I would like to talk about another topic and that is different in base sound volume on acoustic guitar. Solid wood vs. laminated.
I spotted “length” and feel of different base notes.
Following progression D - Bm - G - A then Dsus2 - Bm11 - G6 - Asus.
Fingerstyle 6/8.
Hitting open D string for root base note of D chord sounds pretty huge and long.
Hitting fretted B note on A string in Bm chord feels… really small and not that long.
Hitting fretted G note on E string sounds huge and long…
I would like to know if this can be improved and is different by guitar build or not. I got Fender CC-60 SCE. It has solid spruce top, but sides and back is laminated mahagonny.
I wonder if having solid wood for example solid spruce top and solid mahagonny/rosewood back and sides would improve that B note “hugeness” and length or not.
Can this be reason why are all solid guitars better?
I dont offer my own example… yet. I am learning that chord progression, but it would sound better to me having B ringing through whole chord fingerstyle picking than just in the beginning.
I have 2 Taylor acoustic guitars, an Academy 10 that I started with which has laminated back and sides and also an AD11e which is made from solid wood.
I can’t really answer your question because there’s too many variables between my 2 guitars. Besides the wood, they are different scale lengths, have different strings, different body shapes and size and have different internal bracing. I don’t have a trained ear but they sound very different to each other.
All that said, if I could only keep one, without hesitation I would keep the solid wood one. There’s nothing wrong with the other but the solid one is simply more resonant and to my ears just sounds better. I don’t really have the correct words but it’s like there’s more layers to its sound. The kicker of course is the solid one cost 3x the laminate one.
@mattswain that is enough of comparism. I was expecting something like that.
I am awared of diffrent body, strings and scale has impact on that… but your statement that solid wood has more resonant is probably the answer, because string is ringing and resonating guitar body.
I guess lenght and volume of solid wood should be better than on laminated one.
I know about the price. This is just getting more infromations, because one day I would love to treat myself with all solid wood.
No expert at all, but I would think body size and shape will be far more defining for the resonance of a guitar than wether it’s laminated or solid wood.
Body shape and size will affect tone and volume (if you were comparing instruments made from the same wood) but the wood is hugely important in how resonant a guitar is otherwise they’d all be made from chipboard/MDF
@LadyOfTheCastle My current guitar is shaped like “concert” I believe it is similar to OM, but a little bit bigger, because name is holding “jumbo”. Pretty confusing to be honest.
Best would be to try by myself in store, but there is always too many players doing “mess” in the background.
A solid top is going to affect it more than anything. The wood that is used is also important. I get much more deep resonance out of my cedar top guitar than my spruce guitars. The bracing also makes a difference. The back can offer some resonance if you play sitting down, if you stand up you hold the guitar against your body which reduces it’s effect. A larger body will give you more bass response as well.
String gauge might be something to look at to on acoustic if you want to fine tune your Tone/volume before buying a new guitar.
My luthier uses custom medium gauge strings on his acoustic. Its a set with bigger bass strings than usual medium string. He says that it sounds much fuller than my light gauge strings. Though, he’s definitely not a beginner, he has a recording studio in his house.
But - don’t think that solid wood automatically means good and even sound! I always wonder how some guitars achieve to sound good over all their note range. Most (or all) have some flaws, but hopefully so small you’ll not (or not often) notice them.
And I’m sure that there are some laminated top guitars sounding better than some other solid wood ones. But in general, I’d support saying solid wood sounds mostly nicer.
@Carreta you’re comparing 2 different notes on 2 different strings on the same guitar. I’d say it’s most likely your technique not whether a solid wood vs laminated guitars is better.
The same note played on an open string or fretted on another one will sound different no matter what. The note will also have more bass-content if played on a thicker string. The longer the vibrating part of a string the longer the note is sustained and it will also be louder in general.
Thanks for active reply! I really like talking about things. I am gonna check that shared videos.
Also thanks for noticing the technique. It can play absolutely its part.
But even when I play it out of any chord or pattern I can hear it.
I tried to make sample where you can aim for change from D to Bm, but I dont have high end microphone to catch it how I really hear it.
Sorry for many mistakes… I keeped in mind people will see it and boom. There we go.
It seems for me, that the A string has a little bit less sustain, than the other strings. You may replace this string and check the bridge saddle and the nut groove. If you don’t find out the reason, have it checked by a luthier so that you have an instrument that you enjoy making music on.
Maybe it’s also the finger placement, the fretted E and A strings seem to have less sustain than open played.
@witkatz Its really interesting point… because few days ago I was changing strings from 12 to 11 and also I was sanding my saddle for lower action. I would like to mention this is not my first work on this guitar, but I am amateur. First big change was something year ago when I changed nut, saddle and pins for bones. Also lowered action by sanding nut and saddle with propper neck adjustment - at least I think.
Few days ago when I had it out I did not see anything suspicious here.
then you are a much more pro than me if the strings are loose in the nut groove and don’t jam and sound the same after the string change then I don’t know what to do, then perhaps a luthier is needed
Now I read your entry post again and would like to add something I forgot … in my experience, it’s normal that guitars will have a different sustain. I didn’t have that many acoustic guitars in my hands, but I think that most (if not all) will have notes with shorter sustain.
Maybe there can be something wrong with that string or attachment like you talk about above. But often, you’ll find the same note behaving similarly on a neighbor string.
Some luthier once described it like this:
Often those notes will be a bit louder and a bit like a thump (in extreme cases)
In a normal case… the energy of the string-vibration is slowly making its way into the wood top. So, still alot stays in the string for a considerable amount of time.
He mentioned the word “impedance” (like in electricity) in that context. And in the case of that louder and short note, the impedance at that frequency is lower and the energy is transfered too quickly to the top, so the string doesn’t vibrate so long.
But maybe, that’s just theoretical stuff that doesn’t help you, sorry.
I have a guitar with that problem that I plan to improve one day… yet, I was stilll too lazy and it doesn’t sound all too bad…
Or maybe… I am requiring more than I should on semi laminated guitar for 300$.
Because from global look guitar sound good to me and it plays for my ears better than multiple times more expensive ones. I had topic for that.
This little detail just made me think about that and even when it can be better with solid or different wood combination and body shape… it is still physics. I am gonna try to put a little more energy into B, so maybe I will fix it for my ear like that.
And of course my expectation could be spoiled by YouTube videos, where guys have really clean and long tones… guess it could be some postprocess. Maybe not.
This is reason why I noticed that… the great Marco playing his high end Furch.
Interesting post. From the different guitars I’ve played (and owned), this is more than a solid-wood vs laminate thing. It’s different guitars being different. Acoustic guitars in this case.
Strings, wood, top, sides, laminate vs solid wood, body size, open strings vs fretted - they all make a difference.
My laminate el cheapo Yamaha is a balanced volume, but not a huge amount of crispness or sustain. I don’t play it much these days though.
I used to have a Maton dreadnought that was very loud with a great, clear, warm tone. The bass notes were quite loud. I liked that when I first bought it, and it made it great for strummy stuff, but over time I came to prefer a more balanced sound.
My current Maton 808 size is quieter, very well articulated and a very balanced sound. Similar volumes between bass and treble. The sound doesn’t fill a room like the dreadnought did. It feels more intimate.
Your Fender is a pretty basic guitar. It has it’s own sound, which you can influence easily with different types of strings. But beyond that, I’d say if you’re looking for a different sound, it’s guitar shopping time.
if the strings are loose in the nut groove and don’t jam and sound the same after the string change then I don’t know what to do, then perhaps a luthier is needed
