This is not a problem with laminate per se just a factor to look into when you see laminate on a spec sheet.
What does laminate mean guitar.
Laminate describes the construction method of thin layers of wood glued together plywood means that it has layers with the grain alternating at 90 degrees.
The sound of your acoustic guitar is a team effort.
As wood becomes more scarce and guitar companies struggle to keep price points low one way to save resources is to use laminate woods in the body construction of the guitar defined below.
The result is that laminate guitars manufactured by these companies will often sound better than solid wood.
So you can legitimately say laminate when referring to a plywood guitar if you want to make it sound less cheap.
For example in cutting solid wood panels for acoustic guitars the yield is about four pieces per inch of thickness the typical thickness of a back side panel is about 3 16 of an inch.
Martin guitars in particular have a line made partially or almost completely from hpls nbsp.
Plywood is a specific type of laminate.
Laminates can be used to build quality instruments.
Solid wood guitars do not contain laminated layered wood so as an example if you own a solid top acoustic martin d18 the top is all solid wood not.
As a guitar construction material there are a lot of advantages.
But arguably the most important component is the top wood.
Laminate guitars on the other hand can be made to accentuate certain color variations and grain patterns in the wood that are not only pleasing to the eye but are far more cost effective as well.
The question is whether or not the manufacturer took the trouble to do so.
Laminate construction enables builders to reduce their material cost streamline the production process and conserve wood resources.
After all some of the most renowned hollowbody and semi hollow body guitars ever made are made of laminates.
Hpl or high pressure laminate materials are becoming more commonplace in guitar construction.
Like the gibson es 175 or es 335.
Many times these guitars are stained in such a way that an otherwise plain cut of maple or cherry wood for example can be made to look just as.
Because of the quantity of glue involved a laminate guitar can be heavier than a solid wood.
Construction hardware neck shape the list goes on.