To make a fine guitar you need top quality materials. All my timber is hand selected with great care. It must of course be well seasoned and dry. Timbers are selected for their structural soundness, density, strength, appearance and tonal response. The tops and neckwood also need to be quarter sawn, for maximum strength. Much thought is given to the matching of timber for the various components of each guitar. This approach has yielded very consistent results.
Soundboard material
Of particular importance in creating a certain style of guitar sound, apart from the considerations of body size, scale-length etc., is the selection of soundboard material, both in terms of the species and the piece. It is vital that the soundboard is perfectly quarter sawn so that it will have maximum strength across the grain. It also needs to be cut straight out of the tree to ensure there is minimal short grain, otherwise the longitudinal strength of the wood will be compromised. I am primarily an Alpine Spruce maker, as that is my own personal preference. It has also been the traditional choice of soundboard wood for both bowed and keyboard instruments over the centuries, as well as plucked ones.
However, the choice of soundboard material and its tonal characteristics is a personal, subjective matter of taste and playing style. Many guitarists prefer the response and tone of a cedar ( Western Red) guitar, and I have made quite a number of them, which I liked very much. I’ve used Port Orford cedar too (a north american species of cypress) for non-classical or cross-over guitars with good results.
Alpine spruce is very strong both along and across the grain, whilst Cedar is not as strong across the grain and needs to be left thicker, requiring more support ( in a traditional build style that is – in a contemporary lattice design it can be used thin of course).
If I describe here what I think are the basic differences in sound between Alpine Spruce and Western Red Cedar, I am not laying down the law, but just offering an opinion from my experience: –
The sound from Cedar is more immediate ( and often louder) than Spruce, but Spruce offers greater clarity, purity of tone and more possibilities for tonal colouration (if you have the right-hand technique to achieve it). With Cedar there are many more overtones present, with resultant loss of clarity, especially in the middle and lower register – but in exchange you get warmth, woodier/earthier (but less focused) basses and mids, and sparkling incisive trebles. Clearly, Spruce and Cedar have very different tonal characteristics, and you may like one or the other, or both. Used well, they both make a lovely guitar.
Back and Sides
The choice of timber for back and sides is not purely a cosmetic one – wood varies a lot in density, strength and tone from one species to another (and also within a species) and this effects the timbre of the guitar.
To generalise, harder woods reflect sound more than softer ones, producing greater attack and loudness, and since they are dense, produce a darker, harder ( and sometimes drier) tone quality.
Softer woods reflect less, resulting in a smooth attack, a warm, sweet tone, but a little less volume.
Therefore it makes sense to go for something between the two extremes, which will have sufficient attack and loudness, but still possess warmth and sweetness of tone. This is my preference.
Following this middle path, I have most often used a medium density Indian rosewood – the harder Maples also work well, as would Walnut ( European or American), although I’ve not used Walnut myself as yet. There are many other possibilities, for instance Satinwood, Mahogany ( if it is recycled) and Malaysian Blackwood – this last is very dense and a bit too heavy for my taste – it does produce very good tone, though a little on the dark side.
In the past I have sometimes used the harder rosewoods ( Brazilian, Madagascar, Honduras) – they can make a very beautiful guitar and each has its particular sonic signature, but they are all brittle and prone to split and crack if allowed to dried out too much. I don’t use them very often these days, both for reasons of stability, and my tonal preference. I use Honduras Rosewood for the bridge.
I make mostly classical guitars, but I enjoy making a flamenco guitars too – Cypress is the traditional back and sides material for Spanish flamenco guitars. It is extremely light and strong and perfect for the job. Tonally it has a clear, airy, earthy quality. It would make a lovely classical guitar too, although, sadly, no-one has ever asked me to make one!
Neck
Usually I use Cedrela for the neck – occasionally mahogany, and ebony for the fingerboard.
Inlays
A variety of natural and dyed woods are used to make the rosettes and purflings, which I always make myself with variations from one batch to another.