is a one piece body better?

phil_b

I understand why a body made of one solid piece of wood is more expensive to manufacture than a 3 piece body as you have less wood waste and you can use smaller ie cheeper cuts.

But in the finished product is a one piece body really any better. I see reviewers looking down their noses at multiple piece bodies

the one advantage I can really think of is that it looks nicer if you have a clear or translucent finish

impmann

There is a school of thought that says that too many grain patterns mean a lack of vibration transfer. This can lead to a dead plank - and a full sounding instrument.

However, equally there are examples of multi-piece bodies that sound great (the inverse is true too - I’ve heard a meh sounding one piece).

The “internet wisdom “ states a single piece is more likely to sound ‘better’, hence deserves a price premium.

Perfect example of this is early to mid 90s US Strat standards - some had multipiece bodies and so therefore they “all” sound rubbish. However, in my experience most of the issue with these is the bridge and the pickups.

YMMV. Always read the label etc etc etc

brooom

no

idiotwindow

impmann said:

Perfect example of this is early to mid 90s US Strat standards - some had multipiece bodies and so therefore they “all” sound rubbish.

I thought virtually all Fender Strats used more than one piece – including CS. Cost aside, isn't it theoretically more stable (or less prone to warping over time) to use more than piece of wood?

Fuengi

I would bet that the difference is extremely marginal if at all. I've got a Mexican Stratocaster that plenty of people commented on how well it rang out. I stripped the poly off expecting a maximum of three pieces and it looked like a butchers block, there are at least seven! 

Still sounds great though! 

markr76

I watched a video once with Paul Gilbert. He got Ibanez to make him one of his signature model guitars out of plywood. Apart from the wood the guitar was built the same as one of his normal ones. He said he couldn’t tell a massive difference in the tone at all. It sustained as well as the others too. 

I’m guessing as long as there’s no joints down the centre of the guitar and the glue joint is done well. There shouldn’t be too much problem. As mentioned earlier. If the paint wasn’t stripped off the guitar you’d be none the wiser. 

I’m guessing when you buy custom shop guitars. The actual quality of the wood is higher than on lower price ones. 

I used to have a Mexican telecaster that cost me £400. I got a lot of comments at gigs that it was the best sounding guitar I had. This was up against a les Paul standard and a prs custom 22 at the time!

ICBM

Better - probably not inherently. Maybe more likely to have a noticeable resonant frequency, but that could be bad as well as good if it conflicts with the resonance of the neck rather than reinforcing it - which is the more important factor in whether an electric guitar sounds ‘resonant’, in my experience.

So I would expect multi-piece bodies to be more consistent, but maybe never produce a truly great-sounding guitar... or a truly bad one.

A more interesting question is whether a two-piece body is better than a three-piece - with a three-piece, all the hardware is mounted on one piece of wood with effectively a couple of ‘wings’ glued onto the sides - with a two-piece, the hardware is mounted on two different pieces of wood. So my expectation is that a three-piece may actually respond more like a one-piece than a two-piece (usually thought more desirable) does.

If any of this matters at all...

Danielsguitars

Can't say I've really noticed anything that different, I use 2 piece limba body's centre joined and I've had superb results, my latest coronet style build is centre joined and limba, I'm expecting it to be bloody good, it's lightweight and very resonant

No one ever complains about fender body's either just weights

As long as it's well joined with suitably matching orientated grain I'll use it 

OilCityPickups

My own personal experience is that number of body pieces makes very much less difference to the tone than all the other accumulated factors: wood density, bridge to body coupling, neck density, pickups, string gauge. My best sounding Tele is a four piece ash one ... I had a one piece alder body on the same guitar ... same neck, hardware and pickups ... and the ash body was much better. I've had LPs with one piece, two piece, and 'pancake' construction ... the best sustaining one was the latter ... go figure. 

LastMantra

I think it's a load of cock. Some are made of multiple pieces by design. Bodies and necks.

ICBM

LastMantra said:

I think it's a load of cock. Some are made of multiple pieces by design. Bodies and necks.

Certainly for some higher-end basses, it’s done purposely to even out any possible resonances which could cause dead spots.

IvisonGuitars

Danielsguitars said:

Can't say I've really noticed anything that different, I use 2 piece limba body's centre joined and I've had superb results, my latest coronet style build is centre joined and limba, I'm expecting it to be bloody good, it's lightweight and very resonant

No one ever complains about fender body's either just weights

As long as it's well joined with suitably matching orientated grain I'll use it 

This.

I’ve used both one and two piece and there’s no noticeable difference. Obviously a one piece looks better under a translucent finish but that’s about it.

Jonathangus

All Les Pauls have at least a two-piece body.  They're not usually known for lacking sustain.

Grumpyrocker

I suspect it's one of those things that makers want you to think makes a difference so they can charge you more. 

Bit like massive thick figured maple tops, when a plain maple top with a veneer of the same figured wood would look and sound exactly the same. 

LastMantra

ICBM said:

LastMantra said:

I think it's a load of cock. Some are made of multiple pieces by design. Bodies and necks.

Certainly for some higher-end basses, it’s done purposely to even out any possible resonances which could cause dead spots.

Wizard necks are multiple aren't they? Sure there are many more. I'd say it's more about stiffness. 

earwighoney

Multi piece necks can look so much cooler than a 1 piece one IMO!

https://shop.gryphonstrings.com/products/c1935-Guitar-Steel-String-Acoustic--Larson-Bros-Maurer-16--41753

Not many here seem to give a shit about acoustics but it's worth having a look nonetheless.

Corvus

Makes no odds really except to visuals with clear or trans finish and price of materials and build. LPs have a thick cap so are kind of 2 pc anyway. Firebirds have 9 pc neck-through plus wings. Modern guitars multi-lam neck through plus wings and body cap are common. No-one really thinks twice about it there.

thegummy

Grumpyrocker said:

I suspect it's one of those things that makers want you to think makes a difference so they can charge you more. 

Bit like massive thick figured maple tops, when a plain maple top with a veneer of the same figured wood would look and sound exactly the same. 

Every variation will be picked up by the "oenophile of guitars" types

GoldenEraGuitars

No. It doesn’t matter to me unless the customer wants a translucent finish. At that point a decent match on a 2 piece (I’ve actually seen some beautifully joined 3 piece bodies) is better to have. Some one piece bodies can be more unsightly than an average 4 piece fender body.

But, tonally there is no difference imo. 

Kittyfrisk

Philly_Q

I doubt it makes any difference at all but I can't deny that, for me, a one-piece body is a selling point.

PRS, for example, always use one-piece mahogany bodies but when they made some korina guitars about 10 years ago most had two- or three-piece bodies due to availability of timber.  I had a two-piece McCarty Korina and a three-piece Mira Korina.  There was nothing wrong with them but, irrationally, it rankled that they weren't one-piece.

I did eventually track down a one-piece McCarty Korina.  Is it any better than the two-piece one?  Nope, but I'm glad I found it.

When it comes to necks, I can totally see the logic of the three-piece neck @FelineGuitars uses.  It's not about looks, it's about stability and stiffness.  But then my first good guitar was a Hamer and they always used three-piece necks, so it's a concept which sunk in early.

(^ And by the way, "Tone Search: the best gear to buy instead of actually learning guitar."  Yes, that is me.)