Lately I’ve been delivering quite a bit of lutherie tuition and I’m often asked what, above all else, makes guitars sound different, and why do some guitars appear to sound better than others? Is it some special, expensive tonewood? The type of strings? Perhaps the instrument was built in a ritualistic fashion according to the waxing and waning of the moon? I’ve heard every ‘secret’ of the sound of the guitar, no matter how bizarre. It’s a timeless debate and a question for which every guitar maker ought to be armed and ready. Naturally, I’m always willing to launch myself into the fray, so here we go.
I’ve always broken down my response to the question of ‘tone’ into three categories. Let’s address these in ascending order of importance. So…
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Guitarist (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2021