does it matter how many pieces of wood a guitar body is made from?

John Watt said:
One piece solid-body guitars are bad designs, that's why you don't see a lot.
Any solid piece of wood the size of a guitar body will warp with string tension.
That's why cutting it into three pieces for neck placement is the basic technique.

Anything about a guitar body can't be described as a dampening factor, if it just doesn't create acoustics at the start.
You have to dampen what exists already.
Even if there is a component that could be seen as a dampening factor,
it's probably built that way to nullify acoustic activity, or balance the overall "resonance".
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you've talked in so many circles, i don't think even you know what you're arguing.
 
I'm in the "doesn't matter" camp, as long as we're talking about solid body electrics.

I suspect, though, that the body will be only as good as its weakest link. So if the lamination is an attempt to throw some lower quality planks in there with the good to balance out the cost, the overall quality will suffer disproportionately. At least that's my theory.
 
Tralfaz said:
I'm in the "doesn't matter" camp, as long as we're talking about solid body electrics.

I suspect, though, that the body will be only as good as its weakest link. So if the lamination is an attempt to throw some lower quality planks in there with the good to balance out the cost, the overall quality will suffer disproportionately. At least that's my theory.
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Also, I'd rather have a 3 piece body made with good pieces of smaller wood rather than a one piece guitar made with a dead sounding plank.
 
I might be travelling in semi-circles, but I know this.
After wondering about how many pieces of wood can make a good body,
you have to wonder next about what kind of wood.
If you think that makes a difference, then piecing it together makes a difference.
A glue joint is a barrier to acoustic transfer. Anything glued doesn't have uniform, interior resonance.
 
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John Watt said:
I might be travelling in semi-circles, but I know this.
After wondering about how many pieces of wood can make a good body,
you have to wonder next about what kind of wood.
If you think that makes a difference, then piecing it together makes a difference.
A glue joint is a barrier to acoustic transfer. Anything glued doesn't have uniform, interior resonance.
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actually, i think it's all a myth. matched woods/number of pieces, at least for solidbodies, has no impact on anything other than looks.
 
As the factory rep said about soldering by hand or robot, there's no real difference for sound.
When you're building in those Fender confines, all these acoustic considerations are negligible.
For me, the bottom line about working with those designs is getting the body to weigh the same.

If you remember, my first concern was sanding down a Stratocaster for a natural wood body,
only to find pieces. That is just impacting on looks.
 
John Watt said:
I might be travelling in semi-circles, but I know this.
After wondering about how many pieces of wood can make a good body,
you have to wonder next about what kind of wood.
If you think that makes a difference, then piecing it together makes a difference.
A glue joint is a barrier to acoustic transfer. Anything glued doesn't have uniform, interior resonance.
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I'm starting to wonder what is the barrier to your accoustic transfer.

On a serious note what do you do for a living?
 
Describing a glue joint as a barrier for acoustic transfer is a valid scientific statement.
That might not sound like anything to worry about, unless you have unbalanced glue joints.
Thanks for starting to wonder, reverend1.

Now, about your serious note, even if I always correct others, saying I'm not living, just surviving.
www.johnwatt.ca
But even I avoid that domain. I don't like derailing my own train with my brain.
Everyone thinks I'm semi-off-track enough.
And I'm semi-self-employed. What else could I be?
About peyote: That's legal in Canada, in the Province of Saskatchewan (appropriately named).
If you are First Nations you can use it for spiritual observance.
Out west, in bars going back to the sixties, pot smokers sit along the side wall, or at the back of bars.
 
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For all we really know, the different densities of wood from multi-piece bodies creates a desirable sound over a one-piece... Who knows... I just know there are some great sounding glue-lam guitars out there...
 
When I'm buying off the shelf, I'm more concerned with the guitars overall tone/sustain/resonance/etc than I am with the number of pieces in the body....hell, when I went telecaster shopping I wound up finding a MIM w/ at least 4 pieces (probably more) that feels alive when you strum it and was easily a better guitar than some of the two piece bodies on the wall.
 
I looked at my tele under a bright angled light after getting home from work. It looks to be 5 pieces of wood. After looking at it, I played it and I still like it. :shrug:
 
Tiltsta said:
I looked at my tele under a bright angled light after getting home from work. It looks to be 5 pieces of wood. After looking at it, I played it and I still like it. :shrug:
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and that's really it. a good guitar is a good guitar. sometimes they cost $300 and sometimes they cost $3000. it's all about what works best for you. we all have specs and know what feels good to us. everything else is just corksniffery.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
and that's really it. a good guitar is a good guitar. sometimes they cost $300 and sometimes they cost $3000. it's all about what works best for you. we all have specs and know what feels good to us. everything else is just corksniffery.
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This. Sometimes they have lots of pieces, sometimes they have few (talking solid bodies now), and sometimes they are made out of whatever Danalectro uses. :thu:
 
sunvalleylaw said:
This. Sometimes they have lots of pieces, sometimes they have few (talking solid bodies now), and sometimes they are made out of whatever Danalectro uses. :thu:
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masonite. it's steamed wood chips. the same shit they make clipboards and formica countertops out of. that's what's so great about them. you can play them, and then when you've worked up an appetite, you can make lunch on them!
 
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