Quote:
Originally Posted by downtime
In addition to what others have mentioned, I believe a big reason is that birch is not typically a very interesting looking wood.
Most of the older birch made guitars have the grain hidden behind a burst or a faux wood grain.
Pictured I have two all birch parlors, a 30's College Pal with a burst and a 60's Silvertone with a faux painted wood grain / burst combo.
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I have a College Pal identical to yours, and I like it a lot. Made by the Slingerland Drum company in Chicago.
I'd like to see a modern, all birch acoustic made....but I won't hold my breath. I can't see there being much of a market for it. But if you think about it....why not birch? All solid hardwood guitars have long been made of mahogany.
I have several all birch guitars, and I like them for fingerstyle. I can't describe the tone except to say it's just different. I do think that a lot of birch guitars suffer by having a tailpiece/floating bridge instead of a normal fixed bridge. I have both types, and the fixed bridge guitars sound much better.
Who knows....maybe birch will come back into favor some day when the "more desirable" tonewoods become scarce.