Laminated Wood Guitar Body

In an all solid wood acoustic guitar each body wood component is solid and not layered or laminated.

Laminated wood guitar body. The wood configuration particularly when it comes to the body of the guitar isn t as vital for electric guitars. Picture the rich looking burled wood trim found on a luxury car s dashboard. The es 175 came out in 1949 using a laminate maple top. It is created by sandwiching a thin 0 030 layer of contrasting wood between the body core and laminate top.

Tonewoods either eliminate or amplify the frequencies your strings produce affecting the overall tone of the instrument. Look for a change in grain direction at the edges of the soundhole. A laminate accent is a very thin line around the perimiter of a laminate top guitar body that creates a pleasing bordered look.

Pressed plywood referred to as laminate is essentially multiple layers of thinly processed wood that has been pressed and bonded together with an adhesive for strength and stability. In the guitar world laminate construction refers to thin layers of wood or other material that are bonded together sometimes featuring an outer layer of exotic visually appealing veneer. That means the top back and sides are all made from solid wood components. A keen eye can spot these tiny layers in the top if you look at the soundhole opening.

Body wood or the types of wood used to create the back and sides of a guitar does more than look pretty. It was a step up from the es 125 that had preceded it but it did not mean an automatic upgrade to a solid top. Two pieces of wood one on each side of the neck was laminated and glued to make the body wider and add the extension horn on the top of the guitar. There were some benefits to using laminate woods in an electric guitar.

The acoustic l 4 however did get a solid spruce top.