Why not Mahogany (and other hardwoods) just for tops....?

[Italuke]

It's a combination of yes, tradition in that back in the day, there were only a few woods being used for guitars and it was just more...maybe convenient to make the whole thing outta the same wood. Builders determined that mahogany was suitable for both tops and bodies, so voila, why mix another wood?

And aesthetically, the thought of mixing say hog with rosewood just seemed dumb, as the grain patterns are so different.

[fpuhan]

Just speculating, as I'm not conversant on the science, but I think it may be that the top of a guitar's vibration and the back/sides body resonance have a lot to do with the overall sound. We've all noted that mahogany guitars seem "mellower" than spruce topped guitars. Perhaps luthiers/guitar makers attempt to join the top woods and b/s woods to achieve the sonic results they're hoping to achieve.

Note that Taylor is working with a lot of new wood combinations: swamp ash, urban ash and so on, not only trying to be conservation-oriented, but also to see how they can produce sonically varied guitars.

[EZYPIKINS]

Originally Posted by printer2

How many hog guitars are sold in a year as compared to spruce topped? Less than 5%? How many people would be interested in a hog top with a different back and sides with the same thought that these people would be included in the previous 5%? Maybe less than 5% of the 5%? Is it really worth the development time, marketing, inventory control?

I had a Maritn 000-15 Mahogany top for a while. No, not the 000-15m.

I never could connect with it.

[aschroeder]

The top soundboard of a guitar is the biggest factor in a guitar's tone. When using a harder wood like mahogany for the top it doesn't vibrate as efficiently as a softer wood like spruce, cedar or redwood. Less vibration in a top isn't always a bad thing, it's just different.

For me, hardwood tops need to be on smaller body guitars. I've played larger guitars with Koa and Mahogany tops and they were always very "dry" in tone and never sound very good to me. But on a smaller guitar like an OM it can sound great. I think it is because the smaller body is more articulate sounding and it pairs well with the hardwood top.

With all of that said, tone is so subjective that I always say to trust your ear rather than some dude on an acoustic guitar forum.

[tsmith28]

I love this idea. I'd love to hear what a mahogany top + rosewood B&S guitar would sound like. Warm but with overtones?

I'd much rather see innovation like this than what Martin is doing with the fake aging!

[Dyson Guitars]

Showalter guitars uses sycamore for tops and then whatever back and side you'd like. I've never played one but they sure are pretty.