Cedar top guitars

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by fazool

That bear needs a few guitar lessons. He's got a right handed guitar but playing left-handed.

My first guitar was a cedar topped Simon & Patrick. I would have kept it but the neck was too narrow for me. It sounded very good.

[Joel Teel]

Originally Posted by Kayper

May I ask where the shop is? Roadtrip!

We're in Fairhope, Alabama.....on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. Visitors are always welcome [emoji4]

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by Steadfastly

That bear needs a few guitar lessons. He's got a right handed guitar but playing left-handed..

Ha, I do know 2 cats who are left handed but play a right handed guitar upside down, and they really are good players.

[Joel Teel]

Originally Posted by Mbroady

Ha, I do know 2 cats who are left handed but play a right handed guitar upside down, and they really are good players.

[high]

some of the best Conga drums were made from cedar,
Raul drums from Brazil, this was set of mine, now sold:






they smell fantastic and fill the whole room with cedar aroma,
when played,
despite of being 30 years old already.



same with my beloved Santa Cruz FS guitar, of which has
a sweet cedar top.
whenever I play, the sweet scent of cedar will get noticed.
No soundhole sniffing necessary.








very sensitive to the touch, fantastic guitar.

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by Wood Knot

These cats get around.

[Neil K Walk]

I've always enjoyed playing cedar topped guitars from Takamine and Taylor but was really intrigued when a cedar/mahogany R Taylor Style 1 with rosewood binding came up in the classifieds. It was too much for my budget but I was intrigued by the combination so I built something similar. Here it was when I was in the midst of French polishing it:



As for how it turned out, after about 4 years of playing it I have to say that I'm happy with the tonal balance even though I did overbrace it.

EDITED to add:

About the guitar: it's big; roughly equivalent in size to a Gibson J-185 (as I understand it since I've never encountered one) which is to say that it's 16-1/8" across at the lower bout and nearly 5" deep at the tail so there's a lot of internal volume. It handles moderate strumming well but likes a delicate touch; you have to focus more on articulation and strumming it hard compromises that. Otherwise it has a good bass kick and I like how the cedar takes the brashness off the trebles but sustain is not its strong point. Overall, it's a very versatile guitar but not what I'd call a "primary" guitar as I prefer to use my Martin D-16GT for strumming and Larrivee OM-03R for fingerstyle (both of which have sitka tops.) My only real gripe about it is that I feel like I should take a spokeshave to the neck and slim the profile down a little more, but that's something I obviously wouldn't do with a guitar made by somebody else.

[ChalkLitIScream]

Originally Posted by MartinMan1990

Thanks for all the replies so far. I know this is all personal preference but I am looking at getting a smaller body cedar top (GC, OM, or 00) and was wondering what most people would suggest for back/side woods?.

I guess you and I have similar playing styles and needs. I too am looking for a guitar for fingerstyle. I'm not bothered about having loads of headroom as I play lightly with my fingertips. Responsiveness is much more crucial.
I was thinking a Redwood top, as some of the cedar guitars I have heard seem too warm and mellow.

For back and sides, what kind of a sound are you looking for? For me, I enjoy a lush, complex, overtone rich sound all over the tonal spectrum. That immediately points to a rosewood or other dense hardwoods. I do enjoy the looks, smell and the nice trebles and bass EIR brings.
I've heard good things about walnut for fingerstyle, but that is a more midrange focused sound which I am not looking for.

Open to other's suggestions as well

[high]

I just bought a SJ Guitar with sinker Redwood top and African Blackwood
back and sides. Having read about what sinker Redwood and African Blackwood
could do, I thought it could replace the Santa Cruz FS guitar for my
fingerstyle playing.
I was hoping for just a little more headroom and a somewhat less muddy
base from the new guitar.

but what a disappointment it was, I did send it back to the dealership.

it is best to avoid generalizations about what woodchoices can do,
and have a testride before buying the guitar.