed a notable song .. we didn't have a platform such as this to expose these awesome talents !
@@JR-io8kw I was going to say he probably kicked Slash's ass. lol I didn't hear Slash play after him but I'm pretty sure that's what happened just by hearing Chris's performance. That being said Slash is probably a better writer. Not that all this is a competition.
@@HiHello-ku1fl It’s ok to be nice about Buck on his own channel, but in reality, Slash smoked him. Very kind of Slash to invite a no-name guitarist with him on stage. Gave him a great introduction to. Pure class!
Hey Chris! While you clearly like the traditional guitar: have you ever considered a modern monstrosity like a Strandberg, Aristides, Ormsby, Claas or something of the sort? It would be fantastic to see you talk about your experience with one of those designs. Thanks for making my day with your awesome playing; I really enjoyed the jams in this one.
Im sorry i have to correct you on the density of the Wood. The diffrence in density of the Wood comes from wether the Wood comes from the core or the sides of the tree trunk. That's why Wood for fence posts is always from the core of the Wood, it is harder and denser so it is less prone to rot due to weather and or moisture in the soil. If you want to know more on Trees/Wood let me know, me and my dergree in forestry are happy to help!
@@ChrisBuckGuitar I'm no scientist, just old and have done a lot of high end woodworking. With properly seasoned wood the weight difference of the moisture content is probably measured in grams not ounces or pounds.
That sounds like an awesome field of study to have a degree in. I grew up always in the woods behind my parents house and really miss the peaceful aspect of being out there in nature. One of the best moments of my life was when I went to the Redwood Forest in San Francisco, CA and getting to see the massive Sequoia trees. It’s something so awe inspiring it’s almost impossible to articulate with words and you really have to see it in person in order to get the sense of just how ginormous these trees are. They looked a mile high and as wide as over 20 people lined up. The wood was so petrified and ancient and twisted in this amazingly gnarly way that made it look like rock. It was beyond impressive. I would suggest anyone who has the chance to go there to take the trip and experience it.
Actually my background in engineering and forestry might point a direction - it is growth cycles. Drought years equal tighter grain. Wet years equal open grain. Tight grain takes longer to dry and must be controlled more carefully. Resin crystallization has to do with drying procedures, hence the move to torrefied. And then there is felling procedure. A falling tree will brush its neighbors on the way down slowing its fall. If it hits ground that is contoured to the shape of the stem wood, micro shocks are reduced. If it hits uneven ground it will develop all sorts of micro cracks and splits as it bends and springs on landing. The landing shock is generally higher than wind loading, except maybe hurricanes ...
@@brocluno01 is absolutely right! Allthough (simpley said) one year equals one growth cycle, so that whould not have mutch impact, it absolutly can cause micro cracks and other problems. Prolonged drought can absolutely affect the tree and Wood density. Keep in mind this van vary wildly depending on the species, subspiecies and ofcourse where it had grown! Great to see how a guitarvid can spark such Nice dabate.... Im Dutch, so excuses for any language/grammar errors.
I'd suggest that it's not so much about mass, but more about how the vibrations are transferred the body. A glue joint acts as a partial barrier to sonic transfer. Thus neck-thru guitars (like the Yamaha SG2000/3000 series) will generally have better sustain than set-neck guitars. The brass sustain block of the Yamaha probably helps, too, by maximising the contact area of the bridge to the body. It's worth noting that a deep neck tennon - as featured on the legendary Gibsons of the late 50's - increases the contact area between neck and body. One way to improve sustain on a bolt-neck guitar is to make sure the end of the neck is pressed tightly against the end of the neck pocket. This can be done by slackening the neck attachment screws by a quarter-turn while the guitar is strung up and tuned to pitch, and then re-tightening the screws. Doesn't work on all guitars, but it transformed one of my Strats.
In the early days of G & L Leo and George were interviewed and I remember Leo talking about the importance of transferring string vibration to the end-grain of the wood. He said that's why many Fender guitars and basses had the strings anchored by going through the body. With his new design the G & L bridge had an oval shape that went into a hole in the body routed just big enough for it. So again the string vibrations transferred to the end-grain of the body.
You really do a thorough research. Lots of great info here, thanks for gathering and sharing Chris. And I LOVE the version of Miss You at the end. Pure magic 🙂
Bruh, you got such a unique sense of sound, so juicy and SOULY, you definitely are highly different from most of the internet guitarists who are some of your influences?
Hey Chris, thanks for another great video. My '79 LP Custom weighs over 11 pounds and has excellent sustain. I know these Norlin era guitars are not highly regarded, but I must have gotten a good one. The more guitars I play, the more I realize that blanket statements just don't work for them. My LP Junior weighs 6.5 pounds and sustains for days. Cheers and have a great weekend!
Awesome as always Chris! I was thrilled to see you playing the Yamaha in the intro! I've got an SBG2000 and it's probably my favorite guitar. It's heavy but I absolutely love it. I've written more original music on that than all my other guitars put together. Something about it just feels amazing and really special.
