Wood and Guitar Buying

[UnderTheFlame83]

How much does the wood used on guitars effect your guitar buying? Is there a certain wood you always want and look for? Or does it even matter?

I seem to always look for a mahogany or maple body when considering buying a new guitar first. But I have had good experiences with basswood, poplar, and alder guitars.

As for the fingerboard wood used, I like ebony. But maple and rosewood isn't far behind.

 

[beaubrummels]

These days, I favor guitars where you can see the grain and tend to avoid solid colors; but I will always go by the sound. If it makes a million-dollar sound I'm looking for, I don't care what wood it is or what it looks like.

 

[ehdwuld]

the variations in wood make some guitars from the same species much different
I think the wood in the neck has much more affect on tone Maple/Mahogany
laminated necks are awesome as they are consistent or at least more consistent

with that said I find the Ash Gibson LP that I have sounds like an LP even with the Maple neck

I have two Mahogany LPs that sound and play great
to me its about the weight
I like the lighter more resonant guitars

you can get that in weight relieved or species versions

I like my basswood RGs
and my mystery wood Ehdwuld custom builds ( probably basswood )

I think if I build my own I would use a super dry pine for the body
a pine neck that is alternating grain laminated together with graphite rods sounds awesome to me as well

 

[Chris Pile]

and my mystery wood Ehdwuld custom builds ( probably basswood )

You mean you don't specify the woods on your custom builds?

 

[GuitarStv]

In an electric guitar the type of wood doesn't matter at all. There exists maple that's dark, and maple that's bright. There exists mahogany that's dark, and mahogany that's bright. There exists ash that's dark, and ash that's bright. Wood varies too much from piece to piece to be able to know that one species of wood will sound a certain way. What matters are the particular pieces of wood that are used to build a guitar.

 

[dave74]

Pickup choice can take the tone and attack wherever you need it, but for me the guitar's balance (meaning; not neck heavy) is the main issue.
Personally I don't want the need for moving strap buttons of adding/subtracting weight just to get a well balanced guitar.
Body-heavy is what I like best, but a nicely balanced light guitar is great for long sessions.

 

[ehdwuld]

You mean you don't specify the woods on your custom builds?

of course
but it is built in China
and the last one was super light for mahogany
but it is super thin as well
I am sure it is a species of Mahogany but not the one we commonly use

 

[Mincer]

Wood matters to me in that it is light and balanced. After that, all I care about is how it sounds.

 

[Bogner]

I am familiar with the core attributes of most woods and combos used. That said, each guitar is different and unique. If the guitar plays and sounds appealing to me then I am not concerned with what woods are used. If I am doing a custom build I am going to have to pick woods that have a typical sound to them. Custom builds are always a bit of a risk because there is no guarantee you are going to get a great guitar whereas walking in and playing a bunch of guitars may yield a great find.

 

[Chris Pile]

of course
but it is built in China
and the last one was super light for mahogany
but it is super thin as well
I am sure it is a species of Mahogany but not the one we commonly use

If you believe THAT, I have a bridge in Brooklyn.....
More likely it's made of agathis or another wood the Asian makers use instead of mahogany.

For your next custom, try an American maker why don't you? Don't talk to me about money, either - there are guys who make stuff for less money and better quality than Gibson, etc.

If you want good Chinese stuff buy an Eastman.

 

[Clint 55]

In an electric guitar the type of wood doesn't matter at all. There exists maple that's dark, and maple that's bright. There exists mahogany that's dark, and mahogany that's bright. There exists ash that's dark, and ash that's bright. Wood varies too much from piece to piece to be able to know that one species of wood will sound a certain way. What matters are the particular pieces of wood that are used to build a guitar.

Your premise isn't true. Although there is variation within type and overlap between types, there are still general similarities within types. For example, a poplar body won't ever sound or play like a maple body. It's physically impossible. Poplar is light and swamped with mids. Maple is heavy and focused and it feels like you're playing a stone as the attack is extremely immediate.

 

[dave74]

I also tend to agree with the generally accepted tonal attributes of the commonly used guitar woods. They ring true far more often than not, or at least they have with all my guitars past and present. That's what pickup selection is for IMO, to take that tone/EQ and attack to wherever you want it to be.

 

[Francois]

Now that many different types of wood are labelled "mahogany"...

 

[GuitarStv]

Your premise isn't true. Although there is variation within type and overlap between types, there are still general similarities within types. For example, a poplar body won't ever sound or play like a maple body. It's physically impossible. Poplar is light and swamped with mids. Maple is heavy and focused and it feels like you're playing a stone as the attack is extremely immediate.

Next you'll be telling me that different type capacitors of the same measured value sound different.

You could probably argue that on average the properties of wood that you're describing are true. If you want a mid-heavy guitar, going with a mahogany body and mahogany neck is probably more likely to get you there than an ash body maple neck guitar. But you don't play guitars on average though - you play unique/individual guitars. That's why the only thing that matters is the specific piece of wood you're using.

As far as unplugged sound goes - I've ended up with a maple neck/ash guitar that's very warm sounding and a mahogany bodied guitar that's extremely bright and snappy. These should not exist according to the 'lore of tonewood'. But they do, because what matters as far as unplugged sound goes is the particular piece of wood you've got - not the species. Fortunately, none of that really matters anyway . . . as the pickups you choose alter the sound more radically than the wood. I popped some warm sounding humbuckers in the mahogany guitar and it sounds thick/dark plugged in, and some underwound single coils into the ash one and it sounds bright and snappy plugged in. (Originally I had the warm sounding buckers in the ash guitar and it was way too dark/middy - I guess they needed the brightness of mahogany to sound right.)

 

[Mincer]

Now that many different types of wood are labelled "mahogany"...

This is true, especially low-to-mid priced imports.

 

[Chris Pile]

Many makers and sellers have no scruples. They know the general public likes and wants mahogany, and so that's what they call it - even if it was made of bamboo plys. Put an opaque finish on it, and collect your funds from the stupid Americans.

 

[GuitarStv]

Many makers and sellers have no scruples. They know the general public likes and wants mahogany, and so that's what they call it - even if it was made of bamboo plys. Put an opaque finish on it, and collect your funds from the stupid Americans.

Which guitar brands/models are you seeing this on?

Dishonesty is par for the course with stuff from Aliexpress . . . but I haven't seem any of that with 'regular' guitar brands - Fender, Squier, Gibson, Epiphone, Ibanez, Jackson, Schechter, etc.


The term 'mahogany' is very general, and covers a wide variety of species of wood, but calling bamboo mahogany is a new one on me and very dishonest.

 

[ErikH]

I think he is generalizing. Many of the Asian countries' "mahogany" is Luan, which is not mahogany at all. It shares "properties" of it, like grain and possibly density, but it's as close a relation to real mahogany as Dark Helmet is Lonestar's father.

 

[Clint 55]

Next you'll be telling me that different type capacitors of the same measured value sound different.

They do

 

[GuitarStv]

They do

lol!