
The body usually gets most of the sonic credit, but the stiffness of an acoustic guitar’s neck plays a key role in producing a lively sound.
When we consider the sound of an acoustic guitar, our thoughts naturally focus on the body. After all, it’s obvious this resonant, amplifying chamber is responsible for converting string movement into audible sound. Less obvious is the influence the neck has in this sonic stew. Most electric guitar players are familiar with this idea, citing the different sounds of a maple fretboard compared to rosewood or ebony. In the world of acoustic guitar, these influences—along with neck size and shape—usually get blended among the myriad of variables that make up the sound we enjoy.
To better understand the sonic role the neck plays, imagine the neck as one leg of a tuning fork, with strings attached. Every time a string moves, the neck will vibrate in response. This vibration changes based on how comparatively stiff or flexible the neck of the guitar is. To demonstrate this, we could hold a thin, wooden coffee-stirring stick against a countertop with a portion extending into the air. If we flick the free-floating end, we’ll see and hear the stick vibrate. Extending the free-floating portion will allow more flexibility and result in lower pitch, while shortening it reduces the flexibility and raises the pitch we hear. Switching to a thinner or thicker stick will also result in more- or less-flexible results, with corresponding lower or higher pitches.
When applied to the actual guitar neck, it’s easy to start listing the variables at play. We certainly need to consider the overall length, which is driven by both scale length and where the neck and body are joined. Then there are the wood types for the neck and fretboard, the size and shape of the neck, internal elements such as a truss rod or reinforcement bars, and even the tightness of pressed-in frets, each of which acts like a miniature wedge imparting stiffness in the neck. All these variables factor into the strength and sound of that neck.
While all these factors matter, the one that really captures my attention is the size and shape of the neck. Most often, guitar players evaluate the shape of a neck in terms of comfort alone, and for good reason. If a guitar isn’t comfortable to play, we won’t play it. And then it won’t matter what it sounds like, right?
As a guitar maker, however, a second consideration after comfort is what this neck shape is going to sound like due to its stiffness. Interestingly, the depth (or distance) from the face of the fretboard to the apex of the back curve is a more significant factor than one might think.
To highlight this in most engineering equations used to calculate beam strength, a cross section of the beam is one of the parameters factored in. When an engineer enters this cross section into a formula, it will usually be measured as height, multiplied by itself, multiplied by itself again, and then multiplied by its width. If that is any indication, the height parameter—or a change of neck thickness—matters a whole lot. To experience what this looks and sounds like, we could return to our coffee-stirring stick on the counter. Held flat against the counter with the end hanging over, we can pluck it and hear the sound. Holding the same stick on edge with the same length overhanging the counter, plucking the free end will result in a far higher pitch, even though the stick is the same and the amount of wood has not changed.
By the time we consider all the factors that affect neck stiffness and ask what a stiff neck sounds like compared to a more flexible one, the answer is somewhat ambiguous, as it is wrapped up in the variables with the rest of the guitar. To make some generalizations: As a neck is vibrating, it acts like a shock absorber for a string’s vibration. A flexible neck will want to absorb more of a string’s motion, and at a lower frequency where notes we play might reside. This can cause a mysterious “dead note” on a fretboard, where a note seems to not exist or resonate after we play it. A neck with more stiffness will tend to vibrate in a register far above the audible notes a guitarist plays, where its vibration is less likely to cancel out the audible notes we want.
To this end, makers have thankfully sought construction methods to increase the stiffness of necks. By using metal bars, denser woods, or, more recently, carbon-fiber composites, builders can make necks stiff and lively sounding without relying on cumbersomely large shapes like some makers did in eras past.
On our season two finale, the country legend details his lead-guitar tricks on one of his biggest hits.
Get out the Kleenex, hankies, or whatever you use to wipe away your tears: It’s the last episode of this season of Shred With Shifty, a media event more consequential and profound than the finales of White Lotus and Severance combined. But there’ll be some tears of joy, too, because on this season two closer, Chris Shiflett talks with one of country music’s greatest players: Vince Gill.
Gill’s illustrious solo career speaks for itself, and he’s played with everyone from Reba McEntire and Patty Loveless to Ricky Skaggs and Dolly Parton. He even replaced Glenn Frey in the Eagles after Frey’s death in 2017. His singing prowess is matched by his grace and precision on the fretboard, skills which are on display on the melodic solo for “One More Last Chance.” He used the same blackguard 1953 Fender Telecaster that you see in this interview to record the lead, although he might not play the solo the exact way he did back in 1992.
Tune in to learn how Gill dialed his clean tone with a tip from Roy Nichols, why he loves early blackguard Telecasters and doesn’t love shredders, and why you never want to be the best player during a studio session.
If you’re able to help, here are some charities aimed at assisting musicians affected by the fires in L.A:
https://guitarcenterfoundation.org
https://www.cciarts.org/relief.html
https://www.musiciansfoundation.org
https://fireaidla.org
https://www.musicares.org
https://www.sweetrelief.org
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
New RAT Sound Solution Offers a Refined Evolution of Distortion
ACT Entertainment ’s iconic RAT brand has unveiledthe Sterling Vermin, a boutique distortion guitar pedal that blends heritage tone with modernrefinement. With a new take on RAT’s unmistakable sound, Sterling Vermin delivers a new levelof precision and versatility.
