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  #1  
Old 02-07-2005, 12:36 PM
JoelP2600 JoelP2600 is offline
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Default Cherry Wood for an Acoustic Guitar??

Is Cherry a Tone-wood?
A few years ago I got a crazy idea to build an electric guitar, just for fun..
A friend of mine got me a cherry board that's like 12ft long but only 8 inches wide, and over 2 inches thick.

To build anything you'd have to piece it together..
I was just wondering if Cherry is a tone wood, and if so, has anyone ever played a Cherry acoustic??
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Old 02-07-2005, 12:47 PM
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Bill Cory Bill Cory is offline
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The Godin co in Canada makes Seagull guitars, many of which have cherrywood bodies. I've owned two of them and the tone of both was excellent. Check them out at http://www.seagullguitars.com .

G'luck.
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Old 02-07-2005, 12:50 PM
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Yes, chery is definitely a tone wood. Martin uses it a lot in its "Smartwood" Series, which are guitars made from woods which are certified not in danger of being overharvested (at least right now), or sustainable.

Mine is an SWM-GT, a fairly large size with Sitka top, cherry back and sides, and Katalox (a Mexican hardwood) fingerboard and bridge. It has a great tone, somewhere between mahogany and rosewood. Mine came with satin finish on the sides and back, but I glossed it up to show of the beautiful cherry wood grain.

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Old 02-07-2005, 12:54 PM
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Lakewood in Germany also offer Cherry as tonewood.
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Old 02-07-2005, 12:56 PM
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I've played a few of the Martin Smart Wood models, and they were all excellent. Cherry is also used extensively in mountain dulcimers. I think one of the reasons it's avoided in guitars is that it's not terribly interesting to look at, as a rule. It's also not "traditional," like mahogany and rosewood. I'd like to see it used more.
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Old 02-07-2005, 01:00 PM
JoelP2600 JoelP2600 is offline
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Default Any aspiring Luthiers out there..

Wow, the Seagul Cherry Back and Sides is a light wood.. I kind of always though cherry was a darker wood.

Are there any lutiers out there, close to Oakland, MD 21550, who would like to build something out of my cherry board.
I'll be surprised if I ever get the time to sit down and try myself.

It's a think chunk bacause I originally wanted to build a solid body. But I'd love to see what you guys could do with it.
I'm pretty sure it's like
8''x2''x10-12'
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Old 02-07-2005, 01:36 PM
Fngrstyl Fngrstyl is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Will Franklin
The Godin co in Canada makes Seagull guitars, many of which have cherrywood bodies. I've owned two of them and the tone of both was excellent. Check them out at http://www.seagullguitars.com .

G'luck.
But that is Cherry Laminate, not solid wood.

Cherry isnt all that dark, but most people stain it dark. I never understood that because cherry is so beautiful when it is natural.
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Old 02-07-2005, 01:41 PM
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The wood Godin (Seagull, et al) uses is wild cherry, and that could account for the different appearance. As noted, their wild cherry is all laminate, so the grain will look different, too.
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Old 02-07-2005, 04:02 PM
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Default cherry

Cherry darkens faster than most woods, especially if it's just clearcoated (no stain). Give the natural cherry a hundred years or so and it will be very, very dark.

That's one reason cherry is frequently stained. The other is that different boards can have drastically different aging qualities. A good color match when new may look like three different shades in a year or two. Since a quality guitar is going to have a book-matched back that was cut from the same board, that particular problem shouldn't apply in most cases.

BTW, cherry is similar to good mahogany in density. I'd call it medium hard/soft.
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