Wood Choices

Soundboard

The face of the guitar sets the tone signature of the instrument. Aside from the body shape nothing else influences the sound texture of your instrument like the soundboard. In general, we use a softwood conifer lumber of the highest quality. Now it is possible to use hardwoods like Mahogany, Koa, or even Walnut- to make a steel string guitar. But most musicians will appreciate a quicker louder instrument made with a Spruce or Cedar, they also will live a longer more predictable life span. Below is the list of woods that I offer in a selection of grades, and explanation of the sound associated with each one.

Sitka Spruce: The industry standard top wood since the 1950's. With a Khaki pinkish hue, and high strength to weight ratio- Sitka is a perfect soundboard material. Able to be played lightly with great effect as well as having a high headroom (can be struck heavily with pick and not have the sound distort) this is one of the most versatile woods. The majority of my supply comes from Alaska Specialty Woods who prides themselves on salvaging falling timber rather than cutting virgin clear cut trees.

Engelmann Spruce: White and creamy in color and very lightweight, Engelmann spruce is perfect for intricate playing styles when a light touch is required. Providing a brighter/mid-range heavy tonality works well with fingerstyle players who want a focused sound. The supply I use originates from Canada.

Lutz Spruce: This is a hybrid of Sitka/Engelmann spruces that grows in a very narrow range in the Canadian west. New to lutherie in the past 20 years has found its place to provide a balance of both relatives.

Red Spruce: The original Martin & Gibson "Golden Era" vintage guitars were built with "Red" or "Adirondack spruce". The densest of spruces is best suited for the heavy-handed players. Whether flat-picked or fingerpicked, Red Spruce is capable of being the loudest when matched with the right body shape and back wood. Not the most cosmetically ideal of top woods, are graded on tone potential rather than looks. Harvested from the Appalachian Mountain ranges from Nova Scotia to the Carolinas.

Italian Spruce: From the same forests Stradivari made his violins, Italian spruce is special stuff. This spruce is what the finest stringed instruments are made of. Expertly harvested from lumber cutters who have managed these forests for hundreds of years. Clean even grained with a Yellow creamy appearance it is one of the most cosmetically appealing top offerings. As for tonality, a balanced powerful sound that can hit all the high and low notes with brilliance and power.

Port Orford Cedar: An uncommon soundboard among large scale manufacturers, Port Orford is a great tonewood that has a large-robust- immediate tone. With an attractive subtle tan color and ultra tight grain, it is a perfect match with lightweight back and sides like Walnut/Koa/Mahogany. It is harvested from a narrow range along the Oregan Coast from Coo's Bay to Eureka California. A very special wood if it can be precured.

Western Red Cedar: With its chocolaty color and tight grain lines, WR Cedar is attractive to the player who desires a delicate-loud-quick sound. More often used on classical guitars, for steel strings Cedar proves itself to be a great match with the hardest b/s materials like Cocobolo or Ziricote. This is the lightest weight soundboard I offer and is more suited for fingerstyle or lighter strummers.

Redwood: Being a newer addition to the soundboard line-up these Sequia tops offer a unique tone not available in Spruce. Similar to Cedar the tone is immediate and strong but with a more complex sustain. More headroom also where a flat picked Cedar would start to distort tonally. As the name says it's a red rich color with tight compressed grain, this wood has its own appearance unlike others.

Backs & Sides

Just as the foundation holds up a structure, the back/sides of the guitar provide the support to produce sound. Most all are hardwoods and if your eyes desire something beautiful, this is where it goes. From dramatically figured woods to subtle Mahogany there's a tonewood to appeal to everyone.

Genuine Mahogany: Coming from South & Central America, this hardwood has been used in Lutherie for centuries. Commonly part of the entire structure of an instrument, is a strong/stable/musical/light weight wood. When used for the back & sides, it has a quick/punchy tone with little sustain- which in fast tempo music is an important attribute. There is a considerable amount of variety throughout Mahogany, from clean/amber color- to the wildest figure of any wood.

Sapele: Originating in western Africa, this replacement for Mahogany is slightly denser and stiffer. With a beautiful ribbon figure and Reddish-brown color that is more consistent than most any similar woods. The musical tone of Sapele is strong/vibrant with a powerful sustain not experienced in Mahogany. Also available in highly figured Pomelle flame.

Khaya Mahogany: This ultra-light replacement for Mahogany is paler in color tone has ribboned-swirling interlocking grain, a good candidate for staining under the finish. As for sound, well this is the wood Doc Watson's guitars were made of- so you've more than likely hear one built of it. This wood is in plentiful supply and comes from the tropical regions of Africa.

