Body wood

[EnGl]

Which is better ? One , two or maybe three pieces of wood ? For neck and for body (I'm interested especially in body).
I'm just curious and want to hear your opinion , I've heard so many different voices like : "few pieces are better for warping issues" or "one piece wood for body is better cause it will be resonating better"

 

[hopkinWFG]

one solid piece with good top

 

[EnGl]

one solid piece with good top

Can you explain why etc ?

P.S - I forgot to mention that I'm interested in only bodies without tops.
Well , Gibson explorer is available in my shop now and I can't identify how much pieces of wood is it. Because you know , if the solid one piece is better (in terms of tone and resonance) that a 2 or 3 pieces I guess I will collect more money and get ESP EX or FX. I want to invest my money well.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

For the body I think it has more to do with the quality of the wood than 1, 2 or 3 pieces. There are plenty of 3 piece LPs and pancaked LPs that all sound great.

For necks I actually think it may be better for strength of the neck but not certain on string vibrations. I refer one piece necks if I have a choice.

 

[Skrapmetal]

I don't care how many pieces the body is if it is good wood with quality construction.

I've heard people say that they prefer multi-piece necks because they are more stable. I have no idea if there is any truth to it.

 

[WildNorth]

I've read that multi-piece necks are more resistant to warping, primarily because the grain of the pieces are not all running in the same direction (like a one piece neck). My guess is that the quality of the wood (wood selection, not using green wood, etc), and craftsmanship are far more important factors though.

 

[locoed]

Even though I have several Gibsons, I'd take a look at how Suhr & Anderson build their guitars. I have an Anderson drop top I bought new in 1994 and it's still the best sounding guitar I have. Not that I'm answering your question,but it would give you great insight as to what wood works best because I think those 2 guys are always in search of better tone.
I was reading about how Suhr didn't like the sound of certain woods but when they were combined he loved it. I think it was one piece basswood with a 2 piece maple top.

 

[WildNorth]

I still don't get the whole basswood thing. Mahogany bodies sound more focused, while providing more warmth. I still have an Ibanez RG1XXV I'm trying to love, but the basswood body (while much lighter) just ain't doing it for me.

Meh.....to each their own.

 

[Heritage Softail]

If you can play a JP6 that is a good one to get a feel for general solid construction.

As others mentioned, it depends so much on the quality of the wood, not green, fit of the neck joint, and the neck wood has a great deal to do with it.

Anderson's and Suhr are hard to find to play. But Music Man, not the cheap line..., are in Guitar Center stores.

Not to stir shit, but to support a point others have made, of hit up a GC and play 6-7 similar model Les Pauls. Some will feel more resonant. I played a solid dozen and got one that just felt like it rang better. It may seem obvious, but it is easy to confuse the pickup effect with the guitar itself, as in the wood used. That is why there is a huge aftermarket industry to perfect your personal tone.

In the end it gets down to a good instrument that feels good to you. I hope you don't like to play different styles of music. Than there is a right guitar for that sound

 

[WildNorth]

Not to stir shit, but to support a point others have made, of hit up a GC and play 6-7 similar model Les Pauls. Some will feel more resonant. I played a solid dozen and got one that just felt like it rang better. It may seem obvious, but it is easy to confuse the pickup effect with the guitar itself, as in the wood used.

This. ^^

Every guitar (even of the same model) is going to be slightly different. I believe Gibson's biggest problem is the inconsistency of their wood selection.

Not to over-state the obvious, but you really need to play before you buy.

 

[vchizzle]

Not to stir shit, but to support a point others have made, of hit up a GC and play 6-7 similar model Les Pauls. Some will feel more resonant. I played a solid dozen and got one that just felt like it rang better. It may seem obvious, but it is easy to confuse the pickup effect with the guitar itself, as in the wood used.

This. ^^

Every guitar (even of the same model) is going to be slightly different. I believe Gibson's biggest problem is the inconsistency of their wood selection.

Not to over-state the obvious, but you really need to play before you buy.

Yes to all this. That said, 1 piece body.

 

[severinsteel]

To be honest, when it comes to electric guitars wood is only one piece of the equation. Bridge type, scale, pickups, etc... play as important of a role. It's not like with acoustic guitars where you essentially have a speaker in the guitar. You are basically just looking for a platform that let's the strings do their job. So wood does matter, but it's more about how the strings vibrate than the wood really imparting a specific tone. We are really just dealing with magnetic fields and very low electric signals in the end.

 

[EnGl]

Not to stir shit, but to support a point others have made, of hit up a GC and play 6-7 similar model Les Pauls. Some will feel more resonant. I played a solid dozen and got one that just felt like it rang better. It may seem obvious, but it is easy to confuse the pickup effect with the guitar itself, as in the wood used.

This. ^^

Every guitar (even of the same model) is going to be slightly different. I believe Gibson's biggest problem is the inconsistency of their wood selection.

