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Author Topic: Tonewood  (Read 14012 times)

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MarshallJMP

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Tonewood
« on: Time Format »

I came across some discussions about guitar woods.Some say that tonewood really affects your sound and some say you can use any wood,you won't hear the difference.Just take a look at it on youtube.

So what do you guys think about this?Could turn out to be a nice discussion  ::)
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DorsetRatt

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #1 on: Time Format »

Have you got a link for it MJMP?
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MarshallJMP

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #2 on: Time Format »

Start here https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tonewood+debate

There are some major discussions going on.
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MarshallJMP

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #3 on: Time Format »

Like this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLqIzt2_eIw

Look at it,i can hear a difference and i could tell which clip was which wood.
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tomy

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #4 on: Time Format »

Couple  years ago i wanted a luthier handmade instrument. At the beginning, he made me try 3 instruments: all mapple neck
1st -alder body
2nd-mapple body
3rd-mahogany body
Exactly same basses (same electronic too), taken  from his product
chain
I really prefer  the mapple one because of the medium tone.
There was so much tone diference between the 2 others...
So I chose mapple
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tomy

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #5 on: Time Format »

Like this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLqIzt2_eIw

Look at it,i can hear a difference and i could tell which clip was which wood.


Men !!! 600 guitars ... Just what I need  :banana-guitar:
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MarshallJMP

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #6 on: Time Format »

Your couch can handle 600 guitars  ;D

Did you hear the difference?
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tomy

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #7 on: Time Format »

Your couch can handle 600 guitars  ;D

Did you hear the difference?

to me, and it's my opinion,  I wasn't even watching but guitar 2 sounds little brighter
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tomy

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #8 on: Time Format »

But you know, watching those guys... seems they have found their reason to live :crazy:
« Last Edit: Time Format by tomy »
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rnolan

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #9 on: Time Format »

Without even watching I can attest that different woods make a big difference.  But it's not as easy as I would have thought (eg harder woods = more sustain etc). There are some combinations that just work well together like a LP, 1 & 1/2"s of mahogany topped with 1/4" of sugar maple, just works.  My Anderson has a basswood body, maple/pau ferro neck/FB and sings like nothing else.
There are some rules of thumb however, softer woods are more well rounded (eg mahogany, queensland maple) and harder woods a bit more crisp and project well (rosewood etc), and spruce or cedar are the most common top woods (though Maton use king billy pine sometimes).
I've also bumped into a few guitars made from very old (lived at the bottom of a swap for many years) bit's of this and that. Last one I saw recently was cedar from an old American train carriage that he had custom made into a telecaster (nice)
Alembic used to put the various bits of wood they were going to use to build a bass together for a "long" while just to get to know one another....
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DorsetRatt

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #10 on: Time Format »

OK, my initial thoughts ...

Yes, I did hear a noticeable difference when played acoustically

Yes, I did hear a slight difference when plugged in (blind test)

... but was there a big difference? I don't think so, and his explanation of the slight differences seems plausible.

I'll give it another go tomorrow to see if my opinion changes :dunno:

Did you listen to the Fender Custom Shop cardboard guitar? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTZtnKbXAC0
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tomy

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #11 on: Time Format »

Cardboard guitar!!! well ampeg made the aria guitar couple years ago
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MarshallJMP

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #12 on: Time Format »

Wauw that cardboard guitar was nice and it sounded good,so you know ,is there so much tonal difference,or is it just between the ears?

Now i do believe wood will have an effect on the sound,but it isn't that big like swapping pickups,here you will get far more audible differences.Same with body shapes,a V will be slightly different sounding then a strat or as an LP,or an explorer etc... but they will be very very small.Saying there is no difference goes a bit to far for me.

Maybe the wood quality is more important so you don't get twisted necks or cracked body's ,frets that come loose etc...
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rnolan

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #13 on: Time Format »

I would have said the same before I got the JPLP. But it just sings even not plugged in, like Nigel (spinal tap) says, you can hear the sustain, I know he's taking the mikey but I couldn't get over it. A 59 LP is just amazing. And then I plugged it in.....
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vansinn

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Re: Tonewood
« Reply #14 on: Time Format »

My idea about woods for instruments is that practically any wood can be used, as long as it's grown the right way, harvested at the right time, and has rested correctly.
It is mostly about the grain structure and density.
Now, this of course automatically implies that woods do behave differently; however, I think the concept of very special tonewoods is often quite overrated.

In order to verify whether or not, methinks a whole range of fully identically build instruments should be build, where only the woods would differ.
Same thing with the talks about bolt-on, set neck, deep set-neck, neck trough..

While I absolutely loves those gorgeous flames and burls et al, it's more a matter of the love for looks (like women in lace).

Some mahoganies may result in slightly richer mids, while i.e. sapeli usually makes for a good overall balance.
Basswood with a veneer, like Ibanez has done it for years, works just fine for a nice wide-range tonal spectrum.
WRT grain and density, as mentioned.. this is why there's a difference between a mid-soft'ish maple neck and, say, Canadian or German hard high-mountain maple. IMHO, of course, and mileage likely will differ ;)

Test: Put a set of Dimarzios in a strat and a set of Texas Heat single coils in a Gibson. and see what happens..
« Last Edit: Time Format by vansinn »
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