Yes, I know solid wood type matters to the extreme.. obviously. This thread is aimed towards laminated wood.
Ok, so I've been shopping for a Ukulele for my wifes Bday, just got done buying myself a mando a couple months ago. Been piddling around with guitars for years... but I've never really stopped to give laminated wood a whole lot of thought. To me a laminated instrument was pretty but otherwise a low end functional instrument at best.
But I never questioned why price changes with veneer type, and sometime pretty drastically. Why should I pay more for a ukulele laminated in Koa or walnut as opposed to one laminated in mahogany or one thats not laminated at all and painted instead? Is there really any difference in quality or sound? I mean how much difference in tone is a 1/16" thick (or less) veneer going to make?
What type of woods are used under the laminate? Isnt that what really matters? I always assumed it was just some cheap plywood of some sort.
To sum this up with a couple questions, with laminated wood you're buying the appearance and nothing else, correct? The veneer type in no way alters the sound/tone of the instrument, correct? (At least not enough to really notice).
Edit: I'm askingbecause since I have been shopping for a Ukulele, the pricing is really a lot different than guitars or mandolins. Cheaper for the most part.. but also a lot more varying with little reason. For instance a Ukulele I'm considering is the Cordoba 15cm.. pretty little Uke laminated in Mahogany, plays great, sounds great. $99 brand new.Then there are a couple others. Both laminated in Koa, the Luna High Tide and the Fender Nohea.. they are priced at $259(fender) and $269(Luna). All 3 instruments are very pretty, all 3 sound great(differing greatly from each other), and all feel like they'd feel excellent after a good setup. I personally like the fender as the neck shape feels identical to my 79 strat.. only smaller lol. Anyways... just trying to figure out what I'm buying here.
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