T HE TONE CHECKLIST
“wings” hollow and the center solid. The
result is some of the resonance and over-
tones of a hollowbody, with some of the
focused attack of a solidbody. Semi-hol-
lows have a quite pronounced midrange
punch, with Gibson’s ES-335 remaining
one of the most recognizable guitars in
this category.
Checklist Point #5: Woods
The woods used in an electric guitar create
important differences in tone. The various
woods used in a guitar color the sound by
providing the guitar with its resonant frequency structure; each wood has its own
sonic color and sustain characteristics. We’ll
touch upon the major varieties briefly.
So what body style is right
for you? Ask yourself how
“open” do you want your
guitar to be. How important
are resonance and overtones to you? Some
players want as tight a tone as possible.
Consider how loud will you be playing, and
in what kind of environments – semi-hol-
lows and hollows often wrestle with feed-
back at higher levels, although a young Ted
Nugent famously made this work for him.
Some players fill their hollowbodied gui-
tars with stuffing to control feedback while
keeping the resonance. There’s also the
practical – how much weight do you want
hanging around your neck for prolonged
periods of time?
Mahogany: Mahogany is one of the most
common woods used in electric guitar construction, and for good reason. Mahogany
is a rich sounding wood with a resonant
structure that accentuates the midrange
frequencies. It is a dense, open sounding
wood that vibrates well, becoming more
resonant with age. It also plays well with
other woods (the Les Paul’s mahogany/
maple cap, as an example).
Stacks of rosewood
Maple: High-end frequencies abound wherever maple is used. Not often used as a
body wood due to its weight, it provides a
snappy and bright tone. It is often used as
a neck wood to create more attack and
