How to describe the Sound of a Guitar..

 

This is very difficult, and is the reason I always try to have a potential customer try one of my guitars before they buy one (but of course, I don't insist!). I don't feel that words are very accurate in describing the the tonal "signature" of any guitar. wood, size and shape, the type and gauge of strings, to name a few. The sound qualities of a guitar are much harder to discern and evaluate. In order to accurately describe the characteristics of a guitars sound, you must first be familiar with the nomenclature used to explain the sound qualities of a guitar. An acoustic guitar's sound has many facets. Here is a brief overview of the terminology most often used when discussing a guitar's sound. These explanations are for the most part paraphrasing of the descriptions given by Larry Sandberg in his (must-have) book, "The Acoustic Guitar Guide".

Tone

When you set a string into motion, the string has a fundamental vibration, as well as many smaller vibrations, called overtones. Most guitars share some fundamental tones and overtones. But they each have their own unique combination of fundamental and overtones also. That's what makes guitars sound unique. The woods used for the back and sides of the guitar factor most into the characteristic tone of a guitar.
• Rosewood gives a soulful, darker sound.
• Mahogany is sweeter and softer, as well as rounder and nicely balanced.
• Maple is louder, like rosewood, but has less bass resonance and a more brittle tone.

Volume

Volume is how loud your guitar is. But not just as measured by a decibel meter, but also how loud your guitar "seems". This is directly related to the quality of the top wood and the construction, the top bracing, and the rigidity of the back and sides. Vibration of the soundboard is the secret caused by:
• Heavier strings
• Specific top-woods, like Adirondack spruce
• Scalloped bracing
Of course the size of the body also contributes to the volume, the bigger body, the bigger soundboard.

Presence

Presence is a psychological factor that is very subjective. It is a gauge of how full your guitars sound is. A good measure of presence is how satisfying your guitar sounds when you play it softly. A strong presence means that the tone quality does not deteriorate with less volume. The efficiency of the guitars top plays a large part in the perceived presence.

Balance

Balance is the relationship between the high and low notes in point of fullness and volume. In a balanced guitar, the notes have equal authority throughout the entire range of the instrument. Guitars that are over-balanced toward the bass are called boomy. Flatpickers and folk singers prefer this type of balance. Fingerstyle guitarists might prefer a guitar that is balanced toward the high strings. Balance is usually directly related to the size of the guitar. Balance is also affected by the body woods (Rosewood is boomier than Mahogany and Koa is most balanced to the mids). The size of the soundhole affects the balance (a larger soundhole usually balances the guitar toward the high strings).

Separation

Separation is the ability of an instrument to express simultaneously played notes so that they are perceived distinctly and individually, rather than as a homogeneous whole. In other words, when you strum an open E chord, is what you hear more like one glob of sound or six separate ingredients? An analogy might be to the flavors that make up a fine sauce. Separation is related to the quality of the guitar, as well as the player's individual touch.

Sustain

Sustain is the measure of how long a note keeps sounding after you initiate it. If the sound decays too fast, you have poor sustain. Sustain is directly related to the quality of the guitar. More specifically, it is the vibration of the top that gives you an honest, clean sustain that preserves all the components of the tone throughout its duration.