Guitars that incorporate Nomex or graphite composites seem to be the "guitars du jour". It must be a response to the inferiority complex most guitarists have over the volume of their guitars. It is true that most student guitars are very quiet, but the difference in volume between concert-grade guitars, whatever the construction, is not so distinct. I have heard dozens of double-top and graphite reinforced guitars in halls and only very few have made a musical impression on me. Most suffer from a lack of tone color and modulation, kind of a "one note" response. It is a tedious process sitting through a concert when the guitar is only capable of one sound. To my ear, there is an emotional defecit to the synthetic guitars. Musical instruments have to bear some resemblence to the human voice, or else they are just machines. Some of the great singers like Tony Bennett and Edith Piaf connect with the aucience through their personality and the uniqueness, you might even say quirkiness, of their voices. The emotional content of their singing is conveyed through their soul and when you listen to a song by a great singer, even in a language you might not speak, the emotional intent of the song is clear. When a guitar builder strives to make volume priority #1, and this is the avowed purpose of synthetic guitars, the personality, quirkiness, frailty, human-like, and emotional content come up short, based on my experience.

Lots of builders are jumping on the synthetic bandwagon, which further clouds the waters as the resultant guitars are as different as the people building them. To me, there is no substitute for wood, an incredibly versatile and time-proven material. Wood truly is one of the wonders of Creation. I prefer a lightly-built traditional guitar made with a variety of woods suited for a particular purpose, be it structural, resonance characteristics, or beauty. My position is an expertly made guitar of traditional design and materials can be very loud and still have the attributes we all want with our guitars: sweetness, clarity, expressiveness, and the elusive quality of "soul", which allows the music to connect with our innermost emotions.