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Vintage threads from the first ten years

action in relation to twang.

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9/19/1999 4:21 PM
nic	action in relation to twang. About two years ago I lowered my string action on my Tele and my Strat to somewhere around 4/64". Ever since then my tone has been a little dry. I played my friend's Tele this weekend and it JANGLED! So I raised my saddles and I got a bit more twang outta both my guitars. Is there anyway to get more twang? nic

9/21/1999 12:20 PM
Mike Burgundy	Bigger strings works - for more aggressive yet full sounds. Some people prefer the thinnish shimmer of very light strings, but I prefer heavy strings, stiff action, and playing the $#"*£%@§ out of them. I think one of the spunkiest teles I can think of (Collins, the Iceman) carried heavy-medium strings, tho I“m not sure exactly. something like .011 to .052, maybe

9/21/1999 12:22 PM
Mike Burgundy	Re: action in relation to twang - pickups Oh, and I forgot to mention; get the pickups as far away from the strings as you dare. Less output, but way more sustain and jangle (well, unless you go too far, but...)

9/22/1999 4:55 PM

I've always found that having the strings higher off the body tended to increase twang (although the mother of twang - the tele - sort of gives lie to that, dunnit?). This is correlated with, but not identical to, action height, since "string height" also depends on neck angle, nut height, and neck height. You can have a neck set absolutely parallel to the body, but higher than usual, with the strings set low enough that they just escape buzzing against the frets, and find a little more jangle there. You can also find a little more jangle sometimes with an offset/angled neck.

My hunch is that twang is a function of all those things that conspire to result in efficient energy transfer, and especially the initial transient/attack. The body, neck, bridge, tailpiece, etc., either work agin twang or fer it. So, through-body string anchoring (Tele style) tends to get more twang. Three bridge saddles is reputed to get more twang on a Tele than 6. The G & L style bridge units that use set screws on either side of the bridge to squeeze the saddles together into one fused mass are intended to get more twang. Some folks feel they get more twang out of a single-piece bridge/tailpiece (ą la LP Jr or modern-day Wilkinson) than a Tune-a-matic. As Mike notes, heavier gauge strings will get you more twang (I'm assuming that in the battle over who will vibrate to whose resonances, heavier strings win over bridge and body). The bridge plate on Tele's is essential to Tele-tone, insomuch as it imposes string energy on the body. I haven't diddled with them, but my hunch is that Tele's with other pickups still get twang if they have the same bridge plate and string anchoring, and yield diminished twang with the same pickups if the bridge is a different style or the strings are anchored differently. Just a hunch, though. I'll gladly yield to more informed opinions.

9/22/1999 5:49 PM
nic	That's interesting about the G&L saddles, I had never noticed. Right now I am using a Stew_mac Brass bridge with six saddles. This thing is heavey! Is it possible that it is too heavy therefore not tranfering the energy as well as a stock bridge? I am building a thinline tele with the same type bridge as I have now only this one for humbuckers... I will see if I get more twang! nic

9/22/1999 8:38 PM
Gus	I have a G&L with the bridge Mark is talking about as well as teles with the 3 saddle bridge. They do have twang, 11's help also the twang is a little different. I like them both there is a article at the SD tech site about setting the 3 saddle bridge.

9/22/1999 10:38 PM
nic	Yes I have 11's on my tele, I never like anything smaller. I am actually considering 12's. I had an old Gretsch Atro Jet with 12's and a wound g. It fit the instrument well.

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