Advantage of Carved Top vs Laminate

[icr]

4 Laminate and 2 carved. None of the models I have were ever offered with a choice of carved or laminate though, so I have never been able to choose one over the other.

[FredH]

I have always liked the sound and feel of my 89 ES175. For years, it was my go to instrument. I have multiple carved archtops as well and I enjoy them as much as I do my 175. It's really an apples vs oranges thing. I even have a 1959 Harmony H65 that I will use on occasion. It probably is my coolest guitar and with flat wounds, it reminds me of a 1950s jazz box.

I tend to play the carved tops more these days, depending on the gig. If I am playing with an ensemble, my Wes Mo is the weapon of choice because of the way it projects. Solo or smaller gigs, e.g. with a vocalist, I tend to use my Johnny Smith because it better facilitates finger style playing. I just recorded a piece for an Easter Week service with the Johnny Smith and it worked really well.

Over the years, and like many on this forum, I have managed to acquire some really nice guitars that have brought much joy into my life. Each one has it's own character and reflects each stage of my journey as a musician.

[Greentone]

Fred H has a good point. I used to use a vintage ES-175 as my chief guitar for piano quartet gigs. Amazing guitar at any volume. For big band, "chonk chonk" stuff I used a blonde, fully acoustic Gretsch--strictly an homage to Mr. Green. Backing a singer, though, I would use my carved-body guitar with floating pickup and 1-3/4" wide fingerboard. Different gigs/different rigs.

Now, however, I tend to simplify the equation: Is the gig one where the audience expects things to look really jazzy? (I take my 17" laminate-body Matsumoku.) If the audience is just enjoying each other's company, I take a Strat or a Tele.

It all works, in the end.

[jads57]

There are many variations with each. I think most of us plug in our carved tops as well. I like the heavier built instruments in the Gibson style best. The newer Benedetto or Eastman instruments tend to feedback since they are thinner plates. Of course I'm referring to carved tops mostly.

Laminates are a different story. My old Benedetto Bambino was probably the best at both worlds overall. It could be played with overdrive at very loud volumes and sounded equally good as 175 type of tone. So it was the happy marriage of both. Acoustically it wasn't near a real carved top.
I'm so sorry I sold it!

[Woody Sound]

OP here. In this new "shelter" environment, I've just been enjoying the tonal nuances and huge dynamic range of the carved archtop much more than the lam. Especially when not plugged in of course. But even when plugged in at reasonably low vols. I've been married for over 30 yrs to an accomplished concert violinist, and I've had the wonderful opportunity to listen to many fabulous violinists in our home, from concert soloists to students on student instruments. And I'm really appreciating the difference. Just getting to be my preference.

I understand they're different animals. I'm just starting to drift strongly into the solid carved tone area.

[wzpgsr]

A few months ago I stumbled into a stupidly good deal on a well-played Hofner Chancellor, which is solid wood everywhere: rims, up top, and in the back. It was not designed to be an acoustic cannon, and to my ear, and because of the way I play, is reminiscent of a mid-50s Gibson laminate but with a little compressed shine on the high end. I was expecting a one-trick pony, but it responds well to volume and tone knob adjustments and is way more versatile than I thought it would be. I still like my ES-125, but haven’t touched it in a while.

[jaymen]

When it comes to arch-tops, there are so many variations that no single one is best for everything. It has been said the archtop guitar is the most versatile of all guitars and I would tend to agree because they cover a huge range of sound depending on how they are set-up.

A good carved top with round wound strings can rival a dreadnought, and not get as boomy on fast single note runs. You can go from Maybelle Carter to Freddy Green, or Eddy Lang, a huge range of sounds and styles. Projection and power are great with a good archie, nothing else comes close.

Laminated, or non-carved tops (pressed ) can also sound great, but are the exception not the rule for most of them......but even Silvertone and Kay screwed up and made an occasional good sounding one by accident!

For amplified use, the heavier archtops are best if you are playing really loud. I have seen guys stuff fiberglass insulation inside archtops , or tape the sound holes closed to control feedback. The ES-175 and 335 series have very little up-plugged volume but are monsters plugged into a good tube amp. For stage work, many guys opt to use a laminated guitar as it can take abuse and if it gets damaged or stolen in transit, it can be replaced easily. My carved tops stay at home.

What this all says is archtops are so versatile that you need an acoustic, acoustic/electric, electric, and semi-hollow electric to fully explore and enjoy all the aspects of them. I have one of each, and love them all.

[jaymen]

When it comes to arch-tops, there are so many variations that no single one is best for everything. It has been said the archtop guitar is the most versatile of all guitars and I would tend to agree because they cover a huge range of sound depending on how they are set-up, and played.

A good carved top with round wound strings can rival a dreadnought, and not get as boomy on fast single note runs. You can go from Maybelle Carter to Freddy Green, or Eddy Lang, a huge range of sounds and styles. Projection and power are great with a good archie, nothing else comes close.

Laminated, or non-carved tops (pressed ) can also sound great, but those are the exceptions not the rule for most of them......but even Silvertone and Kay screwed up and made an occasional good sounding budget archtop by accident!

For amplified use, the heavier archtops are best if you are playing really loud. I have seen guys stuff fiberglass insulation inside archtops , or tape the sound holes closed to control feedback. The ES-175 and 335 series have very little up-plugged volume but are monsters plugged into a good tube amp. If I had a carved top on stage, it would never sit on a stand because if it got knocked over...... For stage work, many guys opt to use a laminated guitar as it can handle the volume, take abuse, and if it gets damaged or stolen in transit, it can be replaced easily. My carved tops stay at home.

What this all says is archtops are so versatile that you need an acoustic, acoustic/electric, a semi-hollow electric versions, either solid and/or laminate in order to fully explore and enjoy all the aspects of them. I have one of each, and love them all. Easy to work on and re adjust when trying different types of strings and gauges, the archtop is capable of a wide range of tone and volume.

[Sparky]

Hi, I'm a New member, although I am an "Old" guy.

I have been researching what people think of Electric Solid Archtops vs. Laminated-tops. I agree with most of what I read that solid-carved tops have the superior tone quality when played as acoustic guitars without amplification. After all, I grew up in the 1960's playing my dad's 1956 Martin flat-top acoustic. It still plays beautifully. From my background as a retired engineer I surmised that glued laminations of the Laminated top would consistently suppress almost all of the string frequencies equally, and maybe give a duller sound. I propose that the solid tops only absorb and suppress selected frequencies based upon the differing bout dimensions, brace spacing, and wood-grain spacing, thus giving a richer and more interesting tone. Just my thoughts. I have not tried to prove that idea. The absorption could differ between two different selected pieces of wood. However, the issue of Feedback when using amplified electric pickups is less of a problem when using a Laminated Top. Because of the difference in cost, I bought my first Full-Hollow Jazz guitar about 25 years ago. It is a Blonde Washburn J6 Montgomery model with a laminated top. It is a beautiful looking and sounding guitar. Read on...

I found that when I put down the Strat, and played a few jazz tunes, e.g. George Benson, with my rock band that the Washburn, too, would feedback at stage volumes. there was a loud feedback resonance for a few notes around 146 Hz, or D on the 5th string. I got by with stuffing socks inside the F-holes, but that does not work too well. Later I bought a BOSS 7-band Equalizer Pedal and cut the response 6db at 200 Hz. This solved the problem pretty well. I hope that this information is helpful for some of our members. Cheers!