Your knowledge of the parts of the acoustic guitar will help you find a good quality acoustic guitar to buy. Nothing beats the ear for determining the quality of sound from an instrument, but it's difficult to tell the difference in quality between various materials unless you've either heard them compared side by side or you've heard and played both high and low quality instruments many times. You need a basis for comparison, some sort of reference point.
The Many Faces of the Guitar
The soundboard of the guitar is often referred to as the face or the top. The quality of this piece is perhaps the most important factor in determining the sound of the acoustic guitar. The job of the acoustic guitar's top is to amplify the tiny vibration of the strings by transferring it to the hollow interior of the guitar, a resonant cavity called the sound box.
An acoustic guitar top may be solid or laminate. A laminate top is made from thin plies of wood pressed together. Plywood, in other words. It's much cheaper and the sound quality is lower than a solid top. A more expensive guitar will have a solid top and back, and the highest quality instruments are solid wood throughout. Most of the sound, however, is transferred by the top, so that's the most important factor when considering the quality of construction. If you have the cash, by all means go for solid construction throughout, but when quality versus expense is a factor, you may find the best value is in the material of the top.
Types of Wood Used in the Guitar
The type of wood used in the construction of an acoustic guitar also effects the tone and sustain. What's "best" depends on the kind of tone you're looking for. Cedar brings out the brightness of upper registers, and is favored for classical and fingerstyle players. Mahogany and koa boost the midrange when used for the back and sides, adding projection to the top. Walnut is similar to mahogany. Sitka spruce is favored by many for the top. You've just got to use your ears to determine what sort of sound you prefer.
Rosewood is the most common wood for the fretboard. Ebony is a stronger, more dense wood, and preferred by many. It has a very fast, slick feel to it, enhancing playability.
The Guitar's Saddle, Nut, and Pins
I've greatly improved the sound of many a guitar by simply replacing these parts with a better material than the plastic or cheap synthetic that is commonly used. If you can find a guitar made with these superior materials, or whose owner has already made improvements, so much the better. Bone is a higher quality material. Elephant or walrus ivory is even better, though the conservationist in me cringes at the idea. I'm told that the West African hard ivory trade is strictly controlled in order to greatly reduce poaching... but still. An even better material, and without the cringe factor, is fossilized mammoth or walrus ivory.
Replacing the saddle will give you the best sound improvement by far. Replacing the nut is more for durability, and the pins so they match the other parts.
Composite Guitars
It should also be noted that composite materials research has produced some brilliant new materials for guitar construction, and this area will only improve. I have no doubt we'll be creating synthetic materials that meet or exceed all the characteristics of the best natural materials used in the construction of guitars, and at much lower expense. Ovation already produces some very high quality, great sounding guitars made with composite materials.
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