Questions about tone woods

[Loxley]

I had a few questions about tone woods. For one, is there a comprehensive chart about how tone woods sound? I'm disappointed by the one I've seen by Taylor, the list is pretty small... I want to be able to compare and contrast most tone woods out there in terms of their tone.

 

Also, is there a general trend on how wood density affects tone? Also, how about density within the same kinds of wood, say you have two Strats, both the same wood, but one is heaver than the other.. how would they sound compared to one another?

 

Also, how much does the neck's wood affect tone? Does this factor change much between set necks and bolt-on necks?

 

Thanks.

[Les Paul Lover]

There's one somewhere on warmoth's website. Fairly comprehensive at that.

Anyway, the answer is mahogany.

[twofoolsaminute]

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Options/BodyWoodOptions.aspx

[Eddie]

Melancon, Suhr, and Anderson all have descriptions on their websites, including body, neck, and fingerboard options.

[guitarcapo]

Its an exercise in extreme generalizations to be sure. Any wood species will change it's sound depending on how you cut and shape it. A miramba is a good example. The tiny ones sound bright and the big ones sound deep and full....same species of wood all up and down the instrument.

[Loxley]

Its an exercise in extreme generalizations to be sure. Any wood species will change it's sound depending on how you cut and shape it. A miramba is a good example. The tiny ones sound bright and the big ones sound deep and full....same species of wood all up and down the instrument.

 

 

Right, but from a strictly scientific approach, using everything but wood as a constant, how do they compare is what I'm asking.

[Eddie]

Right, but from a strictly scientific approach, using everything but wood as a constant, how do they compare is what I'm asking.

 

 

The thing is that you have variability within species as well as between species. In addition, the luthier has a HUGE influence on the final sound, just like different Chefs cooking with the same ingredients.

[Will Chen]

Right, but from a strictly scientific approach, using everything but wood as a constant, how do they compare is what I'm asking.

 

 

Sound isn't scientific by any stretch of the imagination, it's purely an aesthetic thing which varies from one person to the next. Given that wood is organic and not uniform from piece to piece even when cut from the same tree and you will never be able to state in absolutes that x tone wood sounds this way and y sounds this way especially considering the profound effect pickups and electronics can have on the sound of an electric guitar not to mention amps. The only way you could absolutely dictate the resonant properties of a guitar body would be to use synthetic material which could be reproduced within an extremely tight tolerance.

 

The closest I've ever come was auditioning 2 LP styled guitars which were speced exactly the same with the singular exception being one was solid mahogany and the other mahogany with a maple cap. I played each for nearly 20 minutes though a couple amps at different gain levels and the difference was so subtle it could have easily been tiny variations in the pickup winding or pot and cap values...

[jbandy10]

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm

[MahaloVision]

Isn't it 47?

[docjeffrey]

See, this is what completely destroys the credibility of this site:

 

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm

 

Soft Maple:

Used extensively in Korea, it

[EADGBE]

The stiffer the wood the brighter the tone. And the heavier the wood the longer the tone will sustain.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Isn't it 47?

 

 

This makes as much sense as most answers when it comes to electric guitars and wood species

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

And the heavier the wood the longer the tone will sustain.

 

 

Nope:wave:

[Eddie]

The stiffer the wood the brighter the tone. And the heavier the wood the longer the tone will sustain.

 

 

The "heavy wood = sustain" idea was popular in the 70s, yet by the 80s and 90s luthiers were using softer woods and still achieving great sustain. In fact, for a while the trend was to go with lighter woods.

[Runn3r]

See, this is what completely destroys the credibility of this site: http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm Soft Maple: Used extensively in Korea, it

[PanaDP]

The stiffer the wood the brighter the tone. And the heavier the wood the longer the tone will sustain.

 

 

Not even close. If that was true, we'd make hardware out of lead for the great sustain.

[EADGBE]

Nope:wave:

 

Sorry but you're wrong again.

[EADGBE]

 

Not even close. If that was true, we'd make hardware out of lead for the great sustain.

 

Sure it's true. Make a Les Paul with a maple neck, maple body, and an ebony fretboard and see. And we're talking about wood guitars not metal ones.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Sorry but you're wrong again.

 

 

That fallacy has long been disproven, sorry

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Sure it's true. Make a Les Paul with a maple neck, maple body, and an ebony fretboard and see.

And thatd be nothing to do with the material property as soppsoed to the weight?

You're not really thinking this through, in your world all guitars would be made of snakewood and weigh 20-30 lbs, and wouldn't sustain anymore than a Gibson CS chamebered at 7.5lbs:wave: