How to Tell if an Old Guitar Is Made of Plywood
When buying a used guitar, it's important to determine whether it's made from solid or laminated wood. If the manufacturer's specifications are unavailable, the construction of acoustic and electric guitars can be determined with a quick visual inspection.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Acoustic Guitars
-
1
Check the sound hole. The grain of a solid-wood top will curve over the rim of the sound hole, as if the lines in the wood are flowing into the guitar. If the grain stops at the sound hole or if there are concentric circles around the rim of the sound hole, the guitar has a laminate top.
-
2
Inspect the grain on the sides of the guitar, near the waist. Take note of any patterns, such as swirls, dark streaks or knots.
-
-
3
Shine a flashlight into the sound hole and look for those same patterns. If the figuring of the grain is the same inside and out, the side of the guitar is made from solid wood. If a quirk of the grain is not repeated on the inside, the wood is likely laminated.
-
4
Repeat this process with the guitar's back.
-
5
Finally, check for a "bookmatched" top and back. The grain on the top and back of the guitar should appear to be mirrored from left to right, indicating a central seam used to bind the top together. If there is no central seam, the wood may be laminated.
Electric Guitars
-
6
Electric guitars seldom are made from a single piece of wood. Two- and three-piece bodies are considered acceptable, or even preferable, to one-piece construction. However, the pieces should be glued together along a vertical axis, and more than three pieces indicates cheaper construction.The pieces should be solid; guitars made of plywood (several layers laminated together) should be avoided.
-
7
Beware guitars whose contours are opaque. A guitar with a transparent finish is usually made from solid wood, but if that transparent finish becomes opaque where the body is contoured---such as the arm and belly contours on Fender-style guitars---the body is likely plywood. The finish is opaque because the contouring would reveal several layers of the plywood.
-
8
Check for grain consistency on the front and back of the guitar. The patterns on the front should be more or less present on the back, though natural variations in grain are normal.
-
9
Check for finish settling. The finish on an old guitar will sometimes "sink" into the seams between pieces of wood. This can help determine how many pieces comprise the body.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If an electric guitar's finish is opaque, the unfinished areas in the bridge and pickup routes can sometimes reveal the body's construction.
Don't pass on a guitar simply because it has laminate construction. Wood is a natural substance, and even plywood's tone varies from guitar to guitar. Play each instrument and determine what sounds good.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit acoustic guitar image by Jeffrey Zalesny from Fotolia.com
