Poplar with spruce top vs mahogany with koa

[MrValentine]

Im looking to build a les paul and i dont care if its set or bolt neck just wondering what the tonal characteristics of the two wood combos would be like...

 

[line6man]

How thick will the laminate top be?
If it's thin, they will sound just like Poplar or Mahogany.

 

[MrValentine]

tops will be the warmoth thickness of 3/4"

 

[DangerousR6]

tops will be the warmoth thickness of 3/4"

Warmoth tops are 1/8th", unless you're talking about a carved top... :dontknow:

 

[bagman67]

tops will be the warmoth thickness of 3/4"

Warmoth tops are 1/8th", unless you're talking about a carved top... :dontknow:

OP said he was interested in doing a Les Paul, which is a much thicker cap - perhaps 3/4", memory is not clear on this and I don't feel like looking it up.

 

[DangerousR6]

tops will be the warmoth thickness of 3/4"

Warmoth tops are 1/8th", unless you're talking about a carved top... :dontknow:

OP said he was interested in doing a Les Paul, which is a much thicker cap - perhaps 3/4", memory is not clear on this and I don't feel like looking it up.

My bad, I missed that... :doh:

 

[MrValentine]

It will be carved top

 

[Cagey]

OP said he was interested in doing a Les Paul, which is a much thicker cap - perhaps 3/4", memory is not clear on this and I don't feel like looking it up.

I just measured one of my VIPs that's still naked and the top is very close to 3/4" at its thickest point, so it's a pretty safe bet that's what they start with.

 

[Orpheo]

mahogany and koa is VERY nice for a les paul. very warm with nice treble detail. its sweet with an edge. especially if you pair it with a canary neck, or purpleheart, padouk or just plain ol maple.

poplar and spruce are both very 'dry' voiced; not pronounced in the highs, lows or mids. the combination will yield a very dull, dry tone. if you're using EMG's, thats just GREAT. but if you want to have something more, it just sucks monkeyballs its just too dry, too dull, too boring to even be worth mentioning. imho.

 

[DangerousR6]

mahogany and koa is VERY nice for a les paul. very warm with nice treble detail. its sweet with an edge. especially if you pair it with a canary neck, or purpleheart, padouk or just plain ol maple.

poplar and spruce are both very 'dry' voiced; not pronounced in the highs, lows or mids. the combination will yield a very dull, dry tone. if you're using EMG's, thats just GREAT. but if you want to have something more, it just sucks monkeyballs its just too dry, too dull, too boring to even be worth mentioning. imho.

Then explain why spruce is so popular in the acoustic guitar realm...? :icon_scratch:

 

[crash]

Koa / Mahogany look better.  That's all that matters :glasses9:

 

[DangerousR6]

Koa / Mahogany look better.  That's all that matters :glasses9:

Koa/Black Korina look even better...

 

[MrValentine]

Looks like ill probably do mahogany and koa unless someone can convince me that spruce and poplar is better

 

[DangerousR6]

I've got nothing to sway you towards spruce/poplar... :dontknow:

 

[Cagey]

Then explain why spruce is so popular in the acoustic guitar realm...? :icon_scratch:

There are a lot of things they do and a lot of things that are true in the acoustic world that mean nothing in the electric world, and it's the source of much dogma and mythology in the electric world. The whole "nitro vs. poly" finish thing has its roots there, as well as most of what you hear about "tone woods", sustain, resonance, etc.

Spruce is a fairly light but stiff wood, so it makes a good sound board. It vibrates in sympathy much more easily than, say, Maple. Not much inertia to it. But, it wouldn't do much for an electric, because it would be nearly 2" thick, while it's only 3/16" or so on an acoustic. When it's thick and heavy, it's difficult to influence it with something so flimsy as a vibrating string .009" in diameter. When it's thin and covers a large expanse, it's easy to make it do your bidding.

 

[Orpheo]

cagey's right. the physics of an acoustic guitar work in a totally different way. in an acoustic you have the sides, top and back that work together to make one box that vibrates under influence of the vibrations of the strings, to create either a warm or bright tone,but always: with volume. and thats where spruce excels. it's like a build-in amplifier for the tone the other woods create.
atleast, in my opinion...

 

[Tipperman]

When it comes to a Les Paul..... Mahogany and Koa is an excellent choice. As Orpheo said (And he knows his Les Pauls... trust me.) Now, I'm not much of an LP guy, but Mahogany/Koa with an exotic woods neck (Something needing no finish) makes me mouth water.