Various types of wood used in manufacturing a guitar

Tone Wood - What is it?

The different types of materials used is a predominant factor that affect the guitar's tonal qualities. Tone wood is a term synonymous with wood that is noted for its acoustic qualities.

When choosing an acoustic guitar there are many factors to take note of; for example, the types of wood that is used, for different wood used will produce different tones. Also the approach of each craftsman towards each instrument is different, so it is common to note why acoustic guitars do take on different characteristics in different models.

Solid Top

When the term solid top is used for an acoustic guitar, it is used to describe the materials made from two sheets of wood and each piece of wood forms a separate half of the sound board. Hence we see the line in the middle which shows where the join was made on the acoustic guitar. A feature of the solid top is it has long continuous grain lines in its structure. Solid topped soundboards definitely give out a clearer tone and it will last longer than a laminated top described below. The picture on the right shows an example of a solid top.

Laminated Top

Laminated top is comprised of several pieces and layers of wood structured by joining many thin sheets of material one on top of the other to form a sheet.
The thing with laminated bodies is that there are multiple grain layers going in different directions which causes problems because it will not vibrate so well and with time the layers become loose.

Names of the Type of Wood Used

Brazilian Rosewood
This type of wood that is used in acoustic guitar making helps in bringing out the best tonal sounds. Known for its favored overtones and good sound velocity, it also has a lot of power in the bottom end, while in the rest of the range the tone sounds darker.

Good mids and highs do add to the richness of tone in the upper registers.

Due to delays in certain harmonics, a reverberant type tone is produced on rosewood acoustic guitars. The qualities of the Brazilian rosewood is that it gives a lot of clarity in the bottom end, and a lot of brilliance in the top. Sparkle and ring are two added qualities found when Brazilian rosewood is used for the neck.

Indian Rosewood
Known for its wide range of overtones and sound velocity, it has a good strong bottom end and a little darker tone in the rest of the range.
Indian rosewood has strong mids and highs, which helps to add richness in the upper registers. Overall, it does have a thicker mid range sound. Indian rosewood when used for necks does help to thicken up the mid range.

Mahogany
When compared to other wood materials, acoustic guitars made from Mahogany has a lower velocity of sound.

It gives out a strong tone due to its lower overtones and density.
 
Using Mahogany for the top helps give the upper end of the dynamic range a lot of boost, and when used for the neck it gives out a warm woody tone quality. Due to its strong super tone, Mahogany is best used for country blues type music. Why Mahogany is used for the back and sides is because of its high velocity of sound, which adds to the overtone structure. Compared to rosewood which has a more metallic tone, the Mahogany acoustic guitars have a more wood type tone. Just like the characteristics of the rosewood, the harder thicker Mahogany wood also do possess the same characteristics.
It will be noticed that the Mahogany back and sides do have more emphasis on the bass and treble.

Koa
This wood has been used for soundboards as early as 1920's, it has quite a low velocity of sound, good density and low overtone effect. Koa produces a good strong tone which is best at the upper end of its dynamic range.

This wood gives out a more mid range sound and this helps when one is playing rhythm and Hawaiian slide guitar playing.The back and sides are much similar to the Mahogany wood in terms of tone color, but Koa is known for its good reputation for having a good mid range.

 

Sitka Spruce
This wood is usually chosen for soundboards, and the species used is Sitka.
As with softwoods, Sitka has a high velocity of sound due to the synergy of its high hardness and light weight qualities of soft wood.
Having a good strong overtone  range, it allows for much clarity even when played harshly. Most guitar players look for this particular top wood as it has a large dynamic response and a good strong tone. In Sitka there is also a lack of complex overtones which can produce a thin sound when it is played with a light touch.



Basswood
This wood has good low end response. It is light, stiff and reliable and is best used for making necks, and also for bass instruments.

Red Spruce
This wood displays the highest stiffness across and between the grain as compared to other Top woods. It is quite heavy and possesses a high velocity of sound. It has a complex overtone range and a strong basics. The highest volume is produced from its top, and good strong clarity of tone can be heard at all dynamic levels.

Due to all its characteristics red spruce is the top wood choice for acoustic guitar players.

Followings are woods preferred for electric guitars so even if your beginner guitar is not an electric guitar, just read on for some interesting information.  