Hi Chris, I enjoy your videos and you're a terrific player. I'm a former professional guitarist from Baltimore, Maryland and played with a lot of bands beginning at age 15. Did some studio sessions backing a few songwriters, plenty of road work primarily with a soul group based out of Washington DC. We played 6 nighters mostly in nightclubs and I spent plenty of time in hotels hahaha. To the point, I've burned through a lot of guitars and amps from 1965 through 1990 and regarding your Yamaha SG 1000 in the late seventies I owned several Yamaha electric guitars beginning with a sunburst SG 1500, upgraded to a black SG 2000 that I later replaced the pickups with Gibson PAFS. I also had a Yamaha SA 2000 ES 335 style semi hollow body and for a brief period a Yamaha three pickup Strat style guitar. Played them all through a Lab L5 twin twelve amp with JBLs D 120 alnico speakers then a 1983 Mesa Boogie Mark lll. Those Yamaha models were awesome but I really should have held on to that Yamaha SA 2000 semi hollow, oh well, young and foolish Steven Gary Ball/ Moonbug music.
As always, your playing style and tone are other-worldly! I think the heavier guitars seems to suit your play style when you do fingerstyle and the multi-step bends the best. That extra sustain really makes all your notes sing. But, I think you'd sound like you on any guitar you play. God bless and rock on.
I’ve challenged several people to prove that heavy guitars sustain better, no one has so far. I have a very heavy ‘80 les Paul deluxe, which I love, but typically I think lighter guitars sound better,I think because the wood can only absorb frequencies. It’s all cork sniffing, but if “you” like it, it’s good!
I was just telling somebody yesterday that heavy guitars will break you down physically and it's a myth that they "sound better". Brad Paisley swears that lighter guitars will resonate better. I have a Strat, 2 Teles, and a 335 and I'm comfortable with them all and when I was a kid I used to play my dad's Les Paul and I told him how glad I was that I became a "Fender guy" because of how many back problems Les Paul guys have later in life.
It follows from school level physics that everything else being equal heavier guitars must sustain better. Consider the law of conservation of energy and what it really means for the body to "resonate".
@@boshi9 I disagree, again all things being equal, the energy from the strings will be absorbed by a denser body. It would take much more energy to move the heavier back body.
"As someone who had come to Stratocasters through a Les Paul background, and having initially struggled with their sound and what they're meant to do..." hits real close to home, yo.
The solo on the strat reminds me of Clapton and edge of darkness. Just lovely. There's SRV in it too. But also classic Chris Buck too. I guess its all just epic.
I’ve own an ash strat and is a heavy one, nice weak pickups to push tone and it’s still my number one after 40 years of use. Love it to bits. Love the tone from your fingers Chris, another great video. Cheers
Nice job, Chris. And tasty playing in that clip with Slash. Two of my best sounding Strats are on opposite ends of the weight spectrum, and favorites for different reasons. My Suhr Classic is about 8-1/2 lbs. with an alder body, and I love how subtle and detailed it is for leads. OTOH, my '70's style partscaster has a heavy ash body, weighing nearly 10 lbs., and it just has an amazing ringing sound for chords. Both are maple fretboard guitars, which is always my preference for Fenders.
dude.....YOUR THE PLAYER THAT MOST MAKES ME WANT TO PLAY MY GUITARS THAN ANY OTHERS ON RUclips.! seriously man.so so good . i hope u read this and get good vibes because dude, your channel has gotten me thru some yuck times of late. we really appreciate the hard work you do. Hope to see u live in person, but i live in australia and where i am, atm u are not allowed to travel more than 5kms home.... thanks mate
I swapped out some parts on a MX tele and was surprised how light and “plasticy” the original pickups were. The control plate and knobs also weighed very little. US teles have even moved to lightweight bridges despite worse intonation. Not all weight saving comes from wood choice though I’m sure Fender would be happy if we thought it did.
Interesting video and topic, as always. I heard more sustain and low mids in the parts-caster, and generally liked the sound of it more than the John Mayer. My lightest guitar (Les Paul Special at just under 7 lbs) has the most sustain and is the loudest acoustically of my instruments.
Been thinking more as I tinker on one of my old classicals. To make an acoustic guitar sustain, we usually strive for light and rigid (in the right areas). Light tops, minimum bracing (scalloped), just strong enough to hold together. And, if it's designed on a knife edge, it'll blow up if you install heavier strings ... How many of us have seen bridges pulled away with heavier strings ... Point being that you are wanting the top to resonate. If you get it right, the top resonance will re-enforce the string vibration and create sustain. What is the equivalent in an electric guitar ??? Does a maple cap sustain longer than a maple veneer? Does a stop-tail bridge sustain longer that a floating trem? How about a brass trem block and brass saddles? Is ash better than mahogany as a plank wood? How about a tail piece rather than a stop tail? Increasing the break angle over the saddle works for Piezo pick-ups, does it work for a fixed bridge and forward mounted pickups?
Man..... this SG1000 jam is leaving me speechless.... does anybody know if it's a part of a song ? If not, I'm just going to rip this up and listen to it all day long.... From the start, the way the chords move 6 7 #7 1.... the build up....damnit.... sooooo goood..... the hooks you use..... I could speak all day of all the little magic moments that are happening in those 60 seconds..... So inspiring.
I swapped the neck of my american deluxe strat (modern c-shape) with a custom-made fat C neck (25mm thick, 43mm wide) custom made to fit exactly the pocket without any play. No other changes, no pickups change, nothing. I paid roundabout 400€ for the neck. I'm telling you... the guitar was completely changed. The "snapiness", the sustain was out of this world. It is not everyone's cup of tea because of the bis ass neck but it's a BEAST. BTW, no neck dive, so the weight didn't change much.. about 3,8Kg, maybe it was 3,5 with the original neck. The custom made one was made of a lighter wood I guess... Great Jam by the way! always a pleasure!!
