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Old 07-04-2012, 09:54 AM
Fichtezc Fichtezc is offline
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Default Quality of Walnut as a Tonewood?

I've been pretty seriously looking into a Lowden as my next guitar as some of you know. I've pretty much narrowed it down to Lowden and maybe two other brands.

ANYWAY, onto the real question. When I have come across various luthier's sites I've found walnut to be common on their "lower" models and not their higher ones. Is walnut in any way of a lower quality than say, rosewood or mahogany? There's a moderately significant upcharge to go from the 23 (walnut ) to the 25 (rosewood).

I've always been a cedar/rosewood kinda guy but I've been told it can get muddy in the F25 so I'm considering the 23 and keeping cedar or the 32 and keeping rosewood.
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Old 07-04-2012, 10:06 AM
Jobe Jobe is offline
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There is walnut and there is walnut. Without any first hand experience, I have heard Mr. Lowden can make walnut majic. I believe he speaks highly of it on his website. To each their own. It's not always about price.
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Old 07-04-2012, 10:08 AM
Fichtezc Fichtezc is offline
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There is walnut and there is walnut. Without any first hand experience, I have heard Mr. Lowden can make walnut majic. I believe he speaks highly of it on his website. To each their own. It's not always about price.
I mean, I would love to get away with a cheaper guitar haha. The thing I'm worried about is being pennywise and pound foolish. I don't want to save 500 dollars on a walnut vs rosewood decision and realize I've made a bad decision over a small cost.
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Old 07-04-2012, 10:10 AM
hatamoto hatamoto is offline
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your best bet would be to try all three models if you can. There's so many factors like your playing style, string attack, subjective opinion etc.

I own a 32C and I would say it's pretty bright, but not "glassy bright" as with gloss finished guitars, with a good amount of midrange and bass. I tried a walnut before and from what I remember it had less bass with slightly more midrange and a "woodier" sound. The cedar/rosewood combo was more subtle for me, and I would say "muddier" than the spruce/rosewood.
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Old 07-04-2012, 10:11 AM
Jobe Jobe is offline
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Ha! Yeah. Any way you could play both to compare? It's all about you after all!
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Old 07-04-2012, 10:12 AM
Fichtezc Fichtezc is offline
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your best bet would be to try all three models if you can. There's so many factors like your playing style, string attack, subjective opinion etc.

I own a 32C and I would say it's pretty bright, but not "glassy bright" as with gloss finished guitars, with a good amount of midrange and bass. I tried a walnut before and from what I remember it had less bass with slightly more midrange and a "woodier" sound. The cedar/rosewood combo was more subtle for me, and I would say "muddier" than the spruce/rosewood.
I was actually going to make a thread on this too but I'll try and kill two birds with one stone. What kind of music do you play? I'm wondering about people that use sitka for fingerstyle. Cedar is obviously the overwhelming choice but I already have a good cedar guitar and I'm sort of interested in sitka.

I really do need to get my hands on them but no one (dealers included) within 200 miles of me has even one, let alone all three.
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Old 07-04-2012, 10:16 AM
roberts roberts is offline
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Actually, most builders will upcharge for walnut, and if you look at, say, the LMI website you'll see that walnut is a fairly expensive wood.

The 'textbook" answer on walnut is that it shares the sound qualities of mahogany and rosewood (as do a number of woods). I have a walnut/cedar Chasson and it's ultra-responsive a nd almost kaleidoscopic in tone. That's probably more the builder than the wood. Claro looks nicer but many say black walnut sounds better.

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Old 07-04-2012, 10:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fichtezc View Post
I've been pretty seriously looking into a Lowden as my next guitar as some of you know. I've pretty much narrowed it down to Lowden and maybe two other brands.
Hi Ficht...

As with any tone wood I look to the builder to be able to tell me what he/she can extract from particular woods, and every guitar I had built this was the heart-and-soul of my choice of back/side woods and top woods.

I may be unusual, but I have a goal in mind for the tone of a guitar, and function it plays in my 'herd' and looks and intrigue are last on my list. I discovered early on I'm the one who sees the back/sides and that's mostly removing it from the case (or putting it away). But everyone I play for hears this thing.

The question should probably be discussed with Mr. Lowden...or whomever else you are considering have build one for you...otherwise it seems like luck-o-the-draw to me.


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Old 07-04-2012, 10:25 AM
hatamoto hatamoto is offline
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Originally Posted by Fichtezc View Post
I was actually going to make a thread on this too but I'll try and kill two birds with one stone. What kind of music do you play? I'm wondering about people that use sitka for fingerstyle. Cedar is obviously the overwhelming choice but I already have a good cedar guitar and I'm sort of interested in sitka.

