What does carved top guitar mean?
Having a carved top means you’ll need to angle the neck to the body and the sides of the body are lower (and out of the way) compared to the middle sections. Many people find this more comfortable. In terms of tone, it depend son the woods.
How thick is a guitar veneer?
Veneers are very thin layers of wood that are only 1 or 2mm thick. They’re paper thin and are strictly for aesthetic purposes.
What is a quilted maple top guitar?
Also known as “quilted maple,” this is a type figured maple featuring a wavy, rippling visual pattern. The quilt figure is a result of flat-sawing the wood, which distorts the grain pattern, creating the figure.
What is a carved top Les Paul?
The original carved-top electric guitar was the 1952 Gibson Les Paul “Goldtop.” Because Gibson had the specialized tooling with which to create a contoured top that was similar to the arched top of a fine violin, Maurice Berlin of Chicago Musical Instruments (or CMI, Gibson’s parent company) believed this would set the …
What is maple veneer?
Maple veneer is typically a creamy white to a pink tinged light yellow wood that ages to a deep pale gold color. It will accept stains and finishes well but is most often finished with a clear coat that preserves the warmth and accentuates the color and beauty of the wood’s natural grain.
How are flame top guitars made?
Flame maple is especially popular in guitars, and has been for decades. Generally, the process includes cutting the maple to shape, forming it if necessary through mold-warping and applying a clear coat or lacquer to protect the finish, and ensure the wood holds its shape.
Is curly maple expensive?
Prices can range from just slightly more expensive than regular maple for lower grades of curly maple, to many, many times higher for prices of the highest grades. However, curly maple tends to be one of the most economical hardwoods when compared to other figured woods.
Is quilted maple rare?
Quilted maple is incredibly rare and the most expensive of the woods discussed in this post.
Are laminate guitars bad?
Believe it or not, even laminated guitars still carry much of the tone qualities of the outer woods since that part of the guitar is resonating with string vibration too. But it won’t sound as good as a pure solid wood guitar. Don’t confuse bookmatched wood with laminate (non-solid) construction!
Do you need a veneer top on a guitar?
It’s not technically a lie, as the top of the guitar is flamed maple, they just didn’t specify how much of the top… Generally speaking, you need not be concerned. If you’re buying a cheaper guitar you will likely be buying a veneer, but if you’re okay with that and don’t have plans to refinish then no worries.
What’s the difference between a veneer and a top?
In short, a veneer is yet another way for manufacturers to keep their costs down. Veneers are very thin layers of wood that are only 1 or 2mm thick. They’re paper thin and are strictly for aesthetic purposes. A top, on the other hand, is much thicker.
Do you have to wait for veneer to dry?
The nice thing about the iron on is that once it’s on your done. You don’t have to wait on the veneer to dry. The glue on the back of the veneer only has to air dry for a short time then once the heat from the iron hit’s it, it dry or cures the rest of the way and you can router, sand, stain and anything else right a way.
What kind of wood to use on top of guitar?
However, guitar makers found a nice middle ground between building an entire guitar from expensive (but gorgeous) woods and using the ugly stuff: use the figured wood for the top of the guitar only. This combines the best of both worlds – cheaper plain wood for the majority of the guitar, but nicer figured wood on top.