Official Luthiers Forum!

Well, I forgot tops...so here's what I like on those, in no particular order:

Sitka (yes, I'm a big fan of sitka)
Adirondack Spruce
Redwood
Western Red Cedar

I haven't tried any Euro spruce, except a top from Rivolta on an OM I have yet to finish. One of these days.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

[QUOTE=Roy O] [QUOTE=Keith M] Dave,
Actually West Indies Mahogany AKA Cuban Mahogany grows in south Florida I have seen some four foot diameter trees in the Florida Keys.[/QUOTE]

"Cuban Mahogany" is farmed in Palau which may be where much of the stuff on the market today is coming from.[/QUOTE]

The Cuban mahogany I sell is from ST.Croix.-blown down by a hurricane.

[QUOTE=martinedwards]

Being a Girly, you can save the shavings of EIR for a popery
sorry....

Pot Pourri[/QUOTE]

Pot Porri???????????

Martin, don't you know me by now?? Yes, I am a girl, but not Girly!!!

I am building an OM now with Macassar Ebony. It's braced with the back glued to the rims, and it resonates deeply and loudly like nothing else I have built before, even dreads. Final verdict will have to wait until it's strung up, but I'm very excited about Macassar in the interim.

Madagascar rosewood is often mentioned as one of the "Braz. substitutes". I don't have any experience with it other than as appointments (and I don't know if I will use it, many people feel it should be protected a lot better than it is, coming from the "third world of the third world").

Anyways, what do you all think about it? I don't see it on anybody's list...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Favorite: boy, that's a toughie.

There's so much to love about BRW: it looks great, smells great, works great (if it's not that darn stumpwood) and sounds terrific. If only is was more stable, and less costly.

Osage is right up there for me; the more I use the better I like it. Part of that's because I'm learning how to work it without quite so much of a fight. It's ornery stuff with hand tools, but the results are worth it. Sorry, Mike: I'll just have to make another!

After that it gets harder to choose. I'm reminded of something a music prof said to me when I asked him if there was any sort of music he didn't like. "Well no, but five minutes of Chinese Mandarin Opera in a year is enough..."

Maybe, just because I'm such an ornery cuss myself, I'd say quartered oak was the third. Where else do you get a ray pattern like that?

For tops, I've never met a piece of Red spruce I didn't like for tone. Some of it looks terrible, but sounds so nice. The only drawback with it is that it's usually too dense for classicals, and there I'd go with a light piece of European spruce for preference. But, heck, cedar's great if you want to be careful, and redwood can be super.

Let's face it, I'm a kid in a candy shop. I'm going to use a friend's resaw on Friday to open up a plank of bay/laurel, and another of figured cherry, and I can't wait to get to those guitars. What gorgeous stuff, and what luck to get to work with it.

[QUOTE=Arnt] Madagascar rosewood is often mentioned as one of the "Braz. substitutes". I don't have any experience with it other than as appointments (and I don't know if I will use it, many people feel it should be protected a lot better than it is, coming from the "third world of the third world").

Anyways, what do you all think about it? I don't see it on anybody's list...[/QUOTE]

I love it. I can't get enough of it.

However, I hear you about the scarce resource issue, but with or without your business it sounds like they are cutting down every stick of it they can find. Madagascar Ebony is "the good stuff" too and it seems like that is disappearing fast as well. If you want it you better grab some now.... soon you probably won't have the chance.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Black Limba sounds too much like a frightening snake.

I love all of it, but my past year of WAS has brought me to appreciate more of the domestic type hardwoods for B&S. I really like working with the Curly Cherry, Maple and Curly White Oak.

I find beauty and sound from other places as well and am gearing up to add Mesquite, Myrtle, Spanish Cedar and Osage Orange to my stash in the next few weeks. For Soundboards I like and have worked with Engleman, Sitka (Bearclaw) and WRC. I have not worked with Redwood or Red Spruce as of yet, but will be purchasing some Lutz and Red Spruce very soon.

Mike