When you hear some say an acoustic guitar has a ‘solid top’ they are not saying it is strong or heavy, they are referring to the fact that the top, or “face” of the guitar is made from a single thickness of timber rather than being made from plywood. Is this important? Everything else being equal, yes. Definitely. The top of an acoustic guitar is where the bridge and consequently the strings, are attached and therefore it is the main source of the sound the vibrating strings produce so it makes sense that it is also the most important piece of timber used in making an acoustic guitar. It is a little bit like the speakers in your hi-fi system… while what material the cabinet is made has some bearing on the sound, the ‘speaker’ has the biggest impact.
A solid top on a guitar is much stronger than ply (which can flex in any direction very easily) and produces a richer, louder sound and tone which will typically also be far more even as you play up the fingerboard. Interestingly, like old violins, the tone of a solid top guitar also improve as it ages. There are a lot of theories as to why this happens though nobody knows exactly why.
An introductory level guitar will almost always be made of ply as it is cheaper, easier to work with and you can get more “nice looking” pieces of timber out of every tree so a ‘solid’ top will be somewhat more expensive but that has to be offset by the fact it will last longer and sound better so you are more likely to enjoy playing it. By looking at an acoustic guitar front on, it is very difficult to tell if it is ply or solid and the easiest way to check is to have a close look at the rim inside the sound-hole (see above). If it is ply you can usually see 3 distinct layers of wood whereas if it is solid, you will be able to see the grain flowing all the way through the top.
Have you heard other jargon that you would like explained? Please email Concept at ivegotaquestion@conceptmusic.com.au and we will try to answer it for you in plain English
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