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Old 01-18-2019, 07:05 PM
SCVJ SCVJ is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Colorado and Florida
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This is off the OP's question, but this occurred to me as I read the posts about the excellent tap tone of the various woods being discussed.

Would any of them be suitable/desirable as top woods? I'm not a luthier, but have spent many hours reading posts about guitar building and haven't seen an explanation of why spruce, cedar, mahogany and koa (?) are just about all that are used for tops. If mahogany makes a good top, why not rosewood, locust, wenge, etc.

I realize that spruce and cedar are softwoods, but are they not suitable for back/sides, which seem to always be some species of hardwood. The top, after all, is where the bridge with all its tension is attached. Well-braced and backed with a tough plate, of course. The neck, also well reinforced, is attached at the "side".

This probably seems like a dumb question to those who build, but an answer or reference to one would be greatly appreciated.
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