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Post subject: What's the best strat body- solid, 2 piece, or three piece?
Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 12:18 pm
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Does anyone know the tonal differences (if any) between a strat body that is one solid tone wood piece, a strat body that is made of two glued together tone wood planks, and a strat body that is made of three glued together tone wook planks? I have two new american standard strats, both made in 2008. One has a three piece body and the other a two piece body. How do the luthiers decide which to use for a particular model? Is it just a mater of cosmetics and aesthetic appeal based on an individual basis, or is there more scientific reasoning for these differences? If anyone out there has a good explanation, I'd like to hear about it. Thanks!


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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:01 am
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'Personally believe 99.738% of the concern over body wood in a solidbody is not necessary.

Pickups, tailpiece, strings, cord, amp, amp settings are really big in there, too.

If the guitar 'calls,' it matters not here, what it's made of.

Fave wood-debunking story is when Benedetto made a carved top acoustic out of pallet lumber and it was magnificent.


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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:14 am
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Generally, in mass produced guitars, I agree with JSJH. In a high end and/or custom made guitar, you probably would prefer solid just for pride of ownership.

Along the same lines, laminates on the back and sides of acoustics are just fine.


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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:27 am
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I have aways thought it depended on the finish that is going to be applied were as if it is a semi clear finish they try to use book match pieces so that the grain that you see through the finish looks better. And if it is painted to were you do not see grain three or four pieces who would no.

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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:55 pm
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Depending on the density of the wood...a 3 piece can be more resonant then a 2 piece. The quality of the wood matters more then how many pieces are used...well, to a point.

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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 5:02 pm
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Quote:
Fave wood-debunking story is when Benedetto made a carved top acoustic out of pallet lumber and it was magnificent.


I've heard about that from a friend who plays jazz with a 7-string Benedetto.

As for the original question(s), I think cost is a main issue?

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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 5:23 pm
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Miami Mike wrote:
As for the original question(s), I think cost is a main issue?


Sure, wood "quality" translates into cost. Various things go into wood quality, including size of boards.

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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:07 pm
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cryingstrat wrote:
Depending on the density of the wood...a 3 piece can be more resonant then a 2 piece. The quality of the wood matters more then how many pieces are used...well, to a point.


I think that is true. If the density of the wood is well matched, along with grain structure and alignment, a 3-piece can be just as good if not better than a 2-piece. I've also seen some 2-piece bodies that were horribly mis-matched.

There's a lot of variables here-two piece with a center seam straight down the middle of the body? Two piece with the seam along one side, away from the center line? Seam along the bass side or the treble side? Three piece with a good-sized chunk of wood down the middle? I'm sure that someone will probably mention the difference between 'quartersawn' and 'flatsawn' wood. That is yet another can of worms and I won't go there.

One piece bodies are kind of rare nowadays, and it used to be that the only place you could find them were in Mahogany bodied guitars (Mahogany trees can grow to HUGE sizes-as wide as several feet-if they don't get harvested first). Gibson used to use one piece bodies a lot up until about fifteen years ago, then seemed to get more into 'multipiece' bodies, especially with their less expensive guitars. Now, if you want a one piece mahogany body from Gibson (like in a LP), you're probably going to have to pay for it, or at least suffer the weight penalty as it seems to be harder to find lightweight one piece bodies.

A lot of this is up to availability, and how the wood shows up at the factory. From what I've seen, Fender made a LOT of three-piece bodies in the 60's and the 70's, but no one seems to complain much about that. Also, from what i've read on the 'net, many 'Custom Color' Fenders back in the '60's often used bodies with cosmetic blemishes in the wood grain, and it was an easy way to use a body that wouldn't look good with a transparent finish. Never mind that 'Custom Color' finishes from the '60's grab more money now than ones with a transparent coat.

I have two Honduran Mahogany Hamer USA Standards (think Explorer shaped-I call them my 'coffee table' guitars because of their large body size. Fender now owns Hamer USA, BTW) from the mid '90's. One is one piece, another is well-matched two piece, and neither have a Maple top. Essentially, they're identical otherwise. Which one is better? They sound a little different from each other, but I wouldn't say that one was 'inferior' to the other.

Wood availability is a big factor here as well. Honduran Mahogany (which Gibsons used to be made of-at least in one piece bodies, and Hamer USA models are) is getting scarce, to the point that it is Level 2 on the CITES Treaty list (Brazilian Rosewood is Level 3). I just recently saw a news report on PBS (I think) that Northern Ash forests are being infested and destroyed by beetles, which is not good for Louisville Slugger baseball bat supply. Possibly not for Teles, either. Don't be surprised if you find that guitar wood may be a general species or genus for a guitar, but not exactly the same as what was traditonally used (there are a lot of varieties of Mahogany out there, for instance). Guitar companies as a rule are NOT helpful in finding these details out. Same goes in how they decide to build a guitar body regarding two pieces or three.


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