Topping It Off..
A guitar's soundboard, or top, acts as the focal point as well as the main contributor to the overall volume and tone of an acoustic guitar. Try to think of the top in Stereo Speaker terms. Working in conjunction with the strings, the bridge and the rest of the body, the top acts as the stereo cone and projects the sound out and away from the guitar. Like a stereo cone, the soundboard should be light yet stiff and strong for maximum resonance.Luthiers have zeroed in on woods like spruce, cedar and koa that are stiff, strong and yield maximum projection, yet remarkably add their own unique tonal imprint on the final sound.
The Spruces
With its superior tensile strength, workability and availability, spruce is the venerable favorite of the industry and can be found on the vast majority of guitars today. Generally speaking spruce-topped guitars sound "tight" at first and may take some time to "open up" and it is not uncommon for a solid spruce-topped guitar to take months or even years before it fully opens up.
Usually possessing a lighter beige or even creamy white color, spruce is available on acoustics in quite a few species, three of which are listed below.
Usually possessing a lighter beige or even creamy white color, spruce is available on acoustics in quite a few species, three of which are listed below.
Sitka Spruce
Found primarily in with west coast forests of the United States and Canada, Sitka Spruce is the most common spruce used by today's manufacturers. It makes a very strong, projecting guitar with balanced resonant sound and good sustain. We particularly love it's versatile dynamic range.
Players with a aggressive style will enjoy it's nearly limitless ceiling, however fingerstyle players may have to wait for the guitar to break in before the complex overtones and harmonics can be heard, as Sitka shows a very strong tendency to improve with age, perhaps more than other woods - A must for Bluegrass or flatpicking style.
Adirondack Spruce
Also known as Red or Appalachian spruce, Red Spruce has an esteemed chapter in the chronicles of guitar making as it was used on many of the preeminent Martins of the pre-WWII era. Because of over-forestation, the availability has waned over the years, but now Adirondack has made a comeback of sorts - as another generation of these trees have begun to mature.
This supply of relatively immature trees produce a definitive creamy-white wood that tend to lack a uniformity of look (they tend to be wider-grained and more irregular in color and grain patterns), but tonally, Adirondack Spruce is even more dynamic than Sitka, with a punchier bass and a higher ceiling for volume. The payoff is the ability to drive these tops harder without losing clarity.
Engelmann Spruce
Slightly less strong than Sitka and generally softer, Engelmann Spruce has Adirondack's creamy white color, but shows more uniformity and good silking (horizontal lines through the grain). We find it's beautiful, rich, sensitive tone perfect fingerstyle and light flatpicking. With good bass response, slightly less midrange brightness than Sitka, and a brilliant overtone harmonic structure - it may be the perfect spruce for lighter playing.
Found primarily in with west coast forests of the United States and Canada, Sitka Spruce is the most common spruce used by today's manufacturers. It makes a very strong, projecting guitar with balanced resonant sound and good sustain. We particularly love it's versatile dynamic range.
Players with a aggressive style will enjoy it's nearly limitless ceiling, however fingerstyle players may have to wait for the guitar to break in before the complex overtones and harmonics can be heard, as Sitka shows a very strong tendency to improve with age, perhaps more than other woods - A must for Bluegrass or flatpicking style.
Adirondack Spruce
Also known as Red or Appalachian spruce, Red Spruce has an esteemed chapter in the chronicles of guitar making as it was used on many of the preeminent Martins of the pre-WWII era. Because of over-forestation, the availability has waned over the years, but now Adirondack has made a comeback of sorts - as another generation of these trees have begun to mature.
This supply of relatively immature trees produce a definitive creamy-white wood that tend to lack a uniformity of look (they tend to be wider-grained and more irregular in color and grain patterns), but tonally, Adirondack Spruce is even more dynamic than Sitka, with a punchier bass and a higher ceiling for volume. The payoff is the ability to drive these tops harder without losing clarity.
Engelmann Spruce
Slightly less strong than Sitka and generally softer, Engelmann Spruce has Adirondack's creamy white color, but shows more uniformity and good silking (horizontal lines through the grain). We find it's beautiful, rich, sensitive tone perfect fingerstyle and light flatpicking. With good bass response, slightly less midrange brightness than Sitka, and a brilliant overtone harmonic structure - it may be the perfect spruce for lighter playing.
Western Red Cedar
Guitar Note
The only real alternative to cedar is redwood. It is richer in color than cedar with darker reds and though similar tonally to cedar, it tends to be more robust, brighter and perhaps a better choice sonically for steel-string guitars (as opposed to nylon-stringed instruments).
Unfortunately, it is harder to come by and more expensive as most of the old-growth trees are under protection, or have been seriously diminished by aggressive logging.
Western Red Cedar is by far the most popular cedar used on acoustic tops and has a nice red-tan color that ranges from a deep brown to a light beige. It is less dense than spruce and tends to dent or nick easily because of it. It also sets a lower ceiling on volume levels driven by an aggressive playing style.
Many guitarists swear by it, however, for it's nuanced, warmer, "more broken in" sound. We find it great for the nuances of fingerstyle and classical playing, while flatpickers may find it a frustrating to get the volume to match their attack.
Many guitarists swear by it, however, for it's nuanced, warmer, "more broken in" sound. We find it great for the nuances of fingerstyle and classical playing, while flatpickers may find it a frustrating to get the volume to match their attack.
Hardwood Tops
Taking some notes from Ukulele's construction (all Koa Wood body), today's luthiers are experimenting more and more with "hardwood top" guitars (tops made of the same wood as the back and sides) - with brilliant results. Although generally not as loud as spruce-topped guitars, we find these guitars to have a shimmery, crisp, pure quality with limitless tonal characteristics based on body size, strings used, etc. These guitars can sound over bright at first, but will mellow out considerably after being played for a while.
Mahogany
With it's characteristically reddish wood color with tight grain, Mahogany topped guitars have been used as guitar tops since the 1920's and have been a favorite choice for coffee house players looking for a balance of earthy, solid, yet not overpowering sound.
A mahogany guitar will sound bigger than Koa and more direct than Spruce (although not as loud). It's considerable density produces a solid tone which responds best at the upper end of the dynamic range. These guitars exhibit a strong "punchy" tone well suited to country blues playing.
Koa
Like Mahogany, koa topped guitars has been used for soundboards since the 1920s. Absolutely stunning in appearance, koa has a relatively low velocity of sound and considerable density with low overtones - generally a very clean sound. It tends to respond best at the upper end of the dynamic range. Koa has a somewhat more "midrangey" tone that works well for playing rhythm and truly shines in guitars made for slide playing.
Be warned - koa will sound bright at first and takes some time to mellow.
With it's characteristically reddish wood color with tight grain, Mahogany topped guitars have been used as guitar tops since the 1920's and have been a favorite choice for coffee house players looking for a balance of earthy, solid, yet not overpowering sound.
A mahogany guitar will sound bigger than Koa and more direct than Spruce (although not as loud). It's considerable density produces a solid tone which responds best at the upper end of the dynamic range. These guitars exhibit a strong "punchy" tone well suited to country blues playing.
Koa
Like Mahogany, koa topped guitars has been used for soundboards since the 1920s. Absolutely stunning in appearance, koa has a relatively low velocity of sound and considerable density with low overtones - generally a very clean sound. It tends to respond best at the upper end of the dynamic range. Koa has a somewhat more "midrangey" tone that works well for playing rhythm and truly shines in guitars made for slide playing.
Be warned - koa will sound bright at first and takes some time to mellow.
