Used a mirror to look inside 3 guitars

My  A M I J45, my Guild DSS240 and my Guild D240E...

They are laminate sides and backs...

The grain I saw was... pretty(?)... consistent is pretty accurate too.

Then, by accident (kind of) I read a couple of threads on AGF about arch backs, which delved into laminates.

There are some pretty good discussions/explanations, from some seemingly knowledgeable people, three of them being builder/luthiers. One claims to have studied, in his attention to detail, sound wave lengths and reflective vs absorbed sounds and the hertz decibels for different different notes... it seems, some high end builders are using laminates for sides, at least, to lend strength to the structure... the added benefit was absorption, and reflection, which helped the top and back better project...

What I saw in the 3 guitars I looked in, was a difference in brace design... the DSS240 braces were peaked where the A M I wasn't... the D240 has top braces only so I didn't pay much attention other than noting the grain on the inside... also, the DSS240 and the AMI are real close in weight... the D240E is lighter than either of them... oh,, I looked at the pins and string balls too... the balls were up against the bridge plates pretty good, but, I'll admit I would personally like to see more contact area, just because...the balls twist and only make contact with one side more than the other... not sure it would make any difference in sound... but, I'd feel better ...

The one builder mentioned above said that in his experiments, the laminates he uses are real wood and not compressed plywood... and that it gives the effect of rosewood because it reflects the sound vs generating vibrations, which solid wood in single pieces in guitars do.

I know it's a never ending, beat a dead horse to death... but, I like gaining knowledge... the threads were 4 pages each so I'm not posting a link... just passing on what I read, for the sake of discussion and passing on what I read.