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PART 6 "THE BIG PICTURE OR WHAT IS REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR MY SOUND" (strings, frets..)
ALRIGHT...it's monkey wrench time again! This month, I'm off to France for a well-deserved vacation and some heavy research and development. You readers have really kept me on my toes, and then some! While I'm away contemplating my navel, I have decided once again to bring in our distinguished guest panel of experts to further your understanding of your instrument's function in relation to your playing and your own techniques which result therefrom. This time, our guest is Ralph Novak, of San Leandro, California.Ralph is an expert par excellence on scale-lengths and guitar building, not to mention the best fret man on this sphere that we call "Earth". In addition, he excels in other areas of guitar knowledge, as you will see. In this installment, Ralph will re-inforce the importance of how your guitar's scale-length affects your string's function and sound, as this is just as crucial to your final tone, if not more important then external vices such as your amplifier. Consider this commentary as our version of that all-too-famous "Perfect Pitch" course you've heard so much about in the last few years. Ladies and gentlemen, without further adieu...Ralph Novak.
While Dean's focus in these discussions have centered around the string itself, I'd like to expand that focus to the string as it functions in context: how the string relates to the guitar and the musician. This is information that can be put to use immediately by you; to help you understand those variables that can define your sound, and to get at the root of some basic equipment decisions. While some "science" will be presented, it won't be scary and I promise I'll relate it to the reality of producing music on the guitar.
Let's dive right in: a model of the physical ideal of the vibrating string consists of (for our purposes) three basic parts; These parts inter-relate ...if you vary one element, it affects all the others. These parts are the string's MASS, that is, it's density versus it's size; the VIBRATING LENGTH of the string, or, the scale-length of the guitar; and the TENSION of the string, or, it's tuning. Other elements such as friction and elasticity, while very important to the physicist, are much less critical for us as musicians because these factors are relatively consistant for our application, so can be eliminated as variables.
To apply this relationship to our musical milieu: A Gibson Les Paul has a shorter scale-length than a Fender Strat; if both guitars are strung with a .010 through a .046 set, and both tuned to concert pitch, the Les Paul will have a "looser feel" than the Strat. The shorter scale- length of the Les Paul allows the string to come up to pitch at less tension; more about how this influences tone later, for now let's continue exploring our physical model.
If we tune the two instruments so that each has equal string tension, the Les Paul will have a higher pitch. Further, if we juggle the string gauges so that both instruments have the same string tension at the same tuning, we'd have to use larger (increased mass) strings on the Les Paul or smaller (decreased mass) strings on the Strat. An important factor that is present in this relationship is the "real world" environment: since this is not a mathematical ideal but a functional relationship, we're limited by physical size and the properties of materials we're likely to encounter.
Another way to express this is that these variables in our model will only work best in a limited range: we won't expect to get good performance from a string that is too large or small for our applications, or we won't encounter any guitars with 96" scale-lengths that are played by humans in the traditional ways. As musicians this means that we know that we can alter a variable in this relationship only so much--- if we push the limits we may sacrifice performance in important ways. For instance, if we would like to use our guitar in a "dropped D" tuning, (where the low "E" string is tuned down a whole step), and we are using light gauge strings, the re-tuned low "E" string may have a "flaccid" sound, it may rattle and buzz, and it may not hold the pitch very well.
Moving up a few gauges to a heavier string will help...nothing new here, but more is not neccessarily better. If we push the gauge of the low "E" string up to, say, .090, we may expect to get a rich, sonorous, deep dropped "D"; NOT! The physical size of a .090 string at a guitar scale-length actually works againest getting a good tone. The mass of such a string at guitar scale-length will produce a dead, muddy tone; the "real world" has intruded on our ideal and the physical properties of strings, scale-lengths, and tension have been exceeded.
Notice that the same .090 string installed on a bass with a much longer scale-length than a guitar works perfectly fine; we have increased the scale-length to the point where the string can function within it's normal range. Another "real world" factor in this relationship is the consistency of the mass over the length of the vibrating string; strings that are out of balance or lumpy will distort the vibrational pattern and the series of nodes that create the harmonics generated by the string.
This can be used to advantage in some applications, such as piano or bass strings that are wound so that the core only passes over the saddle: this makes for a "livelier" tone because the string is more flexible at the contact surfaces; but the wound portion of the string must still be consistent in mass over its length for good performance. This is where the quality of the string comes into play. A string that is unbalanced due to manufacturing defects or wear or accumulated grunge will not tune as accurately or sound as rich as one that is uniform in mass.
This factor is vitally important to us as musicians; we spend countless hours developing our technique, honing our sound, and countless dollars on the equipment that delivers that tone. We're shooting ourselves in the foot if we then compromise our tone by using old, cruddy strings or strings that have manufacturing defects. In fairness, it must be made clear that even expensive strings can have defects. The burden is upon us, the musician, to familiarize ourselves with string problems and detect them before the strings cause us unneccessary grief.
Put simply: inspect your strings before you install them. Lumps, kinks, and loose windings can be detected before they ruin your session. Explore some different brands of strings; look for tonal variations and quality consistency. Keep a stock of individual strings of your preferred gauge on hand so that replacement of a defective one, even right out of the package, is relatively painless. Your tone does begin with the string.
