Members Hagront Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Wich of these two has the greatest sustain, and what are the difference in sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Maple is a bit heavy for a whole body, but for sustain I like mahogony bodys with maple caps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_bleeding Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 sustain will depend on your construction with these puppies. But i believe that mahogany has better sustain due to its better resonance. Tone: Mahogany: Warm, lots of lows, rounded off high end. Maple: Tight, quiet low end, screechy extended highs, lots of high mids. the biggest difference you'll notice is RESONANCE, which is something that nobody talks about. Since mahogany has kind of an open grain, it resonates, vibrates, lives in your hands, it will be a loud guitar to play dry. Maple on the other hand kinda absorbs the sound, makes it a relatively quiet and dry guitar. Maple is great for necks though because its so goddamn hard that it has trouble warping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Le Blur Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 mahogany bodies have a deeper, warmer tone, just think les paul versus strat here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Harder / denser woods like maple will generally have more sustain, not to be confused with resonance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peavey_impact Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Maple is the sustain monster of the tonewoods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lowbrow Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 ...Tone:.....Maple: Tight, quiet low end, screechy extended highs, lots of high mids. Having recently purchased a all maple guitar (with the exception of the rosewood fretboard), I can say that this is myth and utter bull{censored}. Just sayin'..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 I refuse to join in on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peavey_impact Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 I refuse to join in on this one. Too late Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hagront Posted October 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 some say maple is better for sustain others say mahogany, wich one is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members L6Sguy Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 Having recently purchased a all maple guitar (with the exception of the rosewood fretboard), I can say that this is myth and utter bull{censored}. Just sayin'..... c'mon man, the intertoobz is powered solely by myth & utter bull{censored}. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goldtopper Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 If you were to build 2 exactly similar guitars, one all maple the other all mahogany, both with the same pickups and hardware... The maple one would have slightly better sustain, but would also be brighter in tone (and heavier in weight) This is largely because the greater density of the maple does less to impede the energy dispersed by the string. However, I've never quite gotten a handle on why (as people say) mahogany is more "resonant". If anyone would like to explain that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 ...However, I've never quite gotten a handle on why (as people say) mahogany is more "resonant". If anyone would like to explain that... If I had to guess, I'd say that the more focused low mids typical of mahogany are perceived to be louder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Grimace Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 That's a good question. They will have similar sustain (sustain in a guitar is generally directly proportional to weight, which is why a guitar made of all metal will sustain far longer than wood, but this is acoustically undesireable), as a maple guitar (which is very rare btw) and mahogany are both dense, heavy woods, although maple is a bit heavier when sold. I personally am of the belief there is almost no difference in "tone" over well constructed woods of any type; the only real difference is sustain. The differences in tone are usually a difference in the type of wood and pickups used; for example, maple is used significantly more on 25.5" Fender guitars with single coils; which would be bright regardless of wood, and mahogany is primarily used on 24 3/4" Les Paul types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scampi Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 I own several mahogany solidbodies (gibson), one maple semi-hollow (washburn), and several all maple basses (spector) - I think sustain has more to do with overall design and construction techniques more so than wood types so long as we're talking quality wood all around tonal characteristics, well that's another story... aside from just the wood, much of the perceived sound differences will be due to overall instrument design, pickups, onboard electronics...how everything adds up so to speak - my spectors are all maple and exhibit resonance that's felt as much as it's heard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Splendor Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 I'm working on engineering a new tree that's a combination of Maple and Mahogany. Coincidently, it will also grow tomatoes AND potatoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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