Hello!
I recently bought an Am standard stratocaster. I was looking close to its body, and I noticed that it's made from 3 pieces of wood, a central one, and two other glued to it. But it is very subtle, you can barely see it.
I have a question: does the fact that the body isn't a whole piece of wood alters the sound? Like, less sustain or something? How much does it alter, if it does?
I heard some mexican fender bodies are made of 7 pieces. I don't think 3 is a big deal, but 7...
Tell me what you think about it!
Thank you.
3 piece is pretty standard as far as I know for American Strats. I'm sure it affects the sound. I have a cheap SX Strat knock off from Rondo Music that is a 3 piece, so not sure why Fender needs to have so many pieces on their non American models. The 3 pieces was a selling point as I used this guitar as a platform to build on. The body and neck are about all that is origional.
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Yeah I don't know why they do that... really bad
But do you think a 3 piece body sounds MUCH different from a 1 piece or it's just a slight difference?
Practically all guitars are made from more than one piece of wood. You can't use the 'heart' of the tree, because that's a bit too soft. So to make a guitar body 20" wide out of a single piece, you're limited to trees about 4' in diameter.
In an acoustic guitar, it's important to have the grain consistent. So most acoustics are "bookmatched" - you'll have a piece of wood that's maybe 12" wide, split it down the middle, and then line up the two halves - so the grain 3" in from one side is identical to that 3" in from the other side, right on across.
In electrics, the wood doesn't contribute nearly as much to tone. Since smaller trees are less expensive (and faster to replace), the general trend is to use more pieces to reduce costs.
The only guitars you'll commonly find made from a single piece of wood are luthier pieces.
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Hello NoteBoat,
thank you for the answer, it was very useful :)
I'm glad to know it doesn't alter the sound, at least not significantly.
More opinios are welcome! Thanks guys
it's also why high end acoustics (martin) are coming out more and more with thinner headstocks. the scarcity and epense of larger planks makes it much cheaper to mass produce headstocks that are about as thick as the neck.
Hi (%
As far as I remember, the original 50's Tele's were made from one piece bodies, while the Strats were made from two piece.
It's been said that the one piece bodies on the Tele's contributed to their more solid sound, while the two piece bodies of the Strat's contributed to their more transparent sound.
Pretty sure that by the 60's, Tele's had two piece bodies too.... So, it's up to you to believe that little bit of lore or not :wink:
Ken
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I'd be pretty comfortable with a body with a central piece and 2 wings, as long as the pickups are in one solid block of wood, as well as the neck pocket, whole trem etc. It seems just more 'right' and mechanically sound. Speaking of sound, it should resonate pretty decently too. Wings have been acceptable to the community for a long time on solid bodies, I think. I guess that the glue and the different grain patterns only take a bit of the edge off of the resonance of the guitar body, if any. :?
That said, I checked my best American Tele, and find 4 pieces. Hmmm.... I'm not too happy thinking of what could have been with less, particularly 3 piece, where the vintage bridge puts the vibes or the string power down direct into the body, and through it as well, w/ferrules. I mean with 3 pieces, I would have preferred that magic-sounding twang-maker, strings too, in one piece of wood instead of spanning two. I'd really love a Tele that is one piece then but wait, I'm getting to it. :wink:
This ain't it, but I picked up a MIM Deluxe Tele, Nashville to be exact, found the same 4 pieces, since 1998, and I've been thinking it might have been a US body all along, whereas they have had their own upgrades to the factory and CNC work for over a decade now. The Nashville doesn't resonate but sustains like an anvil and has a unique tone anyway with a swimming pool type route. It's definitely 4 piece, and the body has shrunk over time causing the thick polyester skin to buckle all over.
http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Tele/ChamberedTele.aspx & http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/BodyOptions.aspx
Okay, I have the Tele built by Split Rock with the chambered body on the right, and I believe the bottom wood is solid ash, with a one or two piece ash cap on mine. It's not transparent but is a unique twotone acrylic lacquer done like lace. It sings.
Lastly, I found that my best Strat appears to be one piece and that could be why I like it. BTW, checking these guitars, and due to seasonally warmer temperatures in the room, they all needed a good de-tuning except for the ones that I suspect are solid. They were in tune which is especially good for the Strat that has original strings and has been in tune for 14 years? :D
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