Is it true?

[directorfitzy 0]

That if you take the backplate off of the Strat it let's the guitar breath a little more, thus giving it a tonal boost? I've heard that somewhere, and I'm thinking about doing it...(Also, I've noticed that a lot of Hendrix's Strats were like that.)

[Another Tool 5]

I've never heard of that.

I personally don't see how it would.

The body is screwed right up to the neck either way, if you ditch the backplate then you only stop the screwhead from touching the metal plate, i don't think it would improve anything but we'll see what others have to say on the subject.

[robert(original) 30]

to a tone freak, yes its true, but to someone that relies on common sense, its false.

alot of people during the 70's thought that paint jobs hindered the guitars ability to correctly reproduce the guitars tone.

now we realize it was just all the cocaine that made people think that.

by taking off the back plate you won't be changing the sound or "tone" of your guitar.

are you referring to the neck plate or the trem cover?

most of the time the trem cover is removed just becuz its easier to re-string the guitar.

the idea of a neckplate is to have even bite on the neck to the body.

if you remove that you will risk pulling one side of the neck more than the other as well as messing up the finish.

[directorfitzy 0]

Sorry, I didn't make it clearer. The plate that's over the back of the guitar, not the neck. You know where you feed the strings through. It would make the body springs exposed....can't picture on right now, because photobucket's going through some maintenance

[nirvana23freak 1]

now way does it change tone. i dont use my because its kinda pointless

[Al(ex) 25]

I doubt it.

I removed mine because when un-stringing the strat the strings would often get hung up behind the cover. So audios to that cover.

[Fran 19]

It may change the sound accoustically. You are opening up a cavity which could be seen as a sound pocket, but i doubt there would be a difference plugged in.

I might be a bit of a 'thrasher and basher' but i think everything affects how a guitar sounds in some way or other: plectrum, string gauge, woods, finish, nut, machine heads....

[MuffFuZZ 0]

Technically, yes. In theory, it should improve the guitars resonance, adding a bit of presence. However, we are talking about fractions of a frequency, I can assure you that there is absolutely no way you are going to notice the difference... actually I'm pretty confident that you would need some really sophisticated equipment to confirm the change.. like a frequency spectrum analyzer.

That being said- I always have had mine off cause it makes changing strings on the fly easier

[65fenvox 0]

I think that one of the main reason's people remove the springs plate, is because it catches on belts or big buttons. At least it did for me. If you are used to a guitar that has a smooth back like a Jaguar, one of the first things you notice on a Strat is that damn plate. Hendrix, Cobain, Stevie Ray and so on, all removed them. For different reasons? Who knows.

But I have seen Hendrix flip the guitar and strum the springs during a little break in a song, as an effect I guess.

[nirvana23freak 1]

strumming the springs can make a pretty cool sound. i do it with some chorus sometimes and it sounds nice