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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on July 13, 2011 at 7:08pm

I think the reason it sounds tinny..is because it's made from a tin! You must remember we are talking about instruments made form "found objects", and they are what they are. Even after 350 builds, I still don't know with absolute certainty what they are going to sound like until I string them up...it the nature of the thing. Tins can make great guitars, but often they will be very banjo-ey with little sustain and a lot of treble.

 

There's probably not much you can do with it acoustically, other than put on heavier strings and tune it lower.  If it's got a piezo pickup, that will make the tinniness even more apparent - they can be notoriously trebly.  One way to get round this would be to install a magnetic pickup, as they are easier to manipulate the tone thru a decent amp, but the basic tone will still come through.

 

Is this a guitar you've made or one you've bought - if it's an established builder they should be be able to help you.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Fat Fingers Grim on July 13, 2011 at 8:55pm

thanks chickenbone, it was bought. i guess i'll just have play around with it the best i can. Change strings etc and buy a new one with hindsight later on. I managed to get a reasonable sound with full base and quite a bit of gain so it hasn't been a total loss. liked your vids i've seen btw, thanks for the help

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Permalink Reply by YeahDoIt on July 13, 2011 at 10:14pm

Are they new strings? New strings sound weird, sort of peak about 200 Hz and have a brassy sound. You might try bigger strings at lower pitch. I am still experimenting with strings and tunings. I can't seem to find something that I really like.

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Permalink Reply by Fat Fingers Grim on July 14, 2011 at 5:06am

yeah i'm off to my local guitar shop at the weekend, i know the tin sound and it being made of tin sounded a bit dumb but what i was really after was advice on getting round this, any ideas?
ie cloth over sound hole, specific type of amp, strings anything and everything really.
thanks YeahDolt i guess it's the nature of the beast

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on July 14, 2011 at 6:22pm

What sort of pickup is is? Piezo or magnetic?

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Permalink Reply by Fat Fingers Grim on July 14, 2011 at 10:24pm

piezo with just using my sons practice amp. i've been looking on ebay 4 amp and trying to find reviews of any i might fancy (or afford ) but as i've only ever played acoustic instruments bit lost really gain reverb and base is about all i know. You seem to be the dude to ask ( i know you're busy good luck with the weekend ) i just think that like YeahDolt said about experimenting with different stuff i can chip away at it but any experience is much appreciated. If i don't come up with any answers i might have to buy a couple of tickets , wrap up warm and drive up north on Oct festival. Cheers for the time

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Permalink Reply by Printer2 on July 23, 2011 at 11:31am

Can you still get inside? How about a layer of Duct tape or two on the backside to tame the tininess?

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on July 23, 2011 at 12:15pm

pop a pick up  in there   for sure .

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Permalink Reply by Fat Fingers Grim on July 23, 2011 at 6:18pm

as of my last post i have changed strings and bought a new amp and it sounds much better already. However i have noticed that the middle string is slightly lower and buzzes against the frets when trying to slide across all 3 strings, i have to be extra careful. generally much better though thanks. I'm still going to experiment with strings, but wanted to settle on amp first and take it from there

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