What’s in YOUR guitar?

The magic of wood, glue, design and how it all works together

Acoustic guitars are wonderful works of art, technology, centuries of trial and error, where physics and human ingenuity come together to produce beauty and, let’s face it, no small level of frustration for those who seek to produce beauty with it. Is the frustration worth it? Absolutely!! There is great joy in hearing the first chord you strum, the first time you learn to change chords on the beat (you’re playing music!!), the first time you string together chords to play all the way through a song. For many of us the memories of each of those small first time victories are buried in the past as we move on to more advanced techniques. But the simple joy of those first accomplishments is repeated all the time. I often find myself doing something cool wholly by accident - something I didn’t learn from lessons or by practicing - just some placement of a fingertip on a string timed differently or an out-and-out mistake that ends up sounding cool. I have a “I didn’t know I could do that!” moment - and especially if you’re just starting out, you will too!!

Today, let’s look at how this wonderful machine is made, what it’s made from, and how it works. I’ll include some links to illustrative images and articles that can be helpful.

Most acoustic guitars are made from natural woods that are cut and shaped into various parts, glued together, and finished with frets, strings and coatings to create an acoustic guitar. Some guitars are made from wood products that are highly processed and a few from something other than wood. I’ve owned a guitar made from high pressure laminate (HPL) - I eventually gave it away, but it was inexpensive and worked. If your budget is such that an inexpensive guitar is your best choice, so long as it works, even if the sound isn’t great, it’s better than having no guitar at all, but wishing you did. I’ve never owned a guitar made with carbon fiber or materials other than wood or wood products, so I don’t feel qualified to comment on those. If I ever find one though, I’ll definitely sit and play it for a bit, just for the experience!

Last week I talked about some types of guitar sizes and mentioned a few parts of the guitar. For reference, here’s an illustration of the (mostly) commonly referenced parts of acoustic guitars:

Photo at https://best-online-guitar-lessons.blogspot.com/ (not sure of copyright - no ©️information regarding copyright at website for picture)

And here’s a link to an article that has a very clear basic explanation of how acoustic guitars produce sounds (©️2021 The Acoustic Guitarist - Note I have no affiliation with this author, or the blog containing the illustration above - I just found them via a web search and thought them helpful - but I’m a stickler for accrediting copyrighted works): https://theacousticguitarist.com/why-do-acoustic-guitars-have-sound-holes/

With all of that said - choosing a guitar based on the natural wood it’s made from will have some effect on the tone it produces. The most common consumer oriented guitars (we’ll talk about whatever that might mean in a future post) are made from mahogany or rosewood as the guitar body sides and back and the guitar top is usually some variety of spruce (Sitka spruce is very common) - I have several guitars made with one or the other of the more common sides/back woods and my personal experience (only) is mahogany produces a more pronounced low end “boom” and rosewood seems to have a more obvious high end “sparkle” or brightness. Your mileage may vary, there are lots of guitars made from many different natural woods, both body/sides and tops, and the amount and quality of tone can vary between manufacturers. The age of the guitar will also affect tone - guitars that are well cared for tend to be more “mellow” as they age in my experience. Choosing between is a matter of your own preferences so play as many different types as you can at your locally owned guitar shop as possible. Talking with, and listening to, those local owners can be invaluable. Keep in mind the points from last week’s post that just about everyone has their own go-to guitar manufacturer and the bottom line is the “does it fit your hand?” test.

Manufacturers differences have a great deal to do with the tone of their guitars - quality manufacturers use great woods, spend a lot of time on the nuances of fit and finish, and likely have their own designs for for the “internals” of the the guitar body, neck, and fretboard. Internal bracing patterns play a role in tone: here’s an illustration of an internal bracing pattern (this is a Martin guitar - not an endorsement - I chose it because the parts were labeled):

You may have concerns about the sustainability of the woods used, and that’s been a topic of much discussion in the past few years. One of my guitars (actually my go-to workhorse guitar) is made from an African wood called Sapele - a relative of mahogany. Very durable, sustainable wood, less expensive, but also quite heavy. It has a good, but not great, tone - low end boom, but is kind of dull compared to my higher end guitars. That said, I both perform and record with it - it “fits my hand”. It came with installed electronics and has a composite fretboard. It’s one of my two absolute favorites, the other being a 25 year old mahogany from a great, but probably “second tier” manufacturer. Inexpensive and fits my hand - the only “brand new” guitar (at the time) I’ve ever owned - it was a cherished gift and gets better every year.

I think I’ll end there for this week, please comment or ask questions, and I’ll address them as I can in future posts. See you next week!!

Cheers!

Michael Acoustic