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Right. That’s because manufacturers like to use “tone wood” to make their materials sound cool, as if it were some kind of actual designation — theses kinds of wood are tone wood, and these kind pads aren’t. Guitarists see the phrase “tone wood,” and they figure it must mean something, so they apply whatever definition they think is correct. To you, it means only those species that were traditionally used for guitar building. To others, the definition is different. Some include nontraditional woods that they think could be designated as tone wood.
Because, unlike other woods, tone wood is immortal.
I’d like to hear your perspective/opinion on tonewood but if you’re sick of it that’s fine hahaY'all do you. I don't get it, but whatever does it for you I guess
Ok here goes
My view is that wood is an incredibly inconsistent medium sonically. It's organic, and ultimately as random and unique as anything else living, or once living.
So with that in mind, as long as you're going to buy a guitar that used to be a chunk of a tree somewhere, you gotta realize that it's ultimately unpredictable. Everything about the material and construction of an instrument is going to contribute to how it feels, and with solid hardwood instruments, each one is ultimately going to be unique. You can pick up two copies of the exact same model guitar, made from the same tree, with everything else being the same (hardware, electronics, etc), and one will just have "it", and the other will be lifeless.
Yeah, ultimately when you record two different guitars with the same pickups those differences might fade away, but you're missing so much of the experience of playing a guitar with that. A ton of "tone" comes from how we play (the "fingers" so to speak), and that is very much informed by that feedback loop of feeling the instrument react to your playing. That's something a pickup can never really communicate by itself, it requires the player.
But IMO, that's the beauty of these things: finding a good guitar is like finding a lover. You need one that responds to your touch, that feeds back that same energy. Playing a guitar that matches you is an intensely personal and almost intimate experience, in my opinion. And when you find one that's a good match, it's like finding a good partner. You just know. Millions of little bits of sensory inputs that defy quantification leading to an unmistakeable and undeniable emotional connection.
Because that's all music is: passion.
I can't really comment on these other non-wood material guitars tho, this is just my experience from 30 years plucking various planks of painted wood.
I've seen timber framing. I've seen framing lumber. But I've never seen "framing timber," so I don't know what that is.
My view is that wood is an incredibly inconsistent medium sonically. It's organic, and ultimately as random and unique as anything else living, or once living.
So with that in mind, as long as you're going to buy a guitar that used to be a chunk of a tree somewhere, you gotta realize that it's ultimately unpredictable. Everything about the material and construction of an instrument is going to contribute to how it feels, and with solid hardwood instruments, each one is ultimately going to be unique. You can pick up two copies of the exact same model guitar, made from the same tree, with everything else being the same (hardware, electronics, etc), and one will just have "it", and the other will be lifeless.
Yeah, ultimately when you record two different guitars with the same pickups those differences might fade away, but you're missing so much of the experience of playing a guitar with that. A ton of "tone" comes from how we play (the "fingers" so to speak), and that is very much informed by that feedback loop of feeling the instrument react to your playing. That's something a pickup can never really communicate by itself, it requires the player.
But IMO, that's the beauty of these things: finding a good guitar is like finding a lover. You need one that responds to your touch, that feeds back that same energy. Playing a guitar that matches you is an intensely personal and almost intimate experience, in my opinion. And when you find one that's a good match, it's like finding a good partner. You just know. Millions of little bits of sensory inputs that defy quantification leading to an unmistakeable and undeniable emotional connection.
Because that's all music is: passion.
I can't really comment on these other non-wood material guitars tho, this is just my experience from 30 years plucking various planks of painted wood.