Effects Processor Articles
Identifying Wood Characteristics for Good Guitar Tone |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jan 18 2008 |
This article is part of a series on reproducing your favorite guitarists sound. Read part 1 or part 2 here...
When it comes to any stringed instrument, a fundamental part of that instrument’s tone is produced from the type of wood that was used in its construction. Throughout history certain regions of the world have become synonymous with quality instruments largely due to their craftsmen’s ability to successfully marry wood indigenous to that area with special rosins, polishes and dyes, creating a signature sound. Our modern methods have allowed much experimentation with almost every type of material imaginable, especially in the world of guitars, and the range of choice facing a musician today is incredible.
While it may be intimidating to walk into a guitar store and have to choose between instruments constructed out of so many different types of wood, with a bit of background information you can be confident to make the correct choice. In general, guitar wood is selected for 3 things: strength, feel, and resonance. Strength is a factor because, especially on larger acoustic instruments, the guitar must be strong enough to resist the pull of the strings and keep it from snapping itself into two pieces. Feel is important for the neck of the guitar, where the fingers spend most of their time, and a soft, responsive wood like rosewood is frequently employed.
That brings us to resonance, perhaps the most important of the three criteria. Each type of wood has different tonal qualities that can drastically affect the sound of an instrument. Some woods, like the previously mentioned rosewood, as well as hard maple have a very ‘bright’ sound when used in the construction of a guitar’s soundboard. Others, such as mahogany or walnut have more of a ‘warm’, full bodied sound. These days it is rare to see a guitar made entirely out of one type of wood. Guitar makers are craftsmen who play to the specific strengths of each type of wood in order to ensure that the overall tone produced by the guitar isn’t overwhelmed by any one characteristic. One may see a mahogany solid guitar body capped with maple in order to combine the brightness of the maple with the full-bodied sound of the mahogany.
Certain woods may have a great tone and be very strong, but are way too heavy to be used in the complete construction of a solid body guitar. These woods are typically used in the necks of electric guitars and the backs and sides of acoustics. Ash and Alder are traditionally the wood of choice for a good balance of full sound and reasonable weight when it comes to an electric guitar. Mahogany and walnut have also been popular choices.
The tone and characteristics of a guitar are derived from the complicated relationship between the different woods that were employed in its construction – how they were layered, worked, and even how they were sawn. The key is to play as many different guitars as you can in order to search out the combination of fret board, soundboard and body woods that you find best matches the ideal tone you have in mind. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the construction of an instrument before you buy it – if you can’t find the answers you are looking for at one particular shop, feel free to move on.
Creating your own guitar tone is a very personal process. Marrying the tone of a guitar with your amplifier, guitar effects processors and cabinet you are using, spend time tweaking the sounds. Though we are tempted to want to just “plug and play,” finding your signature sound will come with patience and experimentation.
Last changed: Jan 18 2008 at 9:32 AM
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