I'm just a beginner and correct me if I'm wrong but sustain simply means how long a note audibly resonates, right? When I'm playing on my cheap noname stratocaster I don't ever feel like I'm in need for longer resonating notes, are there songs where you want to hear one note for more than 10 seconds? I will probably change my mind later on but I wouldn't want to trade comfort for a few seconds longer sustain.
I think Chris nailed it on the head with the consideration of wearing a guitar around your neck for 2 to 3 hours. "If it's comfortable to play, it'll draw better playing out of you".
it's not necessarily just about how long you can hold a note before it's silent, but a more sustaining guitar is more resonant so even shorter notes have a higher quality of sound throughout the note. this explanation is extremely brief and basically just opinion but i hope this helps!
I'm totally digging your Partscaster, and am probably guilty of hearing with my eyes. Will say, it's making me want to build one. As a Les Paul guy, I'd love to have a Strat, and your playing is truly inspirational!
I played a 58 LP Jr for decades and then got myself a Strat. It was like going from driving a 3/4 Ton truck to a nice sedan with power everything. I still love my Gibson, but a Strat plays easier. BUT! Those are not the only two guitars in the world!
Thank you for confirming this theory for me 😀 I also shut my eyes to listen then you said about hearing with eyes. There is a definite distinction between both. The first to me being more high than low like the 2nd
Ed King was pretty vocal on how bad his 70s Era strat was. He recorded Sweet Home Alabama with it. Said he had to fight it every inch on the way. Great song, subpar guitar
Firstly: i installed a set of the Radioshop C. Buck signature single coil coils, and holy $h!t they sound amazing! Honestly the best ones that I've heard and played for the last decade or so. Id buy a set myself, but also they're a bit too rich currently. I've been repairing guitars for 16 years, i work mostly with amps now but worked in a repair shop for a decade before that. I've played literally hundreds of Strats. Everything from $100 particle board copies to vintage to insanely overpriced boutique. I think lighter USUALLY sounds better, and tend to have good sustain and resonance. however i find that many focus on the weight to the exclusion of other variables, like what the thing is actually made of (styrofoam is really light but i certainly wouldn't want to make a guitar out of it), hardware, setup, etc. Heavier guitars can also have great sustain, though i find it to manifest itself in a different way than the lighter ones. Im currently using a Strat and Tele for 90% of what I'm playing. The Strat is an 08 Eric Johnson model. I've owned well over a dozen Strats, if i were to count ones that came in and out of my possession for days or couple weeks that would go up to a couple dozen. The EJ is hands down my favorite by a good margin. It's light, has a great neck (the best ones in the EJs i find are the ones from the first few years) and it's the most resonant one I've owned, without question. When i play it i feel EVERYTHING that it's doing: every note, every chord, every slide, bend, what have you. The Tele is a Fender import model, the Special Edition (they've been making them for a couple decades now, so I'm not sure what makes it special at this point). It's like a transgender person; it grew up a Les Paul or CU22 in a Tele body (and neck 🙄): mahogany body, maple top, glued in set mahogany neck and a pair of PAFs. Ill be honest, i bought it used off a kid who bought it new the year prior (it's a 2019), and when i brought it home and had a chance to REALLY check it out i saw instantly why he decided to sell it so soon after buying it. The QC was non existent and the fit and finish was such that it should have never left the factory like that. The frets showed virtually no wear, yet i had to level, crown and dress them, i could actually see that the frets were unlevel and worst of all it was the 3rd fret with the issue, which meant having to take down all the subsequent frets. Ideally i would have replaced the 3rd fret so the rest wouldn't need to be grounded down as much, but at this point my intention was to get it to where it should be and sell it. While it looked cool and i thought it sounded good, i was disappointed with some of the materials and construction. The biggest bother to me as that it was a four piece mahogany body! FOUR PIECE!?! It's not super recording expensive,i think they're $800 now, but that's well past the price point that you'd expect maybe a 3 piece and possibly 2. It's eastern mahogany which is like the Pine of mahogany: relatively cheap and plentiful. The pickup ring and routing were ever so slightly cockeyed, causing the poles in the bridge position not sit under the strings as centered as they should have been. I also REALLY dislike polyester finishes. At long last: THE POINT 🙃😉 Taking into consideration a guitar with a 4 piece body, thick polyester finish, uneven pickup mounting, etc leaves you with a pretty stale sounding guitar. many of these things interfere with the guitars resonance and subsequent sustain. Your getting all your tone from the pickups and how they're voiced as opposed to having the body wood/mass coupled with the neck: the primary tone (everything not including the electronics). When it comes to primary tone there really isn't a better design than the Tele. While tone wood, finish and other things effecting the acoustical properties arguably play much less of a role in Strats (especially with a floating tremolo), you'll find them the strongest in Teles. The reason i still have the Tele is that in spite of the various issues and construction, i don't think I've owned a better sounding HH equipped guitar, ever. This is including Gibson US, PRS Core line among others. It does that "Les Paul straight into a Marshall" thing better than any actual Les Paul I've owned. For some inexplicable reason, a guitar, built how this was built, results in one of the best sounding guitars I've owned. I've compared them and note sustain is about even between them, however there is certainly a difference. Something i do when trying out a guitar is that I'll strum an open chord, for example a "D". Ill shake it for a little vibrato and hold the chord for a couple seconds then slide it up to an "F" at the 5th fret and let it ring out. When the volume of the chord is just about to die, i slide it a 3rd time back to a "D" an octave higher. If I'm able to do that without haven't to use pedals or even the guitars volume i know that is going to sound good everywhere else. The Strat, not only can i do this but i can slide it back down the the open D. I can still hear and feel that chord rigging out. With the Tele i can more or less so the same (though usually not the 4th slide). While they can both sustain a note or chord for about the same time, the difference in feel and how it's ringing out is apparent to anyone who's played both. So.. Sustain; yeah. Jesus Christ can posts get long when voice typing.
