What is the most malinged tone wood?

[TuckerRE]

Beer,

I too have a Sitka/Paduak...a Santa Cruz custom built from wood Steve and I bought in the mid 70s. Richard Hoover promised it would be the only Paduak thy would ever build (due to allergic reaction to the wood), but rumor has it they have built one or more since then.

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by TuckerRE

I am not sure exactly 'maligned,' but mahogany (other than that from the "tree") doesn't get what I believe is it's due.

I totally agree. Early on I dissed mahogany because it was so plain Jane in appearance so I spent little time building with it. However, the guitars that I did build with Mahogany were outstanding instruments albeit in a vanilla wrapper. Throughout my career I have grown to really appreciate the sound of Mahogany and have no problems recommending it. However, I must confess that I am personally drawn to the eye candy sets and the uniqueness of The Tree.

I am not sure the following woods fall under the definition of maligned but more so as seldom used. There are lots of domestic and obscure tonewoods that don't get their due appreciation: Black Locust, Osage Orange, White Oak, Black Walnut, Wild Black Cherry and Maple. I wish more people could experience a quality White Oak guitar. Oak makes great pallets but even greater guitars! Just ask Haans Brentrup or Steve Kinnard.

Of the exotics I have a fondness for under-appreciated woods like Padauk, Wenge, Malaysian Blackwood and Gaboon Ebony. I would have no problem building with any of these aforementioned woods for the remainder of my career.

[Aubade Acoustics]

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

Mike, that's beautiful! Really need to get over to your shop...

Steve

Looking forward to a visit. Have a spare room for the night if need be. I have this pesky problem with taking off for long periods, her name is Tinker and she likes doggy treats.

[Aubade Acoustics]

[QUOTE=lizzard;4818351]That is a really nice piece of luthierie. Aren't you the same builder who posted in my Yellow Pine thread with a very similar picture. Good to see that folks are still exploring!

Chris[/QUOTE

Chris, thanks so much. Probably was me without going back and checking. Not to many Cypress guitars popping up.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by Tim McKnight

I totally agree. Early on I dissed mahogany because it was so plain Jane in appearance so I spent little time building with it. However, the guitars that I did build with Mahogany were outstanding instruments albeit in a vanilla wrapper. Throughout my career I have grown to really appreciate the sound of Mahogany and have no problems recommending it. However, I must confess that I am personally drawn to the eye candy sets and the uniqueness of The Tree.

I am not sure the following woods fall under the definition of maligned but more so as seldom used. There are lots of domestic and obscure tonewoods that don't get their due appreciation: Black Locust, Osage Orange, White Oak, Black Walnut, Wild Black Cherry and Maple. I wish more people could experience a quality White Oak guitar. Oak makes great pallets but even greater guitars! Just ask Haans Brentrup or Steve Kinnard.

Of the exotics I have a fondness for under-appreciated woods like Padauk, Wenge, Malaysian Blackwood and Gaboon Ebony. I would have no problem building with any of these aforementioned woods for the remainder of my career.

I am pretty sure you can make a good instrument out of any decent piece of wood irregardless of species.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by lizzard

Laminates are often held in low regard. But recently double sides, tops, and backs have all become popular with some very well respected luthiers.

ARE THEY NOT LAMINATES?

And I still suspect the most stable necks are laminate...

Hmn...

I am thinking of building with maple back and sides with a lamination of spruce on the inside. Want to find out how much it will change how the back behaves.

[Aubade Acoustics]

Originally Posted by Portland Bill

That is just my aesthetic Michael, be nice to see a pic of the front, how would you describe the effect on the tone ?

