Plywood might be one of the best electric guitar tonewoods
For some people, anyway.
After buying my second 1989 Squier II Stratocaster, I was pleased to notice that it, just like my original, resonates like a beast. This is something a lot of Stratocaster players chase after.
Why does acoustic resonance matter at all with a solid-body electric guitar?
For me, it's for two reasons. The feeling of it and the acoustic sound.
Some players (and I am definitely one of them) like to feel body vibration while the guitar is being played. Feeling the vibration is a "second confirmation" the note or chord actually happened.
Hearing the note acoustically being played is a "third confirmation" the note or chord actually happened. This is only heard when playing indoors at home at a lower volume, but still nice to have.
When you hear the note or chord electrically, acoustically and feel it physically all at once, that's a desirable thing to many guitar players.
Why does plywood resonate so well in a solid-body guitar application?
I've been racking my brain trying to figure this out, and this is what I've come up with.
The first thing to know is that not all plywoods are not the same. Plywood is generally inexpensive, but there is also marine grade which is far more expensive because there are no voids between the plys.
The '89 Squier II Stratocaster is absolutely not made of marine grade plywood. It's the cheap stuff for sure, but not the cheap-as-dirt OSB particle board (that means oriented strand board).
If you search online for those who actually made guitars with plywood bodies, it's mostly guys who took the absolute cheapest OSB particle board they could find and make a guitar out of it.
The plywood used in my '89 Squier Strat is a grade above that. Certainly not premium grade, but not total bargain bin stuff either.
My best guess is that it's probably the same plywood type used in mid-grade speaker enclosures. I believe that is the secret sauce, so to speak. That's what makes it resonate so well.
Does this mean you should start building plywood body guitars?
No. Or to be more specific, not unless you're chasing after a very specific result.
It is easy to find a pre-made guitar body in a traditional tonewood like mahogany, alder, ash and so on. Heck, you can get mahogany guitar bodies easily on Amazon right now.
As crazy as this sounds, it would take more money and time to construct a plywood body. The plywood itself is cheaper, but ready-made options for solid bodies aren't generally available, so you have to fabricate it yourself.
If you are actually willing to take the time, money and effort to fabricate a body from mid-grade plywood, go for it. It might be just the thing to get the wood resonance you've been looking for...
...if that's what you want. Generally speaking, only fans of Fender and Gibson like solid-body electric guitars with tons of body resonance to them. Other players, such as hard rock and metal soloists, don't want pronounced resonance because that can make a Floyd-Rose tremolo system feel weird for their style of playing.
Both my plywood solid-body Squiers are resonance monsters. I can't say the same for the 2021 Fender Player Stratocaster I just recently returned. That guitar had a "proper" alder body, but the acoustic resonance, while there, was minimal.
I'm not saying to go buy a vintage Squier. But I am saying that if you have the means to put guitars together yourself (especially if you have the tools and equipment,) consider plywood. But be sure to use a plywood that's at least semi-good.
Why isn't The Whoopee Boys a cult classic?
I think this is one of those movies that just suffers from a really bad title, among other things.
The Whoopee Boys as of 2021 is 35 years old. I did not see it in the theater back in 1986, nor could I because I literally wasn't old enough to see an R-rated movie then.
A fuzzy memory of mine tells me that in the late 1980s - which by the way is before I even went to high school - a friend of mine at the time told me to go watch this movie because it was really funny. Where did he see it? No idea. Maybe he saw it on cable television or possibly rented it himself. I do remember being in the video store with my dad, specifically seeking this movie, and remember it being tough to find because the original VHS cover (which was pretty much exactly like the image you see above) didn't exactly stick out among all the other tapes. Very bland styling, mostly white box, easy to miss. But I found it.
The VHS tape was rented, and I think I watched this movie only once.
Is this movie funny? For an '80s movie, yes. Lewd, crude, rude juvenile humor, but it works. I find it interesting that the R rating is for language alone...
...which brings me to why this movie isn't remembered all that well.
First, the title. I guarantee movie goers specifically avoided seeing this just on title alone. Were it named something else, I'm positive it would have done better.
