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Old 09-11-2014, 12:50 AM
Simon Fay Simon Fay is offline
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: New Smyrna Beach, FL
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Hi Marcus,
You will likely get a lot of advice but I can promise you -- that as a guitar builder who has built with a wide variety of tonewoods -- I really do know what I'm talking about.

My main advice is to not dwell on nuances of tone -- it is a meaningless quest, especially since these "tonal descriptions" are highly subjective. Understand the basic generalities that accompany the various tonewood species and go for what you think you will most like tonally and that will appeal to you visually.

Bottom-line is that the vast majority of players prefer Spruce/Rosewood - the style of music usually doesn't matter as this "sound" is what most players prefer regardless. Cocobolo is a Rosewood and will sound very similar to Brazilian Rosewood and Indian Rosewood -- I feel it falls in between them tonally. Any Spruce with any Rosewood species will yield a very versatile guitar that will work wonderfully with fingerstyle.

For a Redwood top, I generally recommend not going with Rosewood as the sound can be extremely lush to the point of losing clarity. Walnut is a superb back/side wood for Redwood as are the Mahoganies. Cuban Mahogany will sound very much like your typical Mahogany -- it will not sound like Rosewood. It might give you a bit more complexity but not much.

In other words, I would strongly recommend going with a Spruce/Rosewood or with a Redwood with Walnut/Koa/Tasmanian Blackwood/Mahogany. You can go with something like Ziricote or Ebony with Redwood but you will definitely be ending up with an extremely lush sounding instrument. You may like an extremely lush sound but Lowden's are not exactly the most crystal clear instruments out there and are known for the airy, complex tone. The best thing is of course, to try several different Lowden wood combinations and decide what you like best but the above advice should point you in the right direction.
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