Laminate vs. Laminated

This weekend, I heard someone say, “I can’t believe they used laminate on that guitar.” The inference was that it was cheaply made. It wasn’t one of our guitars and it was priced above $5,000. So, let’s chat about it.

When guitar players hear “laminate,” they think cheap. They’re not entirely wrong. “Laminate” refers to a product. It’s wood and/or other material layered to achieve the desired thickness and stability. Many less expensive guitars use laminate materials. Some are highly figured wood veneers backed by a layered substrate of cheaper wood, composites, and even plastic. It is cheaper than using solid, high quality wood. Some manufacturers use higher quality laminate material for an entire guitar in a “middle lower end” line, or just the back and sides- still using a solid wood top- in “upper lower end” instruments.

Laminate has its benefits- it’s stable and easier to work with. It’s less subject to impacts from temperature and humidity. In many cases, it’s also a bit more durable. For the consumer, it’s cheaper. Does this cheaper alternative to solid wood sound as good as solid wood? No. At least not to my ears, but that’s subjective.

“Laminated” on the other hand refers to the layering process, not a product itself. Although we could get technical and argue that any material, layered and glued, is a laminate, that’s not the industry parlance. High end guitar builders are using laminated sides to achieve the same benefits of laminate- stability, strength, and durability. It’s not the same though. They are using high quality woods, not micro thin veneers, backed by other higher quality woods, to achieve an engineering goal, not a cost savings goal. It takes more time, skill, and money to build laminated sides, not less. 

Does it change the sound? Probably, but I’ve never had the opportunity to hear two identical builds, one with laminated sides and one without, side by side. That doesn’t mean it changes it for the worse either. The bottom line is, there’s a difference between manufacturers using laminate and luthiers laminating their sides. Whether either is right for you, well… is up to you.