what is the differance between the woods bodys are made of? Like does it affect sound or tone or anything an also which is the lightest
be good at what you can do-
Yeah, it affects tone, sustain and weight. In general, woods like mahony offer the most sustain, warmest tone and heaviest weight. Alder, for example, is brighter, weights less, and have less sustain.
Yes Wood effects the sound and sustain of a guitar, but I think it is more important to try different guitars than to base a decision on the wood type. A better made guitar made of lesser woods will sound better, at least to my ears.
The best combination is considered Brazilan rosewood sides and back with sitka spruce top but you can no longer get brazilian rosewood.
Indian Rosewood is probably considered next best for the back and sides followed by brazilan mahogony (another endangered species) next would be african mahogony.
The tops considered the best are sitka and eagelman spruce although many players (myself included) like the sound of cedar. and of course the list goes on.
Cheers,
Max
sry bout that, i was refering to elecrtic bodys, but thats sum good to know stuff
be good at what you can do-
Solid body guitars with mahogany (Les Paul) will be heavier and have much more sustain. Lighter woods like Alder and Ash will have less sustain and the tone wont be as beefy. Part of what makes the Les Paul so chunky and awesome sounding is the fact that it's so freakin heavy.
And that's because of the Mahogany.
Whats my cheap strat copy likely to be made from ?
Plywood, if your lucky
Plywood, Agathis, Basswood, some kind of multiplex, who knows?
Body wood has a lot to do with tone, and almost nothing to do with sustain. Believe me, I had a strat copy made of mahogany, it did not sustain like a Paul in even the slightest way. The LP's fixed bridge and set neck is to blame for that particular sound quality.
Sustain is all all about energy transfer, and while wood density does alter the way that the transfer occurs, that is significantly less important than the way that the strings contact the body and the rigidity of the neck joint.
Whats my cheap strat copy likely to be made from ?
Most likely Agathis or Basswood, but the only way to really know is to open it up to a place where the body wood is exposed. Removing a pickup is a surefire way to tell on lots of guitars, but if they painted the pickup routes, then that doesn't work. Neck pockets will never be painted, but a neck removal is not something you want to do on your own.
Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life...
Body wood has a lot to do with tone, and almost nothing to do with sustain. Believe me, I had a strat copy made of mahogany, it did not sustain like a Paul in even the slightest way. The LP's fixed bridge and set neck is to blame for that particular sound quality.
Not entirely true. There is a difference between cheap and proper LP-like guitars, while pretty much all have a fixed bridge and quite a few a set neck. While indeed a proper made guitar with a prope set-neck and bridge will have great sustain, it still won't be as sustainy as a LP. But indeed, wood ofcourse obviously has to do with tone, with mahony being, for example, much warmer then alder. (hence virtually no strats are from mahony, and no LPs from alder)
If you have a tremolo bridge, you could look at the cavity where the springs are. Often the paintwork isn;t really that good, and you can see the wood.
I dont think its plywood, its deffinately solid and i dont think its multi layered either, its really quite heavy as well compared with a real Fender.
You know the best sounding guitar out there is made of bulsa wood, you can play some real good air guitar, Ha, Ha.
:D
