laminate or carved ?

[greywolf]

This is on of those questions that gets asked , I now have some first hand experience .
Most semi hollow guitars these days (and for a long time) have featured laminated tops , The Gibson ES family and Gretsch 6120 / 6122 / Falcons to name a few of the more common examples.  I've had an ES 339 for about a year , and have always loved it's sound and versatility. I just picked up a cherry flame Gibson CS 356  , from the outside the two look like twins (except for the flame)  and there it stops.

The CS 356 is made from a billet of mahogany just like a Les Paul and has the same neck as an LP Custom . The difference both acoustically and electrically is significant despite the 339 having the same pickups and same "relative" construction .  The 356 sounds like a good acoustic unplugged and the wonderful resonance carries through when plugged in .

For all who are looking into semi hollows , I'd give a listen to the few that have carved tops .. they are worth looking for . and For those who are building , this is the ticket sonically .

 

[tylereot]

Interesting comparison!  I would have thought the construction of the 335 would give you more acoustic volume, with more resonant surfaces and internal air volume than the 356.
Carving the sides and back out of a single piece of mahogany isn't going to get a load of resonance (like an archtop) out of the sides and back.
Maybe it's just using a good slice of wood for the top, carving it instead of laminating it, that does it.
That's encouraging, as I'd really like to do a "jazz fusion" focused ax, large body with a routed out semi-hollow mahogany back, and probably a flame maple top.

 

[Cagey]

Has anyone ever taken a piece of plywood and knocked on it, then taken a piece of some solid wood of the same dimensions and knocked on it? The plywood will sound deader'n butt mud hitting a hole in the dirt. It's like knocking on piece of wet cardboard. Laminates are like that. Why do you suppose the best acoustics use solid tops (usually spruce)? Why do you suppose the best electric bodies are one-piece, or at most two?

Laminations are tone killers. You'll never see a Martin or Taylor acoustic with a laminated top. They know better. But, on electrics, all bets are off. You're not sensing the body, you're sensing the strings. Big difference. Huge. If you hear a difference that seems to contradict that reality, It's highly unlikely to be the body wood/construction. It's the neck/pickups/bridge.

 

[greywolf]

Amen ..  Taylor does by the way make  few laminated tops  ( Baby , GS Mini)  .

The mahagony is routed to similar thickness as the ES , there is no kerfing inside as it doesn't need it .

It is an archtop , and it does play beautifully unplugged .  The ES  acoustically is a bit boxy / tinny sounding , although warms up nicely when plugged in . 

The top on the 356 is easily twice as thick .  So far no feedback issues , and suprisingly handles high gain better and more controlably than the laminated ES .  That was a bit surprising as the laminates are supposed to be better.
I think it has to due with the overall mass being greater.


I have 2 on the bench that will be using the 356 as a model , one with a lacewood / maple body and one with mahagany / koa ... should be interesting to see how close I can get .

 

[tylereot]

Keep us posted on those builds, too, please.