Second, the R rating. All it would have taken to bring the movie safely into PG territory is cutting out about 2 minutes. And I can assure you it would have not affected the storyline nor the comedy at all. Were this a PG movie, again, it would have done a lot better.
This should be a cult classic and it's amazing that it isn't
This movie falls right in line with other '80s comedy movies of the day in its demeanor. It doesn't take itself too seriously, is surprisingly competent and there are genuinely good laugh-out-loud moments.
Something The Whoopee Boys does real well is give off a happy '80s vibe. While re-watching this, I was easily able to put my mind back to how things were 35 years ago and stay there through the whole movie. Well, almost. There's only one part that dates it, and it's fortunately only for a few seconds with the mention of a "car phone", which in the context of the movie is only something very wealthy people had and used regularly. In 1986, that was largely true. Aside from that very minor nitpick, it's a great '80s trip otherwise.
The phrase "they don't make movies like this anymore" totally applies here. Being it's a happy fun '80s movie should make it a cult classic, but this one slipped through the cracks. I squarely blame that on the title.
To give you an indication of how bad (as in forgettable) the title is, the only way I found this movie is that I remembered a comedian with the last name Rodriguez was in it. I then did an online search for '80s comedy movies with a lead character played by actors with the last name Rodriguez. From that search, I found Paul Rodriguez, looked up the movies he acted in during the 1980s, and from there I found The Whoopee Boys.
Yeah, it took that level of searching just to find this flick. I couldn't even remember the title; it was that forgettable. I had to go by actor name.
Again, I blame the title alone as the reason hardly anybody remembers this movie today.
Good movie? I think so. If you like mid-1980s style humor with some raunch to it, you'll like it too.
I should also note it's easy to find the VHS copy of this movie, should you want one.
And then there were the right two
Out with the old, in with the older.
The new Fender Player Stratocaster I bought late last month has been returned, replaced with a 32-year-old guitar.
Why was the '21 Stratocaster returned? I could not get the guitar feeling right no matter what I did to it, even after fixing the tight string tension issue with a $10 part.
To be clear, there was nothing wrong with the Fender guitar. It sounded fine, played fine and did everything right...
...but the magic just wasn't there. That's the feeling that was missing.
I specifically bought a Fender Stratocaster after playing my first guitar that I still have, a 1989 Squier II Stratocaster, after sitting in its case for many months.
Since the Fender didn't work out, I said screw it, I might as well try to find another '89 Squier II. I did, and bought it.
I learned a huge lesson by getting this guitar.
I finally understand why guys chase after vintage guitars now
Buying a second '89 Squier II Stratocaster breaks several personal rules of mine, such as:
- Don't buy a duplicate of a guitar you already have
- Don't buy a guitar you can't return
- Don't buy a vintage guitar
Those rules obviously got thrown out the window with this guitar purchase.
At this point in my guitar playing life, what I was trying to find is something that felt as good as my original '89. I found one, in the same color, same generation, same everything. And it plays about 98% as good as my original does, which is as good as it gets. The feel is there, the sound is there, the comfort is there. I got it.
Some words of wisdom:
DO NOT buy this guitar. You will hate it. I love it because I know every single inch of this guitar backwards and forwards. I know all its strengths and flaws.
The Squier II Stratocaster is not like a vintage Fender at all. This is a guitar with ratty sounding ceramic magnet pickups, barely any electronics shielding, a plywood body (yes, really), incorrect fretboard markers at the 12th fret that are spaced too wide apart, garbage tuners, tuner buttons made of plastic that wear out easily, noisy electronics, and so on.
If you like the ratty ceramic magnet pickup sound and want something similar for yourself, I strongly suggest you seek out a 2007-2012 Squier Bullet Strat instead. That guitar has slightly better tuners, a basswood body instead of plywood, and can easily be found. Alternatively, you can get a Bullet Strat HT (hardtail) brand new that has a similar tonal character.
