J & D guitars ! solid wood !
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fretless6
New member
stars said:
For bodies... some ppl sought for solid 1 piece bodies. Why? Supposedly sounds better? Actually more like cos it's harder to get a tree wide enough to make a one piece body. Less econimically viable, so costs more. Marketing hype, ppl go for more expensive options...
Then there's manufacturers that use plywood (laminated). Conventional plywood is very stiff, hence not very resonant, so not that great for guitar bodies. But plywood comes in grades too, and not all plywood is cheap. To add to the confusion, even ur "solid bodied" mahogany with a maple top is technically plywood too..
Laminated wood is good for necks. Basically the idea is that the grain of the wood runs in this particular direction, so the wood is prone to warp in that direction. By gluing it to another piece of wood that has grain running in another direction, they stiffen each other up. Hence when u look at most basses with 5 strings or more, the neck is usually made of 3 pieces or more running length wise.
Laminated bodies are not uncommon either. e.g. a standard guitar body with a bookmatched top is usually made up of 5 pieces of wood glued together. 2 for the top and 3 for the back. Les Claypool is knowned for his "rainbow bass" built by Carl Thompson. Kueh Lapis anyone? And CT Basses are anything BUT cheap. How's that for paying big bucks for tone of glue?
Rainbow Bass
Look carefully, how many stripes can u count?
squidospyder
New member
Frankly, if you ask me, go for the best quality you can afford. Brand names probably play a role here, big names being trusted for their experience and quality but nowadays they make low-end stuff too, eg ibanez gsr series, fender squier (has been around for very long) etc.
Usually as it goes, better brands who make better guitars offer solid wood for bodies. Not one piece 99.9% of the time, its too difficult to find one big enough. Its usually glued side-by-side and can have 2, 3, 4 or 5 (or more but uncommon) big pieces glued together in this way. Think of it like 2 Kellog's corn flakes boxes glued side to side or several Colgate boxes glued side to side. Another thought: sometimes manufacturers add this thing known as a 'top', most popular probably being gibson's les paul guitars, with a maple top (usually figured, looks nice) on a solid mahogany body. Probably for looks, also some say for tone as maple adds a bit of brightness to the warm-sounding mahogany.
Plywood, as we all know, is cheap. Think of it like kueh lapis, as someone had mentioned above. Or like many cd covers stacked one ON TOP of another. Some (very expensive) luthiers/boutique instrument makers do make custom guitars by glueing wood side by side for the looks. They use good wood. The plywood we are concerned about here when used on cheap guitars on the other hand, are usually salvaged from scrap wood or sometimes better wood, as long as they can get a nice even thickness for a certain size then they glue many pieces together like the cd cover example above (sometimes the thickness may not be so thick, could be many 3mm layers glued together).
Now comes the interesting part. The sound difference probably may not be that much if you're comparing between the two for ELECTRIC instruments. BUT of course, you have to look at the wood they use. Plywood guitars almost always uses wood which is not as good those used on solid body instruments. I have yet to see a cheap mahogany or alder plywood electric guitar and if i do come across it, chances are they will sound the same as a solid-wood guitar made out of the same wood.
So best is, don't bother too much about the body being plywood or solid wood or plastic. Purchase the best you can afford and make sure you like the feel and sound, be happy with it and upgrade in the future if you want something better. As always, you get what get what you pay for.
P.S. I have tries the J&D basses over at Excel, I think they are good wood-wise, being thru-neck and all, but the hardware and electronics are of low quality to a certain extent. Good buy if you are considering upgrading parts later on. But is that what you really want or do you just want to buy and play? Depends on the individual, i upgraded my hardware on my bass to my liking.
Usually as it goes, better brands who make better guitars offer solid wood for bodies. Not one piece 99.9% of the time, its too difficult to find one big enough. Its usually glued side-by-side and can have 2, 3, 4 or 5 (or more but uncommon) big pieces glued together in this way. Think of it like 2 Kellog's corn flakes boxes glued side to side or several Colgate boxes glued side to side. Another thought: sometimes manufacturers add this thing known as a 'top', most popular probably being gibson's les paul guitars, with a maple top (usually figured, looks nice) on a solid mahogany body. Probably for looks, also some say for tone as maple adds a bit of brightness to the warm-sounding mahogany.
Plywood, as we all know, is cheap. Think of it like kueh lapis, as someone had mentioned above. Or like many cd covers stacked one ON TOP of another. Some (very expensive) luthiers/boutique instrument makers do make custom guitars by glueing wood side by side for the looks. They use good wood. The plywood we are concerned about here when used on cheap guitars on the other hand, are usually salvaged from scrap wood or sometimes better wood, as long as they can get a nice even thickness for a certain size then they glue many pieces together like the cd cover example above (sometimes the thickness may not be so thick, could be many 3mm layers glued together).
Now comes the interesting part. The sound difference probably may not be that much if you're comparing between the two for ELECTRIC instruments. BUT of course, you have to look at the wood they use. Plywood guitars almost always uses wood which is not as good those used on solid body instruments. I have yet to see a cheap mahogany or alder plywood electric guitar and if i do come across it, chances are they will sound the same as a solid-wood guitar made out of the same wood.
So best is, don't bother too much about the body being plywood or solid wood or plastic. Purchase the best you can afford and make sure you like the feel and sound, be happy with it and upgrade in the future if you want something better. As always, you get what get what you pay for.
P.S. I have tries the J&D basses over at Excel, I think they are good wood-wise, being thru-neck and all, but the hardware and electronics are of low quality to a certain extent. Good buy if you are considering upgrading parts later on. But is that what you really want or do you just want to buy and play? Depends on the individual, i upgraded my hardware on my bass to my liking.
whoa icic ok ... hmmz cos e one i have in mind is this http://www.guitar77.com/guitarpics/DSCF0167.gif at uncle dennis shop ! icic thanks alot dudes...