Electric guitarists: got a techy question for ya?

Question

How is it that solid body instruments produce better sustain? I read yesterday about how Les Paul proved this with a solid wooden railroad tie. I can't wrap my tiny brain around this concept...

Answer 1

Certain solid materials transmit vibration better than air. Have you ever heard that you can hear a train coming from miles away by putting your ear to the rail on the track?

Same principle here; the solid wood body is much more effective at not only transmitting the vibrations of the strings to the pickups, but also at detecting them for longer periods as the vibrations decay.

Answer 2

not an answer, just a comment. . .

yeah my bf plays electric guitar (i play viola) and he was telling me about this. wth?

btw- just listen to the sustain on this one. well, if it was playing, you would hear the sustain. don't touch it. don't even look at it. you've seen enough of this one. :-P

EDIT-
So, Dendryte88 and shitstainz- Since it's an electronic instrument, you want to preserve the vibrations to go to a small place (the pickup). For a hollow-bodied instrument, like a guitar or violin, you want the sound to project, and that's why it's not solid. Is that right?
(sorry Poopsie I'm not meaning to hijack your question)

Answer 3

"" MOLECULAR STRUCTURE "" It's all in the molecules of the wood, my friend.


Heavy wood has a tighter molecular structure, and , therefore carries VIBRATIONS longer & farther........hence more sustain.

Some woods are better for sustain than others, though. I never worried about "not enuff sustain" , though .
In the 70's, I just bought an Electro-Marmonix "BIG MUFF", and that took care of any FUZZ ( you kids call it distortion today) that I needed . BIG MUFFS are once again made today.