An acoustic guitar's top is important to its tone and durability. A solid top, meaning one made of a thin piece of spruce, cedar, or other soft wood, produces what many artists believe is the best tone, but it's very sensitive to changes in the weather and it's not very ding-resistant. A laminated top is made of several pieces of wood sandwiched together (like plywood). This stiffer type of top is a lot more durable and less expensive than a solid wood top, and the tone tends to be less rich than a solid top's tone.