"Top" or veneer?

[Artie]

Just curious. Seen this pop up a few times lately. Generally, what thickness constitutes a "top" rather than a veneer?

Thanks;
Artie

 

[beandip]

Re: "Top" or veneer?

I usually see veneer as a flimsy peice of wood, less than 1/8 of an inch thick. Top I see as a peice of wood thick enough to effect the tone noticably. Generally 1/4 of an inch or thicker.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: "Top" or veneer?

To me a Veneer is anything under 1/8"...

 

[mnbaseball91]

Re: "Top" or veneer?

I'm no luthier, but I say it's veneer if you can bend it fairly easily.

 

[Artie]

Re: "Top" or veneer?

Ok, thanks for the info. Let me take this one step farther - if I put a "layer" of wood on top of a body, that was 3/16", would you call that a veneer? It would be purely for cosmetic purposes, but would it affect the tone?

 

[beandip]

Re: "Top" or veneer?

I'd call it a veneer. Something that thin would have no noticable affect on tone. Esp. if it's purely for cosmetic purposes.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: "Top" or veneer?

Actually, 3/16" WOULD already have an effect on tone, just not nearly as defined as a thicker Top such as that on a Les Paul... Tom Anderson does a good job of explaining it in the drop top section of his site (or at least he used to)

 

[beandip]

Re: "Top" or veneer?

Ok, lemme change my answer. 3/16 would not have an effect on tone that I myself would not be able to hear.