Tonewoods are going extinct. So now what?

    Did this super quick this morning, not proper test or anything. But there you go -- can you tell which one is alder and which is mahogany?


    It's a strat vs les paul but with same pickups and pots (they have same scale length but pickups and that aside, just typical strat vs les paul; strat with maple fingerboard). I may make a longer test when I get time for youtube.


    External Content soundcloud.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.


    Playing not as similar between second samples, but whatevs, just to give you an idea.

    I'm sure if I add in some of the woods OP mentions, the differences, if they exist at all, will be super minimal.


    So I don't really worry in regards to certain woods being phased out of productions. Not for tonal reasons at least. Certain materials can sound different unplugged when playing at very low volume and affect some of my playing that way -- but that's about it for me personally.


    Other kinds of differences may bother me (how something feels under the fingers) but that's another story; a ton of materials that can have great results on that end.

    Edited once, last by Dimi84 ().

    Dear all,


    there is a scientific treatise on electric guitars done by a physic professor
    called Manfred Zollner called "Physics of the Electric Guitar".


    Unfortunately it is in German, but because it was done at a polytechnical
    university (in Regensburg, Germany), at least the draft version can be
    downloaded as Physik der Elektrogitarre.


    It is about 1200 pages, the introductory chapter is a parody on musical
    instrument journalism and can effectively be skipped, but the rest is physics
    at its best. Chapter 7 covers the influence of wood on the sound.


    Too bad that this guy doesn't do an English version, but the diagrams
    are themselves impressive.



    Best regards,


    DrTT

    I'll care about the sound properties of woods the day someone call tell me based on a soundclip what wood the guitar was made of consistently.
    And since I don't see that happening any time soon, I just buy what I think looks nice if it's natural/translucent and don't care if it's painted a solid color.

    Quote from Laurens

    I'll care about the sound properties of woods the day someone call tell me based on a soundclip what wood the guitar was made of consistently.
    And since I don't see that happening any time soon, I just buy what I think looks nice if it's natural/translucent and don't care if it's painted a solid color.

    That is a wise decision :)


    Everytime I do a tonewood experiment or similar, many people comes by, and claims they hear a difference...
    Until I make them try a BLINDFOLD TEST and nobody gets it right. :D

    Quote from nakedzen

    5 pages and everything off topic bickering. Well worth making this thread. :D


    Well don't say I didn't warn ya when the customs people take your guitar and burn it. :p

    Well, did you really think using "tonewoods" in the title would bring about anything else? ;)

    I mainly made this thread to spread info and find out more on what it actually means in the future for someone who wants to travel with their guitar that has ebony or rosewood on it.


    Also if the replacement woods are more prone to cracking in northern climates.


    In case anyone missed it, the info is on this post:
    https://www.kemper-amps.com/fo…?postID=393021#post393021


    To reiterate, moving any amount of ebony or rosewood across borders will become illegal in the very near future. (Read: months)

    Well, that's scaring people for no reason, though. There's an exemption of up to 10kg (22 lbs or thereabouts) for international travel.


    And even if that doesn't satisfy, you can get permits for your guitars either way, be it to sell them or just to travel with them. One is a permit proving your guitar was made before the regulation and the other is a permit for guitars made after the regulation.


    It's not a ban, it's not illegal, it's just getting regulated.

    Already posted that bit about the permits (and where to get them from) in #39 (three pages ago). :)


    I didn't know about the weight though, good info. Is that an international standard, EU, USA?


    EDIT: Here's a pretty good and recent write up I found:


    https://reverb.com/news/new-ci…-for-all-rosewood-species