 

Maple
It has a flat sounding tone, the reason behind this is because of its heavy weight and low sounding velocity. The positive thing about this flat tone is that the flat tone helps a lot when one is playing at loud levels. So we see why Maple is the preferred choice when making electric guitar tops.

 
The softest and lightest of the maple woods is the big leaf maple which has wood grain that looks like waves. These wave patterns of the curly maple help the grain fiber to vibrate easily. It also brings down the long grain stiffness thus giving out a rich strong clear tone.
 
The different types of maple are big leaf, sugar and bear claw. Of these three woods, sugar and bear-claw have a lower velocity of sound and a higher threshold of internal damping. This causes the tonal structure of the top to be more up front, without adding any more coloration to it. Having maple necks fitted brings about a clear brilliant tone which helps the top end of a large bodied guitar.

Ebony
Ebony has good  damping qualities of all the woods used in guitar making  It has the lowest velocity of sound and is normally found on the violin necks, classical guitars and expansive acoustic steel guitars. Ebony is also good on smaller guitars which sometimes need less resonant tone  woods for the  tops and back of the guitar.


Alder
This wood is lightweight. It is also highly resonant and has a rich tone.
When used for making electric solid body guitars, Alder produces a good low end and sounds best in the lower mid range. The Alder gives good sustain and bright high end qualities.


Poplar
Characteristics of Poplar are that it is dense, stringy and very resonant even though it comes from lightweight hardwood. When used on solid electric guitar models it gives out a solid full gutsy, brilliant, spirited sound. Poplar guitars are favored by guitar players whose preference is for single coil and clear sound. All these characteristics and quality of materials used for acoustic guitar or professional guitar making is a big help when choosing your acoustic guitars. The type of timber, tone quality and feel of the instrument is personal and one has to hear, touch and play the instrument for a more accurate decision.

Acoustic Guitar Body Types

Acoustic guitar bodies are generally categorized into a number of types, according to its shape, size and the presence of a cut-away. There are five types, in general: dreadnought, jumbo, cut-away, parlor and orchestra.

Dreadnought

This is the most popular design of the acoustic guitar. It has a large body and a boxy shape. Tone wise, dreadnoughts have a strong full sound and big bass response. Dreadnoughts are powerful and require stronger touch– usually they are more suitable for playing with a pick rather than finger style. They are the ideal choice for a singer in a band who strums chords and use it as a rhythm guitar. After C.F. Martin designed this type of guitar, the design became what ‘represents a typical acoustic guitar’. It is considered the most ideal body type, since it maintains the perfect balance between the low and the high pitches that its strings produce.



Jumbo

 



Gibson J - 45





 

There are numerous variations of sizes and shapes referring to this term but generally speaking it is a large bodied guitar with a more rounded body and round shoulders and narrower waist than the dreadnought. They too have big sound but somewhat less boom-y than dreadnoughts. This type is widely used as it produces low-pitched sounds with a relatively small body.The smaller Jumbos like a Gibson J-45 are very versatile and can handle strumming and finger picking very well. However, because Jumbo generally tends to be large in size, it may not be the right guitar for a beginner, or small framed player.

Cut-Away

Most acoustic guitars are available in a cutaway version. The cut, literally the decorative removal of a portion of the body, allows easy access to the upper-most frets. It will affect the tone and volume to some degree, but this option is very popular. There are two types of cut-aways available : Venetian, and Florentine. The Venetian cut away has a round carved part. The Florentine cutaway is more sharply carved.

Florentine Cutaway                                                 

Venetian Cutaway

00, Parlor (Concert body)

C.F. Martin & Company (aka Martin Guitars) set the standard for identifying guitar sizes by number. These numerical descriptions are sometimes used by others. Sizes begin at 5 (the smallest) and go up to 0000 for a Grand Auditorium (nearly as large as a Dreadnought). A 00 size guitar is smaller than a 000. which is smaller than a 0000. The number system does not include Dreadnought or Jumbo models. Some of these guitars have 12-frets above the body instead of the 14 found on other models and on larger instruments. So, even though the term Concert or Grand Concert may bring to mind a large bodied guitar, you now know it's actually more compact than the Dreadnought or Jumbo. This style provides great tonal response across the bass, mid, and treble ranges with reasonable sustain. Because of its size, it is so called the "Ladies Model". Despite its small range of vibration, it enables the player to express the most delicate sounds. This is very much preferred by the fingerists.

