Does anyone out there have any opinion on multi piece guitar bodies. I currently have two guitars. A 99 Deluxe Strat and a 2000 MIA Tele Std. When I bought both guitars I had what you might call a "Tone Plan". The Strat is alder with a rosewood neck and the Tele is ash with a maple neck. I wanted the Tele to be noticeably brighter than the Strat. (It is) When I buy a guitar, I always base my selection on how the guitar sounds unamped. How loud is it? How does the tone sound? I usually tilt the body about 45 degrees and listen to the back of the body resonate as I play. I feel that you can swap electrics out easily, but if the guitar has no decent inherent tone, then it's always going to sound like crap. No matter how expensive the new pickups are. Now, after that long preamble, here's the actual question. What's the deal with one or multi piece bodies? My Strat has a 3 piece alder body, the Tele is one piece ash. Both have incredible tone unamped or plugged in. I understand that alder is harder to get a large piece with good grain than ash, but I've seen lots of one piece alders. My Strat was one of the more expensive Fenders when it was new, yet has a 3 piece body. It even has a transparent finish. So I'm thinking that there is no real difference in tone between 1 or multi piece bodies. Fender didn't have to skimp because of cost considerations on this guitar yet they used a multi piece body. I've heard of guys that say the one piece bodies are superior. I think this is untrue. Comments?

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1999 Strat Delux Transparent Crimson
2000 MIA Tele Transparent White
2009 Gibson LP Studio Deluxe Vintageburst
2010 Gibson SG Std Wine Red
Peavey Delta Blues 115
Line6 POD HD500

It's all a visual difference to me. If you want a transparent finish than a one piece body would be the better choice. Other than that, as long as the pieces are glued together properly I don't see a difference other than bragging rights.

My opinion of multi piece guitar bodies is it doesn't really matter until you get past 4 or 5 pieces and the guitar would be more suitable for use as a chopping block in the kitchen I can't "hear" how many pieces of wood a guitar is made of though. I think I can "hear" bad (probably cured improperly) wood though. I've played 2 peice bodies that were unresonant and muddy, yet some others sing and sustain beautifully.

Hey SATV46, I bet if you look real close at your Tele you'll see at least one seam. Your Tele is a 2000 and Fender wasn't using veneer tops and backs anymore on transparent finishes, so we can rule that out. Do you have a pic, it would be cool to see. I've never seen a regular production line US Fender to have one peice body, as most are 3 or some 2 piece sneak by. Heck, even the Custom Shop doesn't really do one piece unless you ask for it and pay$. If multi piece bodies were good enough for Leo Fender, than they're good enough for me. I think 2 or 3 pieces is the way Leo did it back in the day.

I've heard tales over the years that 1 piece isn't reccomended any way because the body is prone to be unstable (warping). Any truth to this?

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

Hi SATV46: I don't happen to have any alder but here is a Strat beside an ash tree:


I happen to know that this tree is around 90 years old. So it has some growing left to do - but ash grown for timber is usually felled between 100 and 150 years, so this one is not so far off it's final size. And of course there comes a point with trees where they get older but not much bigger. Ash and alder are not huge growing species.

The point I'm making is that you don't get much timber out of an ash tree (or alder) that is big enough to make one piece guitar bodies, in proportion to the the narrower planks. Bear in mind you don't use the central core of the trunk so useable timber must be harvested from the area between the middle and the outer surface. That pictured tree trunk looks wider than my guitar, but it isn't twice as wide. So no decent near-quartersawn planks big enough to make a one-piece body will come out of that tree till it's a fair bit bigger.

However, we can't waste all the smaller planks that come out of a trunk, so those are glued up to make multi-piece bodies. Nothing at all wrong with that, and I'd be deeply impressed to meet someone who really could tell the difference between a three-piece and a one-piece body blindfolded. I'll believe it when I see it...

In short, you'll see very few one-piece bodies compared to multi-piece - and that doesn't matter in the slightest.

I was surprised by this:


I have seen very few - and I look out for that kind of thing. Sometimes well matched two-piece bods can look like one-piece...?

