Laminate vs All Solid - with a slight twist...

[hiddenmickey]

I would like to know what you guys and gals think about this:

All things being equal and in this case I am comparing a Yamaha CSF3M and a CSF1M. The CSF1M is a lightly built solid top with laminate back and sides. The guitar sounds quite “alive” and very good. The CSF3M is all solid and seems to be a bit overbuilt by comparison. It also sounds very good, but is more subdued. Both guitars are new.

I can only keep one and I am partial to all solid guitars. However, I typically buy used so I am not an expert in whether or not a new all solid guitar will open up or not.

So in this situation, do you take the laminate or the solid?

[cmac]

It's a musical instrument, not a piece of furniture. Buy the one that sounds best to you and forget about how it's put together

[DukeX]

I take the one I like the best. I don't count on guitars opening up.

[LeftIsRight!]

Tons of good guitars from both sides. Follow your ears!

it is generally understood that all solid wood guitars “age”, and many people really like the changes this produces in tone. A laminate guitar might be more predictable in terms of the tone it produces over time. What you hear now is probably what you’ll hear 10 years later with wood laminates.

It all boils down to personal preference.

[vindibona1]

Predicting if or how a guitar will "open up" isn't something that anyone can do. Every guitar is built differently. Some guitars have a transformation. Some have only modest differences after being played in. A Tonerite can help, but you can't tell how much until a couple hundred hours of it.

Playing the guitars side by side might not be helping you either. The effect of pscho-sensory adaptation kicks in and how you feel about one or the other can be drastically affected by which one you pick up first. Your ear adapts to its surroundings just like our bodies adapt to temperatures after a bit of exposure.

Also, every guitar will have it's own personality. If you like the idea of the solid wood, perhaps you should play a few of the same model and not just settle on this specific guitar or the other. However, laminate by itself shouldn't be a deal breakers but again the sound is the only thing that matters, but it probably wouldn't open up as much as a solid guitar.

This probably isn't any help, but perhaps it provides some perspective. Good luck.

[catfish]

Originally Posted by LeftIsRight!

A laminate guitar might be more predictable in terms of the tone it produces over time. What you hear now is probably what you’ll hear 10 years later with wood laminates.

OP mentioned a laminate guitar with solid top. Surely, the top will age and the guitar can improve in tone. The all-laminate guitars probably will sound the same 10 years later, and even decline in tone in treble dpt.

[perttime]

Get the one that you like better now.
The one with laminate back and sides is not getting worse. It might improve a little. The all solid might get better than it is now - but you cannot know if it will get as good as the other one.

[LeftIsRight!]

Originally Posted by catfish

OP mentioned a laminate guitar with solid top. Surely, the top will age and the guitar can improve in tone. The all-laminate guitars probably will sound the same 10 years later, and even decline in tone in treble dpt.

Good point!

I still think that a wood top with the rest being laminate might have the predictability factor. But like anything acoustic related, the type of wood and bracing play an important role.

[brad2001]

Of the guitars I've sold or traded away, I always had a good friend of mine play them for me to listen to so I could just listen, not feel. It seemed to help me decide which went and which stayed.

Gibson Dove
67 Fender Coronado II mod

[robj144]

I agree... buy the one you like now.

Or... buy both and sell the one you least like in a year or two. Surprise no one has mentioned this solution.

[stringjunky]

Buy the one that sounds good now.

[Ember]

I definitely think you'd opt for the one that sounds good now, let's be real here, the topic of "opening up" has a lot of mixed opinions:

Some people believe a guitar will open up and it can have a dramatic or subtle impact (on tone, sustain and volume).

Some people believe it happens on a case-by-case basis, your guitar may never open up or it may never open up within your lifetime.

And others believe that guitars don't open up at all and that it's simply a change in player skill and perception.

So don't rely on a guitar opening up to make your choice, the "opening up" topic is too unreliable in whether it happens and to what extent that it happens, but a guitar that sounds good to you now is definitely something you can rely on.

[bufflehead]

If it doesn't sing to you now, don't bank on it singing to you later.

[Fred]

Most "sound" comes from the top. It always will. A solid top is a good thing. Let your ears decide at this point. (I think they already have.)

[TBman]

You have to buy the one that sounds good now. If the all solid doesn't sound better it shouldn't be bought. I would try different items of the same model.