Not to over-state the obvious, but you really need to play before you buy.

What do you exactly mean by that ?
Thanks for all replies , I guess the final thought will be "The better is 3 pieces of excellent wood than one piece of shitty wood" or something like that.

Can you guys give me advice -which things I should check before buying ? (Of course excluding things like intonantion , tuning , string height etc due to my preferences)
-nut ( not too high or low)
-frets
-is neck is warped
-electronic
-general feel(tone etc ...)
What else ? I guess I will not able to know from how many pieces body was constructed due to solid color.(maybe cherry)

 

[Shiny_Surface]

To be honest, when it comes to electric guitars wood is only one piece of the equation. Bridge type, scale, pickups, etc... play as important of a role. It's not like with acoustic guitars where you essentially have a speaker in the guitar. You are basically just looking for a platform that let's the strings do their job. So wood does matter, but it's more about how the strings vibrate than the wood really imparting a specific tone. We are really just dealing with magnetic fields and very low electric signals in the end.

Not only that (imo of course), but I've played Les Paul's for example that weren't very resonant unplugged but sounded fantastic plugged in. So unless you're going to play an electric unplugged 100% of the time the whole resonant thing I see alot of posts going on about doesn't ring "true" to me once you plug in and especially once you start adding gain/effects. Not that I don't like resonant sounding electrics unplugged I just try to be aware of the total picture.

 

[Heritage Softail]

I think you need to go to a local mom and pop guitar shop. (Not guitar Center) Ask for the guitar tech. Ask him for a bit of his time, give him $20, and ask all of your questions. He and the store can probably get you close to what you want in 20 minutes. The independent guy runs a store by keeping customers happy and coming back. They want to help you get what you want.

Play some and get a feel for it.

 

[severinsteel]

To be honest, when it comes to electric guitars wood is only one piece of the equation. Bridge type, scale, pickups, etc... play as important of a role. It's not like with acoustic guitars where you essentially have a speaker in the guitar. You are basically just looking for a platform that let's the strings do their job. So wood does matter, but it's more about how the strings vibrate than the wood really imparting a specific tone. We are really just dealing with magnetic fields and very low electric signals in the end.

Not only that (imo of course), but I've played Les Paul's for example that weren't very resonant unplugged but sounded fantastic plugged in. So unless you're going to play an electric unplugged 100% of the time the whole resonant thing I see alot of posts going on about doesn't ring "true" to me once you plug in and especially once you start adding gain/effects. Not that I don't like resonant sounding electrics unplugged I just try to be aware of the total picture.

Yep. In fact, the solid body guitar was invented by Les Paul for jazz guys because their hollowbody guitar would feedback, as in be too resonant. He wanted LESS resonance. More resonance does not translate to better tone. It's all about the guitar letting the strings vibrate and the kind of pickups.

 

[hopkinWFG]

but are you doing a neck thru or setneck/bolted on? have done a custom from a luthier and he explains that if your looking at setneck then the sound of your guitar would be based on the body itself..if for neck thru you will be looking at the neck itself for tone...may it be true if your doing a setneck type of guitar why dony do a solid piece of wood which you want instead of laminated? umo if ao true that a laminated body would have positive against body warp but think again if your going to mix different woods which have different expansion and contraction rate it would be prone to warpage too..if same wood that you decided on for lamination once again imo why dont choose a good aged solid piece for good tone? and for the top it just added mpre warm or brightness you want .....

 

[glip22]

To be honest, when it comes to electric guitars wood is only one piece of the equation. Bridge type, scale, pickups, etc... play as important of a role. It's not like with acoustic guitars where you essentially have a speaker in the guitar. You are basically just looking for a platform that let's the strings do their job. So wood does matter, but it's more about how the strings vibrate than the wood really imparting a specific tone. We are really just dealing with magnetic fields and very low electric signals in the end.

Not only that (imo of course), but I've played Les Paul's for example that weren't very resonant unplugged but sounded fantastic plugged in. So unless you're going to play an electric unplugged 100% of the time the whole resonant thing I see alot of posts going on about doesn't ring "true" to me once you plug in and especially once you start adding gain/effects. Not that I don't like resonant sounding electrics unplugged I just try to be aware of the total picture.

Yep. In fact, the solid body guitar was invented by Les Paul for jazz guys because their hollowbody guitar would feedback, as in be too resonant. He wanted LESS resonance. More resonance does not translate to better tone. It's all about the guitar letting the strings vibrate and the kind of pickups.

Ringing Out is the term luthiers seem to use.
BTW to the OP. Body woods are only a part of the sum of the whole. Woods in general. You can have the best woods and shit tone/playability if its not designed and built right. A guitar made out of plywood can sound better if it is designed and built correct.

 

[stephen sawall]

Did not have time to read thread ... I'm going with Jessica Alba...

 

[glip22]

Did not have time to read thread ... I'm going with Jessica Alba...

Are you going to give her two or three pieces of wood