I watched a discussion on forest management and the results of forest fires. The thing I found interesting was, depending on the time of the year a tree is harvested will effect how much water the tree has stored. Another factor is trees that have been scorched and killed by fire, but still have good lumber wood, and and will take on massive amounts of water if not harvested in time. The roots apparently still take on water but without life can't distribute the water through the tree and into the atmosphere. Found it interesting in regards to heavy and light guitar woods.
I much prefer his playing to Trucks'. Trucks doesn't really do it for me, no matter in what regard his playing is held. His tone is very samey across songs and albums, it seems to me, Sorry.
I cried and laughed when I watched this intro solo ... Cried because I have to sell all my guitars and amps and laughed when I realized than so do most guitarists... =)
I’ve played mostly Strats and Tele’s for many years. I’ve never noticed much difference in sustain between all the many ones I’ve owned. Good pickups are the most determinative factor, at least in tonal quality. Then quality hardware and wiring. Let’s not forget that amps and pedals contribute to sustain as well, especially at high gain levels. As far as woods go, there are slight differences in tone b/t ash and alder, IMO. I feel that again, at high gain settings with amps or pedals, tone from different wood types become nearly indistinguishable.
When Accounting only drives the choices in manufacturing, product is put at risk. Hundreds of collective years of craftsmanship experience, engineering and artistic design can be quickly thwarted by a well intentioned if however misguided effort to reduce cost a penny at a time. Savings need to be weighed in balance with the overall outcome of production. ie: Listen to your valuable employees!
So, heavy = more sustain or light and lively? Which side of the fence are *you* on? 🤔
You rock on a nylon plastic guitar Chris enjoy your music greatly dude awesome
Im on the side of whatever sounds best :D
Both 😬
The guitar with the most sustain in my collection is an EJ thinline strat at about 6 + pounds try one there epic
Whatever the guitar is that you're playing Chris. Otherworldly is the only word I can think of that describes your playing.
The mix of brute force and delicacy with your right hand is absolutely mesmerising. Truly unique.
So true
right? He has got to have the most intricate right hand technique of anyone I've ever seen...
Jesus Christ that opening jam dislocated my lower jaw
Man I know! He is ridiculously good!
Yes he is better than you think.
Only Chris could have Slash and Miles Kennedy as his rhythm guitarists
why? they are certainly not any good as lead players.
And here I thought you were just some RUclips kid with phenomenal playing abilities. I kept thinking to myself, “that dude has the minerals”. Then you plop down a video of you and Slash on stage.....like a boss. Nice one. You deserve all the good things that come your way. You’re a badass player. I’m typically a metal guy as blues rock tends to bore me shitless most of the time. But when you play, people feel that shit. And that’s powerful. You’ve got a gift. And it’s incredible to behold. Godspeed 🤘🏻
Metal does the same to me! Lol🤘
Walking on water over a sea of chug chug
As ever, sensational playing and superb, well researched presentation. These videos are little gems.
The intro is sublime. Lovely sounding Yamaha SG1000 too 👍
Chris, if you'd come up in the 70s, generation of Clapton, Page, Gallagher and Beck, I genuinely think that you would by now be considered a guitar legend.
I second that!
I don’t think he would be the guitar player he is without the influence of all those guitarists you mentioned. His 60s/70s influences are quite pronounced in his playing and I don’t think he would have been an innovator like Page or Beck.
he already is a legend.
@@teunputker he would have had other influences. just like those guys had theirs.
not so fast my friends ... there were plenty of really great guitar players back then that you will never hear from .. why ? because they never composed a notable song .. we didn't have a platform such as this to expose these awesome talents !
Completely forgot that you played with Slash SO SO cool!!... Great playing as always mate!
my guy casually threw footage of him playing with slash like an absolute badass
considering he's a far better musician than slash, emotionally, technically, etc...(probably not financially though), that's no surprise!
@@JR-io8kw I was going to say he probably kicked Slash's ass. lol I didn't hear Slash play after him but I'm pretty sure that's what happened just by hearing Chris's performance. That being said Slash is probably a better writer. Not that all this is a competition.
I was surprised how short in stature Slash appears to be aswell !
@@JR-io8kw Yet Chris hasn’t still produced anything on the guitar that stands the test of time. Not a GNR fan but would not really compare those 2.
@@HiHello-ku1fl It’s ok to be nice about Buck on his own channel, but in reality, Slash smoked him. Very kind of Slash to invite a no-name guitarist with him on stage. Gave him a great introduction to. Pure class!
Hey Chris! While you clearly like the traditional guitar: have you ever considered a modern monstrosity like a Strandberg, Aristides, Ormsby, Claas or something of the sort? It would be fantastic to see you talk about your experience with one of those designs. Thanks for making my day with your awesome playing; I really enjoyed the jams in this one.
Chris,
Wow what a tone in that opening jam. Most of that tone is in your fingers; man you have a wonderful touch. Very inspiring. Cheers
I know he favours Strats but I think he sounds even better with humbuckers!
Behold the Hand of Buck.
Wow! That intro ham was great!
the intro jam - WTF, my mind is blown - again!
Ok, that opening song was epic. Love the style and phrasing, so much personality and color. well done.
Im sorry i have to correct you on the density of the Wood. The diffrence in density of the Wood comes from wether the Wood comes from the core or the sides of the tree trunk.
