The Guitar Page
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(Watch video on” Making of an acoustic guitar” on the right column.)
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It’s mainly about ‘wood’ when referring to acoustic guitar body. A guitar must be made of dried wood. If the wood hasn’t lost its moisture when the guitar is made, it will eventually end up crooked or cracked.
Another thing to consider is the tone and size you want. You want a size that projects well and is comfortable to play. Acoustics come in three sizes: parlor, dreadnought, and jumbo.
Many people assume you got to have a guitar the size of Dreadnought or Super-Jumbo to get good volume and bass. This may not be the case! Many people find that smaller bodied guitars to be more sensitive to picking techniques resulting in a wider range of dynamics.
If you are buying for a child you want to purchase according to what they can manage physically. If you are an adult you want to consider that the smaller guitars have a brighter tone, while the larger guitars have a deeper tone.
In the old days, they would let the wood dry up for three to four years before starting to carve it. Nowadays, a technique called kiln-dry is used. Unlike the old days, the demand for guitar has increased tremendously over the decades and is shooting up every year. Therefore, almost all manufacturers apply this technique to cope demand. This consists is placing the wood in huge vats filled with chemicals that treat the wood in three weeks instead of three years.
Now lets look at the various parts of the instrument.
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THE BRIDGE UNIT
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This is one of the most important components for delivering resonant sound. Most people, and many guitarists among them, tend to believe that the way the sound is produced from an acoustic is that the vibration of the strings is sent into the sound-hole, amplified inside the sound chamber and sent out again through the sound-hole.
Now this is not the way an acoustic works at all. If it were, you couldn’t get any sound out of a violin or a cello-or many guitars, as the sound-holes are “f” shaped on the sides of the strings.
What actually happens is that the vibration is picked up by the bridge (not the whole unit, but the part where the strings touch) and is transmitted, through the bridge unit, into the sound chamber.
The vibration is then amplified using the chamber arrangement, bounced through the struts (usually fan-shaped for classicals and box-shaped for acoustics), then pushed out from the sound-hole.
Thus, having a good bridge unit is important and this should be the first thing you look at.
In an attempt to save cost, many manufacturers will use plastic for the bridge. Plastic will never give you a satisfying sound. And, due to the tension produced by the strings (the lower “E” string produces around 62lb of tension with light gauge strings), the strings will bite into the plastic unit and produced grooves, eventually further affecting the sound production.
The bridge unit, on acoustic (electrics are a whole different story) should be made out of wood. Specifically should be ebony. Ebony is a very dense, solid wood, rare and expensive. Other just about equally good alternatives are Rosewood and Ash.
The white piece, the bridge itself, should also be made of a dense wood. Here, though, many alternatives will do and are usually to the manufacturer’s preference. The whole unit is then firmly glued on to the top of the guitar (soundboard)
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THE BODY
Front and Back
A variety of woods can be used to produce the body. Often these are due to manufacturer’s preferences and quite often it has to do with economics. You’ll occasionally see plywood being used. If that’s the case, avoid it if you can.
The front piece and the back piece should be made of two different kinds of wood. You’re looking for a denser piece for the back and a lighter one for the front. Maple will often be used for the front piece it is easily available.
Most of each panel is made from two different pieces of wood which are mirror images of each other. Check this point. Just look at the grain of the wood starting at the middle and see if both sides (top and bottom) are mirror images of each other. If they’re not, then you’re looking at shoddy craftsmanship.
Also, there shouldn’t be any knots in the wood. Sometimes you’ll find them and this simply indicates that the manufacturer is using a cheaper quality of wood.
The sides should be made from a third kind of wood. Again, different manufacturers will have different opinions on which particular woods to use. What it comes down to, at this point, is what you like.
The rosette, the decorated part that runs around the sound-hole serves partly to reinforce the sides of the sound-hole. Not much is needed and it shouldn’t be an issue. It mostly serves to decorate the guitar. This is a tradition that started off with instruments other than the guitar, thousands of years ago. It’s decorative.
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END BLOCKS
The sides of the guitar are usually made from two different pieces of wood. These must be joined. Just putting them together and gluing them to the front and back of the guitar is not good enough, the whole thing would eventually fall apart.
There is always an end block at the back of the guitar and this should be made of a dense wood.
By holding the guitar with the neck pointing to the ground, you should be able to see whether or not an end block exists at the front. If you’re still not sure, loosen the string and place your hand into the sound-hole and feel around, delicately. A good guitar is precision made so you don’t want break anything.
If the salesperson tells you not to do that, then give them back the guitar and go somewhere else. You’re about to spend several hundred dollars on an instrument that will last you decades surely you’re allowed to know what you’re buying and to not get taken for a ride.
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THE NECK
On an acoustic, a neck must be glued on the body. If there is no end block at the front of the guitar, that usually means that the neck is assembled on to the body at the same time as the body is assembled. This might be quicker for the manufacturer, but is not to your advantage.
The body should be assembled separately and the glue should be left to dry for several months before the neck is installed.
Like on an electric, a variety of woods can be used on the neck. The neck should be in two parts: the neck itself and the fingerboard. Sometimes the headstock is a separate piece which is glued on; this shouldn’t affect the sound or quality in any way.
The fingerboard is usually made out of varnished Maple or Rosewood. Some people prefer Maple, others Rosewood. Essentially, Maple is cheaper, but will give you a fingerboard which will almost last forever. The Rosewood will change over time. If you feel the Rosewood fingerboard of a guitar that’s 15 to 20 years old (or more), you’ll notice the wood isn’t quite even anymore.
Constant pressure on it, with your particular style of playing, will change its form. But sometimes this will result in a fingerboard that’s too crooked and must be replaced after 10 years or more.
Finally, the butt of the neck (the part that goes down and joins with the body), should go all the way down to the back for stronger support.
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IN CONCLUSION
All in all, when looking to buy an instrument which will last you most of your life, you should take the time to make sure you’re buying something good and something that you will enjoy in the long run.
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