GMC with different wood? Seems lighter than my other JEMs! -

babahi · #1 11-18-2001, 11:45 PM

Hi Guys!
Normally I play a Les Paul at my band practises. Last week I took my GMC to a practise - the first time I ever took it out of the house - and it confirmed what I had suspected until then: it's noticeably lighter than my other JEMs. Through direct comparison I concluded that it feels like a feather compared to, for example, my FP! I looked to see if it's made from a different kind of wood, but the specs page here says it's basswood, just like the others (except for the alder VWH). What's the deal? Can anybody tell me why? I'd love to hear some opinions from GMC owners and anybody who knows.

On a side note, I figure the thing should be a bit heavier, since it has an EMG in the bridge, what with all the extra weight of the electronics and battery.

And to my surprise, it sounded like sh*t through my stack; the notes were really muddy and I had no distinction in them. And, try as I might, I couldn't get anything even close to a decent tone. When I use my GMC at home for my fusion and jazz stuff it sounds awesome. But there I don't run it through a stack.

Funny, when I plugged my triple-humbucker SG Custom (also the first time out of the house) into the stack, it blew it away. It gave me the sound I've always heard in my head. This after years of swearing by Ibanez guitars! You can imagine what a shake-up it gave my world! I have to bring my FP with the passive PAF next week to compare it directly to the EMG, then to the SG...

Opinions?

Eric

nuno · #2 11-19-2001, 04:12 AM

Eric... you're a brave man!
It's like Sh*t Laden goes right in front of the WhiteHouse and screams 'You f*ckin yankees!'...

Expect a wall of ppl against you, now! Hehe...

nuno

LGMT · #3 11-19-2001, 07:04 AM

Eric, no problem ! You can gave me you GMC, i don't mind if she sounds like a s**t.
:innocent:

**jono** · #4 11-19-2001, 07:24 AM

I think the weight issue is probably just the individual piece of wood that your GMC is made from. The tone again could be just the piece of wood etc. There are gonna be bad apples in any bunch.

If it's any consolation, I had a GMC a few years back that had a stunning swirl but was an awful player. It had action issues, trem issues, neck issues, fret issues. Everything. It went to several luthiers in attempts to put it right, but no-one managed to do anything with it to get it gig worthy. In the end it got stolen which broke my heart at the time but these days I'm kinda glad as I used the insurance money from the theft to buy a JEM10

But that GMC was simply a display piece for most of it's life.

My advice is that you should use your SG for band practice and keep your GMC at home for jazz and fusion

johncowan · #5 11-19-2001, 09:18 AM

Eric,

I had the honor of test driving eight different DNA's and they all had different tones. *As a matter of fact one that I kept, has a very muddy tone compared to the other keeper.
I plan to A/B the wiring with my other DNA under the careful supervision of Rich.

However, it sounds like your wood may be less dense too! *I have to say that BFP you sold me happens to have the nicest 'tone' I've ever heard out of a JEM:biggrin:!

Good Luck man.

JC

babahi · #6 11-19-2001, 09:50 AM

Thanks John, I'm glad you like the BFP - that was such a cool guitar! But I never played it, so it had to go... I have another BFP that has a lot more wear on it, and that one gets played. I may have to sell that one soon also to make some room!

I think I may just have to resort to weighing the damn thing to see what the numbers say. My curiosity is really getting the best of me in this case. Of all of my JEMs, the difference is night and day. Where the hell can I get my hands on a scale, now...

As for the tone, I don't know if it's the EMG? But my Steinberger sounds phat as hell through a big amp, no muddiness at all.

Eric

SalemB · #7 11-19-2001, 10:18 AM

A few months back I posted the weight and body wood question myself. The conclusion was that they're both basswood, but the density of the wood varies and some are really light while others are heavy.

It's cool if you put them on the scale and weigh them. I might just do the same.

7 Dying Trees · #8 11-19-2001, 10:27 AM

Quote:

As for the tone, I don't know if it's the EMG? But my Steinberger sounds phat as hell through a big amp, no muddiness at all.

Eric

EMG's are weird, they seem to work better in some guitars than others, I'd put passives back in and see what happens then, yo might find it sounds a lot better. EMG's just don't work in some guitars (or according to some people at all)

James

Rich · #9 11-19-2001, 10:51 AM

There's a group of JPM P2's that weigh significantly less than usual, 5 1/2 pounds compared to 7 which is their usual weight. I dunno why, but the second you pick one up you know it.

babahi · #10 11-19-2001, 10:44 PM

So tonight I took my Ibanez 442R (my main guitar) to practise. It sounded better than the GMC-EMG, but still nowhere near as good as the SG! I compared the R and the SG tonight directly and was amazed at how clear the individual notes rang with the SG, but not so much with the R. But when I use the R for studio stuff, it's the absolute killer and nothing even comes close to it. It has the stock V6 pickup in it. Maybe I could change it to get a better sound for all applications. Any suggestions?
Eric