Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey everyone

I ordered some Lollar Blondes this morning from Acme Guitar Works for
my new strat. We talked a bit between the Blackface and Blondes and
they had some interesting things to say, mainly that they believe the
mass of the body (not the specie) is the primary factor in shaping tone
and should be the starting point for choosing pickups. This is of course
electrics. If you have a light body, choose pickups to accomodate. And
so forth.

So I'm wondering how specific back/side specie is in shaping the tone of
an acoustic vs. the mass of the set. I don't see it as one or the other, but
one MORE than the other---a continuum.

What are your thoughts?

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/4873907-description.html

Look at this patent for composite acoustic guitar. I think it is for RainSong, but I am not sure. There is some discussion about the thickness and unit mass of the top, which is made of carbon composite and silk. The applicant claims that these parameters affect the tone, and that wood is irrelevant.

I'm not sure that either mass or species by itself is a good indicator. Two boards of mahogany can have drastically different densities, stiffnesses, etc. Two boards of identical density can have drastically different internal dampening properties.

I think the properties to look at are internal dampening and stiffness - which is more important is up for debate. It seems to me that if you want the back to contribute to the final tone by moving, then a board which rings certainly couldn't hurt. A less stiff back is more free to move than otherwise. You can always get over a lack of stiffness by adding more bracing. If you don't want the back to move, then none of this matters.