Dumb Question

AC Baltimore

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This will probably sound dumb to some of you gurus.... but being solid body electric guy up until now, I am wondering.

I seen mention somewhere in a thread that lam is actually more durable than solid. Is this so? if yes, then what makes this the case?

Thanx for any and all answers.
 
This will probably sound dumb to some of you gurus.... but being solid body electric guy up until now, I am wondering.

I seen mention somewhere in a thread that lam is actually more durable than solid. Is this so? if yes, then what makes this the case?

Thanx for any and all answers.

Laminates aren't quite as susceptible to climate changes as solid wood ukes. Solid wood expands and contracts more as humidity changes, while laminates, because they're all glued together, don't fall victim as easily to the same cracking that can result from rapid changes in climate.
 
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I had no idea about this either until I bought a nice (solid wood) Martin guitar which ended up being in the repair shop THREE TIMES in a year with a cracked back and loose neck joint. I guess I was used to my old Korean-made Fender acoustic, which has been abused & mistreated for 20 years without so much as a finish nick. Now I keep the delicate Martin properly humidified & taken care of. : )

(I have a Makala soprano which has such a heavy coat of paint I think it could be used as a weapon!)
 
I would have to assume as in general construction, a laminate (plywood) is manufactured so that the grain crosses each other perpindicular making the bonded wood stronger and less likely to crack, warp, swell and/or contract since one layer of wood wanting to move in any direction would be resisted by the other layer(s) wanting to move in the other direction or not at all. It would seem reasonable to believe that a piece of laminate the same thickness as solid wood would be stronger than the solid wood. The vibration qualities (sound) of the laminate would be a different story.
 
Thanx for the answers everyone. I think I better stick with laminate, I am not nearly responsible enough for solids id would seem lol.
 
Thanx for the answers everyone. I think I better stick with laminate, I am not nearly responsible enough for solids id would seem lol.

Just because a laminate is MORE stable, it does not mean that a solid wood is NOT stable, there are different types of bracings and such, check out the thread by wickedwahine11 about her recent KoAloha tour, there pics of a worker standing on one of their ukes.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...-recap-of-my-KoAloha-factory-tour-from-4-8-10
 
Just because a laminate is MORE stable, it does not mean that a solid wood is NOT stable, there are different types of bracings and such, check out the thread by wickedwahine11 about her recent KoAloha tour, there pics of a worker standing on one of their ukes.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...-recap-of-my-KoAloha-factory-tour-from-4-8-10

that is not the kind of stable they are talking about. there is strength and then there is the ability to withstand environmental factors. Engineered wood will always be stronger than solid wood, and less susceptible to changes in temp and humidity. the later is the stability they mean.
 
I took AC Baltimores last post to mean that he did not think he could regulate a humidity level, and was afraid of things like dropping the uke, or possibly sitting on it, and things of that nature. So I was responding to the perceived later, my apologies.
 
I took AC Baltimores last post to mean that he did not think he could regulate a humidity level, and was afraid of things like dropping the uke, or possibly sitting on it, and things of that nature. So I was responding to the perceived later, my apologies.

No need to apologise.. sorry if i sounded snippy.. didn't mean to! :)
 
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