Body types

[Galaxy_Stranger]

What's the difference between a "normal" body and a "single piece" body?

 

[tfarny]

Most of the bodies are made of two pieces of wood glued together. Some are made of three pieces. This is A1 standard practice; I once counted a seven piece mahogany Les Paul Special. If you sand down an American Fender, it's probably made of three pieces. It's pretty much just about the looks, though some OCD types will claim otherwise. Warmoth does an amazing job of matching the grain,it's often really hard to spot the center glue line at all. In the olden days, one piece construction was much more common (they had more and bigger trees), which by itself is probably a reason some people want it.

 

[m4rk0]

Usually a 3 piece is preferred over a 2 piece.
apparently it is better to have the neck pocket, pickups and bridge all on one piece of wood.

 

[Wyliee]

Usually a 3 piece is preferred over a 2 piece.
apparently it is better to have the neck pocket, pickups and bridge all on one piece of wood.

I've heard customers say that on many instances, but I've never found absolute proof that is true.  IIRC, the EJ strat is specifically 2 piece.  Many vintage Fender products are 3 - 5 piece, particularly anything with a solid finish.

 

[Rick]

there may be a point of no return on the number of slices, but I've seen up to seven with no ill effects on tone.  Personally, I like matched three slab guitars.  It's just a matter of personal taste.

 

[m4rk0]

Usually a 3 piece is preferred over a 2 piece.
apparently it is better to have the neck pocket, pickups and bridge all on one piece of wood.

I've heard customers say that on many instances, but I've never found absolute proof that is true.  IIRC, the EJ strat is specifically 2 piece.  Many vintage Fender products are 3 - 5 piece, particularly anything with a solid finish.

haha. it was actually one of the Warmoth Sales reps who made me aware of this theory

 

[taez555]

Personally for me, it's just a peace of mind.  I got a one piece body for my warmoth, and I heard all the arguements about how their is absolutely no difference and that it's a waste of money, etc, etc.  Then of course there's the 3 piece vs the 2 piece body agruement.    In the end I figured might as well avoid any second guessing and just get a single piece of wood.  Even if it's just mental, I like knowing there isn't any glue getting in the way of the sound.      Of course, there is that whole maple top thing.

 

[Rick]

A nice configuration is a three piece slab end and back matched with book matched two piece top. 

 

[dbw]

I have 3 Warmoth bodies; one of them is a 4-piece korina strat, one is a 2-piece poplar strat, and the other is my 1-piece mahogany LP.  The difference is totally aesthetic, and if you put an opaque finish on it there's no difference whatsoever.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I talked with a guy at show who winds pickups for a living.  He owns a Warmoth by the way, but that's not the point to this story.  Anywho, he swears that a 2 piece body with the seam in the center of the body sustains better than a 1 piece body.  We did agree sustain on a decently built guitar isn't an issue, but his statement was more or less fodder for gearheads.  Here is his reasoning.  If you've ever taken woodshop and glued a joint, it is impossible to break it at the joint.  It will break on either side, but not on the joint.  It's because it stronger and more solid.  So, if sustain is a selling point, consider not the wood, but the glue.

 

[AToE]

Any laminations should in theory stiffen the body/neck and as such increase sustain - whether or not this is audible? Hard to say, maybe one of us should buy a one peice body - set it up and record it in a very controled situation, then saw it in half, glue it back together, reassemble and re-record, then compare the recordings, both by ear and with measurement programs. That would be the way to really find out.

Of course, I'm much too lazy for that! :laughing7:

Also, there's no reason to think that glue would necessarily impede the transmission of vibration, if the glue is denser than the wood it should actually transmit vibrations better (though it might only do so for high freq), and again, would it be audible?

I have a 1 peice mahogany strat, and it sounds like nothing you've ever heard... I'd be pretty hesitant to lay that on the one peice construction though!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

It seems sustain is the one thing that players want more of, only because we're supposed to.  I've had some guitars sustain better than others, but none we're terrible.  There are known things that increase sustain such as scale length and string gauge.  If someone had a 24 3/4" guitar with .008s on it and complained of lack of sustain, well, what can I say?  I dunno, sorry for the hijack, but gear, body construction, hardware, none of that stuff changes the fact I still have to play my instrument.

 

[WezV]

honestly, i reckon you are going to get more variety in tone from two woods of the same species than you are  between a 1-2 piece body.

wood naturally varies a lot anyway so focusing on small details like this seems odd to me.  I would rather have a 3 peice body made from wood hand selected by me for its great donk tone than i would a 1 piece body made from a piece of wood that just happens to have the right name attached to it

put a solid coat of paint on and i bet even EJ struggles to hear the difference

when i first started guitar building i got told that a 1 piece body was a bad idea because a one piece is more likely to warp, it was even suggested to me that i should slice a 1 piece body blank in half and flip 1 piece over to prevent it happening.  i am glad i ignored that advice. i have (quite rarely) seen some old guitars that have slightly warped but none so bad they were unplayable

anyway, i pick wood for tone first... although i am happy when i come across a 1-piece blank that i think will make a nice sounding guitar.  like this one piece quartersawn mahogany blank i have in at the moment.  the tree must have been massive which make me feel a bit guilty

we need a picture of the carl thompson rainbow bass