Members Promethius Posted August 29, 2005 Members Share Posted August 29, 2005 This is very possibly a stupid question, but due to the anonymity of an Internet chat room, I'm fearless pressing forward. I hear it said a lot on this forum that "the back and side wood of guitars doesn't determine much of the tone of the guitar". I've never understood this because when I pick up a mohagony guitar or a rosewood guitar I hear a distinct difference. But I'm usually playing new guitars. So as the top opens up over time, does it take over more of the sound of the guitar? And do the back and sides of the guitar then become less important or distinctive from one another? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members woody b Posted August 29, 2005 Members Share Posted August 29, 2005 The back and sides make a difference. A standard D-18 and a standard D-28 have the exact same top and bracing but they sound worlds apart, new or old. I don't know why people say the back/sides make no difference. Maybe it depends on what brand guitar your playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted August 29, 2005 Members Share Posted August 29, 2005 Back and sides make a difference, but not nearly as much as the top, and maybe even even type of string (80/20 vs. phosphor bronze, etc.) The arguement is usually made on low-mid range guitars when folks are choosing between lam tops and solid tops. FWIW, a bad solid top is no better than a lam top, and more prone to cracks. Anyway, to answer the question. It's sort of hard to separate whether the sound of aging is from solely the top, or also the back and sides. Back and sides make a difference, but I don't know whether aged sides sound better or the same. I don't think anybody does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvilTwin Posted August 30, 2005 Members Share Posted August 30, 2005 Interesting question. We always hear about the "opening up" of solid tops, but not solid back/sides (since the top is the primary tone generator, it's understandable why). I'd say that just about everything counts for aging, just as everything counts for tone out of the box. But also, the top is the primary thing you're going to notice either way, aged or new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Personally from my experience with the guitars I've built, the back and sides don't play a huge role in sound at any age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ronaldo Posted September 2, 2005 Members Share Posted September 2, 2005 I think the back and sides make a very big difference in the sound of a guitar. After aging a while, I bet (compared to the top) the b / s matter the same in terms of what they did when they were new. The top opens up, and is much more sig for the tone of the guitar, but aging, the wood settling into it's 'new' shape (bent) and drying happen as much to the b / s as to the top. Since it happens at the same time, the relationship is the same. But if you took a well worn top and put 'new' wood on the back, the new wood wood 'open up' as time went by (drying, etc) and it would be easy to notice. But its all speculation and ball bearings .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted September 2, 2005 Members Share Posted September 2, 2005 Originally posted by guitarcapo Personally from my experience with the guitars I've built, the back and sides don't play a huge role in sound at any age. That's interesting. I mean, I can tell a big difference between a D-18 and a D-28. Not that one necessarily sounds better than the other, just different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pikeusa Posted September 2, 2005 Members Share Posted September 2, 2005 Originally posted by Kap'n That's interesting. I mean, I can tell a big difference between a D-18 and a D-28. Not that one necessarily sounds better than the other, just different. Guitarcapo is talking about sound, you're talking about tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Promethius Posted September 3, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 3, 2005 Originally posted by Pikeusa Guitarcapo is talking about sound, you're talking about tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted September 3, 2005 Members Share Posted September 3, 2005 Originally posted by Promethius What he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted September 4, 2005 Members Share Posted September 4, 2005 Sound vs Tone Good question, I would'nt mind reading a little more about that. Back and sides are not excluded from what creates a guitars tone. They don't contribute nearly as much as the top and the top braces, but they are definately important. Words are all but useless for describing wood-tone. I get a kick reading the descriptions: lush, sweet, full, warm. It borders on being X-rated. I figure all of the body woods go through the ''opening up'' thing. Possibly some woods take longer. I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted September 5, 2005 Members Share Posted September 5, 2005 People will spend $8,000 for Martins made with Brazilian Rosewood instead of $4,000 for the same guitar with East Indian Rosewood. There's absolutely a difference. How much it's worth, and how significant the difference is, is up to the listener. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pikeusa Posted September 6, 2005 Members Share Posted September 6, 2005 Originally posted by Promethius Sound; the quality of the vibration, Tone; the color of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted September 6, 2005 Members Share Posted September 6, 2005 Originally posted by Pikeusa Sound; the quality of the vibration, Tone; the color of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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