Right arm "heaviness" on the body affects tone

[merlin666]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

A smaller instrument like the mando is more susceptible than a guitar to getting choked off by hugging it or heavy-armed playing, but both sound better when the soundboard and back are free to vibrate.

No kidding, I have shifted from guitar to ukulele in the last few years and noticed a huge impact of the amount of body/arm contact with the instrument, more so on volume than on tone. As even a tenor uke is fairly small and light it also provides many opportunities to experiment with different positions to find an acceptable compromise between playing comfort and volume/tone.

[jedzep]

Also..setting the guitar on one's lap and pinning the bod against your stomach to stabilize adds to the dampening effect, so remember to strap up, sitting or standing. The more you can suspend it free of body contact, the truer to it's sonic design it will perform.

[semolinapilcher]

If you make contact with working part of a bell, it'll stop ringing pretty quickly.

Part of what David Rawlings is doing here is positioning in relation to the mic, but it's also to make the most sound possible.

[Still Kicking]

No doubt about it. My guitars sound best when I'm not touching them !



The other Paul

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by Still Kicking

No doubt about it. My guitars sound best when I'm not touching them !



The other Paul

Ba-da-dum, tish!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by SnowManSnow

...if my instrument is (for lack of a better term) "pinched" between my body and elbow area the sustain and overtones are dramatically reduced. Now, I'm not doing anything crazy, and I don't have a death grip on the thing. I also realize that "dramatically reduced" is a very VERY subjective term, but to my ear there was a pretty big difference.

Hi SNS...

I don't find guitars that sensitive to simple touch or even a bit of arm pressure over the top edge, unless the back is NOT open (exposed and free to 'ring').

I don't like arm rests, and if your guitars are that sensitive to fingers resting on them perhaps you need a guitar playing stand which floats it in the air so only the contact points of the stand touch it.

Of course touching, hugging, leaving on our pressing while playing will have some affect on guitars... And it's been that way for hundreds of years.

Minimizing contact points without a playing stand is probably a good exercise now that you've noticed the effect. I use arm tremolo/vibrato, so arm rests won't be happening to my guitars.

Actually to maximize comfort, achieve proper body angle, and hold the back open I use a NeckUp support (small leather strap with suction cup). It also positions the guitar for easier play angles and still gives me the freedom to move around (while sitting).

While standing guitars sound different than when we sit, but the only times I stand to play I'm usually amplified.

Hope this contributes to the thread.




^

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

I use arm tremolo/vibrato, so arm rests won't be happening to my guitars.
^

Just to be clear, vibrato is a left hand technique where the finger fretting the note moves to cause the pitch to vary up and down. A lot easier to do well on a fretless instrument like violin than a fretted one like mando or guitar (the motion is different with frets).

Tremolo is a right hand technique where the string(s) is(are) picked rapidly. I've worked a lot more on tremolo with my mandolin playing. It is much better ergonomically and sonically to move from the wrist rather than the elbow. The motion is best described as shaking out a match or turning a doorknob; not like shaking someone's hand or pounding a nail. For correct tremolo technique an arm rest helps me by elevating the hand so it floats above the strings. Thankfully this translates to guitar as well.