This is something I have discussed at length over the years and it often causes disagreements. Is an all-solid wood guitar better than a guitar made with a solid top and laminate back and sides in terms of tonality?
I have always believed that a thin veneer of say, rosewood or mahogany glued to several layers of cheap wood is not in any way going to give you the tonal properties of that wood. And yet, dealers and manufacturers constantly pedal snake oil in descriptions of that wood's rich tonal characteristics. And for sure, the tonewoods do have the properties they describe but they are not at all apparent when used in a laminate.
Lamination by its very nature, stiffens a wood for strength. It is bonded to other woods, usually much cheaper woods and the actual tonewood is often less than 1mm in thickness. How on earth is it going to impart any of its much-vaunted tonal characteristics into the overall timbre of the guitar, especially when you consider that is is now the wafer-thin outer veneer of several layers of cheaper wood?
This was all very ably demonstrated by a famous classical guitar luthier when he built a guitar with a cardboard back and sides. People who tried the guitar all loved the tone!
This video is well worth a watch.
The most important part of the guitar is the soundboard. The top plate as it is sometimes referred to. This is where the main timbre of the guitar comes from and this is the part that you do want to be solid wood.
Ok, so you may then ask, why buy an all-solid wood guitar? It will likely cost many times the price of a laminate guitar. Where is the benefit?
First off there is the build quality. Producing a guitar from solid wood is a more difficult and time-consuming process and hence more attention to detail needs to be given to it.
There are also subtle, sometimes almost imperceptible tonal changes to the sound. However, this is not really due to resonance, as the back and sides don't resonate much if at all. It is all to do with sound absorption and reflection.
Different tonewoods have different densities. For example, rosewood will reflect more sound resulting in richer overtones whereas mahogany will absorb certain frequencies which gives a warmer more rounded tone. This doesn't happen in the same way with a laminate because it is made up of different woods and the inner-facing majority of that wood that reflects/absorbs sound is not made up of the much talked about outer tonewood.
That being said, we are talking about "subtle" differences here. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference at all. Which again comes back to build quality and construction methods.
There is no right or wrong. You play what you like the sound of, be it all solid wood or laminate. But it would be nice if dealers, manufacturers and influencers (promoters) would be honest and stop going on about how much the back and sides of a guitar add to the sound. Especially so when we are talking about laminates. And also be truthful and mention when you are talking about laminates. Don't hide it behind a load of marketing smoke and mirrors.
I have always believed that a thin veneer of say, rosewood or mahogany glued to several layers of cheap wood is not in any way going to give you the tonal properties of that wood. And yet, dealers and manufacturers constantly pedal snake oil in descriptions of that wood's rich tonal characteristics. And for sure, the tonewoods do have the properties they describe but they are not at all apparent when used in a laminate.
Lamination by its very nature, stiffens a wood for strength. It is bonded to other woods, usually much cheaper woods and the actual tonewood is often less than 1mm in thickness. How on earth is it going to impart any of its much-vaunted tonal characteristics into the overall timbre of the guitar, especially when you consider that is is now the wafer-thin outer veneer of several layers of cheaper wood?
This was all very ably demonstrated by a famous classical guitar luthier when he built a guitar with a cardboard back and sides. People who tried the guitar all loved the tone!
This video is well worth a watch.
The most important part of the guitar is the soundboard. The top plate as it is sometimes referred to. This is where the main timbre of the guitar comes from and this is the part that you do want to be solid wood.
Ok, so you may then ask, why buy an all-solid wood guitar? It will likely cost many times the price of a laminate guitar. Where is the benefit?
First off there is the build quality. Producing a guitar from solid wood is a more difficult and time-consuming process and hence more attention to detail needs to be given to it.
There are also subtle, sometimes almost imperceptible tonal changes to the sound. However, this is not really due to resonance, as the back and sides don't resonate much if at all. It is all to do with sound absorption and reflection.
Different tonewoods have different densities. For example, rosewood will reflect more sound resulting in richer overtones whereas mahogany will absorb certain frequencies which gives a warmer more rounded tone. This doesn't happen in the same way with a laminate because it is made up of different woods and the inner-facing majority of that wood that reflects/absorbs sound is not made up of the much talked about outer tonewood.
That being said, we are talking about "subtle" differences here. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference at all. Which again comes back to build quality and construction methods.
There is no right or wrong. You play what you like the sound of, be it all solid wood or laminate. But it would be nice if dealers, manufacturers and influencers (promoters) would be honest and stop going on about how much the back and sides of a guitar add to the sound. Especially so when we are talking about laminates. And also be truthful and mention when you are talking about laminates. Don't hide it behind a load of marketing smoke and mirrors.
Statistics: Posted by Saul — Mon Dec 16, 2024 3:20 pm