Blue Silk Tonewood

The Top Wood ~

Well...the debate continues.

That being said, it probably always will, given the subjective nature of sound and aesthetics.

  What you put on the top of your guitar, (species of wood), depends completely upon two things.

1. How do you want your guitar to look,

2. How do you want your guitar to sound.

  Some thought must also be given to the shape of your guitar, and the use of your guitar, as this will also have an impact on which type of wood you should choose for your top.

  My specialty, being Western Red Cedar, Engelmann spruce, and Sitka spruce, will be the only soundboard species discussed here.

  Sitka spruce, having a high-strength to low weight ratio, gives the top a beefy tone, a great deal of strength along the grain, and across the grain.  (Provided it is well quartered) This top would be better suited for a dreadnought or Jumbo used for heavy strumming as opposed to a classical guitar that will be plucked.  Using Sitka on a guitar made for picking, would generally leave you with a ‘thin’ sound.

  Sitka tends to be richer in color than some of the other Spruces.  It is slightly on the more pink side of off white, with subtle hues of light purple, and a kaleidoscope of colors at the cellular level.  (I refer to it as ‘Eye Candy’)

  This sometimes giant tree has been known to grow 95 meters tall and 5 meters in diameter!  This would account for a better yield in harvesting tops, and a lesser chance of “run out”.

  Engelmann, usually whiter in color than Sitka, a bit less ‘weighty’, and less stiff, is a better choice for building a smaller guitar.

 This wood ‘carries the overtones’ necessary for players who pick, rather than strum. 

An Engelmann topped guitar would tend to loose clarity when played loudly.

  With spruce being harvested at an alarming rate, the size of the logs dwindles as well. The smaller diameter coupled with the tendency to twist as it grows, gives Engelmann a high occurrence of run out. 

  The recent Pine Beetle infestation has left both spruce and pine populations in the BC interior, devastated.

  The live, standing trees with a beetle infestation will have the sap wood ruined due to the oxygen exposure causing the sapwood to turn blue with stain.  Often, because of the small diameter, the sap wood is included in the top where there is not a bold difference in color.

  Western red cedar varies in color from ‘Sitka like’, or blond, to chocolate brown.

It often boasts a plethora of color in the same board!

  Structurally, Western Red Cedar lacks strength along the grain. It is considerably lighter in weight than Sitka and Engelmann, and being much softer than the spruces, it will tend to scratch and ding easily. (a pick guard would be wise)

  Red Cedar has a high overtone content making it a perfect choice for smaller bodied guitars, and lighter playing. A heavy handed strummer would probably find this guitar sounding ‘muddy’ when strummed loudly.

My thanks to the many Luthier Forums, my guitar builder and tonewood manufacturing

friends, and Acoustic Guitar Magazine for the insights, teachings, and information they have provided.

Experience though...is the greatest teacher of all.