Does Wood Make A Difference and Why

metalhead384 · Post by **metalhead384** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:22 am

I have always been a bit curious about this topic, and have been on both sides before. I'd like to debunk this once and for all. Also this is a good way to say Im right to my drummer. Just answer the Question please and Say why, cus im sure theres other people on this forum who are curious and why

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 4:01 am

wood DOES make a difference in drums.

it does fuck all nothing to an electric guitar though

rodvonbon · Post by **rodvonbon** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 4:41 am

Like an old ladies underpants, (shrug shoulders)..........Depends
What kind of music are you playing? What kind of guitar? Electric or acoustic?
I don't believe the wood my guitar is made out of makes a bit of difference for the style I play, but then again I'm no flamenco player either. I'm sure the dude that does play that way would hate the way my guitar sounds.
There needs to be a base for your poll to put things into context.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:39 am

I voted no. What does make a difference is how the wood is cut / put together... hollow, semi-hollow, chambered, solid and how the bracing in a hollow bodied electric or an acoustic make a difference...

DasBeef · Post by **DasBeef** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:24 am

I asked my girl and she said wood makes a massive difference......

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:46 am

To be honest, I think that if you think it makes a difference, then yes, it absolutely does, whereas if you think it doesn't make a difference, then no, of course not.

It's something that you convince yourself of and will always imagine that it does or doesn't depending on what you've decided. You'll enjoy either knowing that your guitar has the best wood for what you're doing, or it doesn't matter.

DasBeef · Post by **DasBeef** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:57 am

WOOD

A wee write up about the tones of different woods.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:04 am

I think that unless you have identical guitars with identical electronics but with different body woods it's impossible to answer the question. There are too many variables.
What I do think makes a difference is the quality of the wood. I've played identical guitars before and had them sound quite different. Resonance, tone or whatever you want to call it.
I have guitars made of alder, basswood, mohogany, pine and they all sound different...but they all have different pickups, pickup configurations, pots, construction (set neck/bolt on) etc. I think that this makes more of a difference, especially by the time you stick them through a load of distortion.

jumbledupthinking · Post by **jumbledupthinking** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:02 am

With the way you've phrased the question, I'm going to say yes.

Whether it makes a drastic difference to sound on an electric guitar is up for debate, but weight is a crucial issue where wood can make a massive difference.

Ever had a guitar that's too light? Can feel like a toy & put you off playing it.

Ever had a guitar that's too heavy? Got rid of my CIJ Jaguar for this very reason. Loved almost everything else about that guitar....hated how heavy it was & that was the one thing that would be almost impossible to mod.

All down to wood choices on the part of the manufacturers.

Bizzarely (given that '70s Fenders have a reputation for being boat-anchors), my '78 Musicmaster feels perfect weight-wise to me.

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:40 am

metalhead384 wrote:I'd like to debunk this once and for all.

Yep, an internet poll. That should lay this one to rest, alright.

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:46 am

In light of what Thom says above, though, take a Strat or Tele with a rosewood or maple neck, swap the neck for one with the other kind of fingerboard and you'll have your answer one way or another.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:16 am

Thom wrote:I think that unless you have identical guitars with identical electronics but with different body woods it's impossible to answer the question. There are too many variables.

This. Does it make a difference to the sound? Yes. But then, so do a number of other factors that make as much of a difference, if not more, so it might as well not make a noticeable difference at all. I find myself thinking the same thing with string brands: it's probably a psychosomatic thing, but I *feel* like I play better with certain brands fitted. No idea if I'd be able to tell them apart in a blind test.

As long as it's 'proper' wood rather than cheap MDF or something I don't mind whether it's ash, swamp ash, alder, basswood, mahogany or poplar. They all work fine.

I'm voting 'yes' here purely on the grounds of cosmetics (sometimes the grain of the wood makes the difference between a nice-looking 'burst finish and a crap one) and the issue of weight. Personally I mostly play sitting down though, so weight is less of an issue for me, but yeah.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 11:26 am

It makes an acoustic difference and some plugged-in difference, and I think it might be down to density more than anything else, but construction and pickups basically over-ride any tonal benefits/disadvantages from wood types anyway. With my Danelectro and Gretsch Baritone I now have two guitars made from plywood and it makes fuck all difference to me. They sound fine. I also have a guitar made out of basswood and the only real difference it has made in comparison to other guitars is that the body gets dented much easier, particularly as I stuck a pair of hilariously high-powered GFS loudmouth pickups in there that will squash your face flat.

Neck wood possibly makes some sort of difference. My Batwing and Marquee sounded markedly different, the Batwing having more sustain and a fatter sound. I originally put it down to the mass of the headstock, as the only cosmetic difference was the headstock shape, although the bridge mechanism was also different and there were a good five or so years between manufacture and there are so many other variables that to put it down to wood type/mass seems silly in retrospect.

Interestingly, I bought a Japanese Jaguar a few years back and it came to me in such a state that it sounded like shit. In fact, for a while it was my most expensive guitar, with the nicest wood, but sounded the worst by a long, long mile. Even when I "fixed" the construction/intonation issues, the pickups in Jap Jags in combination with the silly 1meg pots are so poor that it still sounded like a cat being fucked by a meathook.

So does wood (and therefore price) have any real bearing on the sound of a guitar? No. Not really. Maybe a little. But we all knew that anyway, right? Wood type has been used by higher-end guitar companies to justify higher prices for years and it has always been bullshit. "Don't buy that cheap plywood/basswood guitar!"

I sometimes wonder if Gibson suddenly started making all of their guitars out of Pine and cheap-ass Mahogany if any of the blooz lawyerz would notice.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 11:54 am

STRONG UPPER MIDRANGE

George · Post by **George** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 12:18 pm

I think weight and resonance of the wood is something you can feel when playing the actual guitar adding to the overall experience and perceived tone. So yeah, it makes a difference.

Post by **Doog** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 1:32 pm

Nothing makes as big a difference as the player and his/her technique. But you can't sell that shit, so it's ignored.

sholkham · Post by **sholkham** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:00 pm

I was going to say there was some difference, as I have a rich mahogany SG and it sounds bassier than my other fender-esque guitars but this could really just be down to the pickups or set neck on it.

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 4:27 pm

Not pretending to be some kind of expert, but I do think the wood can effect sustain, as opposed to the 'tone' as such.
How it sounds unplugged (probably affected by wood type) weight and the overall feel of the instrument, contribute psychologically to any kind of illusion.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:23 pm

I want to say yes because it surely must make some difference, but i think the way something is constructed makes much more difference. The Pine body on the CV Tele seems to really resonate and is quite loud unplugged. But plugged in it sounds like my other Tele.
So, Amplified i dont think it makes much difference at all, with guitars anyway.
I've owned several MDF guitars, one Acrylic, one Plywood, Mahogany, Pine, Alder, Swamp Ash, Basswood etc and i could never hear any great differences. They all just sounded characteristic of the models they were- the MDF Strat sounds like the Alder Strat and so on.

metalhead384 · Post by **metalhead384** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:32 pm

The way I was looking at this is tone wise does wood affect the tone your electric guitar gives off. I say no, because the sound is all coming from your strings, pickups, and electronics. Nowhere in there can i see wood making a difference. For example. My friend switched his rosewood neck with a maple neck, basically the same, both 22 frets, both bone nut, both 2 string trees, only difference was the wood on the fretboard. The guitars ended up sounding the same.

Does Wood Make A Difference and Why

Does Wood Make A Difference?

Does Wood Make A Difference and Why

Re: Does Wood Make A Difference and Why