That's why Wood for fence posts is always from the core of the Wood, it is harder and denser so it is less prone to rot due to weather and or moisture in the soil.
If you want to know more on Trees/Wood let me know, me and my dergree in forestry are happy to help!
Cheers David, thanks for the info! I'm certainly no arborist 😆 Does the moisture content not affect the wood's density/weight at all?
@@ChrisBuckGuitar I'm no scientist, just old and have done a lot of high end woodworking. With properly seasoned wood the weight difference of the moisture content is probably measured in grams not ounces or pounds.
That sounds like an awesome field of study to have a degree in. I grew up always in the woods behind my parents house and really miss the peaceful aspect of being out there in nature. One of the best moments of my life was when I went to the Redwood Forest in San Francisco, CA and getting to see the massive Sequoia trees. It’s something so awe inspiring it’s almost impossible to articulate with words and you really have to see it in person in order to get the sense of just how ginormous these trees are. They looked a mile high and as wide as over 20 people lined up. The wood was so petrified and ancient and twisted in this amazingly gnarly way that made it look like rock. It was beyond impressive. I would suggest anyone who has the chance to go there to take the trip and experience it.
Actually my background in engineering and forestry might point a direction - it is growth cycles. Drought years equal tighter grain. Wet years equal open grain. Tight grain takes longer to dry and must be controlled more carefully. Resin crystallization has to do with drying procedures, hence the move to torrefied. And then there is felling procedure. A falling tree will brush its neighbors on the way down slowing its fall. If it hits ground that is contoured to the shape of the stem wood, micro shocks are reduced. If it hits uneven ground it will develop all sorts of micro cracks and splits as it bends and springs on landing. The landing shock is generally higher than wind loading, except maybe hurricanes ...
@@brocluno01 is absolutely right! Allthough (simpley said) one year equals one growth cycle, so that whould not have mutch impact, it absolutly can cause micro cracks and other problems. Prolonged drought can absolutely affect the tree and Wood density.
Keep in mind this van vary wildly depending on the species, subspiecies and ofcourse where it had grown!
Great to see how a guitarvid can spark such Nice dabate....
Im Dutch, so excuses for any language/grammar errors.
I'd suggest that it's not so much about mass, but more about how the vibrations are transferred the body. A glue joint acts as a partial barrier to sonic transfer. Thus neck-thru guitars (like the Yamaha SG2000/3000 series) will generally have better sustain than set-neck guitars. The brass sustain block of the Yamaha probably helps, too, by maximising the contact area of the bridge to the body. It's worth noting that a deep neck tennon - as featured on the legendary Gibsons of the late 50's - increases the contact area between neck and body.
One way to improve sustain on a bolt-neck guitar is to make sure the end of the neck is pressed tightly against the end of the neck pocket. This can be done by slackening the neck attachment screws by a quarter-turn while the guitar is strung up and tuned to pitch, and then re-tightening the screws. Doesn't work on all guitars, but it transformed one of my Strats.
Read that some years ago and did it to all my bolt on neck guitars. Appeared to make a positive difference to all of them!
I did this with a $100 dean vendetta. I didn't personally notice a difference, but my friend said it sounded better and asked what I did to it.
In the early days of G & L Leo and George were interviewed and I remember Leo talking about the importance of transferring string vibration to the end-grain of the wood. He said that's why many Fender guitars and basses had the strings anchored by going through the body. With his new design the G & L bridge had an oval shape that went into a hole in the body routed just big enough for it. So again the string vibrations transferred to the end-grain of the body.
You really do a thorough research. Lots of great info here, thanks for gathering and sharing Chris. And I LOVE the version of Miss You at the end. Pure magic 🙂
Soo... when are we gonna peep the Chris Buck Collection? 😏
Tasty licks on the outro!! Man, you can really play!
I also just sorted through a few piles of old magazines. I, too, came across a few things.
Interesting video. Thanks, Chris.
Bruh, you got such a unique sense of sound, so juicy and SOULY, you definitely are highly different from most of the internet guitarists who are some of your influences?
Ethan, ♡ the Souly☆
Clint Wilson Siii
love the intro piece
- How good is your guitar playing really?
- Well, Slash plays rhythm guitar for me :-D
I love that diminished climb on the intro jam. Climbing up into the vi.... wicked dissonance! 😎👍🏼👍🏼
Hey Chris, thanks for another great video. My '79 LP Custom weighs over 11 pounds and has excellent sustain. I know these Norlin era guitars are not highly regarded, but I must have gotten a good one. The more guitars I play, the more I realize that blanket statements just don't work for them. My LP Junior weighs 6.5 pounds and sustains for days. Cheers and have a great weekend!
Really nice playing, again, and terrific discussion! Thanks!
Dude you're my favorite guitar player! Thats a very high honor 🎖 👏
I always listen to what Chris says.... but mainly I just listen to what he plays !! Astoundingly good :) :)
Very nice intro piece Chris.
I am also here to say that intro was just amazing.
Being older and injured my guitars are right around 6 lbs......your friggin awesome bud
Sounded like a bit more sustain from the heavier guitar but I preferred the tone of the lighter one. My back thanks my ears for this decision.
That stones at the end though
Awesome as always Chris! I was thrilled to see you playing the Yamaha in the intro! I've got an SBG2000 and it's probably my favorite guitar. It's heavy but I absolutely love it. I've written more original music on that than all my other guitars put together. Something about it just feels amazing and really special.
Look forward to Friday fretworks every week.
