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Dinosaur Thinking
By Frank Falbo, originally posted on www.jemsite.com
Reproduced with permission.
Dino Dave's note: I've seen a lot of articles on tone woods
but Frank's is the best one I've found. It specifically discusses
how the wood qualities relate to frequency response. And it
actually talks about how body weight can effect the tone.
These things are extremely important to tone, and explains
why some guitars made with "the right wood" can
sound dead, and why people try all manner of things (heavy
strings, swapping pickups, effect pedals, etc,) to try and
save a guitar that just doesn't respond favorably. This is
why you play an electric guitar acoustically and listen
carefully to how the guitar responds before everything is
colored with pups, amps and effects.
When digesting this information, remember that there will
always be exceptions to these rules. However, armed with this
info, the law of averages usually will work in your favor.
Here's an example of how I applied this knowledge in a practical
way: I built the Blackmocaster from a southern swamp ash body
from Warmouth because I wanted the qualities of that wood.
When I had the guy from Warmouth on the phone, I told him
I wanted a southern swamp ash body that was around 4lbs, and
that if it was over 4.5, I was sending it back. So they picked
out a light one for me, and it worked out great.
Body Woods
Basswood
Basswood is a soft wood with tight grains. Its relatively
inexpensive of all the usual guitar woods, and it's easy on
router bits in the factory, easy to sand, and easy to seal
and finish. The softness of basswood means that sharp highs
are dampened and smoothened. That helps offset the tinny sound
associated with knife edged tremolo contacts. The softness
also fosters a weaker low end. It's light in weight, but not
because of large pores. Rather it's low in mass overall. Deep,
breathy sub-lows aren't resonated in Basswood. The reduction
in these outer frequencies leaves the mids pronounced in a
hypothetical response curve. Its very suitable for the typical
guitar range, and very suitable for lead guitar, because of
its pronounced "out front" sound. Complex overtones
are muted along with the highs leaving a strong fundamental
tone.
Production notes: Japanese factories like Ibanez seem to
get a tan colored, more uniform Basswood while other Asian
factories get a more flawed yellowish basswood. And there
seems to be a big difference in tone. A clearer, darker Basswood
should produce more sound, while the yellowish lower grade
seems to have more of the undesirable tonal qualities of Poplar.
A hardtail emphasizes the reduced dynamics of the outer frequencies.
Top
Alder
Alder is light in weight with soft tight pores like Basswood.
But there is a large swirling grain pattern to it with harder
rings and sections. So imagine a Basswood type texture but
with harder rings peppered throughout. That adds to the stiffness,
and the complexity of the tones. It retains more of the highs
that Basswood softens, but also gives some room to the lows.
You have a broader spectrum of tones, which leads to the perception
of a little less mids than Basswood.
Production notes: Not much difference between factories,
production. Top
Swamp Ash
Not to be confused with Northern "Hard Ash" Swamp
Ash has huge, open pores with hard and soft layers within
each ring of the tree. So you basically have a very rigid
skeleton with open and softer pores throughout. It is very
resonant across the whole frequency spectrum. It has clear
bell-like highs, pronounced mids, and strong lows. It has
some random combing away of mid frequencies, which will vary
the sound per guitar more than Alder or Basswood. Two Ash
bodies are more likely to sound more different from one another,
whereas Basswood and Alder are more consistent. A heavier
piece, or a piece from higher up on the tree will be more
dead and lifeless. More dull sounding, because the wood is
harder and more uniformly dense. So the sweetness of the soft
open pores is gone, and left is the compressed sound of a
rigid, non-responsive wood, without all the brightness and
sustain of a harder wood or the openness of a softer wood.
Production notes: An Asian mass produced factory guitar should
be checked for weight, and openness of grain if the finish
allows. Ash used at the big factories has a higher ratio of
poor pieces than with smaller boutique builders, or other
US builders, probably because it is a US wood. Top
Mahogany
Open grained with large pores, Mahogany has a more uniform
grain pattern and density than Swamp Ash. Its density is constant
within the ring and from one ring to the next. So it's rigidity
is inherent in its composition, not in a "skeleton"
with soft sections in between. It's constant density compresses
the mids a little, and this can be considered a thick sound,
because it does still produce good lows and low mids. Without
the mids popping out, being responsive to dynamics, its more
of a "wall of sound" Its not that it isn't midrangey,
because it resonates those guitar frequencies well, but its
not as responsive to them as an Alder or Ash. It also combs
away more upper midrange frequencies for a more nasal sound.
