I remember reading in Guitar Player that a noted luthier said his baseline/mark of a 'good piece of wood/guitar' is when you play a chord and put your right hand on the headstock and it vibrates a fair bit and slowly dissipates over time.
I had a very disappointing opposite experience once. I ordered a Peavey Wolfgang (taking over 10 months), picked it up, played a chord, and immediately thought, I've gotta sell it. It sounded dead, like it had a blanket over the wood or something. Fortunately I was able to sell it at the same cost of acquisition.The first chord I played on my brand new Suhr S4 after taking it out of the case (without plugging it in to an amp) immediately caught my attention and made me go "whoa"; it really rang out and had a liveliness and a rich acoustic tone that I'd not heard on any electric guitar before. Plugged in it produced strong, detailed tones/harmonics that, again, I noted right away vs other guitars. I knew right then that I had something that was definitely a 'cut above' most other guitars.
I remember reading in Guitar Player that a noted luthier said his baseline/mark of a 'good piece of wood/guitar' is when you play a chord and put your right hand on the headstock and it vibrates a fair bit and slowly dissipates over time.
Mine all do, but let's really qualify what that means. For me, it means that you can hear that the instrument has nice chime and good balanced sustain. There is no buzz or rattle (unless I created it on purpose). Attack is crisp and the fundamental pitch of each note can be perceived without weird dominating overtones.
The don't necessarily sound great acoustically, but they all sustain well and are balanced. Like I wouldn't mic one up or anything.
Now my Tom Anderson drop top, OTOH, rings and vibrates all through the neck.
That's not to say the other guitars are bad, it's just that the TA REALLY stands out above the others.
I must have read the same article or a similar article...I was about to post the same thing. I believe it was thumb on one side of the headstock and forefinger on the other side. Then, as you said, strum the guitar and feel the vibration and sustain in the headstock.
The above sounds wrong to me. The headstock should feel more "fixed" for good sustain, otherwise you're losing energy.if the headstock vibrates a fair bit
The above sounds wrong to me. The headstock should feel more "fixed" for good sustain, otherwise you're losing energy.