Thoughts on a cedar Top OM guitar

[TomB'sox]

To echo a previous poster regarding Ben Wilborn and cedar, I have one with EIR back and sides and it is stellar. I bought it at Woodstock and it has opened up so nicely, it does everything I ask. Ben and I have talked about the common belief on headroom and he and I played some of his cedar guitars loudly and I don't know how anyone would want to play any louder and there was no problem with headroom.

I also had another builder tell me he felt like cheating when he used a Cedar top because he said "it was impossible to make a bad guitar with a cedar top".

I would not hesitate if it is something you would want to try.

[DownUpDave]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Fair enough - I knew I would get some pushback from mentioning some possibilities that ran counter to the beatific group hug some of you were engaged in! . But I chose to play Devil’s Advocate simply because nobody else was doing so.

It’s quite obvious that magnificent OM guitars can be built out that tonewood combination, provided that the builder has experience working with it. I would hesitate to ask a builder who hasn’t used it before to make an OM, though, simply because of the aspects I mentioned in my earlier post.

Hope that makes more sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

No push back on my part Wade, just having fun with some sarcasm. Your points are well made and from a position of experience. The more opinions one receives on a question asked the better informed a person is to make a smart decision.

[Wade Hampton]

The longtime builder and methodically-minded Al Carruth wrote:

Originally Posted by Alan Carruth

I've used cedar on OM-style guitars and it works well if you use it right. I agree with Wade that you probably don't want to make the box deeper, but it need not be any shallower then 'normal'. Make sure you have a good pick guard on it from the beginning; this stuff dents if you think hard abut it unless it has a finish that's 'way too thick.

The advice about a pickguard is good and worth heeding. I've got three cedar-topped guitars and two cedar-topped mountain dulcimers, and they get "weathered" and "experienced-looking" in no time at all.

"Weathered-looking" kind of like this guy:

Actual photo of Al Carruth

Seriously, unless you're constantly mindful, on cedar tops dings and dents appear seemingly all by themselves. On two of the guitars and both dulcimers the scratches are minimal and indicative of normal playing wear over the course of many years, but the little Seagull Folk model I bought used in a Vancouver BC pawnshop has got so many scratches and divots out of its surface that it looks kind of like a WWI no man's land:

"Mon Dieu!"

It sounds great, though!

Anyway, putting a pickguard on any cedar-topped guitar is a good idea, because that's the place on the top where most damage will occur. Even if you don't use picks, dings and scratches can accumulate in that spot remarkably quickly. If you hate the way a dark colored pickguard looks, think about getting a clear one. It will make a positive difference.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by DownUpDave

No push back on my part Wade, just having fun with some sarcasm. Your points are well made and from a position of experience. The more opinions one receives on a question asked the better informed a person is to make a smart decision.

That was my intent. Thank you. Part of it, too, was my own instinctive contrarian tendency: whenever I see an online "Amen Corner" forming, I tend to jump in and say: "Yeah, but consider this aspect..."

Ultimately, if everyone remains friendly, it does help illuminate the subject more completely. As a wise man once said:

Originally Posted by DownUpDave

The more opinions one receives on a question asked the better informed a person is to make a smart decision.

Cheers!


whm

[Alan Carruth]

Wade:
I must object: that's NOT an 'actual photo of Al Carruth", the guy in your picture is 'way handsomer and more picturesque.

It is, of course, quite possible to make a cedar topped guitar with good 'headroom'. You just have to know how, and use the right piece of cedar. It's just that headroom comes more naturally to some other woods.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Anyway, putting a pickguard on any cedar-topped guitar is a good idea, because that's the place on the top where most damage will occur. Even if you don't use picks, dings and scratches can accumulate in that spot remarkably quickly. If you hate the way a dark colored pickguard looks, think about getting a clear one. It will make a positive difference.

My newest guitar has a cedar top, and my next guitar will have a cedar top as well.

What I should really say here is that my newest guitar has a cedar top to which I added a pickguard, thanks to advice I received from Wade. If I buy another guitar, it will have a cedar top, and I'll add a pickguard if it doesn't have one.

Whether I'm strumming or playing fingerstyle, I anchor my right hand with the little finger. With a cedar top, I need a pick guard to keep from wearing a hole in my anchor spot.

[Wade Hampton]

After I posted this "actual photo" of Al Carruth:

Maybe NOT Al Carruth

Al himself wrote to say:

Originally Posted by Alan Carruth

Wade:
I must object: that's NOT an 'actual photo of Al Carruth", the guy in your picture is 'way handsomer and more picturesque.

Well, he KINDA looks like you, Al, and I think if you put on a cowboy hat and a squinty, lookin'-at-the-far-horizon cowpoke gaze, most people couldn't tell the difference. The only other photos of you I have are the ones of you winning the swimsuit competition at the Sullivan County, New Hampshire County Fair, and I wasn't sure whether you wanted those visual embodiments of New England-style machismo going out over the Internet...


Wade Hampton Miller

[virob]

I have a cedar/maple OM Webber. It has an appealing tone that is intimate, clear with just enough warmth. Wonderful for fingerstyle. I used to think that it was a little too quiet and limited in headroom which I attributed to both the cedar and the maple. I recently tried medium strings, which really brought this particular guitar to life. Now I can't imagine parting with it.
In general, I might still prefer spruce which is more of a "do-it-all wood", but one of each makes a great combination.