Best Wood For Acoustic Guitar Back And Sides

Top or back and sides can influence the entire sound of the instrument.

Best wood for acoustic guitar back and sides.

It resembles the wood of south american mahogany to which it is related. Mahogany back and sides often emphasize bass and treble with more overtone coloration and a woody sound as opposed to the more metallic sound of say rosewood back and sides. This reduces overall stiffness as compared to quartersawn wood to predictable effect. Maple is a very light coloured wood.

Also called cigar box cedar because of its aromatic scent and its wide use in tobacco humidors. Most maple guitar back and side sets are cut on the slab which shows off any grain figure to best advantage. But the most common building material by far is still good old fashioned wood. Personally i would like to see more plain quartersawn maple used for guitar construction boring as that may sound.

They have been set aside for their exceptional color match of the back and sides and the dark color of the sets. The colour of the wood will darken in time with exposure to light into a gorgeous rich amber colour. Changing one tonewood for another regardless of the component e g. Sound wise it falls between rosewood and mahogany.

East indian rosewood seasoned dark. Cherry is a superb tone wood. Mahogany as a guitar top dense mahogany has a solid punchy tone with low overtone content and good high end response. Heartwood color varies from a light pinkish brown to reddish brown.

When used as a top it produces a warm earthy mid range dominant sound with subtle overtones. Rosewood for example is a hardwood that is often used for the back and sides of acoustic guitar bodies and under some circumstances will accentuate note articulation or clarity. A bit more on the mellow side of half way. The top back and sides of professional grade guitars are made of meticulously gauged cuts of solid wood while beginner and intermediate models are built partly sometimes entirely with pressed plywood.

Highs are typically soft and not overly pronounced. Spanish cedar acoustic guitar back sides set cedrela sp. It is fairly light in weight. Once again having a solid top should be the minimum requirement for anyone wanting a nicer acoustic and should be within everyone s budget.

When used as back and sides it is sometimes stained to produce a darker color particularly when used with a spruce top to add contrast. Rosewood is a very popular wood for guitars and has been used a lot traditionally too. These sets have been seasoned for over 25 years.