I'm new to to the forum so HELLO everybody
Is it just my 1570, or all the rg's sound very quiet and hmmm... flat? I pick up my cheap cort guitar (fixed bridge, basswod) and hear how loud and deep it resonates. Then I swap to 1570 - the tone is much worse and I become really frustrated how "cheap" it sounds. When I was buying it, I thought it was just a matter of really old strings. Things didn't get much better after I changed them though... It's driving me crazy when I think how much did I pay for it. Yes, it's perfectly made, very comfortable and effortless to play, but damn - on some frets it really lacks in sustain. It's told that when you check the guitar in the shop, you sholud play it unplugged and listen to the wood. If I didint see how well is it made I'd say it's a rather cheap axe... What's your opinion about it? How about your rg's/jems? Maybe they are simply much quieter, because of the tremolo?

My J Customs all resonate beautifully. My UV777 being basswood does as well. No issues.

Are you able to compare it to some cheaper, fixed bridge guitar? Is there much difference?

Sounds like a set up issue. Lack of neck relief, too low action, trem not parallel to body and so on.

You mean, I should loosen or tighten the truss rod a little bit? The tremelo is parallel to the body. The action is something about 1.5mm on the low E (thickest string) and just below 1mm ond the high E. To low? I am not noticing any serious fret buzz. The guitar is tuned to D standard, 10-52 strings.

Are the strings old? It is possible it's just the guitar. When buying a guitar, if it doesn't sound good unplugged, it's not going to sound good amplified either.

Strings are new.

That's exactly what I am frustrated about. I'l try to raise the action a bit, then take it to my tech, see what he thinks about it. I am afraid I'll end up selling this guitar
It's not like the wood doesn't resonate. Actually, it vibrates quite strong. It's just much quiter than my other, cheap, fixed bridge guitar. So here is my question - is the tremolo the cause?

maybe its just a bad piece of wood. thats all

I've tried a few others but all with trems. They were ok, not as good but not worse than anything else out there. I've played on some of the newer fender stuff and it was dead as a doorknob. Nothing compared to my bro-in-laws 60s strat. That thing is amazing. There are a bunch of variables that can play into how it resonates.

To add more relief you loosen the truss rod, but only if it needs it !!

There are a lot of variables here -- sometimes it's the type of wood, the finish, the type of bridge, neck joint, etc.

A fixed bridge will in general -- and this is not immutable -- resonate a bit more.

There is a very tiny, talcum powder-sized grain of truth to this. The "play unplugged" test is a cork sniffers thing that I don't put much stock into.

If you want a resonant guitar, you could play one that's 5 inches thick and made of plywood for all that matters. I have an Epiphone Les Paul that is noticibly louder than any RG or Jem I own when strummed unplugged. The RGs and Jem sound thin and wimpy compared to it. That doesn't make a bit of difference on which one sounds better with some gain and the volume cranked.

That's exactly the type of answer I was hoping to get I'll keep that in mind and try to stop worrying about such bull****.
I watched some videos with Vai presenting his gear - there is a fragment where he picks up one of his jems and without plugging it in, he hits a chord. I discovered it sounds quite similar to my axe, so probably I'm just getting paranoid But I'm going to visit my local store anyway, and play the 1570 I saw there to compare it with mine anyway

It sounds like what you're worrying about is the regular way a solid body electric guitar sounds unplugged. They all sound plinky and thin.

When I get home, I'm going to find a video on youtube that comes to mind. Its a guy from GW magazine demonstrating the DiMarzio 36th anni PAF humbuckers. He plays his own R9/R8 Les Paul as well as Larry's 1959 Les Paul unplugged. You'll see that there's nothing magical sounding even about the unplugged '59. It is louder, but that's because its 9 pounds of 60 year-old mahogany and maple.

Worked for Paul Gilbert and his plywood PGM