Amazing outro!
Hi Chris, I enjoy your videos and you're a terrific player. I'm a former professional guitarist from Baltimore, Maryland and played with a lot of bands beginning at age 15. Did some studio sessions backing a few songwriters, plenty of road work primarily with a soul group based out of Washington DC. We played 6 nighters mostly in nightclubs and I spent plenty of time in hotels hahaha. To the point, I've burned through a lot of guitars and amps from 1965 through 1990 and regarding your Yamaha SG 1000 in the late seventies I owned several Yamaha electric guitars beginning with a sunburst SG 1500, upgraded to a black SG 2000 that I later replaced the pickups with Gibson PAFS. I also had a Yamaha SA 2000 ES 335 style semi hollow body and for a brief period a Yamaha three pickup Strat style guitar. Played them all through a Lab L5 twin twelve amp with JBLs D 120 alnico speakers then a 1983 Mesa Boogie Mark lll. Those Yamaha models were awesome but I really should have held on to that Yamaha SA 2000 semi hollow, oh well, young and foolish Steven Gary Ball/ Moonbug music.
The opening jam is just ridiculous. Outstanding
One of the best tones and articulation ever!
Man, that Slash clip is epic!
Excellent point on the "slow" sound of heavies. Good vid lad.
Brilliant playing every week but that intro was intense even for you! 🙌🏻
Yes, I'm blown away!!
Mee too!
Nice video. Thanks
I feel I say this every week but...that intro!
Opening jam was so good!
Fantastic intro!
As always, your playing style and tone are other-worldly! I think the heavier guitars seems to suit your play style when you do fingerstyle and the multi-step bends the best. That extra sustain really makes all your notes sing. But, I think you'd sound like you on any guitar you play. God bless and rock on.
I’ve challenged several people to prove that heavy guitars sustain better, no one has so far. I have a very heavy ‘80 les Paul deluxe, which I love, but typically I think lighter guitars sound better,I think because the wood can only absorb frequencies. It’s all cork sniffing, but if “you” like it, it’s good!
I was just telling somebody yesterday that heavy guitars will break you down physically and it's a myth that they "sound better". Brad Paisley swears that lighter guitars will resonate better. I have a Strat, 2 Teles, and a 335 and I'm comfortable with them all and when I was a kid I used to play my dad's Les Paul and I told him how glad I was that I became a "Fender guy" because of how many back problems Les Paul guys have later in life.
IME heavy guitars have a stronger fundamental while lighter guitars produce more harmonic content.
@@gregcee5468 I mean no offence, but to me that sounds like heavy guitars kill all the overtones. Which is my experience too.
It follows from school level physics that everything else being equal heavier guitars must sustain better. Consider the law of conservation of energy and what it really means for the body to "resonate".
@@boshi9 I disagree, again all things being equal, the energy from the strings will be absorbed by a denser body. It would take much more energy to move the heavier back body.
And this, Gentlemen... Just might be the most talented and extraordinary guitar player alive. Chris, you are magical. 100%
01:04 gave me goosebumps. On behalf of every guitar player we'd like to say, "Oh shit!"
I love my Revstar.Jam /w Slash...show off.Nice one Chris.
"As someone who had come to Stratocasters through a Les Paul background, and having initially struggled with their sound and what they're meant to do..." hits real close to home, yo.
I going to start counting how many of these into jams bring tears to my eyes😭
Talk about hearing with your eyes! The guitar that you compared with the John Mayer guitar is probably the prettiest Strat I've ever seen.
The solo on the strat reminds me of Clapton and edge of darkness. Just lovely. There's SRV in it too. But also classic Chris Buck too. I guess its all just epic.
The solo with Slash I meant
I thought Clapton too.
Legend already!
If they named a film after you it would be. The Last String Bender, starring Chris Buck!
You playing blows me away, totally amazing!!
I’ve own an ash strat and is a heavy one, nice weak pickups to push tone and it’s still my number one after 40 years of use. Love it to bits. Love the tone from your fingers Chris, another great video. Cheers
Chris: please put out some more music we can stream! I'd even take an album of these jams, I just wanna hit play on Spotify!
Nice job, Chris. And tasty playing in that clip with Slash. Two of my best sounding Strats are on opposite ends of the weight spectrum, and favorites for different reasons. My Suhr Classic is about 8-1/2 lbs. with an alder body, and I love how subtle and detailed it is for leads. OTOH, my '70's style partscaster has a heavy ash body, weighing nearly 10 lbs., and it just has an amazing ringing sound for chords. Both are maple fretboard guitars, which is always my preference for Fenders.
My thoughts were the lighter JM strat seemed to have a wider frequency range than the partscaster.
dude.....YOUR THE PLAYER THAT MOST MAKES ME WANT TO PLAY MY GUITARS THAN ANY OTHERS ON RUclips.! seriously man.so so good . i hope u read this and get good vibes because dude, your channel has gotten me thru some yuck times of late. we really appreciate the hard work you do. Hope to see u live in person, but i live in australia and where i am, atm u are not allowed to travel more than 5kms home.... thanks mate
Cool little inside outside jam!
That solo on the gig with Slash was insane!!
and that was Chris at 21...!
Thanks nice playing
Nice job as always Chris! I personally liked the sustain and attack of the heavier body.
Great intro🎸💥
I swapped out some parts on a MX tele and was surprised how light and “plasticy” the original pickups were. The control plate and knobs also weighed very little. US teles have even moved to lightweight bridges despite worse intonation. Not all weight saving comes from wood choice though I’m sure Fender would be happy if we thought it did.
