Depth of Field

This is another one of those posts where I tell you what I have been wrong about for all these years. This time, it’s about guitars.

I presently own four guitars, and one guitar-shaped object (I’m really being unfair to the last one, and the reason may become apparent below).

So,

WHY DO YOU OWN SO MANY FRICKIN GUITARS‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽

…I hear you shout/question. That last symbol is an interrobang.

Well.

I used to believe that everyone in the world needed no more than three guitars. One classical or otherwise nylon-strung; one electric; and one steel-string.

When I lived in Dinkytown, I had three guitars. An Ovation Country Artist, an Ibanez Musician electric, and a Martin steel-string. Everything I needed.

When I left for grad school, I shed the Ovation and the Ibanez, and the little Martin (which should be well-known to you by now as “Sam,”) became my one and only. Other guitars came and went, but Sam has always been my go-to instrument.

Over the past few years, he’s been joined by what I think will be my stable set of instruments until they’re pried from my cold, dead hands. Rosie, my Frankenstein’s monster electric. Tom (I think that’s his name) my semi-classical Takamine. And finally, most recently, Gil, the Guild F30.

My guitar-shaped object is a genuine made-in-Spain classical, given to me by a friend, that–alas–spent much of its life in a damp basement and, because of that, has suffered neck damage that really needs an expen$ive repair. Some day, maybe. Then it will have a name, too, I hope.

Anyway. Today’s post is about depth. And tone.

So why do I need two steel-string guitars, anyway?

Well, there are some differences in construction. Gil is a bit bigger than Sam. His scale length is longer (by 1/2″ or so). He’s built much more heavily (though I haven’t measure, I would guesstimate that Gil’s top is probably almost twice as thick as Sam’s). There’s different bracing inside. They’re also slightly different in age, Sam being built in Nazareth, PA, in about 1972-3, and Gil in Westerly, RI in 1979.

Both are built out of solid woods (mahogany and spruce). They even have the same sort of trim around the body and soundhole and the same kind of position markings. That they both have “tortoiseshell” pick guards is kind of a nice accident of history (I replaced Sam’s black one a few years ago; Gil’s is original).

The big difference is their depth. Take a look:

On the left is Sam. On the right is Gil. Photos taken from about the same distance from the camera.

What I want you to notice is that Gil’s sound box–his body–is significantly deeper front to back than Sam’s. And, honestly, I think that makes all the difference.

For years, I’ve noticed that classical guitars, which are about the same size as Sam, but which have deeper bodies, are more resonant at lower frequencies (There is a lot of hoo-hah out there about various guitar sizes. I was hoping to find a link that compared classical guitars with Martin 00s, but it doesn’t exist, so you’ll have to take my word for it). They ring, while Sam’s tone at the low end is more of a thump. It’s there, but it doesn’t ring. Which is fine. Gil’s bass notes ring. Sam is more balanced across all notes; Gil is best on the highs and the lows, and less good at the balanced middle.

I love Sam, and I love Gil. They’re both acoustic guitars, but they’re as different from one another as an electric and a classical. Same notes, different tone.

Anyway, so there’s your answer about why I have so many guitars. Because, in the long run,