A musical instrument, such as an electric or bass guitar, is formed of a lamination of wood layers having differing grain orientations in adjacent layers, the grain orientations defining a crossing angle less than 90.degree.. An instrument formed from such a lamination is strong and resistant to splitting and checking and produces a good musical sound. The wood layers can be molded under pressure to form curves, such as an S-curve in a neck, or deformations, such as rounded edges in a guitar body. The S-curve in the neck allows the neck to be attached to the guitar body without breaking the continuity of the wood fibers, thereby strengthening the neck. In a three-dimensional molding embodiment, a net shape or near net shape part results, which requires little or no further machining after molding.