The final "real world" factor in the relationship that we'll consider before moving to the tonal effects of these variables is the quality of the contact surfaces where the string interfaces with the instrument: if the nut, frets, or saddle have problems that prevent the string from "breaking clean" at these points, or are loose relative to the rest of the instrument, then performance is compromised. In fact, anything that influences the free vibration of the string will influence performance: contact surfaces, magnetic fields, the rigidity of the "chassis"(solid- body electric versus acoustic for example), the density and mass of the chassis, even how the string is "excited"...picked with plastic or plucked with a finger. The musical energy comes from the string---how quickly that energy is dissipated by the body and supporting parts of the instruments will influence attack, sustain, and volume. This is relatively clear; we can readily observe that an acoustic guitar, with a flexible diaphragm-like top, will convert the energy of the string into volume and projection; the solid-body electric guitar will not have the volume (unplugged!) as the acoustic, but will have greater sustain because the solid body and rigid chassis absorb the energy from the string more slowly, so the string vibrates longer.
We can observe that a stringed instrument behaves as a "closed circuit"; the string, when excited, influences the way the string responds, and the two parts: the string and the instrument, influence each other continually throughout the cycle until the energy is dissipated. Let's refer back to our physical ideal and examine it from a tonal perspective; we'll recall the Les Paul and Strat example as instruments with different scale-lengths, but the same string gauges and tuning. The Les Paul fells "looser", but how does it sound?
To eliminate the effects of pickups and electronics for this audio test, we'll try these guitars unplugged. We'll still have the effects of the different woods, the hardware, the bolt-on neck versus the glued-in, etc., but try to "hear beyond" these things. If you can actually try this, please do. If you have several Strats and Les Pauls to try this with, even better. Try first playing only the open strings. Listen for these points: is the attack fast or slow? Is the harmonic content of the string relatively bright or fat? Now, try some scales at various places on the neck; look for those other points that we looked for in the open strings, but now also note whether one instrument or the other "favors" the bass or treble ranges.
Try to "listen past" those effects of materials and construction... try to hear what the scale-lengths sound like. Many of you already know that Strats and Les Pauls sound different for more reasons than just pickups and construction details like hardware; the scale-length is one of the big identifying factors in the tone of these instruments. The whole thing comes down to the string! Scale-length will influence tone in that it influences which harmonics will dominate the overall sound of the string.
The bright harmonics that characterize the longer scale-length of the Strat are weak in the Les Paul scale, but the Les Paul has a sweetness and roundness that is unavailable in a Strat. Those of you who know my fanned-fret guitars know that I ultilize the varying tonalities of scale-length to create my instruments; the unique, clear tone of fanned-fret instruments comes from the combining of scale-lengths so that each string has its own voice.
We can observe other tonal effects of scale-length; the Les Paul, with the shorter scale, is a bit more difficult to tune. It is more sensitive to string defects and responds to "note bending" in a more exaggerated way than a Strat. If you've never compared the two instruments this way, try it; if both the Les Paul and the Strat are strung with the same gauge strings and tuned to the same standard pitch, and we bend the Strat high"E" string a full step, then use the same effort to try to bend the Les Paul high "E" string, we get more than a full step of pitch change with the Les Paul...almost a minor third.
The reason that the shorter scale is more sensitive to these changes is that the inaccuracies or changes are magnified because the shorter string length has the harmonic nodes more compressed; there is less length to "spread out" any inaccuracies. This makes tuning a bit tougher and accurate set-up more critical. It also compounds the effects of inaccurate fret spacing or set-up problems like poorly cut nuts and saddles. The shorter scale instruments "reward" us with mellower tone and ease of fingering due to lower string tension, but the longer scale instruments "reward" us with ease of tuning and brighter tone.
Clearly, our choice of instruments has to do with our own personal preferences for tone and playability, and it's important to us as musicians to understand why these instruments may or may not be suited to our applications and needs. Understanding how the string and scale-lengths interact can give us greater insight into acheiving the tone we desire; it's not all pickups and amplifiers. It has been my intention to present information that will help you in your quest for your sound; understanding how the string really is at the core of good tone may point the direction.
Well, by now, I think you are getting into understanding the finer points of becoming your own "tone guru". After what Ralph, Stephen and I have discussed so far in this article series, you have hopefully gotten a wider perpective of how sound and tone are actually produced. I am still of the opinion that your sound is in your fingers in relationship to every other part of the "signal path". If your strings are first in line, it's what you do to them during performance that becomes your "own" sound, because of a factor known as "touch-sensitivity". An easy example is how everyone has their own vibrato, picking attack, and unique bending styles. I have even found that I have a different vibrato for each finger, not to mention what direction the bend is going (up or down).I have five or six different ones for various purposes.
The more aware you are of your own little "quirks", the more identifiable your style will become to you and other musicians. You will be branded for life, so to speak, but keep in mind that your personal style will never stop evolving. We are constantly being subjected to sound, and the influence it has upon our minds is endless. Another thing; even if we take a sabbatical from playing for an extended period of time, we will return to our axe as if it's brand-new! We all have a tendency to still "practice" mentally even though we aren't physically in contact with our instrument.
Look for more "Sixties" stuff coming up next time. You can be sure that we'll be back with more surprizes when you least expect them. Until then, I gotta get packin'...you know I'm meeting Ken Fischer for lunch in Bosnia and I can't him keep waiting!! Ralph Novak is a luthier, repairperson, inventor, author, vintage guitar enthusiast, and musician. He restores vintage instruments at his shop in San Leandro, California, and his custom guitars are played by such notables as Charlie Hunter and Joe Louis Walker; he has written a series of "how-to" articles for Guitar Player Magazine that explored custom circuits, and he holds a U.S. Patent for the "fanned-fret" system. He can be reached by phone at (510) 568-6120, Pacific time until 5 P.M. or write: Novax Fanned-Fret Guitars, 19 Dutton Avenue, San Leandro, CA 94577.
Copyright 1994 by Dean L. Farley
Copyright 1994 by Ralph Novak\Novax Guitars
Reprinted from "Vintage Guitar" August 1994 issue.