It has a good balance of fundamental and overtones for higher
register soloing. High notes are richer and thicker than Alder
or Ash.
Production notes: There are many different kinds of Mahogany,
and unless it has a sparkle to it like some of the Japanese
and US guitars it will have a similar sound from one piece
to the next. A nicer piece of mahogany has an iridescence
to it usually combined with what looks like wide stripes,
almost as if it's been pieced together by multiple 1"
strips. Catalog photos often reveal that the endorser gets
a better piece than the production line. Top
Walnut
A darker wood with Ash-like grains, but like mahogany, the
density is uniform. It is harder and denser than Mahogany
so the tone is brighter, but the open grains make for a complex
midrange that seems to be compressed in some frequencies,
but dynamic in others. There's a nasal response to rhythms,
while solo notes jump out. It has a lot of advantageous features
of the other main guitar woods. It has a snappy attack and
solid lows like Ash, but with smooth highs like Mahogany,
and textured mids like Alder. The drawbacks are that it's
heavier, and more stubborn in its sound. It doesn't respond
to random pickup changes. The pickups have to be well suited
to the guitar. A Walnut body will dictate the tonal signature
of the guitar more than the other main woods. A heavy piece
will dampen the mids to produce an overly nasal and lifeless
sound, so it needs to be light and open grained enough to
resonate the main guitar frequencies.
Production notes: Again watch for heavy pieces. The extra
weight adds nothing good to the sound except perhaps more
sustain. But sustain is abundant in Walnut already. Top
Koa
Oilier than Mahogany or Walnut, its denser than Mahogany
but not as bright as Walnut, due to its actual makeup. It's
an oilier wood like Rosewood, and that dampens some highs
in the attack. But then its density makes up for it a little.
Think of the highs as present, but compressed. They don't
jump out like glass breaking. They are more omnipresent. And
they are more in the upper midrange than the highs. That's
either a very musical sound for someone interested in fundamental,
or a less expressive sound for someone into playing hard picking
blues.
Production notes: Koa is rare, and it's expensive with dramatic
price fluctuations. It's often a high cost upgrade. Figured
Koa is very expensive, more rare, and cut for tops. Top
Korina
Somewhat of a "super-mahogany" or "mahogany
deluxe" its grains are similar and so is its sound. It's
said to have a sweeter midrange, and be more responsive. Although
the grains look similar the material itself is slightly less
dense. So if it weighed more than a same-sized mahogany piece
it would more likely be due to higher moisture content than
higher density.
Production notes: Rarely used, it is more expensive and rare
than garden variety Mahoganies. The price of a Korina guitar
usually reflects this, plus a little extra markup. Top
Soft Maple
Used extensively in Korea, it's not as hard as hard maple.
But it's a little heavy, bright in the upper midrange, and
dull sounding in the lows. The extreme snappy highs aren't
there either because the pores are so tight that the highs
get compressed. Some redeeming qualities can be brought from
it with the right pickups, if you like a brassy, searing upper
midrange sound for the bridge or a dry, combed rhythm sound.
Production notes: Korean factories love it, for some reason
it's abundant and cheap for them. It's harder on router bits
than basswood, but they seem to be less concerned with clean,
sharp cuts over there, indicating that they do not compensate
with more frequent bit sharpening and replacement. Top
Hard Maple
This wood "shouts". It is loud with a strong upper
midrange, bright highs, and tapered off but very tight lows.
A pickup that produces good lows will find them in a Hard
Maple body, but they will be tight and will not interact with
a loud half stack.
Production notes: Very heavy and hard on tools, its rarely
used in factories. It makes a good slim bodied guitar. Top
Spruce
Very soft to the touch, it is extremely stiff for it's overall
density. Like Alder, it's another wood with a hard skeleton
and soft meat. So in a solid body, it will produce tremendous
resonant, open midrange, while retaining high frequency attack,
and having good low end breath. Because of the low density
overall the sound wouldn't be perceived as having less midrange
than Basswood. The mids will be just as powerful and dynamic
amidst the addition of clear highs and lows. Probably the
most full frequency body material accepted.
