EIR TOP?

[Ken Hundley]

you can always try a double top - that way you could thin the zebra wood way down, and keep most of the tonal properties of spruce/cedar/whatever. The tricky part would be to know how thin you could run each side since the nomex becomes your primary bracing.

My biggest concern with over thinning zebra is its tendency to split along the grain. I tend to also be a minimalist when it comes to bracing at all, so I would probably build more of a standard x brace pattern, with fairly wide and conservatively scalloped braces...maybe more aggressively scalloped in the tone bars. As cool as it would be to build a guitar for looks, however, I would hate to go through the exercise for a wall decoration.....which is why I haven't started one yet. Most of the hardwood topped guitars I have played at the stores (except for one all black acacia) sounded like a $99 fender acoustic. Not that inspiring.

[ken cierp]

Ken for the most part -- for the reasons you have sighted, the acoustic guitars with exotics or figured domestics for the sound board are made of plywood. they look great (Ibanez, Carvin, Alvarez come to mind) I suppose if the ply was thin enough the sound quality would be acceptable but I doubt it would be stellar.

Dean -- the acoustic characteristics/properties of the various tone woods are the species signatures so it is not likely that one could make Zebra wood top sound like Red Spruce -- and there in, we find much of the mystery and fun in building a unique guitar.

[Ken Hundley]

I agree, Ken....I could always do another black-topped spruce zebra....loved the look the first time, though it was a bear getting there...the results were fun. I should do it again and forget the zebra top.

[Rienk Ayers]

Old thread, but it makes me think of the idea I posted elsewhere; build a solid hardwood body with a double "back", using a normal tonewood for the inside back so that you still get the interaction between the two types of wood?