Hi Marcus,
In my experience, most players prefer a good Spruce/Rosewood guitar over any other combination -- this combination can pretty much do every musical style well.
To keep things simple, just think of the following regarding Spruce
Sitka -- Clear & Fundamental
Adirondack -- Slightly more complex than Sitka
German -- Slightly more complex than Adirondack
Engelmann -- Slightly more complex than German
Any of these tops can be made very responsive. As a general rule, as you go in a more complex tonal direction, the responsiveness of the tops increase but the headroom decreases. Please understand, you will find some Engelmann tops that are as robust as stiff Adirondack. This is why fixating on tonal nuances is often an unwise endeavor.
Any of those tops will go well with any type of Rosewood. If you like the Spruce/Rosewood combination then you will be "happy" with any of those combinations. Yes, you might have a preference but in order to find the perfect combination for you -- you have to play every single wood combination that Lowden makes which would be difficult.
If you like the warmth of cedar and Redwood -- then I would recommend Redwood and Koa. Koa is beautiful and will have a tonality very similar to Walnut and Mahogany.
You might like Redwood with Ziricote or Ebony but in my experience, most players will appreciate the lush sound but find that this timbre is not very versatile. This is why Spruce/Rosewood is just so good -- it will almost always sound very good no matter what you are playing.
Hope that helps.
Best Regards,
Simon
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