[brokentoes]

I think everything makes a difference in what makes a guitar sound the way it does, the shape, the woods used, bridge, bracing etc.. I don't claim to know how much each part plays in making it sound the way it does. Some guitars don't sound good to me at all, but i'm almost 50 and to think that i hear perfectly anymore would be just fooling myself. I'd love to see the scientific breakdown on what % of each part of a guitar lends itself to the overall tone.

You can usually tell if a guitar uses laminated construction by looking at the grain, the top is the easiest because you can follow it into the soundhole edges if it is a solid top. With the back and sides its a little more difficult, you need to look for defining marks on the outside and see if they are also match up on the inside (flashlight required). Generally you can find the specs of a guitar online which makes things easier. If the specs do not iclude the word "solid" before the wood used then it is generally laminated.

Well advantages and disadvantages are kinda still in the eye/ear of the beholder. I'd say the biggest deal would be price, all solid wood guitars tend to be more expensive than their laminated brethren, but then some people are pleased to be able to say I spent $5000 on my Martin etc. and some people are pleased to say i spent $80 on my used Yamaha etc.

 

[High/Deaf]

Here's some total thread derail (kind of) questions - how does one tell if a guitar uses laminate construction? What are the disadvantages or advantages outside of "tonal characteristics" of solid vrs laminate construction?
Does it really matter if one hasn't played enough guitars? What is enough?

As @brokentoes said, the top can be evaluated by looking at the sound hole. You should be able to see solid grain marks top surface to underside. Or you may see a wood sandwich. If the back and sides were laminated and they didn't have a hole drilled through them, I couldn't tell. Perhaps matching grain patterns but even that is a bit iffy, I think.

Laminate woods tend to not ring like solid woods - laminates being a composite of woods and glue. But laminates can also be made to sound good and be stronger than solid woods, such as this guitar Signature Series - Jon Gomm . Gomm does a lot of percussive beating/scraping on his guitar top and this is what George came up with for his sig guitar. And George knows a bit about tone! That guitar probably sounds better than 80% of the all solid guitars out there.

Here's a utube of him with Wilma, his poor old O32C - they guitar that spawned the sig model.

 

[Guncho]

In my experience all solid wood guitars sound more open and balanced eq wise than guitars with laminate back and sides.

Like a lower end bookshelf speaker vs a nice studio monitor.

 

[brokentoes]

I'm kinda interested what models of Takamine guitars you have found to be not to spec High/Deaf ? Very uncool to spec one thing and deliver another.

 

[LanceT]

My Takamine is a model 340 SD, manufactured in '79, which is not listed on the Takamine site. A bit of an orphan perhaps? I have yet to determine it's construction but ultimately I don't much care.
Every time I play, it reminds me of it's lovely mellow and rich tones.

 

[brokentoes]

There's no letters before the 340 SD at all LanceT ?? No "F" or "EF" ??

 

[High/Deaf]

I'm kinda interested what models of Takamine guitars you have found to be not to spec High/Deaf ? Very uncool to spec one thing and deliver another.

It's nothing I've experienced, just something I've read. On the internet so it must be fact! Either TGP or AGF. Someone wore a hole into a top they understood was solid wood and found out it was laminate (which I always thought you could see by looking at the edges of the soundhole). Feathers flew, people got worked up.

I have an EF-360SC and I know it's electric (E), made in Japan (F), RW dreadnaught (360), has a solid top (S) and a cutaway (C). The wooden edges of the soundhole make it look solid and I ain't scratching a hole in it to check any further. It works for what I need it for. Love the tuner in the preamp, one of the best acoustic tuners I've used in noisy environments.

 

[LanceT]

There's no letters before the 340 SD at all LanceT ?? No "F" or "EF" ??

Sorry yes, there is an F. I missed that part so full model no. is an F340-SD.

 

[brokentoes]

Hey LanceT. Well If i'm not mistaken, (and i could be) Taks of that era with a "S" after the model number referred to a solid top. Looking at the archive the F340's used either solid spruce or lam Spruce with lam mahogany. I'm not sure what SD could mean, solid top dread ?? Do the back and sides look to be mahogany ?? Perhaps if it is another wood it could be the letter designation for the deviation from the normal model. Sorry i cant be more help.

High/Deaf that is very interesting to hear, even when taken with a dose of internet salt. I'll have to look for that thread. I know that to the Japanese people honour still means quite a bit in their lives and work so i would be very interested to see if any of this was true. I looked carefully at mine and see no deception but i'm far from a luthier and like you am not going to be boring any extra holes into any of my guitars.