I play guitar and am new to ukulele. In the guitar world there is a belief that solid wood is better than laminate because of how it transforms with age.
No one claims that laminates cannot sound good. In fact there are many laminate guitars that sound awesome.
In the ukulele world, it seems the distinction is far more clearcut. Solid wood is considered better sounding than laminate.
I find this counter intuitive. In a uke the soundboard is so much smaller so to my naive mind it should have a lower contribution to the overall sound. According to my reasoning the distinction between a solid top and laminate should be smaller.
What is the truth. How much of a difference does a solid top really make?
No one claims that laminates cannot sound good. In fact there are many laminate guitars that sound awesome.
In the ukulele world, it seems the distinction is far more clearcut. Solid wood is considered better sounding than laminate.
I find this counter intuitive. In a uke the soundboard is so much smaller so to my naive mind it should have a lower contribution to the overall sound. According to my reasoning the distinction between a solid top and laminate should be smaller.
What is the truth. How much of a difference does a solid top really make?