Cedar and spruce comparison

[TBman]

Not sure if this was posted in the past. An interesting video.

[Glennwillow]

That's a great video, Barry! He is a very accomplished player!

I bought my Cervantes Crossover 1 classical with a spruce top, but I have sometimes wished I had bought one with a cedar top. Then I listen to a really good comparison like this one and realize -- Wow! They both sound excellent! It's seems impossible for me to decide which I like better.

Thanks for this, Barry!

- Glenn

[sinistral]

Great comparison. To me, the cedar-topped guitar sounds more like what I expect a classical guitar to sound like—a fuller, mellower tone. Not that the spruce-topped guitar sounds bad—on the contrary, it sounds great—but it seems more “modern” for a classical guitar

[rick-slo]

The bigger difference in sound in my opinion is on steel string guitars. Although it exists of course on the nylon strings of a classical, just to a lesser degree.
Cedar has a more mellow tone (a shift to a lower frequency note response).

[Ps346]

I agree with the prior post that this would be more informative for players here if it were done on a steel string acoustic.

It's strange that he gives the type of rosewood for each guitar, but not the type of spruce used. I can't imagine that it's red spruce – or even sitka. It's probably engelmann or some type of euro spruce.

Personally, I was surprised that the clarity of the cedar. The spruce was, of course, at least is clear and also brighter, but I did like the mellow sound of the cedar since it was not muddy at all.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Ps346

I agree with the prior post that this would be more informative for players here if it were done on a steel string acoustic.

It's strange that he gives the type of rosewood for each guitar, but not the type of spruce used. I can't imagine that it's red spruce – or even sitka. It's probably engelmann or some type of euro spruce.

Personally, I was surprised that the clarity of the cedar. The spruce was, of course, at least is clear and also brighter, but I did like the mellow sound of the cedar since it was not muddy at all.

I have a steel string flattop with a double top (cedar over spruce). It puts out mostly the cedar mellow sound but with more power and uniformity treble to bass.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

The bigger difference in sound in my opinion is on steel string guitars. Although it exists of course on the nylon strings of a classical, just to a lesser degree.
Cedar has a more mellow tone (a shift to a lower frequency note response).

Personally, it is just as big a difference in classical, but it gets negated to a degree because classical players have more control over the tone of the instrument due to the use of fingers and the nature of the strings themselves. When I pick up a cedar classical I'm naturally going to pick it a little differently than a spruce. Even if I don't realize I'm doing it. I do the same thing with my acoustics (spruce, koa, Redwood) but the strings don't convey nuance in right hand technique quite as much as classical strings.

[Colin_Mac]

Oska Burman, who posts in the Custom section from time to time recorded a video of two guitars he built where they only difference between the two was cedar vs spruce. The purpose was to compare the sound of the two, while trying to keep all other factors totally equal.

His post should be found at: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...5&postcount=18

[Organic Sounds Select Guitars]

Excellent comparison and playing, nicely done video!

I don't know if this is helpful, but I compared two otherwise identical Ken Franklin steel string guitars a couple of years ago in the following video. Both guitars were built at the same time, with Indian rosewood back/sides. One has a cedar top, the other an Adirondack spruce top.