What's your favorite top wood?

[bufflehead]

Not counting the travel guitars, I have one sitka top, one mahogany top, and one cedar top. Love them all.

[Scotso]

Larely, I am liking Carpathian spruce. LIke Adi without some of the coloring and uniformity issues

[jrb715]

Depending on the guitar, I'm going to have either an Adirondack (red spruce) or European (German or Italian) top.

[justonwo]

Adirondack spruce. Until this thread was started, I hadn’t realized there were other options.

[Wellington]

I don't have a favourite but I voted Engelmen because my current favourite guitar has an Engelmen top and I feel they're overshadowed by Sitka, haha. Love cedar tops too.

[RussL30]

I have Sitka, Engelman, and Cedar and they all strum and pick great.

The fancy upncharge top woods don’t really interest me. I’m sure there are some great guitars but I’m paying an upcharge for top woods.

[Shadowfox]

I didn't like my Alpine top at first as I was so used to Sitka. However, once it opened up, I've fallen in love with it and think that it is a great pairing with Cocobolo.

[Wade Hampton]

It’s not something I worry about, frankly - I just want a good-sounding guitar.

I voted for Sitka spruce for two reasons: first, I have Sitka spruce tops on far more instruments than anything else. This includes not only guitars but mandolins and mountain dulcimers.

The other reason I voted for Sitka is that I live in Alaska, and Sitka spruce grows here. So I was being an Alaskan chauvinist!

Of course, western red cedar and Engelmann spruce grow up here, as well, though not as extensively.

Western red cedar is the next most common top wood on my instruments, including two or three dulcimers, two Seagull guitars and a Tacoma Papoose, a miniature travel guitar that’s basically a steel string version of the Mexican requinto.

I currently own two dreadnoughts with Adirondack spruce tops, a Martin and an Eastman, and have concluded that I like Adirondack spruce on large guitars.

I’ve previously owned a small body guitar and a dulcimer that both had Adirondack tops, though, and didn’t like either enough to hang onto them. So for me any advantage Adirondack might offer is mainly for dreadnoughts.

Then I’ve got one guitar each topped with Carpathian, Engelmann and Swiss spruce tops, and they all sound great.

So I think that any of these commonly used top woods can be turned into terrific guitars.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Birchtop]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

It’s not something I worry about, frankly - I just want a good-sounding guitar.

I voted for Sitka spruce for two reasons: first, I have Sitka spruce tops on far more instruments than anything else. This includes not only guitars but mandolins and mountain dulcimers.

The other reason I voted for Sitka is that I live in Alaska, and Sitka spruce grows here. So I was being an Alaskan chauvinist!.....

[RodB]

Originally Posted by Shadowfox

I didn't like my Alpine top at first as I was so used to Sitka. However, once it opened up, I've fallen in love with it and think that it is a great pairing with Cocobolo.

My favourite guitar is Swiss/ Cocobolo so I agree! As for tops though, I enjoy the differences that good examples of many difference wood species can contribute.

[H. Mac]

Sitka is okay, but adi is far superior, especially with scalloped braces and a forward shifted X brace. Greater clarity and note separation, and punchy, but with a nice overall warmth.

[GGSanders]

Sitka on my steel strings and Engleman on my nylon string, because it's what I've got!

[iim7V7IM7]

Any set of spruce personally selected by someone skilled in the art who understands their building system, my playing style/goals and crafted into an instrument. That perspective has served me well and resulted in guitars made from Engelmann Spruce, Norway Spruce (e.g. Austrian, Carpathian, German, Italian and Swiss) and Red Spruce. It is always about the individual set and not the species.

[BrunoBlack]

This is not something I obsess about. I just want a great sounding guitar that looks good. However I voted Adirondack because 6 of my 10 guitars have Adi tops. And the other reason I voted for Adirondack is that I live in NE where Adirondack spruce grows — with a nod to Wade

[brijas99]

Right now from the experiences I've had with various guitars, Lutz is my favorite wood for a top. It seems to deliver a bit of everything that I like: power, warmth, overtones, great responsiveness while still providing plenty of headroom.
Oddly enough, most of my guitars have Adirondack tops. But this may eventually change, as I feel that I've boxed myself in with Adirondack and am missing out on other qualities that the various other top woods provide.
I'm sure that like on most guitars, there are several contributing factors that give each instrument it's voice.
But yeah, right now my vote goes to Lutz !