chambered vs. not chambered

It does produce a totally different sound, however it still sounds like a les paul.  I know that sounds weird, I'll explain what I mean.  With the totally solid bodys you find that when you play them unplugged you can make notes sing very loud on it but when you strum a chord the volume isn't really that loud.  A chambered body resonates inside its self and you can hear it acousticly speaking louder.   Plugged in your going to find the same thing.   Solid bodies the notes are very clear and pronounced.  Chambered bodies will sound fatter and fuller sounding but when you want the clear notes they seem to be fatter sounding and not quite as sharp cutting through the mix of a band.  Its very minimal at best and only really well trained ears will be like " yeah that sounds different."  That being said Its not a bad thing its just a color it puts on the string before its picked up.  If fat is what you want go for the chambered body, or skip it all together and get a really fat sound with a ES-335.  I played one the other day with my band and our other guitarist couldn't believe how it made his Les Paul Standard sound.  He thought that Standard sounded fat, but with that Dot 335 it souned like a Strat compaired to it.  So like I said benifits to both you just got to decide what you like better.  Thin and stinging or Fat heavy.

I like solid wood in my guitars for the most part.  I've never played a hollow body or chambered guitar that knocked my socks off other than a few ES-335's.  When done properly I don't think it will kill a guitar's tone but it does make a sonic difference.  I say if you really want a light Strat go for it!  The only thing I would keep in mind is that you don't want the neck being too heavy and causing the guitar to point down to the floor when you are not playing.  Gibson Firebirds and SG's do this and it can be a little annoying if you are not use to it.  Personally I like how a standard Strat, PRS, and Les Paul sit on your body when you strap them on.

Hello all-

Thanks for all the great responses! I am not really looking to do chambered for the weight relief, but more for tonal reasons. I plan on putting lace sensor hot gold pickups in it, with the Clapton mid boost. It should be a pretty balsy guitar. I'll have to decide whether or not to chamber or leave it a solid guitar

Thanks,
Logan

Either way, try to get Korina instead of regular Mahogany. And ask for the Lightest piece they can find.

I have a Warmoth chambered strat - swamp ash with flame maple top - sounds and plays absolutely great. It's hard to compare to the exact equivalent without the chambering (particularly as mine has humbuckers) but there's a lot of sustain and great tone.

BUT......if you are using a Warmoth pro neck with the double truss rod (which feel like a dream to play and never seems to need adjustment, but adds weight) with a lighter chambered or hollow Warmoth body, you run the risk of an imbalance in weight which will make the guitar neck-heavy when using a strap. Both my Warmoth guitars (I also have an L5 semi with f-holes) suffer from this to some extent (I've even added some pieces of lead into the control cavity of the Strat-style guitar which evens it out a bit). It's not terrible but it's a factor to be aware of (and one which Warmoth doesn't really highlight) - the mahogany body may offset this to some extent or you could go for the vintage-style single truss rod neck (which I believe John Suhr reckons sounds better than a double).

Overall they make great guitars though!