How about some "pinker" cedar

dennisczech · #1 05-21-2021, 04:18 PM

I've been having a bit of a spate of WAS recently, and got some tops in from my contact, which I'm passing on to Nick Branwell. Some more of the Italian spruce from the 80s, but the stuff that really made me jump was this sinker cedar with beautiful pink streaks. The first set in particular has a phenomenal tap tone, and is light as a feather, I think it's gonna have to become my next OM from Nick, but what to pair it with? Something very dense like Amazon RW, or lighter like Tasmanian blackwood?

Steve Kinnaird · #2 05-22-2021, 12:26 PM

Lovely stuff there. I think it would pair well visually with some nicely streaked Maccassar Ebony.

Steve

Guitars44me · #3 05-27-2021, 07:32 PM

Very pretty Cedar!!!

I LOVE Cedar tops. They work GREAT for me.

John Kinnard has built me Four incredible axes with super cedar tops. ALL are spectacular. The backs and sides are, Figured Mahogany, Spanish Cedar (Mahogany relative), flamed maple, and the latest is very old reclaimed vertical Brazilian Rosewood!

He also built me a killer with Honduran Rosewood and bearclaw Euro Spruce. But I really prefer the Cedar tops for what and how I play.

Have FUN with this! And stay tuned! Hahaha

Paul

mikealpine · #4 05-28-2021, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

Lovely stuff there. I think it would pair well visually with some nicely streaked Maccassar Ebony.

Steve

That would be awesome! I really never gave cedar a chance because I strum far more than fingerpick and was always afraid of the oft-mentioned lack of headroom and tendency to sound overly warm. I tend to like a crisper tone and have leaned toward redwood to get power, crispness and warmth. However, I get the impression that in the right hands, a cedar topped guitar can have some good strumming power, with some sparkle. Maybe it won't crush guitars built for bluegrass jams, but for your typical singer-songwriter, I'm sure it would be lovely.

dennisczech · #5 05-28-2021, 10:34 AM

I tend to gravitate towards a spruce tone, but I really love cedar as well. Nick Branwell produces a wonderful tone with Engelmann and Alpine, so I'm curious how he does with this stuff, which is really light: about 330 kg/m3. The tap tone is very different from the old alpine spruce tops I've got, hard to describe, but the cedar has a more vitreous ping and a long sustain in the bass, whereas the spruce feels more drum like. I'm thinking about pairing the 1st cedar set with this Aussie blackwood: