Laminate or Plywood?

[printer2]

Taylor (and others) make laminated (plywood) guitars cheaper as the middle layer is a less expensive wood and the outside layers are high quality woods that are sliced thin. Taylor's back and sides are manufacture in the East from an article I read and the tooling paid for itself by making millions.

[Willie_D]

Originally Posted by printer2

Taylor (and others) make laminated (plywood) guitars cheaper as the middle layer is a less expensive wood and the outside layers are high quality woods that are sliced thin. Taylor's back and sides are manufacture in the East from an article I read and the tooling paid for itself by making millions.

Are you talking about the layered back and sides? If so, they are manufactured in Tecate, Mexico. Start at 12:24.

[negriljerry]

Originally Posted by tonyg

If the difference between the two are that with plywood the layers alternate the grain direction, whereas with laminate, they run parallel, then are acoustics with "laminate back and sides" (or laminate tops) actually plywood? If so, why do they use the term laminate?

Other than my very pleasant Recording King parlor (#1 camping guitar), my only other "lam" is a Martin 000M. Nazareth built, basic but great sounding, note that they make a point of specifying that the B&S are "two-piece laminated" mahog. It can't match a $2K dread in volume but has purty TONE

But yeah, marketing mainly - although it gets quite murky when you get into things like a paper thin veneer (remember those MIJ Fender Photoflames?), mystery center materials, and the scary scary HPL

[Pura Vida]

Originally Posted by printer2

Taylor (and others) make laminated (plywood) guitars cheaper as the middle layer is a less expensive wood and the outside layers are high quality woods that are sliced thin. Taylor's back and sides are manufacture in the East from an article I read and the tooling paid for itself by making millions.

Originally Posted by Willie_D

Are you talking about the layered back and sides? If so, they are manufactured in Tecate, Mexico. Start at 12:24.

Well, Tacate is a little further east than El Cajon. Although, I'd probably consider it more south.

[bufflehead]

This thread could benefit from a basic bit of linguistic theory.

There's a difference between the denotation of "plywood" and its connotation.

A denotation is a precise, literal definition, such as may be found in a dictionary. The denotation of "plywood," as many have pointed out, will reference its alternating grain pattern. (Check your dictionary and you will undoubtedly get a definition that references this.)

A connotation refers to the array of positive or negative associations that a word might carry with it. The connotation of "plywood," especially as used in this forum, references something substandard, a cheap substitute for solid wood.

"Laminate," as used in this forum, is also a bit sticky. In every guitar I own, the fretboard is laminated to the neck. Many also have a laminated headboard, with a peghead overlay veneer. Yet forum members will disparage laminated necks, such as stratabond necks. Clearly, some lamination of the neck is seen as desirable, even necessary, while other is not. Again, this is where denotation and connotation part ways.

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by printer2

Taylor (and others) make laminated (plywood) guitars cheaper as the middle layer is a less expensive wood and the outside layers are high quality woods that are sliced thin. Taylor's back and sides are manufacture in the East from an article I read and the tooling paid for itself by making millions.

Do you mean the sheets of laminate used to make the back and sides?

[printer2]

Originally Posted by Willie_D

Are you talking about the layered back and sides? If so, they are manufactured in Tecate, Mexico. Start at 12:24.

Yeah, at 14:51 they show the formed sides stacked up with each other. The pictures I saw was of pallets of them for Taylor as an ad from the manufacturer. That was a number of years back, since they were making their own cases I could see them doing the laminates as it is not a lot different, probably the same Poplar in both the cases and guitars.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

Do you mean the sheets of laminate used to make the back and sides?

I think so if I am reading your question right.