Production notes: Rarely used because its softness requires
a heavy finish, or a composite "shell" like the
Parkers. The Parker isn't the best representation of the sound
of a Spruce body since there are many other unique construction
methods and synthetics used in the Parker. Would work well
with veneer caps or a top, and would offset some of the compressed
sound you get with neck through construction. Top
Lacewood
Lacewood is a true multi-density wood. The rum colored skeleton
is hard like Koa or Walnut, and the fleshy, grayish tan interior
portions like Alder. The dual densities will augment different
tones, while combing others out. It's brighter than Alder,
and richer than solid maple.
Production notes: It can be difficult to finish, because
the sections absorb finish differently. Oil finishes and heavy
poly finishes work better than a softer nitrocellulose or
acrylic lacquer. The lacquer finishes will sink over time
telegraphing the grain.
Extended Range notes: Another wood well suited for extended
lows. Its dual density provides a good skeleton for keeping
the lows tight. There's less of a tradeoff to the higher strings
because of the warmth of the softer sections. Top
Body tops
Tops seem to create a situation where the attack of the notes
will be more like the top wood, while the resonance and decay
more like the bottom wood. The thickness and carve of a top
dictates the degree of its effect on the sound. The glued
unit will be more rigid than a single piece, so generally
sustain increases.
Maple top on Basswood
The clean attack and even highs of Maple will make up for
Basswood's inherent reduction of those frequencies. The lows
will still taper off, but the overall result is more frequencies
covered than with either piece alone. Dynamics aren't reduced,
except for in the upper register, where they were less present
in Basswood alone. So the improvement in high response is
a little more compressed, and not as crisp and responsive
in the attack as Swamp Ash for example. Top
Maple top on Mahogany
The staple of vintage construction, the Maple adds crispness
to the mahogany, but the lows and low mids of mahogany are
still as apparent. The Maple combs out some of the upper mids,
not because Maple lacks in these areas, but because it is
vastly different from mahogany in its handling of the upper
midrange. There is fighting going on in that range between
the two pieces that results in a canceling out of some of
those upper midrange frequencies. That's part of the "smoothness"
associated with the Les Paul & PRS types. Top
Maple top on Alder
Takes Alder to a tone closer to solid Swamp Ash, but without
the dynamics. The open resonance of the Alder comes through
with the sharper attack and brightness of the Maple on the
top end. The effect on the Alder is similar to the effect
on Basswood. The upper mids of Maple come through, as Alder
does not suppress upper mids. Top
Maple top on Swamp Ash
A good addition to Swamp Ash but reduces the open, airy
dynamics of solid Ash. It mutes the expanded midrange, but
doesn't really comb out any sections. They work well together.
It adds a little more rock and country compressed "scream"
to the sound at the expense of Ash's complex lows and low
mids. Top
Rosewood tops
Rosewood tops will add some sustain, by virtue of the density,
but also the lamination itself. Its oiliness will dampen the
attack and the higher treble frequencies. So Rosewood over
Mahogany will really be smooth, while Rosewood over Ash will
retain some open midrange resonance. Rosewood over Alder or
Basswood will be a sustain boost with little affect on the
tone besides the high mid combing from the lamination, since
the high dampening from Rosewood is redundant. Top
Koa tops
Figured or plain Koa tops will sound similar to Maple tops
with the exception being that it wouldn't fight Mahogany backs
so much in the upper midrange. Although Maple resonates more
upper mids, a Koa top on Mahogany would have less combing
and compressing of those frequencies. Top
Walnut tops
Like Koa, the tops would have just a little less high frequency
than Maple, but have less compression and combing with Mahogany
backs. Top
Lacewood tops
Lacewood has a hard "swiss cheese" type skeleton,
with soft bits inside the "holes." Because of its
combination of soft and hard sections, it's more likely to
take on the tone of the back wood. Only when thicker will
it start to apply its own tonal signature to the body. It's
like drilling ½" holes in Koa and filling them
with Alder plugs. It has good top end and sustain from the
harder skeleton, and a heavily combed midrange and low end
from the smaller, softer sections throughout. Top
Neck woods
Maple
The most common electric guitar neck wood, Maple has a uniform
grain, it's strong and stable, and it has less reaction from
environmental changes than other hardwoods. Its tone is highly
reflective, and focuses more energy onto the body wood. All
things being equal, bolt-on Maple necks are less of a factor
on the guitar's tone and emphasize the body wood. Top
Mahogany
The even density makes stable necks, and the open pores
make the neck a little more responsive than a maple neck.
