Ray wrote:
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.
Sitka, Engelmann, Adirondack etc are all different species. I used to think that differences were down to the trace elements in the regions in which the trees were grown, but this turns out not be so - or to be unreliable as the trace elements will vary hugely within any of the growing regions.
Adirondack, as noted elsewhere, used to be the top wood of choice, especially for American brands. Then came two world wars and the onset of the age of aviation. Spruce turned out to be good for building plane frames and wings for exactly the same reason it is good for instruments - very high ratios of strength to weight and to thickness. This changed the face of the spruce market, and especially adirondack spruce which is (or was) the prevalent spruce on the east coast of the USA. (sitka is northern west coast - Washington State up into Alaska, engelmann grows mostly in the Rockies). Similar changes would have occured across Europe (spruce grown in warmer climates would be far less desirable as it grows much quicker, thus is softer and weaker).
The impact of market forces and environmental concerns on the guitar industry should not be underestimated. The most notable example is Brazil's clamping down from the late 60s onwards to protect their indigenous forests. Very quickly the "gold standard" Brazilian rosewood became scarce and expensive, and makers such as Martin switched to Indian rosewood. In fact Martin pioneered their "18" series mahogany body guitars in the 30s (IIRC) because already the price of rosewood was going up and driving guitar prices up with it.
Assuming your guitar has a natural finish on the top, you will see it aging.
See:
http://www.hughsfineguitars.co.za/news4.htm somewhere in that lineup is my Morgan OM. Those guitars were just out of the factory when those photos were taken. The tops were very light in colour.
Now see:
http://picasaweb.google.com/megapode/Axes to see more recent pictures of my Morgan. Top is darker, I think richer - the variations due to the grain are a little more apparent (also note the shot of a partially strutted Smoothtalker top - that's brand new Engelmann).
I must say that my ears don't hear much difference between the various spruces - though I do see slight differences in colour. I think the distinctions are there, and I bow to the greater knowledge and more discerning ears of the experts and especially the luthiers, but I think it's also exaggerated by sellers of vintage instruments. After all, if you're buying a Martin then you
really should get one with an Adirondack top, shouldn't you?
There are, of course, aesthetic considerations. To me Brazilian rosewood is nicer to look at than Indian, though given the price you pay for Brazilian these days I wouldn't let the colour and the grain be the only factor in the decision making process.