Cheers - C

Hey guys, thanks for all your replies. I've taken the Tele outside in the sunlight and searched for seams and can't find one. I'll try to post some pics today so you guys can check it out. I really do believe it's one piece. My brother has a one piece ash HSS Deluxe Strat in a transparent teal green color. I'm not sure what the official Fender name for it is. (He's one of the purists I mentioned.) Oh, by the way, my Strat's body is very well matched. You have to look very closely to see the seams. Fender did a great job on it. As I said both guitars are top notch. Love them Fenders.
PS: Ceri, your picture cracked me up. Thanks for going to all the trouble. If that tree is lucky it just may just have a 2nd life as a Fender!

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1999 Strat Delux Transparent Crimson
2000 MIA Tele Transparent White
2009 Gibson LP Studio Deluxe Vintageburst
2010 Gibson SG Std Wine Red
Peavey Delta Blues 115
Line6 POD HD500

Erm, well sadly I don't think that tree is ever going to become a Fender. But if it's a bit lucky it may go the way of some of its near neighbours and find its way into a guitar or two. In the fullness of time...


I have plans for my trees...

Cheers - C

one piece or multipiece is really more of an aesthetics thing if you are using transparent colors (single piece looks nicer).

Once the pieces are glued together (if it's done properly) they are as solid as one single piece of wood.

I think a lot of the tone wood, single vs multi-piece body, nitro or poly finish, question is more to give guitarists something to "discuss" for hours than for any other reason. That and MARKETING.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Cool, are you planning on making guitars out of your wood? Give us some pics of the progress if you are. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I had to go down to Md to take care of one of my daughter's cars. She had her 1st sender bender and I went down from So. Jersey where I live to take care of the repair. (I used to own a body shop). That's what Dads do to help. I'm going to try and get some close up pics of both my guitars to show you guys what the wood looks like. Thanks for the replies.
Cheers,Vince

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1999 Strat Delux Transparent Crimson
2000 MIA Tele Transparent White
2009 Gibson LP Studio Deluxe Vintageburst
2010 Gibson SG Std Wine Red
Peavey Delta Blues 115
Line6 POD HD500

That's the idea. I did a thread about a year ago when I was felling and sawing up that timber. In the fullness of time I'll revive it and show the guitars getting built - but we have to wait for it to season!

Meantime, some earlier ash I felled and seasoned has been used in the new center block in the guitar in this current thread. Get ready, there's rather a lot of it, I'm afraid...:

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... hp?t=30747

BTW: gold star to a cool dad! I hope your daughter was appreciative...

Cheers - C

I can't tell the difference between multi or one piece. I will say, all my guitars do sound different unplugged. Thats how I justify to my girl, for the need of more than one guitar, , I think each of my guitars, help to create the different tones I wish to achieve, ash, alder and mohogany. I also think where the tone wood was grown, effects weight, grain, and of course its tone, due to climate.

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2012 American Vintage Telecaster 1958
09 Fender american deluxe strat.
97 Gibson les paul special P90's double-cut
65 Princeton reverb re-issue
2010 Guild Gad-F40e

Hi Ceri, I just checked out your thread of the Strat with "minor cosmetic damage". Wow it's looking good! I haven't done a lot of work with wood, but I did autobody work for many years. Mostly street rods and classic restorations. It seems to be basicly the same process. I'm looking forward to some more pics when your done. Maybe it's time for me to start a project. Maybe a Warmouth or Carvin bolt. It should be fun.
Best wishes,Vince
PS:My daughter did appreciate my visit. She lives with one of her sisters who's a U.S.Air Force recruiter. We all had a great time.

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1999 Strat Delux Transparent Crimson
2000 MIA Tele Transparent White
2009 Gibson LP Studio Deluxe Vintageburst
2010 Gibson SG Std Wine Red
Peavey Delta Blues 115
Line6 POD HD500

My 65 Strat has a 3 piece body and it sings.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I have a cheap Strat copy I got as part of a trade. Never thought too much about the body. Took it to a gig as a spare one nite and ended up playing it all nite long. My real Strat stayed in the guitar stand.... It is very light and sounds great thru an amp and without. When I removed the strings and pick guard, I found that the body is particle board with thin front and back layers of Wonder Wood - I wonder what it is-. Just goes to show you. It is, like I said a cheap copy, but unbelievable playability and tone.