Bill, To my ears it seems to have less overtones than the denser woods. Very nice sounding. You can hear it being played on the "Louisiana Luthier in the news" post and video in the build section I think. All the guitar playing on the video was this guitar and I am actually shown playing it kind of badly I must say. sorry. It now has a wood pick guard on it.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Portland Bill

Cypress is a wood I don't think I have ever seen on a Steel String, pretty much standard on Flamenco and becoming popular on Classical

Below are a couple of pics of my "Evans" L-1 made by a British gent who now lives in Spain, and sources his tonewoods locally. The top is some sort of European spruce, and the back and sides are , indeed, cypress - intended for flamenco guitar. It seems that in many towns in Spain there is a small luthier making guitars for the locals.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Portland Bill

Cypress is a wood I don't think I have ever seen on a Steel String, pretty much standard on Flamenco and becoming popular on Classical

Below are a couple of pics of my "Evans" L-1 made by a British gent who now lives in Spain, and sources his tonewoods locally. The top is some sort of European spruce, and the back and sides are , indeed, cypress - intended for flamenco guitar. It seems that in many towns in Spain there is a small luthier making guitars for the locals.






Nope - image insertion isn't workong for me today - ho hum.

[billgennaro]

Originally Posted by nacluth

....Maple got killed by a lot of bad factory guitars....

Well said. I've played so many dead sounding maple guitars it's amazing. I can easily see where the bias comes from. But when you play one made by a really good builder Maple can sound extraordinary.

[TomB'sox]

The more time I spend on the forum watching builds, hearing sound clips, listening to reviews etc. I am slowly coming to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. Really I think these high end luthiers such as seen here in the Custom build section can make any wood sound great. I am serious about that. Kinnaird guitars have made two Oak parlors that sound fantastic just for a simple example. There was also a pine guitar shown that sounded great.

For me, the choice of woods is now almost becoming purely based on aesthetics and having fun....what do you want this time kind of thing. MANY of you will disagree as I have read the angst that some write about in terms of the sound they are looking for in custom builds, have seen them sell 5 figure guitars after less than a year of ownership etc., but with guys like Kinnaird, McKnight, Hatcher, Edwinson, Kostal, Kraut, Sexauer, etc. etc., please no disrespect intended to anyone not listed, just a quick list off the top of my head as an example......I think beautiful sound is a given, wood choice almost completely independent of that as long as it is a good piece of whatever wood we are talking about.

Just my 2 cents....BTW, Mahagony is my maligned wood, for the reasons Tim stated, too plain Jane for me and I associate it with rack guitars...if commissioning a build, I want to spend the money on something more......

[Tony Vines]

Originally Posted by Tim McKnight

I am not sure the following woods fall under the definition of maligned but more so as seldom used. There are lots of domestic and obscure tonewoods that don't get their due appreciation: Black Locust, Osage Orange, White Oak, Black Walnut, Wild Black Cherry and Maple. I wish more people could experience a quality White Oak guitar. Oak makes great pallets but even greater guitars! Just ask Haans Brentrup or Steve Kinnard

Tim, I couldn't agree more. Black Locust is among the most resonant woods I have ever heard. Walnut and Maple make equally impressive guitars. I recently acquired some rare "Dark Jatoba" a.k.a. Brazilian Cherry that reminds me of African Blackwood (tap tone, not appearance). There is also Brazilian Ebony (common name) that is a dark chocolate color that makes great fingerboard and bridges. With wood resources dwindling, I think it is a good idea for veteran guitar makers to build more with these woods to give the woods more clout in the public eye. Over the last 26 years it has amazed me how wood quality and grading has devolved due to dwindling resources. Although it may not be in my lifetime, there may come a day when a Maple Guitar may be the standard....and in my opinion, it would be a great standard.

[Tim McKnight]

Another wood I failed to mention earlier is Shag Bark Hickory. I've built with it several times and each time the end result just brings a huge smile to my face. Perhaps its time to give my face a smile again?

[printer2]

Originally Posted by Tim McKnight

Another wood I failed to mention earlier is Shag Bark Hickory. I've built with it several times and each time the end result just brings a huge smile to my face. Perhaps its time to give my face a smile again?

How was it bending?

[travisbrown]

I was at David Webber's shop years ago and for fun he had built a guitar out of OSB....