The Mahogany will absorb a little more of the string vibration
than Maple will, and compresses the attack and the highs a
little. Top
Koa
The tone is somewhere between Mahogany and Maple with a
little sweeter top end. Top
Rosewood
Heavy, oily wood, a Rosewood neck will produce excellent
sustain while also smoothening out the highs. Generally with
greater sustain comes a brighter top end. This is not true
of Rosewood. It mutes the high frequency overtones, producing
a strong fundamental that still has the complexities of mid
and low mid overtones. Top
Wenge
Stiff, strong, and stable, Wenge trims some high overtones
like Rosewood does, while resonating more fundamental mids
and low mids due to it's multi-density "stripes"
combing away a little more of the mid and low mid overtones.
Top
Fretboard Woods
Perhaps more significant than neck wood, the fretboard is
the place your string launches from. It is the "bridge"
on the other side. Fretboard differences are as dramatic as
those between a hardtail and a tremolo.
Maple
Very bright and dense, Maple is highly reflective. When
used on a fretboard, Maple encourages tremendous amounts of
higher overtones and its tight, almost filtered away bass
favors harmonics and variations in pick attack. Top
Rosewood
The most common fretboard, Rosewood is naturally oily, and
works well for any surface that sees frequent human contact.
The sound is richer in fundamental than Maple because the
stray overtones are absorbed into the oily pores. Top
Ebony
Ebony has a snappy, crisp attack with the density of Maple,
but with more brittle grains, oilier pores, and a stronger
fundamental tone than Maple. It has a tremendous amount of
percussive overtones in the pick attack, that mute out shortly
thereafter to foster great, long, sustain. Top
Pao Ferro
Quite simply, Pao Ferro is a wood that falls between Rosewood
and Ebony, and the tone follows suit. It has a snappier attack
than rosewood, with good sustain, and its warmer sounding
than Ebony. Some consider Pao Ferro to represent their favorite
aspects of the two. Top
Extended range notes
Basswood is not stiff enough for a tight, well-defined low
end, especially with a shorter scale. Low notes will have
good harmonics, and a good fundamental, but a midrangey tone
overall.
Alder has a tighter low end than Basswood, with slightly
deeper lows.
Swamp Ash is stiff enough for a crisp low end without becoming
muddy. The open pores help resonate low tones. Higher overtones
become more apparent in lower registers, for good harmonic
content and a sharper attack.
Mahogany's warm lows and a thick sound overall make extended
lows very full and can produce muddiness in the signal. The
low notes are very strong and sometimes overbearing for a
pickup. A bright, crisp active pickup that thins out the low
end could be a good combination.
Walnut's tight low end and combed midrange dynamics make
it well suited for extended range. It won't get muddy unless
it's a poor specimen with softer yellowish orange areas.
Like Walnut, Koa is a good Mahogany alternative. It will
have a tighter low end with less muddiness. The slightly dampened
higher overtones will produce a stronger fundamental than
Walnut at the expense of a sharper attack.
Korina should respond to extended lows in the same manner
as Mahogany. Soft Maple's dull lows also mean no muddiness
in the extended range. It can be a good alternative to Basswood
if that's your main concern. The pickups will have to compensate
for the bright upper mids.
Hard Maple will have the tightest lows for the extended range.
Low notes will have a sharp attack, plenty of harmonics, and
excellent sustain.
Spruce, while capable of reproducing extended lows, is too
soft not to get mushy. A neck through, a laminated top, or
both would provide the needed rigidity while still highlighting
the good points of Spruce. Any laminated top 1/8" or
thicker will improve the tightness of the low end. The existence
of the lamination will tighten any body's muddiness. The same
qualities hold true in the laminate top descriptions. Top
Neck Through notes
The neck through construction method produces excellent sustain.
The neck wood strongly influences the tone of the guitar,
because it occupies perhaps the most important part of the
body: the center. There is a nasal, thinner quality to the
sound, often augmented with a figured wood top. Your side
woods make up far less of the tone than on a bolt on or set
neck guitar. You first have to estimate what that neck wood's
tone is like as a body wood, and then accentuate or counteract
that with your side woods. So a Hard Maple neck through will
be very bright and cutting. If you want to warm it up you'd
use Basswood or Spruce sides. But if you like that quality,
you might use Ash or Soft Maple sides. The effect is very
different than the laminated top sound. A maple top on Basswood
is nothing like a Maple neck through with Basswood wings,
which sounds more like a Maple body. Generally, the softer
woods excel as sides because they add back some low end resonance
missing in the construction method, while dampening the highs.
Top
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