Laminate Versus Solid Top Guitar

As any musician knows wood is a fickle thing and depending on where you live taking care of your guitar can take some time investment.

Laminate versus solid top guitar. Or better 80 from the player and then the rest as above. A major difference between laminate and solid wood guitars involves how the tonewood is sourced and processed. Using solid wood for the top is still preferred by most builders because the top plays a major role in translating the initial energy of vibrating guitar strings into rich acoustic sound. Solid top acoustic guitars are hybrids that combine the best parts of laminate and solid wood guitars.

But arguably the most important component is the top wood. Post mar 09 2011 1 2011 03 09t20 45. A solid top improves tone and volume so even if the rest of the guitar is laminate having a solid top is pretty cool and a sign of a nicer instrument that is usually at least one step up from the cheaper acoustics. I would say that more than 80 of the sound actually comes from the top 15 from how you hold the guitar from the back and 5 from all the other factors.

This is why you ll see a lot of beginner guitars advertised as solid top. Living in either a dry or humid climate can make care of your. Construction hardware neck shape the list goes on. You re going to pay a heck of a lot more for an entirely solid wood guitar than just a solid top.

This isn t a bad thing. In an effort to offer customers other more affordable options many builders also make guitars featuring laminate back and sides. Most of the guitar s body is made with laminate wood to keep the cost down while its soundboard is made with solid tonewood for a richer resonance. Where lower end builds tend to require less refined and at times questionably sourced wood variations today s boutique flat top guitar builders rely exclusively on the most resonant cuts of solid wood.

In this article we ll delve deeper into the debate of solid tops vs. What this means is that they have a solid wood top even though the rest of the guitar is manufactured using laminate wood. The sound of your acoustic guitar is a team effort. While laminate guitars are not made with solid pieces of tonewood they are able to be made to look like solid pieces of wood.

Read on for the full lowdown.