Woods

[shakedown_04092]

Can anyone tell me the difference between playing a guitar made of a Rosewood top and back with a curly maple front, and a guitar made completely of curly maple?

Any help/info on these 2 woods would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[squire758]

the darker the wood, the warmer the tone

[waldo041]

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/options/o ... ywoods.cfm

warmoth gives some description's.


peace,
waldo

[spilly]

I'm a carpenter by trade. The type of wood you choose in anything is vital, the thicker the wood the heaveyier the tone. certain types of wood resignate more than others.

this is why I can't stand 80% of startocasters. guitars should not be made of ply, no matter how cost effective it is

[apicalmeristem]

Actually, density is the most important factor contributing to tone, followed by the cellular structure of the wood. The denser the wood, the more sustain. The Tiger, for instance, is made of cocobolo rosewood, a very dense and heavy wood, therefore, it has great sustain, in addition to a ringing, bright and seperated tone. Softer woods, however, contribute warmth, ie, pre-war Martin acoustics with eastern red cedar tops ( a light, yet strong wood) that have wonderful warm tone. Rosewood is a denser wood than maple, therefore, in theory, it will contribute more sustain.
However, there are more factors contribuiting to tone than just the wood of the top. The join of the neck (bolt on, set neck, or neck through) determines how well sound is transferred. A shorter scale length will have poorer sustain than a longer scale length.
Basically, the factors contributing to a guitar's tone are near limitless, choice of top wood is only a small part.

[apicalmeristem]

Also, strats are not made of plywood. They are made typically of either alder or ash, two medium to high density hardwoods, chosen for their abundance and cheap price. Maple is chosen primarily for its high figure (looks), not for its tonal qualities. Some of the best tone ever recorded (HENDRIX) has come from a strat, so don't be too hard on em.

[spilly]

flaming maple is a beautiful thing, we recomend it alot for window frames and such, but the sound isn't great. I'm a fan of full body guitars. I prefer one piece auged out properly, unfortunalty you usually have to custom order that tpe of thing

[tigerstrat]

first of all, if the guitar has a "rosewood top", then what exactly is this "curly maple front"? The top is the front.

check out http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks.cfm?fuseaction=guitar_neckwoods and http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/options/options_bodywoods.cfm
for some good tonewood descriptions. Pity they decline to work with cocobolo- also they state that it isn't used for body woods, of which we know some highly notable exceptions!! But overall a decent overview page to familiarize you with your wood. Heh heh.

[shakedown_04092]

[quote="tigerstrat"]first of all, if the guitar has a "rosewood top", then what exactly is this "curly maple front"? The top is the front.[quote]

My bad, I meant "rosewood back", not top. It has a Rosewood back & sides & a curly maple front.

Thanks for all the help & the links, guys, those are great.