back bracing material?

[mike-p]

I'm expecting no-one thinks it makes any difference but i have alpine spruce or aromatic cedar. BnS are mahogany and top will be cedar with alpine spruce bracing.

[John Link]

I'd use spruce. Less brittle. Harder. That said, in the right hands, in the right size, either can work.

[ken cierp]

Aromatic Cedar is not a good choice for musical instruments. Actually, while some Cedar -- Red, Yellow and Cypress (Spanish Cedar for necks and kerfing even tops and backs), are OK for sound boards they are not as strong (weight ratio) as Spruce or even Honduran Mahogany.

[John Link]

Red cedar, when used for a soundboard, produces a warmer tubbier sound, and opens up faster than the spruces. It retains its brittleness, and adds easy dentability (because it has exposure to the outside, this can be quite noticeable) to its problem list. But the rich dark sound is appealing to many. And the quick break-in eliminates the need of saying things like "just wait and see how good this sounds five years from now". Although that is as true of cedar guitars as any others, they tend to sound good enough off the bench you don't need to harp on it. (A lot of lacquer might negate this last statement.)

You do have to make it a bit thicker than spruce, in any case, because it is soft, even specimens (like some I have) that sport quite respectable stiffness to weight ratios.

But you were asking about back braces. I just noticed the "back" in your question - how careless of me. Backs are usually made out of heavier wood and therefore the soft cedar seems like it has a definite disadvantage for bracing a back, unless you went to a monstrous size. The instrument sure would smell nice, though.

[mike-p]

sorry, not the clearest post, was talking about just the braces on the back, the actual back is hond. mahog.

I thought spanish and aromatic and cedrella were all the same wood? What i have is sold as cedrella but is certainly aromatic.

I will have enough alpine spruce left over after bracing the top to do the back as well anyway.

The kerfing i have is cedrella, i think the piece i have for the tailblock is too, it'll be ok for that purpose i assume?

Thanks all.

Oh, John, i know about soft cedar, my only guitar for over 10 years is cedar topped, i still remember, ten years on, lending it to some Richard Head at an open mike who strummed the duck out of it and put a load of scratches in the front.

[ken cierp]

Spanish Cedar is used for kerfing, backs, sides, and necks. Its does have a nice odor -- some times called cigar box wood. Red and Yellow cedar are commonly used for guitar soundboards. Canadian Cedar is really yellow Cypress also used for top, back and sides. Aromatic Cedar http://www.google.com/search?q=aromatic ... 99&bih=556 is what is used to make "Cedar/Hope Chests" said to repel insects (wool moths in particular) it gets its scent from the abundace of oil and resin it has in its composition -- this material is not suitable for guitar making

[mike-p]

Thanks guys, sorry for the confusion. Just to clarify and hopefully make this thread make sense.

I could use the cedrela for the back bracing but as I have enough spruce then I'll use that as better strength to weight ratio.