Difference in tone between real Mother Of Pearl and Pearloid inlays?

[GuitArtMan]

Sorry, I'm feeling a bit cantancerous and just wanted to stir the pot!   ;D

[Thundersteel]

I would venture to say that Pearloid inlays affect tone the same way that tuning keys with plastic buttons do. They form some sort of "non-harmonic interference" against the string vibration, which causes multi-tonal phase cancellation. Not good.

 

Real MOP inlays, rather, amplify the "harmonic convergence" with the strings, thereby increasing phase linearities within the instrument, which, as we all know, affect the timbre quality of the sound produced.

 

Elementary, my dear watson, elementary!

 

[move] ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D :P :-* ;D[/move]

[golferwave]

 If someone can hear a difference in tone please let me know because I can't.  I just like Mother Of Pearl because it looks so much cooler than the plastic and adds more class to the guitar.

[GuitArtMan]

I would venture to say that Pearloid inlays affect tone the same way that tuning keys with plastic buttons do. They form some sort of "non-harmonic interference" against the string vibration, which causes multi-tonal phase cancellation. Not good.

 

Real MOP inlays, rather, amplify the "harmonic convergence" with the strings, thereby increasing phase linearities within the instrument, which, as we all know, affect the timbre quality of the sound produced.

 

Elementary, my dear watson, elementary!

 

[move] ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D :P :-* ;D[/move]

Yeah, well I'm gonna replace my tone caps with a Flux Capacitor!  ;D

[tulk1]

Yeah, well I'm gonna replace my tone caps with a Flux Capacitor!  ;D

 

The problem I see with that approach is that you'd have to play at 88mph before the tone controls worked. And then lordy knows what year your tone would end up in. Bad idea, if you ask me.

[JohnCovach]

Well, I don't think the inlays are as important for good tone as the strap is.  I've found that I get the best sound with a suede strap.  While straplocks are convenient and help secure the strap more securely, they tend to deaden the sound because they prevent a direct transfer of energy from the guitar to the strap and back.  There are some who would argue for a fabric strap, but those people simply do not understand the fundamentals of good tone.  A good leather strap, attached directly to the strap buttons, can go a long way to overcome non-MOP inlays and/or plastic buttons on the machine heads.

 

And of course, the shoes make the outfit.

[GuitArtMan]

The problem I see with that approach is that you'd have to play at 88mph before the tone controls worked. And then lordy knows what year your tone would end up in. Bad idea, if you ask me.

Actually if you installed the neck pickups Flux Capacitor with one polarity and the bridge pickups Flux Capacitor with the opposite polarity the above problem wouldn't exist.  The Flux Capacitor is of course, as everyone knows, a variation of the Electrolitic Capacitor and therefor is polarized.  Of course the resultant time/space continium distortion might create a black hole in your tone control cavity!

[GuitArtMan]

Well, I don't think the inlays are as important for good tone as the strap is.  I've found that I get the best sound with a suede strap.  While straplocks are convenient and help secure the strap more securely, they tend to deaden the sound because they prevent a direct transfer of energy from the guitar to the strap and back.  There are some who would argue for a fabric strap, but those people simply do not understand the fundamentals of good tone.  A good leather strap, attached directly to the strap buttons, can go a long way to overcome non-MOP inlays and/or plastic buttons on the machine heads.

 

And of course, the shoes make the outfit.

I've found that as well, but the biggest contributor to good tone I've found is truss rod cover screws.  Use the wrong ones and it's like a tone sink.  Use 50 year old virgin stainless steel and hear your guitar come alive.

 

Of course another overlooked tone production area is the toggle switch cap.  Cream just sounds better to my ears than black (too dark) or white (to bright).

 

Of course as always, ymmv.

[JohnCovach]

Yes, but aren't you forgetting the importance of the case?  These new molded ones just do not have the resonance of the traditional wooden ones.  And the color of the lining can add extra clarity--that orange plush lining gives the highs a little more of that bell-like sparkle.  And a Fender guitar without a tweed case--well, that should just be illegal!

 

All kidding aside for a moment, I'm just as much of a gear junkie as anyone!  And I do have some nice cases (and straps, and truss rod cover screws, and toggle switch caps).

[yoslate]

Some very esoteric arcana here, and in that context, I am agog no one has yet addressed the relevance of the pickguard to tonality! 

 

Single-ply, laminated (3 or 5), wood, plastic, tortoise shell, mother of toilet seat, number of securing screws (of vital concern to Fender players!), slotted versus phillips head, orientation of slots when tightened, screw and bracket combinations, shielded or no, to guard or not to guard (relevance not lost on Polfus players)....  Just where does one begin?

 

                                                                                                                          ???

[Thundersteel]

Another factor to consider is hardware--chrome, nickel, gold, or black? Each of these has a direct effect on the acoustic resonance peaks of the seismic soundwave. Fret size also plays a part here, too. The total magnatronic filter impedance of the hardware colors determine whether the cacophonic algorithms (not to be confused with the Al Gore Rhythm) are processed with linear or logarithmic turbidity.

[yoslate]

"Al Gore Rhythm"  Yes, another oxymoron to add to the list!  "Cacophonic," and "turbidity" used in the same posting!  All this and guitars, too!  Man, I knew I'd found the right place!

