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just wanna know, can i use softwood, like pine to make a guitar?

i have teak here, but im sorta runing out of it and wanna know what else can i use?

and is there much differances in the sounds or does it make a differance.

im currantly using the teak for the guitar im doing now.

Thanks Alot.

.....Keith :D

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OK Gang...lets not start a tone wood debate :D

Keith, short answer is "Yes", wood selection will affect the sound of a guitar. There are many other aspects that will have a MUCH greater affect on the sound, but the wood does contribute.

I'd shy away from using pine for a body. It's just too soft. You'll have denting issues guaranteed. I've always found pine to be very susceptible to changes in humidity.

When folks ask me if the wood I use makes a difference, the 30 second "layman" explanation that I give is this: A guitars sound is simply the movement of a string that is anchored on both ends. What it's anchored to will affect how long it vibrates (and what parts of that vibration fade away). If you anchored a string between two pieces of Jell-o, you'd expect that the string would "die out" quickly, since the jello is absorbing all the vibration...yet if a string were anchored to two pieces of Marble, you'd expect it to vibrate for a long time. So yes, that the strings are anchored to will make a differance in the sound since the vibrations are going through the string, into the body/neck, then bouncing back to the strings.

Pine is completely infeasible to use it for a neck, but I figured you weren't considering that.

Buy an Alder blank, pretty inexpensive, easy to work with, and produces a great sound.

Hope that helps!

-Ben

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A marble guitar has been made.

I cannot remember the company, but I read about it in Guitar Player.

They had a NAMM report or something, and one of the axes they mentioned had a body of marble. It was a Strat-style, if I remember correctly, and weighed a ton!

It had to be kept on a stand while playing it...

:D

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i beleive it was made by fender, experimental guitar, they where experimenting with different materials and their effect on sustain. needless to say it sustained forever but heavy (very heavy)

I was under the impression that it was granite :D

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well, pine would be ok, just as a body, but wouldnt sustain very well, but would be quite light and dint very easy, am i right in what you were saying?

i dont mind the wood dinting easy, ill just have to take care of it.

but i have a guitar that i am making now out of teak which i pointed out allready, but i am making a design in the wood, and want to inlay a piece of wood in it about 10Cm down in the front of the body, can i use any wood there?

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I havent heard of Brazillian walnut, but most walnut is beautiful and i dont really see a problem, dont quote me though

If i werre you, i seriously would not make a guitar out of pine, i am making one for decoration and it has a tiny warp in it right now, after its been laminated, but hey, if you really really want to, then its your descion, but I would go for Alder or Basswod like already mentioned, or get a bit more money and get alot of Walnut or Cherry, heck Mahogany is nice too!!

Curtis

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hardwood stores are where you get them

use hardwoods in your guitar...it doesn't mean it is hard to work...basswood and alder are no harder to work than pine....they are actually easier because the grain doesn't promote tearout as bad with a router

basswood is a very soft wood...easy to work and makes a good,long lasting guitar body...i prefer alder...but that is just me

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pine can be used, but not normal white wood, you would need to use yellow or pitch pine, preferably pitch pine, as it is both hard and strong enough for a body. i have built my 31 fret geetar out of pine, it sings really well, good acoustic properties, and good sustain!

btw i have also used teak for the fretboard, and laminations etc... beautiful wood! keep pics posted of the teak guitar, i wanna see it!!

Mike

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sugar pine as the first broadcaster design prototypes andd the first ones sold were made of it.. and actually if you make a lespaul out of it, its quite nice..

there is some draw back on the sustain, but just enough to hardly notice. plus as its so much lighter i love it and wouldnt' trade it for the world [ok ok i did trade it for soemthing less than the world but i am trying to get it back.] but the neck is still mahogany.

but wes is right for the amount of crap you ahve to put up with pine isn't worth the effort to me.. i built one of the old gibson m3's some time ago out of alder and used the same for the neck, and it cut like buttah compared to having to stop and start the saw cause the pine was getting shreded..

theres a guy who does strat bodys i have been told some time ago off a popular template system and made them from sugar pine.. and they sound fantastic. once it was painted you coudlnt' tell the difference till you pickedit up and felt how light it is.

still though give me a mahogany body jem with a maple neck ebony board and 26& 1/8 inch scale and i am happy.

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Yeah Thats Sounds cool actually.

But, could i made a guitar neck out of Teak? Just a Question?

I dunno if i could make a Fretboard out of it.

Ill Post some pics of it Later But i wanna get to work on it. :D

Pine Yeah Could be ok, but Does Pine Not have alot of knots in the wood, or does that make a difernace?

Thanks Keith

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