I have build 30+ doubletops, all steel strings, so here is my take, from a builder's perspective:
- Doubletops, regardless of the woods or combinations thereof used, have the widest dynamic range of any top, period. Many players don't need this wide dynamic range so they certainly won't appeal to everyone.
- Doubletops, by design, are inherently stiff. Therefore they are more difficult, but not impossible, to get bass out of.
- Double tops [CAN BE] much lighter than a solid top and therefore takes less energy to set in motion. They [can] have the responsiveness of a very light top like Cedar for instance. Yet they [can be] extremely stiff both along and cross grain which [can] increase the amount of headroom and volume if driven accordingly.
- They are VERY difficult to construct, the correct way. You are working with two thin plates ~.030" thick and trying to glue Nomex to each plate. Keep in mind that the gluing surface of the Nomex is like trying to apply glue the edge of a single sheet of notebook paper. Herein lies the difficulty. If one applies too much glue it defeats the entire purpose of building a super light weight top structure. If one applies too little glue then it will literally fall apart. On top of that imagine trying to install a rosette & purflings in a .030" thick piece of wood.There is just no room for error.
- Doubletops seem to have unlimited headroom without sacrificing tonal distortion.
- If two dissimilar woods are used, which ever wood the bridge is glued to has the most effect on the overall tone of the top. The tone is a slight hybrid but I would say you will hear 85% of the outer top and 15% of the inner top.
Keep in mind that these comments are limited to the guitars we build and do not apply to other builders results.
Here is more information on our double tops if you care to read it?