Tone woods...??? (wooden spoon post)

Spyke · 2009-02-10T09:26:13+00:00

While my knowledge of tone woods and the like are functional at best, I thought I'd learn a little more by starting a bit of a debate, friendly of course. I...

Tone woods...??? (wooden spoon post)

g1

Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
Wizard wrote: I've seen more bass guitars with 'wood-look' bodies than normal guitars. Culture or reason?
Combination of things I think. A few educated guesses:
Bass luthiers were hit by dwindling supplies of tonewoods before those building guitars (because of the relatively large sizes they needed), so they were first to really embrace alternate tonewoods like wenge and bubinga, most of which are best left natural or finished in clear.

For the most part, bassists find natural tones with few or relatively subtle effects work better for their instrument. It's likely that this mindset carried across to their finishes too.

Bassists have better taste than guitarists? (Not sure - I haven't tasted many) ?

The differentiating factor is that guitarists are boring. It's just the way it is. Bass luthier's will pioneer the way and guitar luthiers will always be lagging 20 years behind ?

AlanRatcliffe

guitar luthiers will always be lagging 20 years behind

Actually, you will find that the electric guitar has a 20 year lead over the electric bass. More if you count the early small production electrics.

Anyway, aren't bass luthiers just failed guitar luthiers? Just like bassists are usually failed guitarists? ?

Wizard

Popped into Plumstead Bothners after work for a quick toy shop perve.
Many beautiful wooden basses. Only one wood-look strat ... at 24k.

Manfred-Klose

Popped into Plumstead Bothners after work for a quick toy shop perve.

Seems like the guitar has bitten you big time(a quote by eddie van halen)

g1

Seeing as we're talking about tonewoods, here's some of the pieces I picked up from my recent trip to the lumber yard:

Wizard

g1 wrote: Seeing as we're talking about tonewoods, here's some of the pieces I picked up from my recent trip to the lumber yard:

wow - quite a load you got there.
Getting new wood is really exciting.
Love the feel, smell, ... everything.
yum

And I can see you're the same - itching to share your pictures with us
?

AlanRatcliffe

Y'know, it's really nice to know I'm not the only wood fetishist around here anymore. ?

Wizard

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Y'know, it's really nice to know I'm not the only wood fetishist around here anymore. ?

If I need to cheer myself up, I'll go into my workshop just to be greeted by the smell of wood.
w-a-y fetished on this side I'm afraid.

Manfred-Klose

G1, nice ?

Where do you source your wood from?

Manfred-Klose

Y'know, it's really nice to know I'm not the only wood fetishist around here anymore.

I use to work at woodworking furniture workshop, it was really fun to go to work everyday, the smell of wood just calms me down, thats until i smelled kamfer(it is used to make vicks).

When searching for a certain piece of wood in the workshop, we were trained to remember the smell of the wood in order to recognise what type of wood it was, since some of the woods look similar.
(by useing a piece of sandpaper and sand until the smell comes out)

I know it sounds crazy,and some of you may not believe me, but after a while you get use to it.

I only recently started working with wood again, and it is so much fun.

Wizard

Manfred Klose wrote: (by useing a piece of sandpaper and sand until the smell comes out)
I know it sounds crazy,and some of you may not believe me, but after a while you get use to it.

Not crazy at all - the first thing I do when I cut a fresh piece of wood is smell it. And every wood smells very different.
Kiaat smells wholesome and healthy - my favourite smell.
Rosewood smells like my grandmother's bathroom.
Padauk has a very distinct smell that permeates everything - still making up my mind if I like it.
Don't remember Maple having a smell ... mmm ... must go back and double check that one
My work generates a LOT of sawdust, so lots of smells

MoJo-JoJoe

AlanRatcliffe

MoJo JoJoe wrote: I have a bit of a wood fetish thing going on too.... :-[

Ummm... no fooling?

Mmm. Is that Wenge neck and maple body a Warwick? Thought the wenge/bubinga was a Warwick for a second too, til I saw the Ibanez volute. Also, is the Braz PRS a one piece Honduran body? Looks like it from here).

Careful - you're in danger of being banned for inspiring extreme jealousy in the mod (If we don't have a rule saying that's a no-no, I'll have to write one). ?

MoJo-JoJoe

Ray

Some talk about spruce for a top on acoustic guitars. Is there anyting apart form the color that spearates sitka and engelmann spruce. Some lovely wood up above in this thread. I always wonder what the trees looked like.

AlanRatcliffe

Don't forget Adirondack, German, Alpine and Carpathian spruces too! ?

From Luthier's Mercantile:
Sitka spruce has long been the staple choice for steel-string guitars made in the United States, though a handful of classical builders like it as well. It is well known for its pinkish-white color that tans nicely over the years. It imparts a strong, focused tone with a strong fundamental, making it perfect for flatpicking guitar styles. Adirondack spruce (a.k.a. red spruce) is perhaps a better choice for these instruments and, though it was used early on in the history of steel-string guitars (notably, the highly sought after pre-war Martins) it is now considered a high-end alternative because it is so difficult to procure suitable logs. Its excellent stiffness helps create an instrument with great volume, power and immediacy.

There are other spruces that differ from Sitka in that they are a little sweeter sounding, notably Engelmann spruce from Western Canada and blue Engelmann spruce from Colorado. These have become popular with fingerstyle guitarists and are commonly found on classical guitars. Blue spruce is a rare item but has been used with great success by New Mexico luthier, Don Musser. Canadian Engelmann, on the other hand, continues to grow in popularity and is esteemed for its fine grain and bright color.

When Engelmann spruce was first being discovered by luthiers, it was touted as an inexpensive replacement for German spruce and in fact, it has many of the same fine qualities- a robust sound rich in harmonics with good projection. German spruce is the wood commonly used to build instruments in the violin family. It has an overall bright color, but with a creamy, slightly golden cast. It is considered by many to be a premier tonewood for both classical and steel-string guitars.

Recently, several European alternatives to German spruce have emerged in the American market. The first is Italian spruce and its cousin, Alpine/Italian spruce. Italian spruce is of the same species as German spruce (picea excelsa) but has a slightly flatter coloration (more of a basic white) and a more focused tone. Guitars made from this wood have a sweet, singing quality.

Alpine/Italian spruce (also picea excelsa) is similar in tone, but varies in appearance in that it is a little more pink/tan in color (though still basically white). Finally, there is Ukrainian spruce from the Caucasus and Carpathian mountains that surround the Black sea; this wood has a very creamy, white appearance and often has wider grain than the other European spruces. Tops made of this material are quite stiff and offer a slightly brighter, glassier tap tone than the other European spruces. Some will be drawn to compare Ukrainian spruce to Adirondack spruce. It is slightly less expensive than the other European spruces but the best tops offer the same rich tone.

Ray

Thanks Alan. I am getting a Cort CJ5X and on Cort site they reckon the top is solid Engelmann spruce. So it sounds ok for me anyway.

Wizard

I like the wood look.
http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=0101570852
http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=0101580852

Wizard

Look at this yummy stuff:
http://www.veddermountainhardwoods.com/tag/electric-guitar-wood/

Wizard

http://rockflt.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Wood.260210827_std.jpg