Thoughts on getting the same guitar, but with different tonewoods
 

Hello Everyone,
Maybe a strange question, but I'd like some serious input. I've got an S&P Mini Jumbo that I really enjoy. Solid spruce over solid mahogany. I got a Yamaha CSF3M last year that I really love. It's about the size of a GS Mini if you aren't familiar with that. Those are my only guitars. Anyway, it seems that the Godin groups are getting rid of the MJ size and I'm considering getting an S&P Cutaway MJ, which is solid cedar over cherry, before it's too late. I've always wanted a Godin cedar top guitar and would prefer it in the MJ. Please let me know your serious Pro and Con considerations. Not just..."you can never have too many guitars." Do you think there would really be that big a difference in the two guitar to justify. Maybe I do need to just stop and be happy with what I've got and focus on playing even more.

Thanks in advance!

I'm in your boat. I found something I liked and wanted to try different sounds, so I bought 3 GC-size Taylors, 1 cedar/mahogany, 1 all-mahogany, and 1 sitka/walnut (a 12-fretter). I have no regrets, plus I get the benefit of having no adjustment time switching among them, since they're the same size, have the same neck profile, same scale, etc.

I may not end up keeping all 3, but that's no reflection on the strategy - I just have way too many guitars (including electrics) and insufficient time to spend with them all.

I think you raise an interesting question about the tension between learning which guitars please us, and how much diversity we should have in the guitars we buy. When is there too much overlap in our guitars, but at the same time acquiring guitars that we know please us, and suit our style of play.

There are folks on AGF who have no problem buying all manner of Taylors or Martins or whatever make they gravitate towards. Personally, I have been in favor of never having more than one of a brand at any one time -- just because there are so many great builders out there.

But lately I've been wondering if I could be completely satisfied with 2 or 3 Santa Cruz, which just happens to be the make that seems to feel most comfortable in my hands.

Bottom line: I don't have an answer to your question. There are pros and cons to whichever path you take.

Be prepared to own a lot of guitars. I went down that road. Not a bad thing necessarily but also not as rewarding as I'd initially thought? Again...just my two cents.

Yes, I think there would be a big difference, and the opportunity to have a cedar topped guitar would offer a very different voice. I think cedar lends itself to sweeter, softer style of playing. So not only a new voice, it may encourage a new direction in songs or a new way to play songs you already play. I don't own a cedar top yet, but I will at some point.

I tend to agree with Woolbury. I bought a used cedar topped guitar while waiting for a spruce topped guitar to be built. I always thought that I would sell it once the new guitar arrived. After I took delivery of the new spruce guitar, I ended up keeping the cedar topped guitar because it had a different voice. I still have both guitars and they both get played. I get inspired by each of them and the tones they produce can evoke different musical moods.

Best,
Jayne

Good point, and I wonder if a different brand of guitar -- not just different tonewoods on the same guitar -- is better at taking you in new directions. That's been my main reason for maintaining diversity in brands, and in size and shape, as well as tonewood.

As a side note.....I ended up getting 3 used Yamaha FG830's in about 2 months, because for a cheap guitar with a solid top, I liked them.
I wanted to figure out my quest for finding my "go to" strings for all my other guitars. But not surprisingly, even a cookie cutter guitar can sound A LOT different with the SAME strings compared to its siblings. My favorite is LOUDER and deeper than the other 2.
I'm still trying to make time to work on it, getting closer and loving it .

To all those guys that hate changing strings, try doing 3 at a time! Yes I have a powered string winder;)

So I say, go for it!

Great advice by Jayne and Woolbury! Evoking different Musical Moods is what different voiced guitars should do.

Generally, there is no substitute for owning something to find out what you really need. While this is not a cheap road to take. It often is the only road that leads you to where you Ultimately need to go. I have 5 guitars all with different Backs and sides. All of them Great. But it took buying and owning the other four to find the One guitar that was absolutely the best for my style of playing and writing. Yes, I will loose some money when I sell some of these other guitars. But finding the one, that is right is certainly worth it.

Hopefully they have a return Policy? So the worse scenario is you will be several Dollars in return shipping. I did this last year. I had a itch scratch. Cost me $200 in shipping, which hurt, but ultimately was worth it...as it told me what I needed to know.

I have several Taylor guitars in GA size. These include spruce/ovangkol, all koa, spruce/koa, and a spruce/maple twelve string. It wasn't planned that way, and each provides a different tonal flavor in the body shape that I prefer.

However, there are enough variables between examples of the "same" guitar - no two are truly alike. I happen to like the Godin MJ body and have recommended it to students for a long time. Sorry to see it go..... I like my mahogany/cedar M6 (precursor of the S6) and also liked its cousin in cherry/cedar as a twelve string.

Well, there's that. :)

But to answer your other question, I think cedar tops sound utterly different from spruce, so you wouldn't be redundant if you chose to get another S&P.

Couldn't agree more with this post.

Wow...I really appreciate all the great feedback. I've seen a lot of my thoughts echoed back over these comments. Like I said, I wonder if I should keep spending money on more guitars, but also if I do acquire more, should I get something so similar. I was also thinking of a Breedlove guitar, cedar on ovangkol that's a good price right now. Almost too good to pass up. Part of me wants to go that way and try something different if all aspects (brand, size, tonewood), and part of me wants to stick to a brand I know I like in cedar I've always wanted.

"The grass is always greener....... over the septic tank". Erma Bombeck :D

I always try to answer the question, "how will I use this guitar differently from those I already have?" To me, just getting a slightly different tone isn't enough of an incentive/excuse to buy.

I have a 12-fret I use primarily for fingerstyle, a 14-fret primarily for singing and strumming, a resonator for open-G slide blues, and a cheapie for traveling/camping. To me, spending money on a guitar that serves the exact same purpose as another becomes akin to just "acquiring things," which I always endeavor to avoid -- although not always successfully!