How/why is the tone of an electric guitar affected by the type of wood it’s made from?

Question

The pickups convert vibrating strings to electrical signals, so how would the type of wood they’re embedded in affect the tone? (Or even a hollow vs solid body?)

In: 15

Answer 1

You just opened one most vitriolic debates in the online guitar community. At least, it used to be.

The fact is, wood does not change tone in any way that would be perceptible to a human. Especially when you add effects, etc.

Acoustic instruments are effected because how different woods vibrate. However, with electric instruments, the vibrations are picked up by…well…a pick up. That’s what matters.