Can Laminated Sides And Back Sound As Good As Solid

The top isn t laminated and it ages.

Can laminated sides and back sound as good as solid.

A laminated top will generally have less resonance and sustain. But it won t sound as good as a pure solid wood guitar. Believe it or not even laminated guitars still carry much of the tone qualities of the outer woods since that part of the guitar is resonating with string vibration too. But ultimately a laminate guitar simply cannot resonate as freely as an all solid wood instrument.

If the grain matches perfectly on the inside and the back the guitar is likely all solid. And where tone may not be quantifiable the general consensus is that resonance and overall build quality of a guitar leads to harmony and balance in the overtones and that airy piano like quality that is undeniably pleasing to listen to. To be clear the composite nature of layered wood back and sides won t produce quite the same level of sonic detail as solid wood backs and sides will. A good sales man will understand that what you are attempting to do is to check the grain pattern of the back by looking through the sound hole and then compare that with the grain pattern seen when viewing the back of the guitar from the outside.

And that s about it easy really when you think about it. It doesn t matter what anyone says. If the patterns are the same your guitar has solid back and sides if not then laminated or faced has been used. This has a little bearing on the overall sound but i would say a solid top will still get.

The difference between laminate and solid wood is far less significant when it comes to backs and sides however. They are said to vibrate more freely as the wood grains and fibres are still in one piece unlike a laminate which is a sandwich that involves some bonding materials. Unlike solid woods which improve in sound quality over time laminates can actually lose their sound quality with age. The theory with solid woods is that they provide their own character to the sound of the uke the character of the tone wood itself in a way that is impossible for laminates to do.

Favorite answer laminate back and sides don t vibrate and resonate with the sound like a solid piece would. It ll sound better as it ages.