Tonewoods: underrated and overrated

[Guitarplayer_PR]

We know tonewoods are viewed differently by us. Some like certain tones and others don't. With that in mind, I'll mention which tonewoods are underrated and overrated, of course, IMHO:

Underrated: SAPELE. Lovely balanced tone with just enough sparkle to transcend

Overrated: EIR. Not that I don't like it, but it's not THAT great. I love mids with my guitars and EIR sounds too scooped for my taste. On the other hand, I love cocobolo; but I don't think it's underrated.

[TokyoNeko]

EIR? Overrated? If anything, it's underrated compared to other rosewoods that are deemed more exotic.

[rct]

Guitars made of the greatest of "tonewood" can sound like crap, guitars made of the poorest "tonewood" can sound great. A great guitar is where you find it, the materials are immaterial except for the minutiae of debate.

rct

[dodge]

I would say cherry is an underated tonewood. I've played quite a few guitars with cherry back and sides and always liked them.

[MrErikJ]

Underrated:

Tops: Engelmann Spruce and Western Red Cedar.
Sitka and Adirondack are great woods but I think Engelmann and cedar are a little under-utilized for steel strings. They’re especially great for fingerpicking.

Bodies: Sapele
Because of its prices I’ve heard people call it “poor man’s mahogany.” Just because something is plentiful and affordable doesn’t mean it’s poor. It has the best qualities or mahogany plus a little more sparkle and overtone. A great wood at a good price.

Honorable Mention: Carbon Fiber and lyracord
Rainsong and Ovation receive a lot of attitude that’s based more on prejudice than quality. Carbon fiber guitars are durable and toneful and the the Ovation bowl is light, reflective, and tone-neutral like a good maple. There’s a lot to like about these guitars if people can step outside their comfort zone of traditional building.

Overrated: Adirondack
Sounds great once it breaks in, which takes 55 years.

East Indian Rosewood
I love this wood but I do hope to find an alternative. We need to manage our supplies and be more open-minded in our tone preferences.

[Mr Fingers]

It's hard to proclaim any particular wood underrated or overrated, since the generalizations and even market prices sort of speak for themselves, shaped as they are by vast numbers of makers and purchasers. I've got to disagree with rct's claim that wood type is substantially irrelevant. I agree that quality of build plays a huge part, but of course different woods work and sound somewhat different. They just do. The two standards that I think are somewhat tired are the use of Martin dreadnought tone as some kind of exceptional standard for all guitars. It's a great, distinctive tone, but now that we're all gathering around a single mike competing with banjos, I think we can let it go. It's not at all my preference anymore. The other standard I would question are recent claims of the equality or superiority of new tonewoods. Personally, I think the jury's still out on that. I'm no superfan of rosewood to begin with, but when it comes to mahogany, I see zero evidence that current mahoganies or substitutes like sapele work as well as the now unobtainable big boards of old stuff. I've heard good but few great walnut guitars. I love cherry ad maple, but rarely encounter a guitar in those woods that works as a lead melodic instrument (great for rhythm).

[David MacNeill]

I always prefer rosewood. Growing up, all the best sounding and most beautiful guitars were all made of rosewood. I’ll always have that bias, I guess.

[stringjunky]

I'd just pick the wood I like the look of or let the luthier pick the wood that helped get the sound I was after if it mattered to them.

[ChalkLitIScream]

Lutz spruce. Its either that or whatever Mr. Powers has done to the 700 series. Has a very rich and balanced sound in my local stores. Only rivaled by the 900's that are nearly 2x the price.

For me, it tames some of the brightness of the Taylors and really makes them sound exactly the way I want them.

Also sort of underrated is EIR. Usually its passed to get more exotic rosewoods, but it really does get the job done well and wonderfully. Maybe we will crave for it when its status reaches that of Brazilian.

[David MacNeill]

In my experience, Koa is overrated. Stunningly beautiful, of course, but in a blind listening test I would guess it is mahogany. Koa can also be somewhat fragile compared to mahogany and rosewood. I have a solid figured Acacia 8-string uke that could easily pass for Koa both visually and tonally.

Sapele is both overrated and underrated. The tone is not as rich as mahogany, nor is it as beautiful, and in my experience it is more fragile. But it is sustainable and has a mahogany-like resonance at much lower cost, which is good.

I so wanted Walnut to be a great tonewood, but I’ve owned one (a Lowden) and played a few others and none left any kind of lasting impression. If I wanted that lack of resonance, I’d pick Maple, which is beautiful and plentiful. I wanted to buy the Gibson Jackson Brown Roy Smeck, but when I found out it was made of Walnut I pretty much lost interest. For that kind of money I’d want rosewood, like the originals.

[Tommy_G]

My clearest toned most jangly guitar has a laminated maple back and solid spruce top. I have read that maple backs allow tops to dominate the tonal signature of the guitar.

So laminated maple (as disgusting as laminated anything sounds to purists which includes me)is thereby deemed underrated

[DHart]

I think guitars with tops other than spruce are often underrated.

To my ears, the tones of Martin (15 series) and Taylor (324) hog-top guitars are absolutely wonderful.

Combine the softness of tone of a mahogany top, with the zingy brightness of the Taylor design (in the 324, for example) and you get a delightfully rich and sparkly tone that is well balanced and exceptionally pleasing.

[Tony Done]

[sigh] I've had my fair share of expensive guitars, and my all-time favourite for fingerpicking is all-laminate with a surface texture like damp cardboard. You have to keep an open mind.

[Tracy Perry]

I'm rather picky on my sounds - and I am definitely biased towards Martin stuff with "real mahogany" - but the Myrtlewood on the Breedlove Concert I have has a very pleasant voice for me. Little brighter than a Martin but not as bright as the Taylor I had.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

Underrated: Well made layered or laminated back and side woods (Taylor and the Godin family of acoustics come to mind)

Overrated: All of them - as with the above, it's so much more about the quality of the builder.