“The Sterling Vermin was born from a desire for something different — something refined, withthe soul of a traditional RAT pedal, but with a voice all its own,” says Shawn Wells, MarketManager—Sound, ACT Entertainment, who designed the pedal along with his colleague MattGates. “Built in small batches and hand-soldered in ACT’s Jackson, Missouri headquarters, theSterling Vermin is a work of pure beauty that honors the brand legacy while taking a bold stepforward for creativity.”
The Sterling Vermin features the LM741 Op-Amp and a pair of selectable clipping diodes.Players can toggle between the traditional RAT silicon diode configuration for a punchy, mid-range bite, or the BAT41 option for a smoother, more balanced response. The result is a pedalthat’s equally at home delivering snarling distortion or articulate, low-gain overdrive, with a wide,usable tonal range throughout the entire gain spectrum.
The pedal also features CTS pots and oversized knobs for even, responsive control that affordsa satisfying smoothness to the rotation, with just the right amount of tension. Additionally, thepolished stainless-steel enclosure with laser-annealed graphics showcases the merging of thepedal’s vintage flavor and striking design.
“From low-gain tones reminiscent of a Klon or Bluesbreaker, to high-gain settings that flirt withBig Muff territory — yet stay tight and controlled — the Sterling Vermin is a masterclass indynamic distortion,” says Gates, an ACT Entertainment Sales Representative. “With premiumcomponents, deliberate design and a focus on feel, the Sterling Vermin is more than a pedal, it’sa new chapter for RAT.”
The RAT Sterling Vermin is available immediately and retails for $349 USD. For moreinformation about this solution, visit: actentertainment.com/rat-distortion .
$149
Marshall 1959 Super Lead
The very definition of classic, vintage Marshall sound in a highly affordable package.
There’s only one relevant question about Marshall’s new 1959 Super Lead overdrive/distortion pedal: Does it sound like an actual vintage Super Lead head? The answer is, simply and surprisingly, yes. The significant difference I heard within the voice of this stomp, which I ran through a Carr Vincent and a StewMac Valve Factory 18 kit amp for contrast, is that it’s a lot quieter than my 1972 Super Lead.
The Super Lead, which bore Marshall’s 1959 model number, debuted in 1965 and was the amp that defined the plexi sound. That sound is here in spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts. Like the Super Lead, the pedal is easy to use. The original’s 3-band EQ is replaced by a single, rangeful tone control. The normal dial and the volume, which together mimic the character created by jumping the first and second channels of a plexi head, offer smooth, rich, buttery op-amp driven gain and loudness. And the high-treble dial functions much like the presence control on the original amp.
The pedal is sturdy and handsome, too. A heavy-duty metal enclosure evokes the classic black-with-gold-plate plexi look and a vintage-grille-cloth motif. Switches and knobs (the latter with rubber sides for slip-free turning) are ultra solid, and—refreshingly—there’s a 9V battery option in addition to a barrel-pin connection. Whether with single-coils or humbuckers, getting beefy, sustained, historic tones took moments. I especially delighted in approximating my favorite Super Lead head setting by flooring the high treble, normal, and tone dials, and turning back the tone pots on my Flying V, evoking Disraeli Gears-era Clapton tone. That alone, to me, makes the 1959 Super Lead stomp a bargain at $149.Two guitars, two amps, and two people is all it takes to bring the noise.
The day before they played the coveted Blue Room at Third Man Records in Nashville, the Washington, D.C.-based garage-punk duo Teen Mortgage released their debut record, Devil Ultrasonic Dream. Not a bad couple of days for a young band.
PG’s Chris Kies caught up with guitarist and vocalist James Guile at the Blue Room to find out how he builds the band’s bombastic guitar attack.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Devilish Dunable
Guile has been known to use Telecasters and Gretsches in the past, but this time out he’s sticking with this Dunable Cyclops DE, courtesy of Gwarsenio Hall—aka Jordan Olds of metal-themed comedy talk show Two Minutes to Late Night. Guile digs the Dunable’s lightness on his shoulders, and its balance of high and low frequencies.
Storm Warning
What does Guile like about this Squier Cyclone? Simple: its color. This one is also nice and easy on the back, and Guile picked it up from Atomic Music in Beltsville, Maryland.
Crushing It
Guile also scooped this Music Man 410-HD from Atomic, which he got just for this tour for a pretty sweet deal. It runs alongside an Orange Crush Bass 100 to rumble out the low end.
James Guile’s Pedalboard
The Electro-Harmonix Micro POG and Hiwatt Filter Fuzz MkII run to the Orange, while everything else—a DigiTech Whammy, Pro Co Lil’ RAT, and Death by Audio Echo Dream 2—runs to the Music Man. A TC Helicon Mic Mechanic is on board for vocal assistance, and a TC Electronic PolyTune 3, Morley ABY, and Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 3 Plus keep the ship afloat.