A pair of Indian Rosewood OM's - Cedar/Spruce soundboards - AUDIO DEMO ADDED

[TennesseeWalker]

Very, very nice builds and craftsmanship - inspiring

[Oska Burman]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Those are beautiful! The cedar is a gorgeous hue.

Cheers. Yes it's a lovely, old, fine grained set which I got from my mentor, (now retired) Scottish luthier Bill Kelday's wood stash. I might have to try & get some more!

Originally Posted by TennesseeWalker

Very, very nice builds and craftsmanship - inspiring

Thanks a lot. Glad you're inspired.

[Oska Burman]

Hello all! I hope everyone is well.

This is a sound comparison video between Spruce & Cedar topped guitars. I built these two guitars this year for a client in the USA. They are both long scale OM's and are identical in all respects, except for their soundboards - one being European Spruce (Picea abies), the other being Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata).

It gave me a really good chance to make such a video, as we are essentially comparing the tops alone. There will obviously be small differences in the other components, as they were handmade by a human (albeit the same human), even though they are the same species of woods. But in saying that, the Indian Rosewood sets are almost consecutively cut pieces (from Stefan Sobell's wood stash) & all other components are from the same supplier/batch, so they should be very similar in that regard.

This video is not to demonstrate my guitar playing ability! These days, my skills lie in the making, not the playing. So, for this demonstration, to the best of my ability & skillset, I tried to play three different styles - fingerstyle, strumming & drop tuning (DADGAD).

The other specs are as follows:

- Model: OM
- Indian Rosewood back & sides
- Ebony fingerboard, bridge, front headplate & truss rod cover
- Mahogany neck w/ carbon fibre inserts & 2-way adjustable truss rod
- Hawaiian Koa tiled mosaic rosette
- Tasmanian blackwood bindings, endgraft & heelcap
- Flamed maple purflings
- English Walnut back headplate
- White MOP headstock inlay & side fret position markers
- Vintage style White MOP diamond inlays - front
- European Spruce internal bracing
- Bone bridge pins
- Unbleached bone nut & saddle
- Gold Gotoh 510 machine heads with Ironwood buttons
- Finish: Gloss lacquer
- EVO gold fretwire
- 25.4" (645mm) scale length

Audio & video recording: Jill Ryan (JJ Ryan Mandolins).
Audio & video editing: Myself

As always, a good pair of headphones or speakers will do the trick.

Hope you enjoy.

[beatbird]

Both amazing guitars! If I were to buy one it would be the Cedar top because that tone to me is perfect.

[mikealpine]

Originally Posted by beatbird

Both amazing guitars! If I were to buy one it would be the Cedar top because that tone to me is perfect.

That was my impression, as well. I wonder if they’d sound much different with other instruments. To me, the spruce sounded brighter, and I think would stand out more with other guitars playing. I’d love the cedar when playing solo.

[Oska Burman]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

That was my impression, as well. I wonder if theyÂ’d sound much different with other instruments. To me, the spruce sounded brighter, and I think would stand out more with other guitars playing. IÂ’d love the cedar when playing solo.

Thank you mate. Yes (in a nutshell), I'd definitely describe the Spruce as having clarity, with the Cedar having warmth. Agreed, that the Cedar topped guitar would be great in an intimate setting on your own. It will also be great to hear them both in 6-12 months, as the Spruce takes a little longer to open up.