What does "can't handle heavy strumming" sound like?

[ribsareyummy]

I often see people saying smaller-than-dread guitars can't handle heavy strumming well, sound overdriven, or similar descriptors. I'm trying to figure out what that actually sounds like, and I can't find anything on YouTube. Can anyone describe how it sounds or point to a video?

[Rev Roy]

To my ears, when you overdrive a guitar the tone gets muddy and articulation is lost. You’re basically trying to force a guitar to produce a level of sound for which it’s not designed. That’s seldom a good idea.

[jaymarsch]

I’ll take a stab at trying to describe this from my experience. Guitars behave differently depending on their bracing, tone woods and voicing. I have a cedar/EIR 00 that excels at finger style and light strumming. It has a good deal of sustain and responds beautifully to my lighter touch. If I strum it too hard with a pick, all the overtones and harmonic content start to crash into one another and the tone becomes muddy and distorted.
I have a guitar that has an Adi top with Bois de Rose back and sides and when I strum it hard with a pick there is still some overtone and harmonic content to the tone but the notes bloom and die in a way that preserves the integrity of the chords without distorting.
Not sure if that makes sense but it is the best I can do. I hope others chime in here as well.
Best,
Jayne

[Draft Guitar]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

I’ll take a stab at trying to describe this from my experience. Guitars behave differently depending on their bracing, tone woods and voicing. I have a cedar/EIR 00 that excels at finger style and light strumming. It has a good deal of sustain and responds beautifully to my lighter touch. If I strum it too hard with a pick, all the overtones and harmonic content start to crash into one another and the tone becomes muddy and distorted.
I have a guitar that has an Adi top with Bois de Rose back and sides and when I strum it hard with a pick there is still some overtone and harmonic content to the tone but the notes bloom and die in a way that preserves the integrity of the chords without distorting.
Not sure if that makes sense but it is the best I can do. I hope others chime in here as well.
Best,
Jayne

It makes a lot of sense, once someone has actually experienced it. Loss of articulation and muddy/distorted sound seems most accurate to me.

When you hear a very talented guitarist play, what do you hear? I hear power with a light touch. I hear articulate notes with clear separation. I hear overtones that compliment primary notes. When a guitar is overdriven, all of this disappears. There is a loss of power of the tone even though the guitar is played "harder", there is little or no articulation of notes and everything just seems like a jumbled mess of notes, and overtones either can't be distinguished or seem unpleasant rather than something that compliments the sound.

The clear give-away is if you back off a little with your attack, it magically sounds much more appealing to your ear.

Over-rev the engine in your car. It doesn't sound good, does it?

[beatcomber]

Once you hear it, you will recognize it. It's a pretty harsh sound.

[bufflehead]

I have a cedar-top concert size guitar that some would say lacks headroom. My experience with it is that there's a point of diminishing returns when strumming it, where putting increased energy into the strum doesn't result in increased volume. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If I want loud, I can always pull out the dreadnought. If I want soft, such as when I'm playing alone at home, the concert is wonderful. The player just has to understand that loud strumming is not within this guitar's wheelhouse. If I want more noise, I can either plug it in or switch to a different guitar.

I would not want this cedar-top to be my only guitar. On the other hand, as a fourth guitar it definitely fills its niche.

[dspoel]

It is not unlike the overdrive on an electric guitar. Sound becomes muddy.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by dspoel

It is not unlike the overdrive on an electric guitar. Sound becomes muddy.

Back around 1980 I went with a buddy to meet a guy playing guitar. He was playing an acoustic and doing a punk song. I could not figure out how he made the guitar sound like a distorted guitar.

[KalamazooGuy]

All of the comments above are accurate. However, the SJ 200 I play is the only guitar, by far, that can handle an over aggressive approach and sound terrific.

[gmel555]

Originally Posted by ribsareyummy

...I often see people saying smaller-than-dread guitars can't handle heavy strumming well.....

Regarding the "smaller-than-dread(s) can't handle" part. Might be an okay generalization, but IMHO it's not one I'd rely on. I think bracing, wood(s), etc. are at least as important as body size regarding handling heavy strumming. Just thought I'd toss that in, alongside what "not handling it" sounds like.

[Tnfiddler]

I had a 2011 Taylor 814ce that If I would get into a song, a little too much and it would start to lose that sparkle they’re known for. Both of my Bourgeois dreads, however, have so much headroom, that no matter how hard you strum them, they NEVER lose any clarity.

[dneal]

I'll play devil's advocate.

Why is "heaving strumming", or being able to handle that, a good thing?

One could argue that is a result of decades of over-braced dreads and jumbos with the heavy strings needed to drive the top. You're going to have to play them harder to get volume and tone.

A more responsive and dynamic guitar is lightly braced. That usually means lighter strings. "Heavy strumming" isn't required. Appropriate input is.

If someone has spent years banging away on an overbuilt guitar with heavy strings, they probably do think other guitars "can't handle" their playing style. That's just blaming a guitar for a lack of technique.

[Mark Stone]

Originally Posted by dneal

I'll play devil's advocate.

Why is "heaving strumming", or being able to handle that, a good thing?

One could argue that is a result of decades of over-braced dreads and jumbos with the heavy strings needed to drive the top. You're going to have to play them harder to get volume and tone.

A more responsive and dynamic guitar is lightly braced. That usually means lighter strings. "Heavy strumming" isn't required. Appropriate input is.

If someone has spent years banging away on an overbuilt guitar with heavy strings, they probably do think other guitars "can't handle" their playing style. That's just blaming a guitar for a lack of technique.

I hadn't really thought about it that way, but your post makes sense.

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by dneal

I'll play devil's advocate.
If someone has spent years banging away on an overbuilt guitar with heavy strings, they probably do think other guitars "can't handle" their playing style. That's just blaming a guitar for a lack of technique.

I agree 100%.

I've never owned a guitar I could overdrive with my occasional fortissimo playing, but I'm sure they are out there.

Right tool for the job: if you're bound and determined to bang away don't purchase a lightly braced guitar built for fingerstyle.

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by dneal

I'll play devil's advocate.

Why is "heaving strumming", or being able to handle that, a good thing?.

One word……BLUEGRASS!!! A loud dread is a GREAT thing when you’re in a circle with those obnoxious banjos!!LOL