So you’re buying a new OM sized guitar

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by perttime

Birch plywood?

I have a larger guitar with birch (I think solid) for back, sides and neck - but the best birch guitar that I have had in my hands was about 00 size, with solid "flame birch" for back and sides. The luthier had managed to get a lot of sound out of the small guitar. I recall it sounded drier than what people might expect from rosewood, for example. Flame birch can look great, especially when tinted darker. I heard that it can be tricky to bend for the sides, though.

Yep - plywood. You can buy birch plywood made in Finland down to 1mm thickness for 3 ply (0.33mm for each ply). So finding 2mm 3 ply is pretty straightforward. I think Godin build with around 2mm plywood sheets made of cherry/maple/cherry. I'm not sure what thickness Beard use in their birch plywood acoustics.

I think it is that dry sound with punch that attracts me to learning more about the northern white woods for guitar making. Be that solid or made into a plywood.

Martin et al used mahogany and rosewood during the golden years as much because there was a glut of the stuff coming in to the US by the boatload looking for a market as for its tone. They work as tonewoods beautifully of course, don't get me wrong, but it would have been availability, price and easy of working with the woods that would have been a big part of the decisions made at the time. And they could waste pretty much as much of it as they wanted.

Similarly, Godin has used the local cherry and maple to produce their guitars for the last 40 years. It is on the doorstep, and by rotary cutting it into plywood you can get up to 20x more useable board from a tree than quarter sawing, plus it is consistent to machine. Of course, it also works beautifully as a tonewood. Definitely a dry tone to my ears with plenty of "pop".

Beard have been using plywood for their resonator guitars for years (the original wood bodied reso guitars were made of thick plywood - like building a speaker box). So it is not surprising that they have chosen the material for their venture into flat top acoustic guitar making. And it is a fine choice for evoking that dry "old school" tone.

It will be interesting to see if other volume makers dare to try birch either solid or as a plywood? I bet that a Waterloo with birch ply back and sides and a spruce top would sound pretty good.

[pattste]

For fingerstyle, I'm a huge fan of cedar top and rosewood back and sides OMs. The two best guitars I've ever played (the best of which I own) use these woods.

[Tannin]

For me the choice is clear: two lovely local woods that are renowned for tone, though hard to get: King Billy Pine for the top, Myrtle Beech for back and sides.

[SingingSparrow]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

But I really like the look of the Beard Decophonic range.

I bought the Legacy second hand off Ebay and I'm beginning to realise that when I write down the tone parameters and all the features that I'd want on my "dream" guitar that my cheap Legacy actually ticks all the boxes, including the eco woods and North American made boxes, except for the name on the headstock! It does have a wonderful tone.

Hey, thanks for your response. Those Beards do look very good. And I just happened to play an A&L dreadnaught this past weekend - I quite liked it! I would certainly be playing it if it were in my house. Very clear, dry, strong tone and kinda brassy, which I liked a lot. It had Phosphor Bronze strings on it. It's all about pleasure, not the name on the headstock - but you know that. I'm glad you have a guitar that tickles you so much - that is a wonderful experience! Hold on to that guitar! (and ha, yes, if only one could address GAS with logic ;-)

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

They work as tonewoods beautifully of course, don't get me wrong, but it would have been availability, price and easy of working with the woods that would have been a big part of the decisions made at the time.


I bet that a Waterloo with birch ply back and sides and a spruce top would sound pretty good.

I think you're probably not wrong about availability. Economics is a powerful thing.

I would want to try that birch waterloo. Speaking of which, you would love the waterloos, if you haven't tried one already. Very dry and musical. What I love about it most, aside from the sound, is how it is a very intimate experience. It's the whole package really, it screams quality and the finish is very thin, esp on the neck - you can feel the wood beneath, which is very tactile and intimate, kinda pulls you in

Every time I play that dang guitar I want to send the entire city of Austin, Texas a thank you card (because just sending one to the guys at waterloo would not pay due homage to the experience

[Rmccamey]

I'm going with Sitka and Walnut. I have a Koa and a Mahogany, so it should be fun to compare tones side by side. And, it will be something a little different.

[AndrewG]

I'm having a bit of a love affair with all-mahogany guitars and I chose this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paEzZmOpDZU

[Godfather]

I prefer mahogany for the tone I hear, a little drier crisper coupled with adi top. Here is what I went with. (000 is close enough to an OM) a Huss and Dalton 000 12 fret.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=601055

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

Yep - plywood. You can buy birch plywood made in Finland down to 1mm thickness for 3 ply (0.33mm for each ply). So finding 2mm 3 ply is pretty straightforward. I think Godin build with around 2mm plywood sheets made of cherry/maple/cherry. I'm not sure what thickness Beard use in their birch plywood acoustics.

I think it is that dry sound with punch that attracts me to learning more about the northern white woods for guitar making. Be that solid or made into a plywood.

