Dead sounding guitar

ICBM

andy_k said:

I think the neck 'stiffness' is a major contributor, ie- bigger, fatter necks are usually a bit stiffer than thinner examples, this can translate to more vibrations being transferred to the body, and not lost in the neck. This makes a guitar feel like it is alive and resonating.

In my experience it produces exactly the opposite result. I feel the resonance much more in the neck than the body.

andy_k said:

A slimmer neck, will be relying much more on the truss rod for it's stiffness, and will allow more vibration through the neck as it is somewhat 'tuned' to match the string tension, usually obvious by the annoying 'neck vibrato' that Dan from that pedal show is so fond of.

I’ve never heard what he says about it - I don’t watch those videos - but it sounds like I might agree with him.

impmann said:

Just my 2p...

I've not liked the SD Stacked Strat pickup. Its a a generic, characterless sound IMHO. 
The Rebel Yell sounds great for one particular type of sound - but the mids can be a bit... er, dominant and needs careful dialing in (heights) for it sound 'magical'. It can sound fantastic in the right setting... I wonder if it doesn't suit this particular instrument.
Finally... Wilkinson trem. Sorry but I've not been a fan of these since I first encountered them on Eggle guitars back in the late 80s. I'm sure others have had better experiences but having seen them installed on otherwise vibrant Strats and the timbre and character of the guitar take a nose dive - I do wonder if this is a contributory factor in the the dark acoustic tone and its lack of 'spark'.

I’ve never heard a Rebel Yell, but I completely agree about the SD Strat Stack and the Wilkinson trems, although I find them thin rather than dark. I once fitted one to a favourite guitar and had to take it off shortly afterwards because it completely killed the tone.

Axe_meister

A visit to @FelineGuitars guitars might be on the books see what he has to say.

FelineGuitars

Quick thoughts whilst thinking about this

1 - what string gauge and tuning?

2 - How many springs on the trem and are they quite stretched out when at rest ?

Sometimes I favour fewer springs and having them well stretched - makes a guitar have more "zing" and the trem seems bouncier.

3 - Another +1 to big necks favouring deeper fundamental frequencies - and in my opinion the singing sustain is about an octave or more above that. So a stiff yet thinner neck may work well.

4 - In a mahogany/maple mix too thick a maple top (or % of maple relative to the magogany) tames the very top end in my opinion ( a problem that some players had with PRS guitars compared to Gibson LPs)

5 - try an earvana nut for as well as improving the in tuneness it seems to add some high end shimmer

Axe_meister

Thread resurrection.
I've restrung all of my guitars with the same guage strings.
My new observations. 
Guitars with a fixed bridge or traditional 6 screw Fender trem, when played without amp all have that new string twang.
Both my Warmoth guitars with Wilkinson trem sound dull, i.e. that twang is missing. Yes both have a slightly thicker neck, then again the squire Tele has a thick neck as well and does not suffer the issue.
So I think it is down to the trem.
So big question what to replace with without having to redrill the pivot holes. Don't mind widening a little but don't want to change spacing or position.