Materials of the Guitar
Wood
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Solid or Laminate
The most important material in the construction of a guitar is the wood. At the lower level of guitar an important question is whether the top and the body of the guitar is made from solid wood or laminate. Solid wood means that the top is made from one solid piece of wood. Laminate is wood in which sheets of wood are layered on top of each other. Usually a thin layer of more expensive wood is placed over several layers of cheaper wood which saves money. The vibrations of the strings are transmitted to the air as sound waves through the wood of the guitar. Laminate does not vibrate as well as a single piece of wood which is why it does not produce a guitar with a beautiful sound and decent volume. It is, however, much cheaper than solid wood which is why it is used in making cheap guitars. Guitar companies try to get away with using laminate on as high a priced guitar as they can. Fortunately the increasing sucess of the Canadian company, Godin guitars, has started to make it more difficult for companies to do this and remain competitive.
The most important piece of wood on a guitar is the top. Acoustically, this is the part of the guitar that produces the sound. While it is best if the whole guitar is made of solid wood, this is not possible at the lower levels of the price range. Whereas a guitar made completely from laminate will not have a good sound, a quite good sounding guitar can be made from a solid top with laminate sides and back. The sound of a solid top guitar will also improve as it is played because the wood learns to vibrate at the correct frequencies. A laminate guitar will not improve significantly with age. All of the Godin guitars, of which the LaPatrie and Norman brands are the most popular, have solid tops although their top of the line guitars have solid backs and sides as well. Their mostly asian competitors such as Yamaha are starting to react and use solid tops on lower priced guitars. I still don't think these asian guitars are quite as good as the Godin brands but they are getting better as they are forced to use better wood to compete with Godin. However, if you are not willing to pay around $300 for a guitar you will probably have to settle for a guitar with a laminate top.
How do you tell if a guitar is made from solid wood or laminate? The easiest thing to do is to ask the salesman. In a reputable store they will be honest and tell you. However, not all stores or salesmen are honest. It is easy enough to see for yourself if the top is made of solid wood or not. Looking at the guitar straight on both the solid and laminate top will look similar as the laminate will also have a thin strip of good wood on top. However, a look at the edge of the soundhole (the big hole in the middle of the guitar) will tell you if it is solid wood or not. The grain pattern of a solid top will continue through the thickness of the wood which can be seen at the soundhole. If a grain pattern does not continue through the thickness of the wood, the top is made from laminate. It is much more difficult to tell whether the back or sides is laminate or not. One good sign is the price, it is rare to get a guitar made completely of solid wood much below $500. If you are buying a $300 guitar than you only need to worry whether the top is solid or not. It is possible to look inside the guitar and compare the grain of the wood with how it looks on the outside. However, even in laminate all the pieces of wood have a grain which will all look quite similar. If there are large differences in the grain pattern or colour of the wood between the outside and inside, a laminate is used but in most cases it is very difficult to tell. The best way of finding out the materials used in a guitar is to look at the company's website. All of the major comanies have websites that describe the materials used in their guitars. While a store or salesman may think they can get away with lying, major companies can not so this information is quite dependable.
Spruce or Cedar
The two most common woods used for acoustic guitar tops are spruce and cedar. There is no difference in quality between the two woods so the choice is one of preference. Spruce tends to sound brighter and clearer and has what could be classed as a germanic sound. Cedar is warmer and more direct and has a more spanish sound. Both types of wood will improve over time but the cedar will sound better at the beginning but have a less dramatic improvement than the spruce. I personally prefer the cedar sound but again this is purely a matter of taste and is often determined by which type of guitar one learns on and what type was played by the guitarist one listened to most. The choice of wood is an issue if you want a certain type of sound but is certainly far less important of an issue than whether the top is solid or not.
Quality of the Wood
Instrument quality wood, whether cedar or spruce, is graded by its quality. Generally, wood with a straight and uniform (the width between the lines is the same) grain and no knots is considered the best for building instruments. It is particularly important that the portion of wood at the bottom of the guitar beyond the bridge (where the strings attach to the guitar) has a nice grain as this is the area that is vibrating and producing the sound.
A lower priced guitar is not going to have AAA quality wood but will hopefully still have decent wood. Most major companies do improve the quality of wood used as the price goes up. There may not be a huge difference between a $300 and $400 guitar but there should be some difference between a $300 and $500 guitar. However, do not assume that the wood on a more expensive guitar is better. Compare the wood of several guitars and if you or a friend can play, try and listen for which guitar produces a better sound. There are often huge differences in the quality of wood used by different companies even if there is little difference in price. I have seen $500 guitars with much better quality wood than a guitar from another company that was retailing at $700. The importance of this factor depends on the price of the guitar you are looking for. Most first time buyers looking to buy a basic guitar will not have to worry too much about this factor. At the $300 price range one should be satisfied by getting a solid top. Someone buying an $800 guitar will definitely want to make sure that he is getting a better quality top than on the $300 guitar.
For more detailed information about wood, see the following article from Zavaletas Guitars: The Guitar and its Woods
