Re: Veneer back different than Laminate?
Laminates do come in different qualities. On many cheap instruments (as may be expected) cheap laminates are also used. You may have a very fancy decorative veneer outer, but the core could be soft rubbish. Other makers (including Martin), however, have used high grade, thin slices of (for example) 'real' mahogany bonded together to form backs/sides. It is still a laminate - but not all laminates are equal. Such laminates may have some real advantages in some respects, resistance to cracking, for example. Laminates have got a bit of a bad rep in the instrument world partly because of the association with ultra-cheap 'beginner' guitars and mandolins, but as Bill points out, they can be used to structural and tonal advantage too in some circumstances. I have played some prototype guitars built with laminate back/sides that were really excellent. One was made from 2 layers of striped ebony sandwiched with maple. I think tops are a somewhat different proposition, but even there, there have been some interesting things done... spruce sandwiched with carbon fiber, etc.
Last edited by almeriastrings; Apr-30-2014 at 1:31am.
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