3-piece vs 2-piece back?

[Ian Barker]

I'm looking at buying a particular used guitar, which has a 3-piece back.  I understand that this construction method was often used to enable smaller pieces of (eg) rosewood to be utilised that would otherwise be scrap, or purely for appearance.

 

My question is: all other construction and materials being similar, what is the influence on tone of a 3-pc vs 2-pc back?  Presumably it is more rigid, but how does this translate into tone?

 

(Oh, and before you say 'play it and see', it's a prospective internet purchase!)

[FRANK]

I was told that bigger thicker meant a crisp tone,or a brighter tighter tone than the warmth of a brace that was smaller bit more flexible .I don't know for my own ears ,as this was talk in school .sound holes make a difference also

[Greg Mirken]

A stiffer back would make for a brighter guitar. Think of a maple guitar versus a mahogany guitar. If this is a D-35, there are other factors as well. To compensate for the stiffer back which ought to de-emphasize bass, they opted for narrower top braces.

[Frank Ford]

Personally, I see no reason why a three-piece back would be more stiff, unless you try to count those tiny joint reinforcement strips.

Fact is, the three piece back was developed by Martin to use narrow and unmatched pieces of wood. Their really smart move was to make the D-35 a trifle fancier so it could be priced HIGER than the two-piece back D-28/ Then, they used lighter top braces to give it more bass response. Result" D-35 eventually surpassed D-28 in sales.

[Greg Mirken]

Well, you also have 3 pieces of wood with oblique grain direction. I have to assume Martin experimented with the design before releasing the model, and they decided to use lighter bracing than style 28 on the back as well as the top. Evidence they were compensating for less bass, I'd say. If I recall, the catalog description got this whole idea completely bass-ackwards. Deliberate misdirection, or legitimate goof?

[Antonio Cotichini]

I totally agree with Frank....
I played only a few Martin D28 and D35, and found the D28 sweeter but the D35 richer in bass response.
Anyway.... no guitar of the same model sounded the same way...

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

From what I know and test, there's no behavior you could notice that is typical from a 3 pieces back. No difference, except that I prefer the 3 piece aesthetics.