Shopping for an acoustic guitar can be a confusing and daunting experience for a first-time consumer. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of brands each with their own take on design and construction elements; each with their own confusing pitch about onboard electronics, wood construction, top bracing, etc. You’re bound to hear paradoxical slogans like, “Solid Top Guitar”, “Solid Wood Construction”, “Genuine Wood Top”.
Where to begin to make sense of it all?
While there is enough information on the acoustic guitar available to fill many, many volumes, we’ve attempted to break it down simply into the most important aspects to consider. The following articles and learning aids from Hole in the Wood will help give you confidence and a fighting chance when looking for that perfect acoustic guitar.
Acoustic plywood is made up of multiple thin layers of wood (plys) to which an even thinner layer of veneer is attached to the top, exposed layer. This veneer can be made from a thin layer of traditional tonewood, but often times is a vinyl laminate made to look like high quality wood. While there are different grades of plywood, it is generally less expensive to use this plywood/laminate combination than it is to use solid wood.
Although cheaper, a guitar top made of plywood does not necessarily equal a poor quality guitar. Hole in the Wood offers quite a few of these acoustics and they look and sound pretty darned good. In fact, producers of these guitars have come a long way in making them look nearly identical to more expensive solid wood guitars. Due to advances in the technology used to cut and handle the wood, the plywood nowadays can be made thinner and with tighter tolerances, allowing plywood guitars to sound better than they used to.
In addition, these guitars do not need to be maintained as closely to prevent the cracks and warping so often found in poorly maintained solid tops. This is because plywood tends to be studier and more forgiving to humidity and temperature changes. Even on high-end acoustics, the sides are made of 3-4 layer plywood because of its propensity of being strong and more able to handle the tight bend radiuses required.
Where to begin to make sense of it all?
While there is enough information on the acoustic guitar available to fill many, many volumes, we’ve attempted to break it down simply into the most important aspects to consider. The following articles and learning aids from Hole in the Wood will help give you confidence and a fighting chance when looking for that perfect acoustic guitar.
The Guitar Body
Although there are various parts of a guitar, most luthiers would agree that the acoustic guitar body, composed of the top (or “soundboard”) and the back and sides (the second normally produced from the same type of wood) that have the most to do with the sound of an acoustic guitar. It is here that we’ll keep most of our focus in the first few articles.
Of these elements, the soundboard is the most important. It resonates most of the sound, and therefore the choice of tonewood, along with its bracing and thickness, has the greatest influence on the overall tone of the guitar.
The back acts as a secondary soundboard to further color the tone as it leaves the guitar, while the sides, although they have the least amount of input into the acoustic guitars sound, can remove or emphasize the various frequencies produced by the top.
Of these elements, the soundboard is the most important. It resonates most of the sound, and therefore the choice of tonewood, along with its bracing and thickness, has the greatest influence on the overall tone of the guitar.
The back acts as a secondary soundboard to further color the tone as it leaves the guitar, while the sides, although they have the least amount of input into the acoustic guitars sound, can remove or emphasize the various frequencies produced by the top.
First a Word About Plywood
Before understanding what is a “Solid Top Guitar” it is important to know what isn’t one. Acoustic Guitars made with plywood soundboards are decidedly not solid top guitars. It's also important to know that these plywood tops are used quite broadly in the industry, especically in the low to mid-price ranges.Guitar Note
A quick way to see if your guitar has a solid top is to check around the inside of the soundhole.
If the wood grain goes all the way through, it's solid wood, if not, it's laminate / plywood.
Acoustic plywood is made up of multiple thin layers of wood (plys) to which an even thinner layer of veneer is attached to the top, exposed layer. This veneer can be made from a thin layer of traditional tonewood, but often times is a vinyl laminate made to look like high quality wood. While there are different grades of plywood, it is generally less expensive to use this plywood/laminate combination than it is to use solid wood.
Although cheaper, a guitar top made of plywood does not necessarily equal a poor quality guitar. Hole in the Wood offers quite a few of these acoustics and they look and sound pretty darned good. In fact, producers of these guitars have come a long way in making them look nearly identical to more expensive solid wood guitars. Due to advances in the technology used to cut and handle the wood, the plywood nowadays can be made thinner and with tighter tolerances, allowing plywood guitars to sound better than they used to.
In addition, these guitars do not need to be maintained as closely to prevent the cracks and warping so often found in poorly maintained solid tops. This is because plywood tends to be studier and more forgiving to humidity and temperature changes. Even on high-end acoustics, the sides are made of 3-4 layer plywood because of its propensity of being strong and more able to handle the tight bend radiuses required.
Solid Vs. Plywood Sound
Although some may claim otherwise - what is saved on cost will come at the expense of the sound. In our opinion, solid top guitars made from solid woods like spruce or cedar simply sound better than their plywood counterparts. Try it for yourself. Go to your local music shop and pick up one of each (same body size of course) and strum a nice fat G-Chord. Right away you’ll notice the solid wood sounds noticeably louder. This is due, in large part, to the singular nature of a solid wood. Compared to the many layers the sound has to transfer through as it leaves a plywood acoustic, the sound in solid wood constructed guitars have to pass through one congruent wood layer.
It takes a keener ear, but another difference you’ll hear is the numerous, subtle harmonics, partials, and overtones the solid wood does adds to the basic tone. Strum it again and put your ear up to the soundboard. The solid wood guitar will sound richer, more colorful and will sustain and decay with its own distinctive sonic personality.
Additionally, solid top guitars will mature, much like a fine wine, in unique and interesting ways as the guitar is played more and more.
It takes a keener ear, but another difference you’ll hear is the numerous, subtle harmonics, partials, and overtones the solid wood does adds to the basic tone. Strum it again and put your ear up to the soundboard. The solid wood guitar will sound richer, more colorful and will sustain and decay with its own distinctive sonic personality.
Additionally, solid top guitars will mature, much like a fine wine, in unique and interesting ways as the guitar is played more and more.
Other Considerations
The physics of the acoustic guitar are rather delicate. The strings on a steel-string guitar exert a tremendous amount of tension on the soundboard, which the luthier hopes to have at an ideal thickness to produce the best tone. It's a balancing act between structural integrity and the resonance of the soundboard. If the board is too thin, it will warp or crack; if it is too thick, it will sound dead or muddled. Woods used in today’s solid top guitars have proven themselves over time to posses the longitudinal stiffness to support both halves of the equation.
If the instrument is built properly, a quality soundboard will not warp against the tension of the strings and will also vibrate freely when the strings are plucked, thus moving the surrounding air and creating a enjoyable tone.
In our next article, we’ll explore the properties of some of the most common solid tonewoods used to make soundboards in today’s acoustic guitars.
If the instrument is built properly, a quality soundboard will not warp against the tension of the strings and will also vibrate freely when the strings are plucked, thus moving the surrounding air and creating a enjoyable tone.
In our next article, we’ll explore the properties of some of the most common solid tonewoods used to make soundboards in today’s acoustic guitars.