Martin et al used mahogany and rosewood during the golden years as much because there was a glut of the stuff coming in to the US by the boatload looking for a market as for its tone. They work as tonewoods beautifully of course, don't get me wrong, but it would have been availability, price and easy of working with the woods that would have been a big part of the decisions made at the time. And they could waste pretty much as much of it as they wanted.

Similarly, Godin has used the local cherry and maple to produce their guitars for the last 40 years. It is on the doorstep, and by rotary cutting it into plywood you can get up to 20x more useable board from a tree than quarter sawing, plus it is consistent to machine. Of course, it also works beautifully as a tonewood. Definitely a dry tone to my ears with plenty of "pop".

Beard have been using plywood for their resonator guitars for years (the original wood bodied reso guitars were made of thick plywood - like building a speaker box). So it is not surprising that they have chosen the material for their venture into flat top acoustic guitar making. And it is a fine choice for evoking that dry "old school" tone.

It will be interesting to see if other volume makers dare to try birch either solid or as a plywood? I bet that a Waterloo with birch ply back and sides and a spruce top would sound pretty good.

Very early Gibson F-style mandolins used birch for back and sides. My 1917 F-4 was identified as such (and in a fit of madness later swapped for a Bourgeois Slope D).

[bsman]

Carbon fiber for the backs, sides, neck, and top.


Thanks, I'll see myself out...

[Jwills57]

Birch is intriguing, for sure. In that same ballpark, I stumbled upon OM guitars made by one of the greats of the American luthier tradition, William Cumpiano, which use sycamore for the backs and sides. For those who may not be aware, Cumpiano and Natelson basically wrote the book on acoustic guitar construction, a bible to many thousands of up-and-coming luthiers and teachers. His website is cumpiano.com. Click on "obtaining" and then click on "in-the-white steel strings." He has quite a few beautiful guitars for sale, which he makes as his students are making their instruments
and which he then sells on his website, requiring only to be finished, which he does as soon as the guitar is ordered. I have played one Cumpiano guitar years ago and it was a wonderful instrument. I can't see how you would get anything less than a stellar guitar from him. His prices are extremely reasonable, too, for someone with such influence and ability. Might be worth a look.

[Zexxor]

Originally Posted by Dbone

...What are you going with for tone wood selections for your particular situation and why?

I used the custom build thing on the Martin website recently and made myself a fantasy all mahogany OM.
It was $5000 though, so I did not go to my local Martin dealer and order it.
I am still drooling over what that baby would be like.
If I had to change the woods and could do whatever I want, but it had to be something else, I would likely go for hog top, ovangkol back and sapele sides, just so I could find out what that is like.
Crazy, I know.

[perttime]

Originally Posted by Jwills57

Birch is intriguing, for sure. In that same ballpark, I stumbled upon OM guitars made by one of the greats of the American luthier tradition, William Cumpiano, which use sycamore for the backs and sides. For those who may not be aware, Cumpiano and Natelson basically wrote the book on acoustic guitar construction, a bible to many thousands of up-and-coming luthiers and teachers. His website is cumpiano.com. Click on "obtaining" and then click on "in-the-white steel strings." He has quite a few beautiful guitars for sale, which he makes as his students are making their instruments
and which he then sells on his website, requiring only to be finished, which he does as soon as the guitar is ordered. I have played one Cumpiano guitar years ago and it was a wonderful instrument. I can't see how you would get anything less than a stellar guitar from him. His prices are extremely reasonable, too, for someone with such influence and ability. Might be worth a look.

Oh. https://www.cumpiano.com/obtaining-a-cumpiano-guitar . Theres a good variety of nice looking guitars there.

......

I loved the 00 (?) size birch guitar that I got to try - except the guys had tinted their demo guitars in vivid reds and greens. I tend to prefer more woody colors
They have had to close shop but the website is still up. Not sure if they still actually have a couple of guitars available or not. I think this is the one I tried:

https://www.asgard-guitars.com/stockasgardfria-b.html

[Dan Boggs]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

Wow!! That sounds great. I'm very interested in finding a Boucher locally to try.

Dave,

I see you're in Chicago and am aware that Brickhouse Guitars (in Kitchener, Ontario) has some kind of "Chicago Showroom". Their site indicates they currently have 3 Bouchers located there, including this lovely SG-51-BV and custom SGI-OM. There are currently only 7 Boucher Dealers in the US (vs. 38 in Canada!), so this could be a easy way to check them out locally.

I have an SG-41-G which is by far the finest guitar I've ever owned.

https://brickhouseguitars.com/product/boucher-sg-51-bv/

https://brickhouseguitars.com/produc...chestra-model/

[mawmow]

I do not really care for the builder and woods as far as the tone pleases my ears.
I keep an eye on the price though...

[Joe Beamish]

Adirondack/Indian Rosewood because of the overtones, the bass, the responsiveness. And because the best guitar I’ve ever played, my Santa Cruz OM, has those woods.