Do "Tone Woods" really affect the sound of a guitar?

[Johnny Robbo]

My latest blog...

https://jrobsonguitar.wordpress.com/2017/04/09/how-much-difference-do-construction-methods-make-to-the-sound-of-an-electric-guitar/

[Mike_S]

Interesting read John. I think you can apply this state of affairs to a lot of different areas in life really. Like art for example... you could easily pass off a piece of work from a student as a piece by an accomplished "master" to many many people. It's really more about what people want to believe in, rather than reality. Probably quite a bit to do with ego too, with so many people wanting to believe they are more knowledgeable than other people.

Again, like you were saying, this is not to say that there are not any differences at all, but quite how much and how noticeable is where the question lies!

[bruno]

Been thinking about this.
For acoustic guitars and violins, without doubt - the wood is critical to the tone.
For electric instruments, I think they do, but to a lesser extent. The acoustic tone is important to the end tone of the guitar, but with electric instruments, there are far more elements to impact the tone, so a lesser influence I would say.
B

[Farrell Jackson]

What Bruno said but adding as the wood ages, years down the road, the electric solid piece body instead the laminated (glued together) might have some affect on the sound/sustain as the glue ages but that's just a guess on my part. I think my Korean/China/Indonesia made electric guitars sound just as good as the ones made in the USA and they're certainly less costly.

Farrell

[Hook]

All my instruments are made out of particle board.

[bruno]

So the argument about cheap versus expensive guitars rages on.
My thoughts are this.
The gap between cheap and expensive has closed considerably. Cheap guitars in my youth were terrible, now you can buy a good instrument for not a lot of money. The gap in sound is almost indistinguishable, mass market building, continual improvement and competition has made these guitars better and better, whilst the established high end makers continue doing what they do.

So, I have both types - an American PRS and an American Music Man Luke, a JV Squire strat, a Ibanez 550LTD, a Vintage Lemon Drop (£300) and a Squire Tele (£120).

I play them and record with them all often (apart from the Ibanez). They all have unique characters, and all have their place. However the Luke is my go to guitar - its the one that is most versatile, is most playable, most musical, and you can hear every single note (no mush) - and happens to be the most expensive!!!! But I could be deluding myself - who knows. Interestingly, the PRS, is not really a go-to guitar for some reason, which I can never figure out, as it is a super instrument in every way.

The Brooks (acoustic) are hand made and customer, and are light years ahead of anything else in terms of sound. I didn't want to spend the money, however in an AB test, none of the others were even close. The only way I can describe it is that the guitars are alive - versus a lump of wood! I still think that a few years on.

Actually, better instruments are more revealing, as there is no mush to hide behind. Every nuance and fault is revealed in your playing, and so almost harder to play - but it makes you a better player.

Finally, the big brands sell on their name - where as other less established brands, you get better bang for buck.

This is all in my opinion, and sometimes I pick up the Vintage and Tele and think, wow these are great - so I waver a lot. I guess you pays you money etc

B

[Johnny Robbo]

Yeah, it's a weird one... I genuinely don't know whether having a solid mahogany body with a 2 piece maple top DOES give better sound than a 3 piece body with a top made from multiple "offcuts" of maple & a veneer stuck on top. I would love to see that experiment (that I mention in my blog) carried out - it wouldn't be difficult and it would settle the matter once & for all.

About 10 years ago, I had a Custom Shop Strat - not actually mine, but I had it on extended loan. Anyway, I took it into the studio to do some recording for a mate's band. I'd already roughed out my parts on an old Japanese Fender I had (one of those 60s re-issues they made in the late 80s). There was also an American Standard on the wall in the studio, too... I tried all 3 guitars & the band ended up preferring the Jap strat parts that I'd recorded at home.

The difference between the guitars was mainly the feel - the Japanese guitar had a more pronounced fretboard radius & skinnier frets compared with the 2 USA guitars. But there was only a hairs-breadth difference in tone - the Japanese guitar had more of a mid-range heavy sound which suited the rock vibe the band wanted. But there was no discernible difference between the (then) £800 American Standard & the two-grand Custom Shop guitar.

What I CAN say though, is that my favourite guitar of all time is my charity shop tele... It's just the guitar I always instinctively pick up when I want to jam or just have a quick "noodle". And it's also the cheapest guitar I've ever had.