Is it better to have a solid top, back, and sides for guitars?

Question:is it better to have solid top, back, and sides or laminated top, back, and sides for an acoustic guitar? im new to the guitar world. i want to buy a good acoustic guitar for a beginner but not too expensive if you have recommendation they are welcomed.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: is it better to have solid top, back, and sides or laminated top, back, and sides for an acoustic guitar? im new to the guitar world. i want to buy a good acoustic guitar for a beginner but not too expensive if you have recommendation they are welcomed.

All of the very best acoustic guitars are made with solid top, back and sides. Generally, the better sounding instruments are made this way. But as others have pointed out, you can also find good-sounding guitars that are made with laminated sides and back. A solid wood top is pretty important - I've not heard a guitar with a laminated top that sounded any good.

The drawback of solid wood construction (vs. laminated) is that it is more expensive and can also be more fragile. Quite a few players start out with laminated guitars and some touring guys keep them around for use on the road. I agree that you should try some stuff and choose what you like and what you can afford. But ultimately, the solid-construction guitars are the ones that will sound best. That's why Martin and Taylor (the two top acoustic guitar makers in the US in terms of volume) and all the custom-shop guys use this construction method for their best guitars.

Whatever sounds good to you. That's all that matters...

The inexpensive guitars will be laminated. Lamination is really a thin form of plywood, which has good strength in two directions vs solid woods. The real decision point is how does it sound? There are some very decent sounding guitars made of laminated wood. I would tend to go for a name brand - at least one that a few people have heard of.

A very good all solid wood acoustic is the Washburn D10S it goes for about $120. It was named by Acoustic Guitar Magazine as one of the best buys for under $400.