The original Tele bridge is definitely lightweight and an integral part of Tele’s magic.
Thanks Chris i preferred the tone of the parts caster
Interesting video and topic, as always. I heard more sustain and low mids in the parts-caster, and generally liked the sound of it more than the John Mayer. My lightest guitar (Les Paul Special at just under 7 lbs) has the most sustain and is the loudest acoustically of my instruments.
Enjoyed it, nice comparison when pumped through my stereo amp and B&W speakers. They each have their attractiveness. Thanks Chris.
I love you Chris buck
Been thinking more as I tinker on one of my old classicals. To make an acoustic guitar sustain, we usually strive for light and rigid (in the right areas). Light tops, minimum bracing (scalloped), just strong enough to hold together. And, if it's designed on a knife edge, it'll blow up if you install heavier strings ... How many of us have seen bridges pulled away with heavier strings ...
Point being that you are wanting the top to resonate. If you get it right, the top resonance will re-enforce the string vibration and create sustain.
What is the equivalent in an electric guitar ???
Does a maple cap sustain longer than a maple veneer? Does a stop-tail bridge sustain longer that a floating trem? How about a brass trem block and brass saddles? Is ash better than mahogany as a plank wood? How about a tail piece rather than a stop tail?
Increasing the break angle over the saddle works for Piezo pick-ups, does it work for a fixed bridge and forward mounted pickups?
Loved how you brought up Adam Jones, the first time I heard the “weight=sustain” thing was in one of his interviews from back in the 90’s
Man..... this SG1000 jam is leaving me speechless.... does anybody know if it's a part of a song ? If not, I'm just going to rip this up and listen to it all day long.... From the start, the way the chords move 6 7 #7 1.... the build up....damnit.... sooooo goood..... the hooks you use..... I could speak all day of all the little magic moments that are happening in those 60 seconds..... So inspiring.
A comparison between your Yamaha SG and your Revstar would be amazing... 😊
I swapped the neck of my american deluxe strat (modern c-shape) with a custom-made fat C neck (25mm thick, 43mm wide) custom made to fit exactly the pocket without any play. No other changes, no pickups change, nothing. I paid roundabout 400€ for the neck.
I'm telling you... the guitar was completely changed. The "snapiness", the sustain was out of this world. It is not everyone's cup of tea because of the bis ass neck but it's a BEAST.
BTW, no neck dive, so the weight didn't change much.. about 3,8Kg, maybe it was 3,5 with the original neck. The custom made one was made of a lighter wood I guess...
Great Jam by the way! always a pleasure!!
I'm just a beginner and correct me if I'm wrong but sustain simply means how long a note audibly resonates, right? When I'm playing on my cheap noname stratocaster I don't ever feel like I'm in need for longer resonating notes, are there songs where you want to hear one note for more than 10 seconds? I will probably change my mind later on but I wouldn't want to trade comfort for a few seconds longer sustain.
I think Chris nailed it on the head with the consideration of wearing a guitar around your neck for 2 to 3 hours. "If it's comfortable to play, it'll draw better playing out of you".
it's not necessarily just about how long you can hold a note before it's silent, but a more sustaining guitar is more resonant so even shorter notes have a higher quality of sound throughout the note.
this explanation is extremely brief and basically just opinion but i hope this helps!
Chris please do a Friday fretworks for john frusciante, would truly appreciate it.
Great video Chris. I got a lot more sustain from a Jazzmaster by installing some Wolftone p90s. Sound great and is light as a feather.
I'm totally digging your Partscaster, and am probably guilty of hearing with my eyes.
Will say, it's making me want to build one. As a Les Paul guy, I'd love to have a Strat, and your playing is truly inspirational!
I played a 58 LP Jr for decades and then got myself a Strat. It was like going from driving a 3/4 Ton truck to a nice sedan with power everything. I still love my Gibson, but a Strat plays easier. BUT! Those are not the only two guitars in the world!
Friday Fretworks time again! 😀😀😀
Fascinating
Yamaha SG is and sounds beautiful!
I like Chris' guitar over Slashs'.
I've not ruled you out lifting Thors hammer with that Right hand!
Thank you for confirming this theory for me 😀
I also shut my eyes to listen then you said about hearing with eyes. There is a definite distinction between both. The first to me being more high than low like the 2nd
Friday (Fretworks) comes round again, always check it out. Bit like Myles Kennedy feeling it from 04:32.
Ed King was pretty vocal on how bad his 70s Era strat was. He recorded Sweet Home Alabama with it. Said he had to fight it every inch on the way. Great song, subpar guitar
Firstly: i installed a set of the Radioshop C. Buck signature single coil coils, and holy $h!t they sound amazing! Honestly the best ones that I've heard and played for the last decade or so. Id buy a set myself, but also they're a bit too rich currently.
I've been repairing guitars for 16 years, i work mostly with amps now but worked in a repair shop for a decade before that. I've played literally hundreds of Strats. Everything from $100 particle board copies to vintage to insanely overpriced boutique. I think lighter USUALLY sounds better, and tend to have good sustain and resonance. however i find that many focus on the weight to the exclusion of other variables, like what the thing is actually made of (styrofoam is really light but i certainly wouldn't want to make a guitar out of it), hardware, setup, etc.
