What would a guitar made out of balsa wood be like?

[tim gueguen]

 

I'd like to know what a Poplar wood guitar sounds like.

 

 

 

Plenty of guitars have been made out of poplar, including many of the Mexican Fender products in the 1990s.

 

Paulownia is used for the soundboard in a number of Asian stringed instruments, such as the koto.

[Judge Groovyman]

 

I'd like to know what a Poplar wood guitar sounds like. I've got this poplar tree in my yard that I keep cutting down and it regrows - if I make guitars out of it I can built one a year forever!!

 

 

I hate those as trees (they're invincible!!!) ... but as guitars they're great! Actually it's a highly regarded tonewood having been used in Violins for hundreds of years. Peavey, and Carvin (and Fender I think), have used it for years as a lightweight Alder-toned body wood.

 

You could seriously make guitars out of that stuff!

[DaveAronow]

 

I hate those as trees (they're invincible!!!) ... but as guitars they're great! Actually it's a highly regarded tonewood having been used in Violins for hundreds of years. Peavey, and Carvin (and Fender I think), have used it for years as a lightweight Alder-toned body wood. You could seriously make guitars out of that stuff!

 

 

POPLAR hasnt been used in ANY violn worth more than about .5 cents

[cavpilot]

Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Jackson, Parker, DiPinto, Heritage, Godin, First Act, Danelectro, etc etc have all used Poplar in their guitars.

 

here's a link that explains some of the different characteristics between the tonewoods.

 

Oh, yeah...master builders Ed Roman and Antonio Tsai also list Poplar as a material in their guitars.

[Brian Krashpad]

 

Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Jackson, Parker, DiPinto, Heritage, Godin, First Act, Danelectro, etc etc have all used Poplar in their guitars. here's a link that explains some of the different characteristics between the tonewoods.

 

 

I've had a MIM Fender Strat in poplar, as is my Fender Tex-Mex Tele Special and my Peavey Predator Strat. Can't tell any difference from alder (other than looks; am fairly certain the Tex-Mex has a veneer of some sort since it's a burst).

 

My old Peavey T-60 is probably poplar too; rumor is that the natural ones were Northern Ash but the painted ones were poplar.

[Karma1]

From what I've read, balsa is actually considered a tone wood by luthiers, however, as mentioned above, it is too vulnerable for the outside of a guitar. I have a 92 Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite with the balsa/chromite center block and it sounds great. I've a/b tested it with other Les Pauls and it is not lacking in tone at all. Best of all, it weighs about as much as my Strat.

[cavpilot]

POPLAR hasnt been used in ANY violn worth more than about .5 cents

 

Stradivarius and Guadagnini have used poplar in their instruments...

[mike.sartori]

 

I recalled ZZ Top played solid balsa guitars custom made by Gibson, so I did a search and found somebody who said they were big white hollow-bodied-looking solid bodies called "Johnny Firesmith" models (?). I have a vague mental image of them playing these big white guitars. Actually I've been told balsa isn't cheap as woods go. But Gibson used the word "chromite" because balsa sounds cheap to people. For a while, I had a semi-hollow Gibson ES-135 with a chromite (instead of maple) block in it. It was a lot lighter than my 335 and sounded good.

 

 

Are these the ones?

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2nTVugYetPg

[leopardstar]

you could do it, but you could only "balsa" music on it. lol

[Judge Groovyman]

Stradivarius and Guadagnini have used poplar in their instruments...

 

Right. That is what I was referring to in my previous post.

[Judge Groovyman]

 

My old Peavey T-60 is probably poplar too; rumor is that the natural ones were Northern Ash but the painted ones were poplar.

 

 

 

Sweet! Does your T-60 weigh a ton? Some of the ash ones do, if it's poplar it might weigh less!?! (I've always wanted a lightweight T-60!)

[foppy]

 

Are these the ones? http://youtube.com/watch?v=2nTVugYetPg

 

 

Yup, at least those were what came to mind. They look unconventional enough to be what I think they are. But I don't have a lot of ZZ Top knowledge.

[Willeh]

what about MDF?

 

 

 

:D:D:D

['s mel gibson]

 

Isn't Basswood close kin to Balsa?

 

 

Here's a description of Basswood.

 

Uses

 

The Linden is to be recommended as an ornamental tree when a mass of foliage or a deep shade is desired.[1] The tree produces fragrant and nectar-producing flowers, the medicinal herb lime blossom. They are very important honey plants for beekeepers, producing a very pale but richly flavoured monofloral honey. The flowers are also used for herbal tea, and this infusion is particularly popular in Europe.

 

T. cordata is the preferred species for medical use, having a high concentration of active compounds. It is said to be a nervine, used by herbalists in treating restlessness, hysteria, and headaches. Usually, the double-flowered lindens are used to make perfumes. The leaf buds and young leaves are also edible raw. Tilia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species - see List of Lepidoptera which feed on Tilia.

 

The timber of lime trees is soft and easily worked, so it is a popular wood for carving. The wood is often used for model building and intricate carving, and for making electric guitar bodies. Other musical instrument uses include its use for wind instruments such as recorders. It is also the wood of choice for the window-blinds and shutters industries. Real wood blinds are often made from this lightweight but strong and stable wood which is well suited to natural and stained finishes.

 

It is known in the trade as basswood, particularly in North America. This name originates from the inner fibrous bark of the tree, known as bast (Old English language). A very strong fibre was obtained from this, by peeling off the bark and soaking in water for a month; after which the inner fibres can be easily separated. Bast obtained from the inside of the bark of the lime tree has been used by the Ainu people of Japan to weave their traditional clothing, the attus.

 

In the percussion industry, basswood is sometimes used as a material for drum shells, both to enhance their sound and their esthetics. Mapex VX, Sonor Force 507, Pearl Vision, Tama Superstar, and Ludwig Accent drums all contain basswood plies.

 

Basswood is also frequently used as a material for electric guitar bodies. In the past, it was typically used (along with agathis) for favoured for less-expensive models. However, due to its better resonance at mid and high frequency, and better sustain than alder, it is now more commonly in uses with all kinds of superstrats, such as Ibanez RG, Ibanez JEM, and even Jackson Soloist, among other superstrats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilia

[edit] History

[larryguitar]

 

I'd like to know what a Poplar wood guitar sounds like. I've got this poplar tree in my yard that I keep cutting down and it regrows - if I make guitars out of it I can built one a year forever!!

 

 

Assuming it's Tulip Poplar, it'll sound like this:

Poplar Homebuilt Guitar

 

Poplar body with P90s.

[guitarcapo]

Les Paul Studio Lite.

Chambered out and filled with Balsa.

Great guitar for adding a Bigsby to because of the reduced weight.

 

[donnievaz]

 

I'd like to know what a Poplar wood guitar sounds like. I've got this poplar tree in my yard that I keep cutting down and it regrows - if I make guitars out of it I can built one a year forever!!

 

 

Older MIM Strats are supposedly Poplar. If I had to guess, I'd say Poplar sounds similar to Basswood, the actual wood is very similar with Basswood being a little softer.

 

Here's a cool resource.

http://tinytimbers.com/janka.htm

[Doctor Morbius]

The only problem with a balsa wood guitar is that it would only be good for lite jazz.