Guitar Woods |
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Cedar -
gaining in popularity for use in construction of guitar tops. A cedar top usually is a little thicker that one of spruce. Produces a warmer "darker" tone than spruce |
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Cypress -
Specifically used for the back and sides of the Flamenco guitar. It produces a tone more brilliant than the traditional woods. Its color is blonde instead of the dark, reddish-brown of rosewood or mahogany. |
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Ebony -
most often used for fingerboards. It is one of the strongest, densest, and heaviest of all commercial woods. The best ebony is extremely fine in texture and pure black. |
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Jacaranda -
a term some guitar makers reserve for the most exotic Brazilian rosewood. Also known as "The Holy Tree". |
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Mahogany -
excellent for back and sides of instruments, though considered to be a notch below rosewood or maple. Mahogany is popularly used for necks on acoustic guitars. This light-to-dark reddish-brown wood is stable, durable, attractive, consistent is texture, but moderately variable is weight, hardness, and strength. It is a low-shrinkage wood, easy to work with glues and tools, and it finishes beautifully. Honduras is the major source of mahogany and African or Philippines mahogany which includes hundreds of species often substituted for true mahogany. |
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Maple -
off-white in color, it is hard, heavy, strong, shock-resistant and stiff. Often the grain is fairly straight, but exotic variations in pattern include bird's eye, flame and curly maple. Rock maple and hard maple( common name for sugar maple) are used for electric guitar fingerboards and solid necks. Maple is thought to be equal to rosewood particularly to violin makers who have used it for centuries. |
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Redwood -
the softest wood used for guitar tops. Because of its softness, it must be cut thicker than a cedar or spruce top. |
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Rosewood -
generally thought to be one of the finest wood for the resonant chamber (back and sides) of the guitar. The main sources are South America, (Brazilian) and India. The percentage of East Indian rosewood has increased due to restrictions imposed by the Brazilian government. Brazilian rosewood grows in many shades of brown, red and even purple. Its large pores, wild colors, and swirling black grain are especially distinctive. Most of the Brazilian forests are severely depleted. |
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Spruce -
guitar tops are traditional a tight-grained North American spruce. A moderately strong, uniformly textured wood with generally straight grain and high degree of resonance. It is the most desired wood for guitar tops and piano soundboards. Sitka spruce is off-white or yellow in color.
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