Check out Nuno's wood!

[tomizm]

This is really a question about tone
Hehe, kinda gross, I know, but I wanted something to attract some attention. Here's what Im getting at. Listening to Nuno's tone on "Waiting For the Punchline", it really became apparent to me that you can really hear the woodyness of his tone. Its hard to describe, but to me and a buddy, we talk about how you can "hear the wood".
One of the Highlander movies has a song written by Nuno and some other hot Portugese chick called "God Took a Picture". During the credits, I immediately recognized the wood tone and knew it was Nuno, and sure enough the song listing in the credits confirmed it.
So, my question is.......how do you get that woody tone? Is it related to the finish on the guitar being more transparent (sonically) than newer finishes? Is it better to go with a natural finish and then just tung oil or something, rather than a clear coat of something more synthetic?
Do you have wood? and how do you get it?

[whatshisname]

Nuno got that tone from his padauk N4, and a re-issue Fender Vibrotone. He said that it was the combination of the two that gave that tone, and the single coil quality.

[whatshisname]

Almost forgot to answer your question! Yes, IMO, an unfinished, or lightly oiled, finish has a lot to do with getting that woody tone.

[rgr]

Yeah, the WFTP tone is awesome, most of it comes from the "clean" Fender amp turned up until it starts to give. Paduak is similar to Maple, so that is also adding some of the brightness. He could be using his trusty Rat for some of the solos. Nuno is one of my all time favorite players, his timing and feel are incredible.

Also, the Bill Lawrence L-500 pickups are very clean and clear sounding, which helps with that sound too. The guitar finish, or lack thereof, is another variable in the tone equation.

Roger

[Petie]

I managed to get a pretty convincing "Waiting For The Punchline" tone from one of those Behringer V-Amps - the original non-digital one. That thing's great on clean-based tones. Try it out. Just set it to the "Tweed" model, then "Hi Gain" and choose the cab setting that sounds best in the room.

[Polaris20]

WFTPL is definitely his best tone. I love every song off of that album.

[rgr]

There's no such thing as a non-digital V-Amp.

-R

[Petie]

Sorry, I meant the V-Tone.... whoops. Hehe. I didn't even realise until I just looked at it. Shows how much attention I pay to my gear! Simon can attest to that, he's always teasing me about how dusty my guitars are.

[moro]

Originally Posted by rgr

Also, the Bill Lawrence L-500 pickups are very clean and clear sounding, which helps with that sound too. The guitar finish, or lack thereof, is another variable in the tone equation.

Any idea which L-500 Nuno likes? The Bill Lawrence site shows four models but Washburn's site doesn't say which one is used in the N4s.

[rgr]

L-500L according to Bill.