A small guide on types of wood

The word ‘tonewood’ has slightly magical connotations within the guitar world. Put simply, tonewood is the wood within a guitar’s construction that contributes to its tone.
In the case of an acoustic guitar, this is largely the guitar body, which is divided into two sections: the top (or soundboard), and the back and sides (usually considered together as they are nearly always made of the same material).
It is from within the grains of these woods that a guitar’s unique voice emerges. If you’re a beginner, you may wonder what difference the tonewood makes to the tone of an acoustic guitar. 
Laminate versus Solid Wood
When reading about acoustic guitars, you may have noticed that cheaper instruments tend to be made of laminated wood, whilst more expensive guitars tend to be made from solid wood.
In a nutshell, an all-laminated body guitar, the top, back and sides will be made from layered (laminated) pieces of wood, most typically laminated spruce for the top, and laminated mahogany for the back and sides.

Solid wood construction means that the guitar is made from solid sheets of wood. Usually, the top and back of an all-solid construction body will be made by joining two solid sheets each to form the top and back, with the join down the centre-line.

The main advantage of using solid wood is that it is far more resonant, and thus has far better tone than a laminate guitar. In addition, many solid tonewoods (particularly spruce) improves over time as the wood dries out and becomes even more resonant. However, solid wood is far harder to work with, and more expensive, making solid guitars more expensive.
Laminated wood is relatively inexpensive, and cheaper to work with, and so is a sensible option to keep costs down. However, whilst solid body guitars often improve in tonal quality over time, laminated guitars will eventually deteriorate (although this is over quite a period of time – don’t panic!).
Generally, solid construction is better. Guitars are available with solid tops and laminated back and sides, making an economical compromise between price and tone, too.

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