Philip OKeefe Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Just curious - what are your favorite tonewoods for acoustic guitars? I'm going to break it down into body, top and fingerboard. If I leave your favorite off the list, please use "other" and feel free to discuss it and make any comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funk Jazz Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 i'm into the classic martin sound of rosewood b&s/spruce top/ebony or rosewood fingerboard. my most recent acoustic has mahogany back and sides, and i'm continually surprised by it. although it doesn't project as much volume as rosewood, but i'm digging the more subtle bass repsonse... especially for fingerstyle. BTW you can't discount the huge effect of bracing and type of finish on the overall sound. the wood isn't everything, although it's probably the biggest determining factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 I LOVE what cedar seems to do for any6 flat-top acoustic guitar, be it steel-string, classical, or flamenco. (I've never played a cedar carved- or arched-top, as far as I recall.) It's hard to describe the difference; perhaps it's just happenstance that many of the flat-tops that I've really loved had cedar tops. I chose, "OTHER", for body wood, as I'm not entirely committed on that count. My old Alvarez-Yairi has a very nice aged solid Western red-cedar top, a wildly figured (laminate?) burled mahogany back, sides, and headstock-overlay, and a mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard. It's tone and projection belie it's laminate bod' and relatively low price tag (I got it for something like $430- tax included- in '85), although stringing it with .014"-.059" Martin Marquis might be a good part of that equation... I do really like the liquidy, complex nuance of a good rosewood 'board, especially on an electric, but for pure acoustic, I'd have to go with the crisp snap of ebony. I think it works well to have the fretboard and the bridge-plate to be made from the same wood, too; I believe a bit of tonal continuity is translated from the strings to the top and neck that way! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted July 6, 2004 Author Share Posted July 6, 2004 I'm kind of surprised to see how well mahogany tops have done in the poll. I personally prefer spruce tops, but cedar on a good classical can be a thing of beauty.. Body wood depends on the guitar. I LOVE maple on a jumbo - it helps offset the jumbo's tendency to be too "boomy" and brightens / tightens up the bass a bit. Mahogany is a great body wood for fingerstyle, and is probably my faovrite "all around use" wood on an acoustic. I love my '94 Taylor 510 due to the versitility. But if I was a hard core flatpicker, I'd probably opt for rosewood back and sides. Rosewood D sized guitars can be nice, but I'd probably rather have a maple jumbo... but then again, I've played a few Martin D-28's that have knocked me out - as well as several that didn't. I've always preferred rosewood boards... ebony just feels too "slick" or hard to me - something about it almost feels "synthetic" under my fingers. It's certainly more durable though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Lambo Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 You left off my two choices... Favorite body - Brazillian rosewood, then Honduran. Favorite top - adirondack, slightly better than spruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted July 6, 2004 Author Share Posted July 6, 2004 Originally posted by E-Lambo: You left off my two choices... Favorite body - Brazillian rosewood, then Honduran. Favorite top - adirondack, slightly better than spruce.Well, I didn't specify a difference in types of Rosewood (Brazillian, Indian, etc.) but at least I did include rosewood. Thanks for sharing your favorite woods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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