I bought the guitar I did because I know it very well, and that's why I have a much better understanding of why some guys chase after vintage guitars. Certain guitars have a sound and feel to them that the new stuff just doesn't have...
...which is NOT to say Squier used to make them better in the past. Not at all. The Squier Classic Vibe '50s Stratocaster and Classic Vibe '60s Stratocaster guitars are far superior in every way. I know this. But the Squier II character is the one I prefer. That doesn't make it superior. It just means I prefer it.
I love this thing. You wouldn't for reasons I mentioned above, but I do.
Squier Sub-Sonic, the 24 fret baritone guitar from 20 years ago
This guitar definitely wins the award for Best Name Ever for a baritone electric.
On page 147 of the Fender catalog back in 2001, one photo appeared of a baritone guitar by Squier. It only came in one color, Black Metallic.
This was the Sub-Sonic Stagemaster Deluxe, even though "Stagemaster" nor "Deluxe" appears anywhere on the instrument.
Basically put, this thing looks like the Baritone Guitar of Doom. With the exception of the headstock logos, everything on this guitar is blacked out. Paint, hardware, controls, tuners, all of it. Nothing but black. Also, it has a neck-thru design. No bolt-on.
The Sub-Sonic would look totally at home at a heavy metal show, no question about that.
How much?
I've seen the Squier Sub-Sonic selling between $650 and $1,000.
This thing is somewhat rare and attainable.
The Sub-Sonic is one of the cleanest designs I've ever seen for a baritone electric, and it was also built to play. This was made at a time when Squier was trying to be "edgy" with newer modern guitar designs.
Remember, this is before the Classic Vibe Series existed, so this was the best stuff Squier was making at the time. And even though the Sub-Sonic is 20 years old, when you pick up one that's in good condition, it doesn't look nor feel old at all. The Sub-Sonic could easily be released today and would still be considered modern.
If you fancy an "evil" looking baritone electric, seek out a Squier Sub-Sonic. You won't be disappointed.
If you don't want to deal with a vintage electric guitar and would rather get something now that's new (and probably cheaper with better build quality), see the ESP LTD Viper-201B. The B is for Baritone, of course, so it's low, loud and mean. Also check out the other baritone electrics available. There are plenty to go around.
Fender actually came correct with the Jag-Stang this time
This is not a guitar I'd ever buy, but at least this one was launched right.
Nostalgia sells, which is why Fender is having another go with this guitar (the first time was in the early 2000s).
Will it sell? Yes, of course it will because of two very specific things Fender did this time around. First, launch with a lefty version, and second, have it in the same color Kurt Cobain had his Jag-Stang in, and that's exactly what happened.
Yes, there is a right handed version if you want a look at that. But the lefty in Sonic Blue is what counts.
If I recall correctly, when Fender had their first go with the Jag-Stang back in 2002-2003 (which was made in Japan), the color was there but no lefty version - and that ticked off Nirvana fans a lot. They wanted the lefty and didn't get it. This time they do with the Mexico version.
Why I would I not buy this?
Before I list my reasons why, it doesn't matter what I say here because the fact the Sonic Blue lefty version exists means it's guaranteed to sell. That's the one fans have been wanting for years, so regardless of my opinions, Fender should easily sell all of the Sonic Blue lefties with no problem at all. I don't know how well the Fiesta Red lefty or the right-handed versions will do, but that blue lefty is a guaranteed seller.
With that said, this is why I'd never own one personally:
Butt-adjusted truss rod location, like many of the Fender Vintera Stratocaster guitars have. Neck has to come off for adjustment.
It has a leaned humbucker. The rear coil pole pieces absolutely don't line up with the G, B and high-E strings at all, and the front coil pole pieces absolutely don't line up with the low-E, A and D strings at all. What I'm hoping Fender did was use a humbucker with a strong ceramic bar magnet, which would at least somewhat mitigate the strings not lining up with the pole pieces.
7.25" radius fingerboard. This guitar will fret out easily for most notes bent beyond one semitone.
Jaguar control knobs. Never liked those things.
I won't own one, but again, the Sonic Blue lefty will sell. It's as sure of a thing as any.