Acoustic Woods and other options

An acoustic instrument has many factors that determine the sound. Most importantly is the shape and size of the instrument, but beyond that, wood selection can be a big factor in the final tonality. Many luthiers are using non traditional woods these days with great results. If you would like a guitar made with a non traditional wood like Pear wood or Osage orange or Purple heart that is not a problem. Here is a summary of the more traditional woods used for acoustic guitars.

Top Woods

Sitka Spruce

A very abundant wood from the northwest north America. Lightly tan or slightly pinkish in color, sitka spruce has a strong fundamental in relation to the overtones. Sitka has a meaty tone and it holds up well when played hard although it may not respond as well when played softly.

Adirondack Spruce

Also known as red spruce, adirondack spruce was the standard on old Martins. Like sitka it has a strong fundamental but it also has complex overtones. It retains it's clarity at all volume levels. Adirondack spruce was once over harvested but it is now available again thanks to replanting and wise forestry. The down side to this wood is that it is expensive and it is not as finely grained.

Engleman Spruce

A light colored spruce, engleman spruce has a weaker fundamental with stronger overtones making it richer sounding even when played softly, although clarity may be lost when it is played loud.

European Spruce

Is a great choice for classical guitars. European spruce has much of the same characteristics as engelman spruce.

Western Red Cedar

Darker in color than the spruces this fine tone wood has great overtones and a lower fundamental, Cedar has less projection than spruce and it can loose clarity when played hard. It has a very short break in time.

 

 

Backs and Sides

Rosewoods

Cocobolo, Indian Rosewood, Madagascar Rosewood, Brazilian Rosewood, Honduran Rosewood, African Blackwood, Kingwood, and Amazon Rosewood can vary in color, price and availability but all rosewoods have some things in common, they offer a ringing tone (like a built in reverb) and strong low overtones.

Mahogany and Koa

Lacking the ring and low overtones of the rosewoods, these woods have a dryer, more woody sound. Koa is a stunningly beautiful wood from Hawaii. Koa is a traditional wood for Ukuleles and it is sometimes used as a soundboard in addition to being used as back and sides. Mahogany has been used on great sounding instruments for many decades. Honduran Mahogany is becoming more scarce. It is very stable and easy to work. Fortunately African Mahogany has many of the same characteristics.

Mahogany____________Koa

Maple, Cherry and Walnut

These woods tend to be more acoustically transparent, allowing the top wood to be uncolored. Maples can display beautiful figure such as birds eye, flame and quilt. These native woods are traditional and sustainable.

 

Walnut__________Quilted Maple _________Cherry

 

Other body wood choices

Although the demand for exotic woods from the guitar industry is less than one percent, traditional woods are becoming scarce. There are many new choices for great tone woods today. It seems that every year more and more are introduced. Many of these woods will give a guitar the sound of traditional woods and others can have uniquely great sounds of their own, some have a traditional look others offer beautiful alternatives.

It would be impossible for me to list all of the varieties of woods available today, here are some: Balsamo, Blood wood, Bocote, Bubinga, Jarrah, Jatoba, Ganadillo, Kauri, Lacewood, Macacauba, Makore, Malaysian Blackwood, Monkey Pod, Monterey Cypress, Myrtle, Narra, Osage Orange, Ovangkol, Padauk, Palo Escrito, Pau Ferro/ Morado, Pau Rosa, Pear wood, Purple heart, Sapele, Spanish Cypress, Wenge, Zebra wood, Ziricote.

I offer woods that are Forest Stewardship Council certified. They include Lacewood, Machiche, Maple, Honduran Mahogany, Narra and Pau Ferro.

 

Fingerboards and bridges

These wooden parts are not big players in the sound of an acoustic instrument but they can alter the sound in small ways. Rosewood can add some sparkle and ebony can dampen some overtones. Ebony wears very little therefore it is a good fingerboard, it has been used on high end guitars for years and some people look for an ebony bridge as a sign of a quality instrument.

 

 

Other considerations that alter the sound of a guitar

There are three factors that determine the pitch of a string. The first is the tension, (we adjust the tuning machines to raise and lower the pitch). The second is the length of the string, (we change the pitch by fretting up and down the neck, in effect changing the length of the string). The third is the weight of the string, (all six stings are approximately the same length and have similar tension but they produce different pitches by having different weight). By selecting different combinations of string gauge, scale length and tuning you can affect the timbre of a guitar.

When a player changes from light strings to medium strings, the weight of the strings is increased and therefore the tension must be increased in order to create the same pitch as before. This causes more pressure on the bridge and it gives the guitar's sound more punch.

A similar situation happens when a guitar has a longer scale length. With a longer string, the tension must be increased in order to maintain the same pitch (A= 440hrtz.). This situation also gives a more punchy sound. A shorter scale length will give a sweeter sound. On most standard guitars, scale lengths range from about 24.5" to about 25.5". This essentially defines the difference between the triple O and the OM. Triple O uses a 24.9" scale length and the OM (or Grand Concert) uses a 25.4" scale length.

Alternate tunings will add another factor to consider. This changes the tension of the string. For example; when using D tuning, where the bass string E is dropped to a D, tension is reduced on that string.

 

Tuning Machines

I offer only high quality name brand tuning machines. You may select Gotoh, Grover or Schaller, Kluson, or if you prefer you can choose Waverly as an upgrade.

 

Piezo pickups

A piezo pickup is another option to consider.

 

 

Cases

I also offer some choices for cases. I recommend a good case to protect your investment.

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to learn how to order a custom guitar