Cedar vs Adirondack Spruce

[AH Acoustic]

Edited by member.

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by AH Acoustic

I must respectfully offer an alternative viewpoint on this, based on a recording I just did. I have read countless threads on this topic, and honestly, the only way for me to know was to try one in person.

I just recorded this finger style video out of curiosity to compare my red spruce guitar with another guitar, with very soft / dynamic attack, and found the top to be utterly responsive, even with the slightest touch. That said, it doesn't exactly attenuate down to "soft" -- it simply starts resonating with immediacy after any attack. I don't know if this is a bracing or a top wood characteristic - more research needed.


I think the video shows that Adirondack can be extraordinarily responsive, with a very light attack.

I will link the Adirondack (red spruce) video here, so people trying to imagine the sound can simply hear one example -- this is just one example, but I think it shows the capability of the top.

This guitar is Adi braced. (not to spark a debate on this detail -- just to inform listeners).

-a.h.

I have a number of red spruce guitars that respond well to a light touch. But, importantly, still a lot of headroom.

[Alan Carruth]

Yes, because wood is a natural material, which varies. The 'average' piece of Red spruce is denser and stiffer along the grain at a given thickness than the 'average' piece of Engelmann spruce, or Western red cedar. But I've worked with Red spruce tops that that were less dense than the average Engelmann, and Engelmann tops that were denser than most Red spruce. I have one Red spruce top that exactly matches the density and stiffness of a WRC top in my stash. It's about the piece of wood, not the species.

It also has a lot to do with what the maker does. If you want a 'responsive' guitar it's easier to start out with a low density piece of top wood, of whatever species, but if you don't have one there are things you can do to adapt. A good maker can probably get more out of poor wood than a bad maker can get out of the best wood.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by merlin666

Not clear if this will be a steel or nylon strung guitar. I would think that for nylon the cedar might be better choice whereas for steel strings definitely the red spruce.

That's not true. It really depends on how a person plays, the kind of stuff they're playing and what kind of timbre they prefer.

[zackl]

Adirondack can be played anyway you like, hard/light/strumming. Cedar you need to be carefull, if you play to hard, the sound may implode and lose definition. And it’s not even loud then, to cut through with others, forgett it. A good Adi can do it all. Cedar is really nice for light fingerstyle though.

[jdrnd]

Originally Posted by Jwills57

I had one luthier tell me he sampled over 200 tops until he found one that he thought would do.

Who got the other 199 tops?

[Guitars44me]

Originally Posted by zackl

Adirondack can be played anyway you like, hard/light/strumming. Cedar you need to be carefull, if you play to hard, the sound may implode and lose definition. And it’s not even loud then, to cut through with others, forgett it. A good Adi can do it all. Cedar is really nice for light fingerstyle though.

My Cedar topped JK Customs are LOUD. Folks sometimes asked me where my amp was, back when I had unamped gigs. I can hit them as hard as I want with thumb and fingerpicks. No break up, but I will occasionally get flamenco style snare drum effects due to the fairly low action I prefer.

And, John selected through a LOT of top sets, braces with Adi, uses hide glue, and is building one monster HOSS at a time.

YMMV

Paul

[zackl]

Never tried a Cedar topped guitar like that. I need to play more guitars obviously..[emoji274]