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Post subject: Re: NGD- The Plywood Conundrum
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 9:03 am
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Nothing wrong with plywood as long as it actually is plywood and not mixed with particle board or just a single veneer.
Real plywood is very strong. Especially 60-degree 3-ply plywood is super-strong, but the regular 90-degree 2-ply one too is strong, given enough layers. And hard to make, because you need a large amount of sheets of wood that are flawless enough that they stay whole when cutting them before cross-laminating.
So most of what is sold as plywood isn't really plywood, but more often just two layers of cross-veneer on each side of particle board or inferior wood. Which is, if you pardon my French, foutaise.


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Post subject: Re: NGD- The Plywood Conundrum
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 7:53 am
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This is just my own $.02 worth, so please use it for what it's worth...

Personally I tend to think of all of this in two ways; "laminates" and "plywood"...in my mind, they are really NOT the same thing. I've had some instruments over the years that really were little more than a very cheap plywood. In fact I still have a Rhythmline Tele knockoff...as a musical instrument, it's a HORRIBLE piece of crap however it's made a great testing piece for while I was learning to do refinishing. I also had an old Cort once...an Explorer knockoff...where the cheap plywood cracked right at the neck joint. Because of the crack, you could actually move the neck back and forth like a trem! LOL! On the other side of the coin, I have my early 80's Kramer. Yes, it's a laminate and it's a rock solid, great sounding guitar body to say the least. I would also point out that a great many very fine acoustic guitars and a lot of semi-hollows over the years have been made of some kind of laminate...a lot of drum shells too for that matter. If it's done correctly, a good laminate can provide an exceptional degree of strength and stability in a very cost effective way.

I think the reason laminates get such a bad rap is that they are often used on low end instruments and traditionally, there have been quality issues there...not so much because of the use of laminates specifically but the guitar build as a whole. Some are decent, many are not. A lot of folks hate Squier for example and yes, they've produced some REALLY cheap, crappy guitars, however this ignores the fact that some truly outstanding instruments have been produced under that same name (and yes, I own a few that I wouldn't hesitate to take on stage!). As the saying goes, give a dog a bad name and you can usually hang him with it.

As far as Hondo's go, I really don't have any beef with them...they made some very decent, affordable instruments over the years. Back in the day, I remember these often being on the same shelf with the instruments made by companies like Memphis, Cort and Lotus (and I still have my old Memphis). For budget guitars...back in the day...they weren't too bad and were typically better than what you might find in an average department store (brands like Harmony and Kay come to mind). I do think that quality control has come a LONG way over the years...some of the instruments that come out under names like Squier and Epiphone today (including various Chinese made instruments) are FAR superior to most of the cheaper instruments from back in the 80's...however for someone looking for a decent first guitar or even something to use as a backup or banger, some of those older budget instruments with a bit of work are still pretty decent for the money.

Ultimately my opinion is simply this; if you like the guitar, then the brand name, where it was made or what it's made of...such things aren't really that important. As I've said so often now, the "best" guitar is simply the one that you enjoy playing 8) .


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Post subject: Re: NGD- The Plywood Conundrum
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:47 am
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The masonite Dano's, first electric guitars for many of us, and immortalized by Jimmy Page, speak to this to the nines. Gordy went for the new natural finish model before he went off to France in '59 to study at the Sorbonne for a few years. The Strat is my '58 of blessed memory. The pic dates back to August '64, Washington Square Park, Manhattan, 2:00 am. [Roughly 5 years later than the photo of me further down.] Another Café WHA??? night done. After pics, off to The Brasserie on 53rd St for late supper, early breakfast, and to watch crowd. 8)

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Last edited by ZZDoc on Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:35 pm, edited 6 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: NGD- The Plywood Conundrum
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 9:13 am
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ZZDoc wrote:
The masonite Dano's, first electric guitars for many of us, and immortalized by Jimmy Page, speak to this to the nines.


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Post subject: Re: NGD- The Plywood Conundrum
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 6:01 pm
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chromeface wrote:
ZZDoc wrote:
The masonite Dano's, first electric guitars for many of us, and immortalized by Jimmy Page, speak to this to the nines.


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Post subject: Re: NGD- The Plywood Conundrum
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 6:16 pm
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lomitus wrote:
Personally I tend to think of all of this in two ways; "laminates" and "plywood"...in my mind, they are really NOT the same thing.

Well, no. A plywood is a laminate where the wood grain is either 90 degree angle for each layer (2-ply) or 60 degree angle for each layer (3-ply). What's just called a laminate has the wood grains in the same direction, which makes it very strong in one direction.

As for laminates, they are used for expensive guitars too. The Gibson Firebird is a good example. The neck-through-body construction is made out of laminated wood to make it stiffer.


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Post subject: Re: NGD- The Plywood Conundrum
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:10 pm
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There are certainly different grades of plywood. I have an Epiphone Special 2 that is definitely beefy. Weighs a ton too.

The interesting part about these Hondo models is that there is a sub layer of ply, and a separate cap laminated over the top of it to create the body contour. As a result, it creates a chamber in the body. I found that to be fascinating. It has a semi-hollow feel to it and it seems to give the pickups that semi-hollow character.

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Post subject: Re: NGD- The Plywood Conundrum
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:33 am
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shred6 wrote:
But for real, that is an all Maple LP style guitar. Not something you see very often. All maple, black block fret markers? Built like a tank? WINNER! That thing is a beast!!
That is indeed one handsome gitbox.

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