Silly guitar construction question.

[pauldo]

I was in a conversation with a guy who recently purchased a 'custom' Heritage Prospect.  He was trying to explain the difference between a "floating center-block" and a "solid center-block".  But his explanation didn't really extend beyond a tonal difference.


So the question for those who know (and I know you are here) What exactly is a center-block in a hollow body (ES335 type) guitar?

[cozmik_cowboy]

The Prospect. like the 335 isn't hollow-bodied; it's semi-hollow.  There is a solid block of wood that runs down the center, making the center solid; the neck, p/ups, bridge, tailpiece, and endpin are all mounted into it.  The idea is to give some of the woody richness of an actual hollow-body with the feed-back resistance of a solid.

Peter

[cozmik_cowboy]

Adriaan, what did you edit & why?

Peter

[adriaan]

Peter, sometimes the Club software of its own accord adds html markup tags that mess with the text size of your post. In your case, everything was down to a 2 pt font, which even someone with 20/20 vision will not be able to read. I hope you don't mind ...

[pauldo]

Thanks Adriaan, it has been many a year since these old eyes were 20/20 . . . .

So a center-block is a pseudo 'neck-thru' on a (semi) hollow body - kinda, sorta in it's own way.

What is the difference between a Floating Center-Block and a Solid Center Block?

[cozmik_cowboy]

Adriaan - thanks.

Pauldo - Upon further investigation, I appear to have misspoken; while the 335 (345/355/etc) has a solid block as I described above, the Prospect in fact has a floating block.  The difference is that the floating block is not full depth; it runs full length of the top like the solid, but does not touch the back, leaving it free to vibrate more.  I assume this would give a tiny bit more of the woodiness I mentioned in my first post.

Peter

[gtrguy]

Yes, they are not meant to emulate a neck-thru, but to control feedback, at least as far as the Gibson ES models are concerned.

[keith_h]

From my understanding a solid block is thickness width and is glued to both the top and the back of a hollow body guitar. A floating block is not full depth and is only glued to the top. The idea is the back remains independent from the front and will have a more acoustic guitar sound.

[edwin]

The Prospect. like the 335 isn't hollow-bodied; it's semi-hollow.  There is a solid block of wood that runs down the center, making the center solid; the neck, p/ups, bridge, tailpiece, and endpin are all mounted into it.  The idea is to give some of the woody richness of an actual hollow-body with the feed-back resistance of a solid.

Peter

And feedback resistant it is, much to my dismay. I have a hell of a time getting my Starfire to feedback.

[cozmik_cowboy]

The Prospect. like the 335 isn't hollow-bodied; it's semi-hollow.  There is a solid block of wood that runs down the center, making the center solid; the neck, p/ups, bridge, tailpiece, and endpin are all mounted into it.  The idea is to give some of the woody richness of an actual hollow-body with the feed-back resistance of a solid.

Peter

And feedback resistant it is, much to my dismay. I have a hell of a time getting my Starfire to feedback.

My Tele actually feeds back easier than my Sheraton.

Peter

[David Houck]

Edwin; do low impedance pickups feedback as easily as high impedance pickups?

[edwin]

Edwin; do low impedance pickups feedback as easily as high impedance pickups?

I can't tell any difference. I don't see why there would be, as the mechanism is purely physical from amp to string/body, with the pickup design only affecting the frequency response.

I think perhaps I have just been overly cautious about playing at the extreme volumes needed to get the kind of feedback that I'm looking for without using a dirt box. I don't want to blow up my old JBLs!

[David Houck]

Thanks!  I just asked the google as well, and it didn't report a difference either.