Thoughts on wood and other things from Paul Hostetter

[Dave Bagwill]

A very interesting article on a very fine guitar, the SCGC Model H-13.
Here's a part of it, which has to do with luthier woods in general; the link that follows is to his home page and from there you will see a link to the H-13 articles.

"The top is 98% or more of the final sound. Body woods color the top sound, and that effect is most apparent to the player, not the listeners. The design of the box - and especially the skill of the luthier - is more important than the tonal quality of the body woods. Torres, Mozzani, Kaman and many others have demonstrated this over and over with guitars made of paper, plywood, plastic etc. Again, the most important part is the degree of skill that goes into making the guitar. Materials themselves are a guarantee of nothing.A god design is only going to come out as good as the skill of the maker.

Of the old Gibson Nick Lucases, which are the closest historical guitars to this Model H, my favorites have always been mahogany 12-fretters (I've never played a 12-fretter of anything but mahogany, come to think of it). Gibson also made them in maple and rosewood in the 13 and 14 fret models. In any event, mahogany rocks. The 2002 NAMM guitar was mahogany and cedar.

Some top wood options:

Sitka spruce - a fine old standby
Engelmann spruce - another western spruce that is often sold as "German" spruce.
German spruce? Please read this.
Red (Adirondack) spruce - very expensive, but when it's good, it's a truly great wood. Complex, rich sound.
European spruce - another old standby, right up there with Adirondack.
Port Orford cedar - very hard to get good pieces, but when it's good, it's very good. Tonally between red cedar and spruce, looks like spruce if you don't look too close.
Alaskan yellow cedar - northern cousin of Port Orford and potentially even better. Again, hard to find.
Coast redwood - difficult to find any that's stiff enough for guitars, but when it's right, it's fantastic.
Western Red cedar - SCGC has always used very nice cedar. My feeling is that cedar has a less complex sound than spruce, and the note comes up much quicker. Spruce has a slower rise, more extended swell. In my mind's own oscilloscope, here’s a visual comparison:

I like them both very much. In the Model H guitar, the punch of cedar works extremely well. I do not, for a moment, buy the old wives tale that cedar plays out or fatigues. I could talk more about where this needless and bad reputation got started, if anyone is interested. I also repudiate the silly idea that cedar is for fingerpicking. My H-4 from '79 is cedar and it's spent its life (so far) strung with mediums while being flatpicked fortissimo.

In the case of any topwood, one must take each piece on its own merits and judge by results.
There is no correlation between look and sound.
I subscribe to the notion that topwood should be stiff both directions and have good tap. Meaning it should sound very alive to the touch.

Top and body can be the same woods.

Koa - obviously can be good for tops, but plain koa has always sounded better to me than figured koa. If you know the old koa Martins you know the good sounding ones were most often the style 18 with plain koa. Style 28 usually had fancier koa and generally didn't sound as good. Think about tone first, then think about looks.
Mahogany - several kinds exist. The current usual is "Honduran" (Swietenia macrophylla, which comes from Brazil and other places as well), which is soft and OK, but less exciting than some central American stuff that has a ribbony figure and is denser with a better tap. They are all Swietenia.

There is also "African mahogany" (Khaya ivorensis and relatives), one of my favorites, which is not a true mahogany but was much used in 20th century American guitars until the Sixties when it became too hard to get. It's ribbony (lots of interlocking subgrain) and was Martin's standard for many years. As it became scarcer, they saved it for necks only. Finally they gave up and used Swietenia macrophylla, though this wood can be really great too of course. It's in very short supply and will probably be listed as endangered soon, which will drive the price into the stratosphere. You see it on older other-brand guitars, even Goyas and Harmonies. It's much like plain koa tonally. Gibson used it sporadically. It has enormous potential as a top wood.

As I see more guitars made with more adventurous materials choices, including several marvelous guitars with walnut tops, I am realizing there are lots of options that should be on the table. Most luthiers are understandably reluctant to experiment with these materials.

Rarely do I see body woods having a significant effect on the top other than coloring it. In fact, from across the room, no one can tell what the sides and back might be made of - that quality is for the player who is not blindfolded. But we all know people listen with their eyes.

Maple is problematic for some people, who ascribe completely conficting qualities on it, and perhaps also because it often wakes up so late. I think it's well worth the wait.

That said, I decided to go into uncharted territory with another very soft wood: California sycamore, on my new H. And to compound that all, I chose local coast redwood for the top! Someone had to do it. As this guitar has ripened, it has been a great surprise. More on this elsewhere on this site.

Some body woods I really like include:

Mahogany - almost any (see above).
Maple - they're all great, properly used.
Rosewoods - Genus Dalbergia:
Brazilian rosewood - needs no further explanation
Indian rosewood - also just fine; any rosewood will be fine, including:
Cocobolo - eye-popping color and figure, excellent clank
Honduran - restrained visually, high tap (it's the rosewood of marimba keys)
Madagascar - visually like Brazilian; so endangered in Madagascar that it should not smuggled and sold.
Bubinga - another hard tropical wood with good resonance, stability and fabulous grain
Wenge - a subtle hardwood, little figure but striking light cambium lines through rich chocolate brown summerwood. Great tap. Some folks hate the dust though. I like it, and it smells like chocolate. Deadly splinters.
Sycamore - Platanus sp. Hard to find commercially, and largely under-appreciated.
Imbuya - a lovely softer wood that looks like walnut, but isn't. My H-4 is imbuya, I have seen many guitars, mostly in Europe, made from this wood.
Walnut (great for necks as well, as long as it's eastern walnut, not western claro!) a thoroughly lovely and versatile wood; some makers are finally using it for tops.
Bay Laurel (AKA myrtlewood in Oregon) - a stunning wood tonally and visually. This should exceed koa as a top wood.
Osage Orange - no one has the courage to use this much yet, but it's a fabulous wood. Bright yellow when fresh, ages to a nice orangish-brown. Very resonant.
Macassar ebony - the streaky brown and black and gray stuff some folks mistake for rosewood.
Padauk - a close relative of Dalbergia, notable for having the same clank. Brilliant red color, lovely. I hear a few makers are using it very enthusiastically as a top wood too.


http://www.lutherie.net/index.html

[Robert Hosmer]

Good reading, Dave.

I'm somewhat amazed about his statement regarding the "scarcity" of African mahogany (Khaya) vs. Honduran mahogany.
I have never had a problem obtaining African mahogany in any size or cut I need. But then again, I wasn't even working with wood at the time frame he stated (60's and earlier).
Interesting what can change with the passage of time.


Rob

[Dave Bagwill]

I've made one instrument out of AM, and I liked it very much.
And the stuff is relatively cheap. Which is a consideration.

[TonyinNYC]

So many words!!!

Good info though! Thanks for posting.

[ken cierp]

Honestly --- I read this "The top is 98% or more of the final sound.

And stopped reading

[Dave Bagwill]

The rest of it pretty good reading. :-)
What would be your figure, Ken?

[ken cierp]

Nah -- I'll pass, I hate opinion pieces that "straw man" (used as a verb) to technical information revealing supposed accurate data or facts. The acoustic guitar is a unified collection of designed components (of which there are many styles), processes, materials, makers skills, and intuitions all of which contibute in varying degrees to the final "sound signature" and personality of the instrument.

Yes the top is most likely the most prominent piece of the puzzle.

And of course this is my opinion.