Walnut: A great alternative wood that is in no ways a threatened species. Walnut is a very common guitar wood these days, whether straight grained or highly figured it makes a glorious instrument. With a dynamic tone that has plenty of bass and midrange to be great as a strummed or picked guitar. A great match with Cedar soundboards, or the lightweight spruces. The chocolaty color palate of Walnut makes it an attractive choice with many different binding schemes. Available in Claro/Black/Bastogne varieties.

Hawiian Koa: Only found in Hawaii and a lovely wood for any type of instrument. Traditionally used for ukulele's this rare wood is tonally and visually incredible. Desired for its intense flame figure I have found that the straight grained less figured sets really are some of the best sounding woods for small-bodied guitars like any O sized instruments. This is a wood that commands a higher cost because of its scarcity.

Padauk: A vibrant Crimson colored wood from many regions of the world, in general available high-quality lumber comes from West Africa and India. Having the texture similar to oak but the density of Rosewood the open grain of Padauk makes it a great sounding Tonewood. Under-utilized in the industry this is a plentiful wood that sounds as good or better then legacy Rosewoods. If you are on a budget and desire a powerful "Rosewood" like tone. Padauk is your best choice, similar to the next wood Wenge.

Wenge: This African wood has a very interesting visual appearance. With its dark- almost black solid grain with swirling alternating brown stripping it looks like nothing else. Just like Padauk about it has heavy open grain similar to Oak but has the weight and density of the hardest woods like Ziricote or Ebony. Wenge is view by some luthiers to be sonically identical to the best sounding old growth Brazilian Rosewood, which is financially unavailable to most buyers.

East Indian Rosewood: Well-maintained forests with strong government oversite have made Indian Rosewood, the industry standard since the 1970's. Being a stable/tonally consistent/beautiful wood it is a great tonewood that is very predictable in any body shape. Its dark color can range in one set from purple/brown/red/crimson. Indian is a great choice with most any soundboard wood.

Madagascar Rosewood: No longer harvested and in dwindling stocks. Most larger manufacturers have stopped using this special rosewood. My stock comes from one of the importers that brought this wood to the market from 1999-2008 before Madagascar's government was overthrown. As luthiers this wood should be used on instruments that will be cared for and not mistreated. The grain of this rosewood is very porous and dense, with a variety of color textures throughout the species no two sets look the same. From beige/sandy to dark crimson red in color the tone of this wood is about as similar to the finest Brazilian Rosewood as you get. With a dynamic and quick dark sound. About as good as it gets in a tonewood.

Brazilian Rosewood: The holy grail of Tonewoods, this is the wood players dream of getting their hands on. New stocks are a thing of the past, what is here in the country now, is all that's left. Small quantities of this wood command extraordinary prices that only the wealthy can truly afford. I have some but not a lot, time to time it is available. This is the most expansive option for any part of the guitar.

Palo Escrito: Coming from the Pacific side of Mexico, this is a true rosewood that makes wonderful guitars. Palo Escrito and Guatemalan Rosewood are my favorite of all the tonewoods available. I feel they both have the best tonal attributes of Mahogany and Rosewood. Having a pinkish-tan color, with alternating dark grain lines. At times exhibiting the intense spiderweb look like the finniest Rosewoods. Palo is also the standard wood used for fine classical guitars made in Mexico.

Guatemalan Rosewood: As mentioned above, Guatemalan is sonically one of my favorite choices. Bright/clean tonality with plenty of volume in most any body shape. It isn't the most dramatic visually with a brick-brown color with little grain variation, this wood is used for the tone not the look. This wood is in limited supply and not available in all sizes.

Cocobolo: The densest of the Rosewoods and really in its own category. Not for everyone, but Cocobolo has its place as a tonewood. While being one of the most difficult of all woods to work with, it makes a gorgeous sonically powerful instrument. The oily and extremely hard nature of the wood requires care in handling and working with this exotic timber. The color is a rainbow of reds and orange with jet black lines throughout. Especially nice matched with the more delicate soundboard tonewoods.

Red Maple: One of the many "sugar maple" varieties grown throughout North America, these are the dark crimson leafed ones. This is a softer maple compared to most, with a very white appearance similar to the finniest European maples. The majority of the Mandolins I make are with Red Maple for its crisp bright tone. Most of the red maple that is sourced for instrument wood comes from the Appalachian Mountains in the same areas Red Spruce comes from.

Big Leaf Maple: Sourced from western coastal mountains, this variation of soft maple is the most figured of the maples. Capable of quilt/flame/blister/straight grain all within the same tree. Big leaf is coarser grained then the maples in the east, as generally these trees grow in more of a rainforest type of environment with mosses growing over the tree in a symbiotic relationship. Sound of big leaf from what I have noticed has attributes similar to Mahogany but still sounding like a maple- light and airy not restrained.