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Which one would you marry?
I've had both, sold the semi and still have a Les Paul though I don't use it much as I prefer my PRS and Fenders for the music I'm playing right now. My Les Paul is probably the best sounding guitar I've had in standard tuning but I don't have much use for it in drop B which is what I currently tune to for my band.
Personally I've never really enjoyed playing semis. They just feel a little too lightweight and delicate to me, but them I'm very heavy handed and don't really take that much care of my guitars when I'm playing them.
I'd follow standard tFB form and try them both then send one back within 14 days
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
straight quartersawn grain is usually stiffer than erratic knotty grain. Stiffer bodies and necks respond differently to flexible ones.
that goes out the window with thin laminates on a 335, but number and thickness of laminates and whether any are cross grained can have an affect... I don’t do enough with semis to be sure but vaguely remember there being a big difference in the lamibated structure of proper semi’s and cheap copies
i avoid the L word
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Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
If you took a room full of CS336's, there will be no correlation between great tone and the prettiest grain. If there is, it will be purely coincidental.
Equally, if you had a room full of Les Paul Junior's, the ones with the best grain pattern in the wood, will not necessarily sound the best.
you will notice I don’t slways build with perfectly straight quartersawn wood. I also think this is less important in bodies than necks, but should still be considered when building
with bodies, necks and fretboards I thoroughly believe boring wood is better than pretty wood, but that means I actually find boring grain quite pretty.
if we where to look at the violin family there are strong srguments for figured wood sounding different to comparable Unfigured wood. I don’t think this can be applied to solids or semis as any change in stiffness is reduced as soon as it’s stuck to another piece of wood
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- straight quartersawn grain is usually stiffer than erratic knotty grain.
- stiffer wood with straight quartersawn grain vibrates more efficiently
as a whole instrument. This gives a more direct attack and yes, longer
sustain
... I hope this allows me to conclude that for a non-laminated instrument, if the grain is not erratic or knotty (ie is regular and even) then you will get more attack and more sustain. Not quite the same thing as "tone", because the latter implies a particular mix of frequencies that some might prefer over a different mix, but in my opinion a subjectively "better" sound. I think that's what I was trying to get at originally, but not saying it very well. With, of course, the caveat that a lot of guitars are built from several bits of wood stuck together and so any differences in stiffness make less difference to the sound of the instrument.OTOH you could also try replacing all the electrics and other hardware off a cheap Hondo LP copy with genuine Gibson parts, and then seeing if the guitar sounded as good as the Gibbo. I rather suspect that it might not, hence I feel justified in suggesting that you like the sound of better wood more than the sound of rubbish wood.
I am unqualified to say whether or not Gibson deliberately use rubbish wood on instruments they intend to paint, but it would not surprise me if they used woods with lower quality grain on the instruments where the grain will show. They can't use AAA grade on everything. @CloudNine says it won't make any difference, I still think it might as there does seem to be variability in the perceived sound quality of various Gibson guitars - even in a room full of 336s. This may be due to other factors, but I wouldn't rule out the wood.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
i have the chance to be a bit more scientific about it, I just cut two African mahogany les Paul bodies with quite different grain, their weight and dimensions are identical . But my plan is two very different builds because that interests me far more than trying to prove anything to anyone but myself
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Also, with a solid body, I would suggest that weight and density are a much bigger influence on the tone, than stiffness. Necks, obviously different.
As per my earlier post, you are unlikely to find the best sounding guitar in a line up by looking for 'even grain' etc., whether it be a hollow body, solid, whatever. From my experience, there will be no correlation whatsoever.