I really do need to get my hands on them but no one (dealers included) within 200 miles of me has even one, let alone all three.
Sounds like you already know what you want. I play fingerstyle but I've always been a spruce/rosewood player. You can always save up and just get the rosewood. Check out Thomas Leeb on youtube if you haven't yet he plays a walnut
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Old 07-04-2012, 10:26 AM
Fran Guidry Fran Guidry is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fichtezc View Post
I was actually going to make a thread on this too but I'll try and kill two birds with one stone. What kind of music do you play? I'm wondering about people that use sitka for fingerstyle. Cedar is obviously the overwhelming choice but I already have a good cedar guitar and I'm sort of interested in sitka.

I really do need to get my hands on them but no one (dealers included) within 200 miles of me has even one, let alone all three.
Where did you get the idea that cedar is the overwhelming choice for fingerstyle? I play nothing but fingerstyle, have half a dozen nice guitars, and none of them are cedar. In fact, most are "stiffer than sitka" varieties of spruce. When I think of fingerstyle players I know cedar tops don't dominate among them either.

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Old 07-04-2012, 10:31 AM
Fichtezc Fichtezc is offline
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More expensive? Really? Hm. I wouldn't have guessed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
Hi Ficht...

As with any tone wood I look to the builder to be able to tell me what he/she can extract from particular woods, and every guitar I had built this was the heart-and-soul of my choice of back/side woods and top woods.

I may be unusual, but I have a goal in mind for the tone of a guitar, and function it plays in my 'herd' and looks and intrigue are last on my list. I discovered early on I'm the one who sees the back/sides and that's mostly removing it from the case (or putting it away). But everyone I play for hears this thing.

The question should probably be discussed with Mr. Lowden...or whomever else you are considering have build one for you...otherwise it seems like luck-o-the-draw to me.


Well, Lowden's favorite wood seems to be walnut so hopefully he could draw the most out of it. That's a good piece of wisdom though-about everyone hearing it but only you seeing it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fran Guidry View Post
Where did you get the idea that cedar is the overwhelming choice for fingerstyle? I play nothing but fingerstyle, have half a dozen nice guitars, and none of them are cedar. In fact, most are "stiffer than sitka" varieties of spruce. When I think of fingerstyle players I know cedar tops don't dominate among them either.

Fran
Nearly every fingerstyle guitar player I listen to uses cedar. Though a couple do have spruce tops in their collections, those instruments aren't their primary choices. This is simply my niche of players though. That's good to hear though
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  #12  
Old 07-04-2012, 10:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fichtezc View Post
...Nearly every fingerstyle guitar player I listen to uses cedar. Though a couple do have spruce tops in their collections, those instruments aren't their primary choices. This is simply my niche of players though. That's good to hear though
Hi guys...

My main guitar is Cedar (and I'm a total Fingerstyle guy), and I love the properties tone wise with Cedar. That shared, my other three are Sitka, Engleman & Italian Spruce.

The players I listen to most play and record with Cedar as their top wood too, but when I delve a bit deeper more than half own guitars with other top woods too. And many record with a arsenal of instruments.

If limited to only have one guitar, it would be Cedar topped for me.


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Old 07-04-2012, 12:10 PM
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I build about half my guitars from walnut. As someone said there is walnut and then there is walnut. The more highly figured the more expensive a guitar built from it will be. Different species will add to the mix, Claro is fairly soft, Black is harder and Bastogne is as hard as Indian RW. I have some that is included in my base price and I have some that is about the same up charge as Koa. For me the ultimate combo is redwood and walnut. It gives more volume and headroom than cedar, yet a similar woody tone. I find most fingertstyle customers (of mine) prefer it to either spruce of cedar. In the end of course it depends on who is doing the building and discussing what you want with the builder is the best first step.

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Old 07-04-2012, 12:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fichtezc View Post
I was actually going to make a thread on this too but I'll try and kill two birds with one stone. What kind of music do you play? I'm wondering about people that use sitka for fingerstyle. Cedar is obviously the overwhelming choice but I already have a good cedar guitar and I'm sort of interested in sitka.

I really do need to get my hands on them but no one (dealers included) within 200 miles of me has even one, let alone all three.
My O is Rosewood-Sitka, which lives in DADGAD/Other dropped tunings, and is exclusively played finger style. Couldn't be happier with it.
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Old 07-04-2012, 12:34 PM
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I had a Lowden in flamed Claro walnut topped with cedar that sounded pristine in the concert body. So as my only experience with it, I'd say yes to a Lowden in that combo. I only sold it to fund my BTO Goodall.

I would disagree that the F25 eir/cedar is muddy as I've played several Lowdens, owned two and currently play one as my main guitar (although this one is eir with a sitka top), however, the 25 sounds wonderfly clear, yet rich. My somewhat similar Avalon is eir/cedr and has wonderful clarity too. I don't think anything Lowden makes would sound muddy the way they are built and I've heard them a lot and played a handful of models, but thats just my ears.

Back to your original idea, I think having watched and listen to you play that any Lowden would be wonderful in your very talented and capable hands. I think the wonderful clarity you get from walnut and the responsivness from cedar would enhance that. You and Lowden would imho be a good match!

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