Entries Tagged as 'acoustic guitars'
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Understanding Tonewoods when purchasing an acoustic guitar:
Many factors affect the acoustic guitar’s sound quality. Among the most important are the tonewoods that are used to produce the soundboard (top), sides, and back. The sound quality is produced by 4 major things in general, assuming the player is skilled:
- The strings
- The tonewoods
- The craftsmanship
- and finish of the acoustic guitar
For this particular article, we will focus on the tonewoods. Whether you are a beginner looking to buy the best beginner acoustic guitar, or more experienced player, be sure to understand more about tonewoods before making the commitment.
The top or soundboard of the guitar is perhaps one of the most influential pieces. The top of the guitar is made of different kinds of woods, but a few are very popular:
Sitka Spruce is the most popular tonewood used for guitar tops because of its straight grain pattern, strength to weight ratio, and abundance. Sitka produces a well-balanced sound in the bass, mid-range and treble or high frequencies.
Engelmann Spruce is like Sitka Spruce, only it is less in supply and fewer soundboards can be produced from a single tree based on the tree’s girth. Englemann is the choice in some higher priced guitars, and has unique tone qualities that rival Sitka Spruce, yet not producing quite the same sound velocity and therefore a reduce output or sound projection.
Cedar is the most popular tonewood for acoustic classical guitar tops. Cedar is another straight, finely-grained wood and provides a more mellow, rich tone when compared with Sitka Spruce.
Mahogany is more widely used in the necks, sides and backs of many acoustic guitars because of it’s strength and sound qualities. It is not the most popular top or soundboard wood used but has been used in many acoustic guitar models.
Maple is the lowest in sound velocity, and is used for specific instances when a guitar with a more muted tone is desired.
Although the top of the guitar is the most important piece
The sides and back of the acoustic guitar are the next most important permanent part of the guitar that affect the overall tone quality and sound profile of the guitar, affecting 4 factors of the sound profile:
- High range (treble)
- Mid range
- Low range (bass)
- And overall projection
Two of the most popular tonewoods for the sides and back in higher quality guitars are:
Rosewood and Mahogany.
There are different species of both, but we will simply talk about how the general characteristics of the two affect and shape the tone of the acoustic guitar.
Rosewood (common types are East Indian and Brazilian), give the acoustic guitar a full sound with projection in all 3 ranges, and more so in the bass range than Mahogany and other tonewoods.
Mahogany projects more in the mid range and high range. When played next to an acoustic guitar made with Rosewood sides and back, a discerning ear can certainly notice the fuller, bass balanced sound from a Rosewood acoustic guitar.
Other woods that are also commonly used in making the back and sides of the acoustic guitar include:
African Sapele – giving a brighter tone similar to Mahogany
Nato (cheaper species of Mahogany)
Koa (Hawaiian exotic wood) giving a lush, richer sound similar to Hawaiian steel slide guitars
Maple – giving a brighter, higher end sound with lower projection qualities due to the reduced sound velocity of the wood.
Composite – man made materials that have been used in producing the sides and back of many guitars in attempt to produce guitars with less wood materials, being cheaper in manufacturing costs.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list of tonewoods (and other materials) used in guitar making, as luthiers continue to experiment with different species of woods. However, using this simple checklist when researching and compiling information will help anyone make a more informed decision when purchasing an acoustic guitar.
To learn more on “how to buy an acoustic guitar” visit strumviews.com. Aaron Schulman is the publisher and has been an avid guitar player and musician for over 20 years.
Tags: acoustic guitars
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Learn How To Buy An Acoustic Guitar With Confidence
Purchasing an acoustic guitar can be a challenging process. Whether you are considering purchasing a guitar for the first time, for the 10th time, or as a gift for another, understanding the entire construction process and craftsmanship of an acoustic guitar is essential in making the best investment.
Although price is important, don’t buy a guitar based solely on price.
Price is by far a good starting point, because we typically try to buy what we can afford. However, in any price bracket, decent guitars as well as inferior acoustic guitars can be found. Knowing a bit about how guitars are made, how to properly research a guitar, and finally, how to give it a final inspection (whether purchasing online or offline) is essential to be confident in your purchase decision. There is actually a very popular beginner acoustic guitar being sold currently for under $100, as an investment, the player will most likely be disappointed in 6 months to a year if he or she steadily improves and desires a guitar that can support their playing as they grow. A player can easily plateau in the early to intermediate phases because the guitar simply is not of sound quality.
A true example: A friend of mine (a drummer by trade) was going to purchase an acoustic guitar and pay over $1100 for it because it was one of the most popular brand names, especially in the electric guitar realm. However, he asked if I would go with him just for a second opinion. In about 3 minutes, I was able to show him why he would be getting a bad deal in this mass produced popular model, and how purchasing another more obscure model would be a much better investment. He has been tickled since. This brings us to the next point. . .
Beware of buying a guitar based just on brand: Buying a guitar based on it’s brand is a good start because brands have reputations. However, brands can be deceiving. What a particulay guitar company does well in one line of guitar products may not be true in another line.
A few questions or ideas to explore about the brand are:
- Whether their reputation has been built soundly for acoustic guitars, electric guitars, or both.
- Is their reputation built upon other industries, products or instruments?
- Can the brand justify the pricing points based on a solid product of good craftsmanship or are they able to sell an overpriced product because of their reputation in other lines or products.
- If the brand outsources their production to other countries, how has it affected the quality and longevity of the instrument?
- Has the brand been around long enough to prove that their guitars have improved with age?
- Is the brand young and obscure (not very popular), but producing high quality products?
Just because a brand has built a quality product in one line, does not mean it transfers necessarily to other lines of instruments or industries. Additionally, just because a company is small or obscure, does not mean it does not produce quality products at a bargain price.
In all, try to purchase your guitar with the player’s best interests in mind.
Start by answering the following question to begin your research process as it pertains to the players.
- Is the player going to be investing in a future in guitar playing?
- Are you willing to pay a little more to get the best beginner acoustic guitar for the player’s success?
- Is the player particularly small?
- Does he or she have small arms or hands?
- Is the guitar going to be used for concerts or just personal fun?
- Is the guitar player going to need a pickup system (or an acoustic-electric guitar) to plug into an amplifying system?
- What styles or genres of music will the player be focusing on?
- Does the player prefer to have the guitar project more bass, mid-tones, treble or is he or she looking to find a guitar that projects well in all 3 basic ranges.
- Who will the player be playing with and how will the instrument balance with the other players?
A few other areas to get acquainted with include:
- Learning how to spot quality craftsmanship.
- Learning to do adequate research on buyer reviews.
- Learning how different acoustic guitar body styles and tone woods affect the tone quality and projection.
- Learning how different finishes affect the sound profile of an acoustic guitar
- Learning how different strings affect playability and sound.
- Learning what objections people have written in reviews that should not affect your decision.
- Understanding pickups and electronics in acoustic-electric guitars to get the results you are seeking.
Overall, breaking down your research into a few major categories and learning a bit in each category will help you to make your next acoustic guitar purchase with confidence. In other articles, we will break down these topics in more detail.
Aaron Schulman has been a musician for over 25 years and an avid guitar player, writer and composer since 1990. Before purchasing your next acoustic or acoustic-electric guitar, you can learn more about researching and understanding acoustic guitar reviews at strumviews.com.
Tags: acoustic guitars