[JohnCovach]

Is this Al Gore Rhythm related to Man-Bear-Pig in any way?

[tulk1]

I'm truly sorry to have to disagree with ALL of you. But I think all of the answers so far are so off base as to be nearly laughable. Truss rod covers, color of hardware. Simply unfounded, undefinable rhetoric.  :-  None of those have any bearing whatsoever on the tone of a guitar. The "strap" idea is closest, tho'. Since anyone that is anyone knows it's how high or low you wear your guitar. The higher you wear it, the warmer the sound. The lower you wear it the more brewtal it gets. Jeez!! Where'd you guys come up with these other "theories". 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

;D

[Cryoman]

Cryogenic string treatment is the answer to pure tone. (They don't call me Cryoman for nothing.)

 

BUT, It's got to be at milliKelvin temperatures where quantum effects /motion at the molecular level changes.  It's like superconducting for your fingers... Even EVH and DiMeola don't have superconducting fingers, so it's really, really fast, too!!

 

Also, acrylic/plastic trapezoid inlays kept under extremely high pressure, extremely high heat for millions of years become diamond.  And everyone knows that diamond is WAY better than that simple ol' Mother of Pearl.

 

Cryoman

[Dick Seacup]

One word.

 

Abalone.

[cod65]

for the love of God, plse stop :'(

[Thundersteel]

And everyone knows that diamond is WAY better than that simple ol' Mother of Pearl.

 

Not unless you have the Mother of All Pearls!

[yoslate]

T-steel:  Would it then follow that Heritage's "Little One" would sport, in an ideal world, "Minnie Pearls"?  And I didn't mean that to be Wry, man.  And, to get to the meat of the matter, Mr. Seacup, I think you meant "Abaloney," for that stuff sandwiched into the fingerboard.

                                         

[JohnCovach]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Pearl

[Kazwell]

Ironically, the best tone producer is pure wood fretboard. Like many folks here, I am looking for the best of both worlds as far as tone and tradition. One thing about Heritage guitars that bothered me at first (and according to the salesperson who first showed me the Heritage line, he heard this quite a lot) was the Hamer like headstock design.

 

But after a while, I not only got used to the aesthetics, but appreciated the design for it's functionality...Oh Oh, here comes more fodder for controversy, but it appears that this design vs the G word headstock, delivers the strings to the tuners at a straighter angle. This means less string pressure on the sides of the nut grooves, which I imagine can increase to some infinitisimal degree sustain and however you define "tone" (whole other topic for discussion here- uh oh here's goes the rant: Tone, to me is subjective term, completely over used by the music media-I am speaking here specifically  about ads for guitars and amps. It means many things to many people. If you want tone to the bone, buy a Telecaster and crank up the bridge pickup!!! We are talking a spectrum of sound which transcends treble and bass. Natural compression and distortion play a big role as well.)

 

I will now rephrase my original statement: The best SOUND producer is a pure wood fretboard. Think about it, the only thing those blocks (plastic MOP Abalone-don't matter) serve is for looks. The extra wood that would have been there to help transfer the sound is chisled away.  Although we like our traditions and aesthetically pleasing inlays, the best thing for the fretboard are no markers at all. Besides, if you really need a point of reference, you can follow the little dots they paint on the binding on top of the neck-which most people look at anyway.

 

Yet, like my orginal problem with the Heritage headstocks, something doesn't look right to me unless an electric guitar has the inlays-block or trapezoid or even split (real MOP preferered and, NO DOTS!!! -save that for the acoustics) I'll take my chances with the sound.

 

On a side note, Godin guitars is a good example of a make that  firmly believes in the theory that less is more on the fretboard which in the end equals better sound. I have owned a Godin, and hell if I could tell any difference

[yoslate]

Thanks, John; I'll see you and raise....

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ole_Opry

[GuitArtMan]

You know I can't believe no one has mentioned shoes and their effect on tone.  Tennis shoes vs. cowboy boots vs. sandles vs. bare feet.  I'm mostly a tennis shoe guy myself, but have been thinking about switching to cowboy boots as I want more kick in my tone!

[yoslate]

Ah, Guitart, the good Dr. Covach has, in fact, insightfully alluded to shoes, an accoutrement I have observed is crucial to tone.  I'm afraid my observations conclude that, in no instance, do tennis shoes make any substantive contribution to tone, and may, in fact, have a decidedly negative effect, particularly when one is in either the blues or jazz idioms.  Non-textured hide cowboy boots, preferably black, seem to have a more broad application than one might initially think in either not affecting tone negatively or improving tone across a wide spectrum of musical styles.  A subtle black moccasin type shoe seems to have a generally positive effect on tone, regardless of genre, as does a lace-up shoe of no more than three eyelets.  Any type of authoritative boot particularly with lugged sole, is de rigeur for metal,  adding meaningfully to frequencies above 3K.  GlamRock seems to sound better in some sort of slipper or metallic boot.  Sandals, definitely folk acoustic only!  And regardless of oeuvre, brown footwear, NEVER! 

[Yankeefan01]

Don't forget the effect in tone by the size of your belt buckle. 

 

The bigger the buckle, the bigger the twang!