The Canadian Guitar Forum banner

45 second sustain "good guitar" test

6K views 76 replies 31 participants last post by  xevek90490 
#1 ·
In a recent article I came across, Paul Reed Smith says:

"A great electric guitar is harmonically rich and bright on the low strings, thick-sounding on the high strings, and rings about 45 seconds," Smith told Guitarist. "A very poor electric guitar is bassy on the low strings, tinny on the high strings, and rings for about 16 seconds. No pickup is going to fix that!"

I'm guessing he means unplugged? A casual test of a few of my guitars revealed about 16 seconds of sustain when I strum a chord (not an open chord). Open string, sure a bit longer, but not 45 seconds.

I guess my guitars have shitty unamplified sustain. Oh well. It's a good thing I have amps, then. 😁
 
#9 ·
Yes unplug.

Wich of your guitars revealed 16 seconds of sustain ?
And wich ones are 45 seconds ?
It was a small random sample: Fender EJ Strat, Ibanez AZ and a Kiesel Zeus 7. One non-floating trem, one floating trem and one headless hardtail. The one thing they all have in common is a 25.5" scale length.

For a non-open chord, they were all around 16 seconds. At least as far as I could hear. There's no way any of them could sustain unplugged for 45 seconds.

I can't remember a guitar I have had in my almost 50 years of playing that caused me concern due to a lack of sustain.
Right? It's not exactly something I ever think about.

If I need longer sustain on a note, then that's what vibrato is for.
 
#3 ·
Thank's to share Grab n Go

Here the complet article;
__

Paul Reed Smith explains exactly what makes a great electric guitar – including the exact amount of time it should sustain


By Jackson Maxwell( Guitarist )Contributions from Jamie Dickson published about 13 hours ago

Tone, the master guitar builder says, "is a complicated equation"
As part of its new, tone-themed issue
, Guitarist sat down for a chat with someone who knows a couple of things about good guitar tone, Paul Reed Smith.

Last year, Smith made waves with his comments on tonewoods – he vehemently disagrees with the notion that they have little to no effect on a guitar's sound – and expounded to Guitarist about how tonewood factors into a guitar's tonal equation.
Along the way, he offered his view about what makes for a great-sounding electric guitar in general, what makes for a bad-sounding one, and the exact – and we do mean exact – amount of time an electric should sustain.

A great electric guitar is harmonically rich and bright on the low strings, thick-sounding on the high strings, and rings about 45 seconds," Smith told Guitarist

. "A very poor electric guitar is bassy on the low strings, tinny on the high strings, and rings for about 16 seconds. No pickup is going to fix that!"

The master guitar maker was responding to a question centered on the theory he'd previously gone on record disputing – that only pickups can alter a guitar's tone, with tonewoods factoring little into the final sound.

At the end of the day, Smith says, tone "is a complicated equation that tonewoods are a part of."

To read Guitarist's full interview with Smith – which features plenty more of the PRS head honcho's tonal wisdom – pick up a copy of the April issue of the mag at Magazines Direct
 
#4 ·
I had a bit more respect for Paul Reed Smith's take on things. He has now lost a few points on my respect radar.
 
  • Like
Reactions: elburnando
#5 ·
I haven't measured but sustain is not a problem.

I can't remember a guitar I have had in my almost 50 years of playing that caused me concern due to a lack of sustain.

It would have had to be a serious pig and I guess I wouldn't have bought it. Certainly none of the ones I have built had a problem with sustain.

It's a big old nothing burger IMO.
 
#6 ·
I wonder where he gets the 45 second thing. I don't know if I've ever heard an acoustic sustain the long and while I haven't tested very many electrics unplugged, none that I have, even came close to that. Maybe he is using some instrument that records sound way below what registers in human ears.

Playability is still the most important thing when playing any instrument. If you want sustain, there are ways to get that without having your guitar do it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Grab n Go
#19 · (Edited)
I don't care about acoustic sustain either, but I did a little test anyway. Strummed open strings an put my ear to the body of the guitar. My chambered and solid LPs went between 35 and 38 seconds, My SG and PRS 30. My tinnitus could very well falsify this scientific approach though.

Resting the butt of the guitar against a door jamb or a wall will reveal similar results. Unless the electric baseboard kicks in with its own sustain.
 
#25 ·
I suspect he is taking sustain measured by some type of metric they use in their shop, perhaps with some kind of measuring equipment.

Personally, the biggest jumps in sustain I ever got were from a) big brass balls blocks replacing cheap zinc ones on trems; b) replacing cheap tuners with heavy locking tuners; and c) changing the saddles, going from zinc to stainless steel.

I also get great results going to hardened steel screws on bridges and stainless screws for neck bolts and the like. It all adds up.
 
#28 ·
This stuff is rather funny. People get way too caught up on stuff like sustain and resonance. Yes, they're both nice. But you can't really have it both ways (perfectly). There is definitely a balance to be found - and whether it's even or not depends on your preference. In terms of physics - sustain goes counter to resonance. Sustain for 45 seconds would be defined by the strings producing a sound until that acoustic energy is dispersed elsewhere (the body of the guitar, the air, etc.). So, when people start talking about guitars that have tremendous vibration (resonance) then what they are actually pointing at is a guitar that creates an easier path for the acoustic energy from the strings to dissipate elsewhere (the body). Thus, it's less sustain. I wonder if Paul Reid Smith also celebrates the resonance in his guitars or not? If so, how would that work with his idea of the importance of sustain? Or are his guitars the unicorns of physics - both offering tremendous resonance in the guitar body while miraculously not taking energy away from the strings and increasing sustain?
 
#38 ·
I think if I bought a PRS and threw it off the CN Tower in Toronto, it would sustain for at least 45 seconds. Unfortunately, after that drop, it would no longer be a guitar. :)
 
  • Haha
Reactions: zontar
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top