Bob Womack
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2002
- Messages
- 2,197
The process is known as "cross-banding." It is done in applications where you want increased rigidity in a structure. The internal layer is laid with its grain at ninety degrees to the main layer's grain. Now I'll speculate: This was in the middle of a period when everyone thought electric guitars should be as rigid and non-resonant as possible to keep the string energy within the string an thus maximize sustain. When you play a pancake LP, you cans see that they achieved that goal. As always, there's a trade off. By the way, amplifiers of the period also moved to non-resonant construction to maximize projection. The '50s tweed Fenders were resonant and lightweight and the '60s Blackface Fenders went to heavier, more rigid construction with plywood.
But if you go back to the period in Guitar Player Magazine, you can see how everyone was struggling to achieve maximum sustain on guitars. Santana had just come out with "Black Magic Woman" using amp feedback for sustain. Veleno came out with their all metal guitar and Pete Haycock played one. Dan Armstrong came out with a Lexan plastic-bodied one. People were replacing the tailpieces and nuts of LPs with brass to increase overall system rigidity and thus sustain.
Bob
But if you go back to the period in Guitar Player Magazine, you can see how everyone was struggling to achieve maximum sustain on guitars. Santana had just come out with "Black Magic Woman" using amp feedback for sustain. Veleno came out with their all metal guitar and Pete Haycock played one. Dan Armstrong came out with a Lexan plastic-bodied one. People were replacing the tailpieces and nuts of LPs with brass to increase overall system rigidity and thus sustain.
Bob