The wood from which the body, deck or neck of the guitar is made is a fundamental factor for the high-quality sound of the instrument. The tree from which the guitars are made is conventionally of three types: soft, medium and hard.
The NATO tree is a type of mahogany. Only this breed is one of the cheapest and most affordable mahogany. That is why most often you can buy a guitar, which will at least partially be made of NATO. Now we’ll try to talk about what it is - a NATO tree, and also find out whether it is suitable for all the constituent parts and types of guitars.
Why are guitars made of wood?
If we are talking about an electric guitar, many people believe that when extracting sound, the main role is played by sounds and strings, but this is not entirely true. The fact is that the wood from which the body for the guitar and its fingerboard is made comes into interaction with the aforementioned “iron”. Thus, the level of rigidity, the ability to resonate the tree with the strings from which the instrument is created, affect the quality of sound extraction.
As for the NATO tree, then it is suitable for guitarists who lead rhythm parts, and quite tough, because NATO is a breed of "heavy".
Wood in classics and acoustics
It is clear that it is impossible to play on an unconnected electric guitar: sound will not be output to the speakers. The sound will resemble a rather pathetic squeak.
But acoustics or classics sound great without pickups, without piezo sensors (pickups are not suitable for a classical guitar because its strings are made of nylon, which is a dielectric). In this case, wood plays an even more important role.
Mainly from mahogany, which means from NATO wood in particular, rear decks and guitar shells are made.
What other materials are used to make rear decks
High-quality expensive guitars are assembled from rosewood. This is one of the best materials for rear decks. It is believed that a quality, expensive rosewood is Brazilian or Indian. Keep this in mind when choosing a tool.
What other tree is used to make guitars
If we are talking about a classical guitar, then either spruce or cedar are mainly used for the top deck. Despite the resinous nature of these species, they give a deep sound due to exposure of the wood before manufacture for about 8 years.
Pads in classics and acoustics should be very tough, so they are made of ebony or rosewood. The NATO tree is never used for these purposes.
Artificial materials
Now many cheap guitars are made of plywood, laminate, etc. No need to think that the instrument will sound like a "shovel". If you take care of the guitar, do not let it dry and damp, then the sound will be quite suitable.
Such guitars are more suitable for lovers who are not averse to singing a guitar on vacation or at home for themselves, for backyard or school rock bands who are going to play in the garage for the soul.
Professional musicians must acquire extremely expensive instruments, because the tree that formed the basis of the guitar will determine the depth and purity of sound, stiffness or softness, etc.
Electric Guitars: Vultures
The body of an electric guitar can be created immediately from a single piece of wood, and the NATO tree for guitars is perfect here.
The vast majority of power tool vultures are made from maple. Naturally, the linings here should be tougher, so they are made of ebony or rosewood.
Manufacturers of popular brands very often use different types of trees for vultures, gluing them together. If the fretboard looks like it is 3-7 attached and tightly glued boards, then you are holding a mixed version of the fretboard.
If the layers are not clearly visible, this is most likely maple.
The guitar from which tree you need to choose for different styles of the game
For solo guitarists, guitars from such breeds as:
They give excellent top sound, so they come out with beautiful melodic solo parts.
Ash, linden and mahogany native to Africa are suitable for universal guitarists. If you play both solo and rhythm - choose an instrument from such breeds - you will not lose.
Rhythmachians, lovers of reefs will have a stiffer and heavier case made of mahogany, including mahogany nato, walnut, durable rosewood, etc.
How to recognize the type of tree the guitar is made of
First, only a master can do this with an accuracy of 100%. However, you can read about the material and analyze the images in the special literature, since many breeds have their own distinct signs that you need to know.
Reputable music stores provide all the information to their customers. It can be obtained both from the seller-consultant, and on the website of the selling company, and it is better to do this, armed with the knowledge from our article.