Heavier guitars can also have great sustain, though i find it to manifest itself in a different way than the lighter ones. Im currently using a Strat and Tele for 90% of what I'm playing. The Strat is an 08 Eric Johnson model. I've owned well over a dozen Strats, if i were to count ones that came in and out of my possession for days or couple weeks that would go up to a couple dozen. The EJ is hands down my favorite by a good margin. It's light, has a great neck (the best ones in the EJs i find are the ones from the first few years) and it's the most resonant one I've owned, without question. When i play it i feel EVERYTHING that it's doing: every note, every chord, every slide, bend, what have you.
The Tele is a Fender import model, the Special Edition (they've been making them for a couple decades now, so I'm not sure what makes it special at this point). It's like a transgender person; it grew up a Les Paul or CU22 in a Tele body (and neck 🙄): mahogany body, maple top, glued in set mahogany neck and a pair of PAFs.
Ill be honest, i bought it used off a kid who bought it new the year prior (it's a 2019), and when i brought it home and had a chance to REALLY check it out i saw instantly why he decided to sell it so soon after buying it. The QC was non existent and the fit and finish was such that it should have never left the factory like that. The frets showed virtually no wear, yet i had to level, crown and dress them, i could actually see that the frets were unlevel and worst of all it was the 3rd fret with the issue, which meant having to take down all the subsequent frets. Ideally i would have replaced the 3rd fret so the rest wouldn't need to be grounded down as much, but at this point my intention was to get it to where it should be and sell it. While it looked cool and i thought it sounded good, i was disappointed with some of the materials and construction. The biggest bother to me as that it was a four piece mahogany body! FOUR PIECE!?! It's not super recording expensive,i think they're $800 now, but that's well past the price point that you'd expect maybe a 3 piece and possibly 2. It's eastern mahogany which is like the Pine of mahogany: relatively cheap and plentiful. The pickup ring and routing were ever so slightly cockeyed, causing the poles in the bridge position not sit under the strings as centered as they should have been. I also REALLY dislike polyester finishes.
At long last: THE POINT 🙃😉
Taking into consideration a guitar with a 4 piece body, thick polyester finish, uneven pickup mounting, etc leaves you with a pretty stale sounding guitar. many of these things interfere with the guitars resonance and subsequent sustain. Your getting all your tone from the pickups and how they're voiced as opposed to having the body wood/mass coupled with the neck: the primary tone (everything not including the electronics). When it comes to primary tone there really isn't a better design than the Tele. While tone wood, finish and other things effecting the acoustical properties arguably play much less of a role in Strats (especially with a floating tremolo), you'll find them the strongest in Teles.
The reason i still have the Tele is that in spite of the various issues and construction, i don't think I've owned a better sounding HH equipped guitar, ever. This is including Gibson US, PRS Core line among others. It does that "Les Paul straight into a Marshall" thing better than any actual Les Paul I've owned. For some inexplicable reason, a guitar, built how this was built, results in one of the best sounding guitars I've owned.
I've compared them and note sustain is about even between them, however there is certainly a difference.
Something i do when trying out a guitar is that I'll strum an open chord, for example a "D". Ill shake it for a little vibrato and hold the chord for a couple seconds then slide it up to an "F" at the 5th fret and let it ring out. When the volume of the chord is just about to die, i slide it a 3rd time back to a "D" an octave higher. If I'm able to do that without haven't to use pedals or even the guitars volume i know that is going to sound good everywhere else.
The Strat, not only can i do this but i can slide it back down the the open D. I can still hear and feel that chord rigging out. With the Tele i can more or less so the same (though usually not the 4th slide).
While they can both sustain a note or chord for about the same time, the difference in feel and how it's ringing out is apparent to anyone who's played both.
So.. Sustain; yeah.
Jesus Christ can posts get long when voice typing.
I watched a discussion on forest management and the results of forest fires. The thing I found interesting was, depending on the time of the year a tree is harvested will effect how much water the tree has stored. Another factor is trees that have been scorched and killed by fire, but still have good lumber wood, and and will take on massive amounts of water if not harvested in time. The roots apparently still take on water but without life can't distribute the water through the tree and into the atmosphere. Found it interesting in regards to heavy and light guitar woods.
Jeez, Chris. I can't get over how much you play like Derek Trucks! It's mesmerizing!
I much prefer his playing to Trucks'. Trucks doesn't really do it for me, no matter in what regard his playing is held. His tone is very samey across songs and albums, it seems to me, Sorry.
@@gliddofglood I really hear slash in his playing a lot.
Don't give out many compliments, but your technique is... .. I can't think of a word that covers it., I'm a fan.
I cried and laughed when I watched this intro solo ... Cried because I have to sell all my guitars and amps and laughed when I realized than so do most guitarists... =)
I’ve played mostly Strats and Tele’s for many years. I’ve never noticed much difference in sustain between all the many ones I’ve owned. Good pickups are the most determinative factor, at least in tonal quality. Then quality hardware and wiring. Let’s not forget that amps and pedals contribute to sustain as well, especially at high gain levels.
As far as woods go, there are slight differences in tone b/t ash and alder, IMO. I feel that again, at high gain settings with amps or pedals, tone from different wood types become nearly indistinguishable.
When Accounting only drives the choices in manufacturing, product is put at risk. Hundreds of collective years of craftsmanship experience, engineering and artistic design can be quickly thwarted by a well intentioned if however misguided effort to reduce cost a penny at a time.
Savings need to be weighed in balance with the overall outcome of production.
ie: Listen to your valuable employees!
Always run everything through a Big Muff and no need to worry about sustain :)
I was at the Birmingham show in 2012 🎸
Hi Chris, love you stuff. Any chance you could do something on here with the new Eventide Microtune pedal?
Cheers