Orchestra, or OM

Originally developed by Martin by shortening the body of their 000 model. (The Martin OM later became the Martin 000, so today's OM's are based on the original.) The Martin OM was one of the first mass produced guitars with 14 frets above the body. Though originally designed for classical players, it quickly gained popularity among cowboy and bluegrass performers. Orchestra's size is in between that of a dreadnought and a parlor.

Various types of guitar

1.     Acoustic guitar

The word ‘acoustic’ refers to creating a sound without any help of electrical equipment. However, as advancement in the technology was made to guitars, a special type of sound amplifier is now available for guitar, called ‘pick ups’. Nowadays, many have become to build guitars that have the pick-ups built in them. Acoustic guitars have thick strings in order to create sound using its own wooden body. Thicker the strings, greater the vibration produced.

The sound quality of the acoustic guitars largely depends on the way it is constructed. This is the reason that every guitar has its own unique style and characteristics.

Acoustic guitars go perfect when stroking the strings, or simply playing arpeggios. Its warm color and texture of the sound that it produces make it a versatile instrument for a variety of music ranging from jazz to Spanish tango.

There are two main braches in the acoustic guitar – Classic guitar, and the folk guitar.

Classical guitar Folk guitar

Classical or or spanish guitars have nylon strings - regular acoustics have steel strings. Classical guitars have a wider neck and a higher action. Also the bridge on the classical guitar is a lot different than the one on regukar acoustics as well as the headstock wich has the tunning pegs facing towards the bottom of the guitarand alsdo has two holes along the entire headstock with 6 cilindrical pieces where the strings are atached.

Another major difference is that the neck on the classical guitar is atached to the body on the 12th fret and tends to have less frets than regular acoustics.

Classical Spanish guitars are  really great with arpeggios – folk guitars, on the other hand, are perfect for stroking.

I will update posts about other types of guitar in near future.

Madly In Love With Guitar

Playing guitar is back on its trend in Korea, thanks to IU (아이유). When she posted a short video of her playing and singing along to the acoustic version of SNSD’s Gee, she received rather sensationally positive feedbacks from people. A 15-years-old girl singer playing an acoustic guitar- it was a fresh, authentic breeze to the Korean Pop, when almost every Korean girl groups sang and danced to the identical type of music. It was after the video hit the millions of views that people started to find the guitar an awesome instrument. They have begun to realise the hidden beauty in playing a guitar, and singing along to the song at the same time, adding an acoustic guitar to many other Korean girls’ wish list. In fact, acoustic guitar was popularly used in the 1960’s Korean music, which was influenced by the Western music. Perhaps this is why the younger Korean generation has thought of playing a guitar as a trend out of fashion. But the trend is always subject to change, is it not? A greater awareness was raised about the guitar with IU’s fabulous performances, where she would hold tightly to her guitar, singing with it, and lead the crowd in a professional manner. More people are purchasing guitar now, for coolness’ sake, if not for the Korean’s revived interest toward this instrument, which seemed to be forgotten for a long time.

I have grown with guitar. From the earliest memories of my childhood, I can recall my dad wonderfully playing his Spanish guitar. So has my dad, with Grand-dad playing guitar, too. I guess it runs in the family. But it was not until when I was fifteen that I had begun to truly appreciate the beauty of being able to play such instrument. Just like any other beginner, I started with the basic chords of C, D, E, and so on. When I mastered these, I was making my first attempts to sing along with the chords. And I realised that, by every chance, that guitar and I would be best friends for many years. I became madly in love with the Spanish guitar in particular. A gradual process it was, to take in new skills, and chords – it was just like getting to know someone.

Today, there are a number of types of guitar available to choose from. The Flamenco (also called “Spanish”), acoustic, and electronic guitar are main ones. Each type has its something of its own, that makes it unique from the other types. Each varies greatly in the ways of playing, the genres handled, and the construction of the guitar itself.  The material from which the guitar is made is totally different from one type of guitar to another, too. I am excited to explore about these various guitar types. Each and every type of guitar fascinates me, and the magic of playing guitar and creating melodies out of a simple, wooden Classic guitar has captured me ever since I stroked those six strings in awe and curiosity for the first time.

IU playing live acoutic covers of Gee, Sorry Sorry, etc, in a Korean TV programme "Yoo's Sketchbook"