Crash Course in Guitar Tone

August 28, 2008 by Chazders

I own a custom-made Ibanez S540R guitar that I bought secondhand. I purchased the guitar because I liked its tone, which was warmer and had more character than other Ibanez guitars. The other day, the guitar fell out of its gig bag. Now the tone knob is crunched into the body, the pickup switch is bowed and a grand canyon is starting to form on the back of the body. The thing is, suddenly I have “the Killer Tone,” and now I’m very confused about what I should do. Could you give me some advice? I love the guitar’s new tone, but I can’t play it in its present condition.

Graig
Jacksonville Flordia

Bizarre story, Graig. I have no idea why your guitar’s mishap has resulted in better tone. My best guess is that when the guitar fell, the changes that occurred tweaked its resonating qualities in a way that actually improved the sound. If you dig the new tone, I recommend you the necessary steps to “stop the bleeding” and secure the guitar’s structure. Let a qualified technician inspect the damage and recommend a repair that will neither compromise the guitar’s current state nor allow its condition to worsen. Bear in mid that repairing the structural integrity of the guitar could once again alter the sound. The bottom line, is that you can’t leave the guitar the way it is, since it’s neither safe nor dependable. Best of luck, and let me know how things turn out.

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