What's the difference?

Hey, just a quick question that popped into my mind.

Whenever I go to look at guitars (just to admire them, not to buy any, since I can't afford another guitar right now, and don't really need another one at the moment), I keep seeing the stores refer to them by certain "types", like Strat, Les Paul, SG or Flying V, based on the guitar's body-shape, but is there any actual difference between a Strat, Les Paul and an SG? Or is it merely cosmetic? As far as I know, the sound depends on the strings and pick-ups, not the amount of wood in the body...

Hi Kasperow,

You're right, the names do refer to the shapes of the guitars. But the amount of wood does make a difference in the sound. It's part of the reason each has it's own sound. But yes, pickups and strings do make a difference as well as where the strings make contact with the guitar: bridge and nut.

Also some Les Pauls have cavities in the wood to make them lighter (not completely solid) so this as an effect as well.

But, despite all this, I still get the guitar I think sounds good, regardless of it's name. :)

To me the pickups and the wood used make the basic sound of the guitar. Les Paul’s are made from a hard wood, if you made the same body shape out of Pine and used the same pickups the guitar would sound completely different. The soft wood would let the sound waves move through it faster and would also release the waves from the wood faster. The hard mahogany is Hard so the sound waves move slower through the wood almost trapping it in the wood so it has sustain keeping the waves in the wood not allowing it to be released.

By changing thickness, shape and types of wood you change how the sound wave moves through or stays in the wood.

Ah. Okay. So if I want a guitar with a great sustain, I should go for something made from dense wood, and if I want a guitar that just lets the sound ring through clearly, I should go for one made from something about as dense as pinewood? I never thought the material would make any kind of difference in the sound...

I think the impact of different woods on the sound/tone of guitars goes far beyond the difference between hard and soft woods of differing densities. In any case, it's clear that a guitar's wood or combination of woods often makes up the bulk of the instrument's price.

I'd like to see further discussion about the use of different woods. In the meantime, check out these web pages;

Guitar Wood Types & Tones http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm

Guitar Woods (discusses four different spruces along with other woods) http://www.hoffmanguitars.com/woods.htm

Tone Woods http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/the_guide_to/ultimate_guitar_guide_tone_woods.html

Guide to Different Electric Guitars and Their Tones http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/the_guide_to/guide_to_different_electric_guitars_and_their_tones.html

Then, of course, there are some fine/expensive guitars that are not made of wood... ;)

Originally Posted by: KasperowAh. Okay. So if I want a guitar with a great sustain, I should go for something made from dense wood, and if I want a guitar that just lets the sound ring through clearly, I should go for one made from something about as dense as pinewood? I never thought the material would make any kind of difference in the sound...

This is a pretty vast subject... but just a little more insight.

Les Pauls get their sustain from a combination of things... Les Pauls use a set neck construction which mates the neck securely to the body allowing the resonance of the guitar to vibrate throughout the neck and the body. increasing the continuity of the vibration throughout the guitar - thus, increasing sustain. Fender, a long with a lot of other "Strat style" guitars use a bolt-on neck contruction style. This style, of course is much cheaper to manufacture and it also makes maintenence on the guitars much more affordable... However, it dampens the resonance because there is not a solid joint between the body and the neck. This disjoint is a common spot for improvement when seeking sustain in bolt on neck style guitars... Some would say that it simply adds to the characteristic of the "strat tone"...

Neck wood plays a big part in overall tone as well... not only will density increase sustain, it will also increase brightness as harder woods are able to transfer higher frequencies of vibration more effeciently... Thus, maple necks get a brighter tone and rosewood necks get a more smoothed out mellow response.

Remember, these tone woods are generally used in mid to high end guitars... Your cheaper guitars will be made of lesser quality woods. So usually you can't assume what the actual wood is unless it's clearly stated by the manufacturer. For instance, Fender uses a poplar on most of their solid color finished guitars becuase it's got a tonal property close to adler but is a bit cheaper because it doesn't have quite as intricrate wood graining... This is why they reserve their nice adler wood blanks for bodies that are going to have transparent finishes. Not something that a lot of people know.

In closing, it's always best to actually play a guitar before you buy just to hear how it sounds. I have ordered guitars off the internet without playing them and have always had good luck... usualy I have researched and researched to a point that is borderline obsessive before I buy though... And I usually try to go to a store and play a similar or exact model before I pull the trigger. But just some things to keep in mind when you're deciding on that next guitar...

Great. Thanks for the added explanation, aschleman.

I think my current two Electric guitars are made of some pretty low-end wood, since they're both low-cost guitars, but one of them still sounds quite nicely. The next time I buy a Guitar, I'll probably go for something slightly more expensive and made of better wood.