TONE: Pickups VS Wood

[Fang]

So I was wondering, in the overall end resulting tone, just how important is the guitar wood versus the pickups? Can you make a very tight sounding guitar acoustically (maple neck thru/thick maple cap) guitar sound "looser" with a "loose" pickup like a tone zone etc.? Or can you tighten up a looser guitar significantly with a tight pickup? (an Evo thrown into a Les Paul) etc. Guys get my point?

Basically, I'm thinking about buying a guitar with a thick maple cap in the next couple days, but have heard the thick maple cap makes the guitar very bright. I'm worried that even with good pickup choice, I can't counter that factor.

Please help, I need to decide soon!

[OklaStar]

Originally Posted by Fang

So I was wondering, in the overall end resulting tone, just how important is the guitar wood versus the pickups? Can you make a very tight sounding guitar acoustically (maple neck thru/thick maple cap) guitar sound "looser" with a "loose" pickup like a tone zone etc.? Or can you tighten up a looser guitar significantly with a tight pickup? (an Evo thrown into a Les Paul) etc. Guys get my point?

Basically, I'm thinking about buying a guitar with a thick maple cap in the next couple days, but have heard the thick maple cap makes the guitar very bright. I'm worried that even with good pickup choice, I can't counter that factor.

Please help, I need to decide soon!

The wood makes a huge difference in the tone.
I hate maple caps and think they make guitars sound horrible, but I have a friend who thinks a guitar is total crap without a maple cap. He wont buy one unless its got maple.

I have found that when someone calls a guitar "bright" that they generally mean the guitar doesn't resonate much "like a violin".

[Fang]

Why do you think maple caps sound bad?