Dis-Similar Acoustic Back and Sides?
JimLowther
This is one of those compulsive curiosity questions I get from time to
time.
Has anyone ever tried making the back and sides of an acoustic from
two different species of wood? And--which contributes more to the
distinctive resulting tone? Would a guitar with Mahocany sides and EI
Rosewood back sond more like a Rose wood or Mahogany guitar? (I ask
this, although I am becoming ore and more convinced that resulting
tone has as much to do with construction techiniques and the
individual luthier skills than with wood choice, if not more.)
Best wishes,
Dr. Jim Lowther
alcarruth
the back. Padauk is a pretty decent rosewood substitute, and they have
much more of a 'rosewood' than a 'maple' sound.
I've said it often before: wood offers possibilities and sets limits.
The better you are as a luthier the more of the possibilities you can
realize, and the harder you can push the limits. But you can't get
something out of the wood that's not there.
Most builders I know feel that most of the sound is in the top, with
the back contributing some, and the sides having only a marginal
effect. Some people feel that what the top gives you is the power,
while the B&S contribute more in the way of 'tone color', and that
might be a good way to look at it.
The other thing to keep in mind is that the great guitars are the ones
where everything is 'just right'. Dante pointed out that the closer a
thing is to perfection, the more small imperfections matter. It would
probably be possible to ruin an otherwise great guitar with a really
bad set of sides, or, at least, to reduce it to mediocrity. I'm not
sure if a fine BRW back could redeem sides of, say, Masonite.
Alan Carruth / Luthier
Ed Edelenbos
"JimLowther" <JimLo...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:019ecd45-1357-4fa4...@26g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...
Martin (?? I think, I'm going on memory here) made several guitars with 1/2
and 1/2 mahogany and rosewood. I forget what the model was but I'm sure it
could be found via google. I remember playing one and thinking it was more
rosewood-ish than mahogany.
A bunch of years ago, I made a "courting dulcimer" as a wedding present for
a close friend. The back was half and half cherry and maple, one side was
cherry and one was maple, one endblock was cherry and one maple, one
fingerboard was cherry and one was maple, and the top was half spruce and
half cedar. I don't know what contributed what to the sound, but it did
both... sounded and looked pretty nice.
Ed
David Hajicek
"alcarruth" <alca...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:06802d8e-034b-46b4...@k9g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...
snip>
> The other thing to keep in mind is that the great guitars are the ones
> where everything is 'just right'. Dante pointed out that the closer a
> thing is to perfection, the more small imperfections matter.
>
> Alan Carruth / Luthier
Alan:
Which level of Hell is reserved for Luthiers?
I do agree, with you. Everything looks wonderful and than you start
applying finish. Now you can see those microscopic imperfections
(scratches, bubbles, etc) stick out like crazy. Then you polish and find
the next level of imperfections.
This comment doesn't apply to any Luthiers that I know, but it is
interesting that Dante puts "The Fraudulent" lower down than mere
"Murderers".
I think, perhaps, we are in "Limbo". ;>)
Dave Hajicek
A.J.Lucas
> "alcarruth" <alcarr...@aol.com> wrote in message
Luthier Nigel Forster has made some guitars with three-piece backs
mixing Indian and Brazilian rosewood and says they always come out
sounding very Brazilian.
Adrian
JimLowther
Okay, so you are saying I should stop looking for a piece of BRW to
fit out as the new back for my "vintage" Danelectro Convertible. I am
crushed!
;-)
JimLowther
I think the reason why I posed this question is that I have never
really liked the appearance of heavily "striped" or "banded" Mahogany
type woods, especially on the back of an acoustic. It seems just about
impossible to bookmatch in all three demensions,
and the visual result is a back in which one half is sort of the
negative (as in photo) image of the other. So maybe African sides
with Honduras back. I can't really see myself combining Mahogany
sides with Zebrawood, however.
alcarruth
"....the visual result is a back in which one half is sort of the
negative (as in photo) image of the other. "
Which is as it must be. When you book match top or back halves the
runnout reverses across the joint line. If one side reflects 'up' the
other side reflects 'down', if you take my meaning. On a top this
gives that 'flashing' effect, where one side of the top is light and
the other dark. On a tropical wood the stripe is caused by an
alternation in the direction of the runnout, so a stipe that shows
light on one side has to show dark on the other. I suppose you could
find a back that really even stripe, and just cut one stripe off one
side before jointing the back, so it would show the same reflectance
across the join line, and each stripe outward from there would look
the same. It might be hard to find a piece that evenly striped,
though: I've never looked for one so I can't say for sure.
Alan Carruth / Luthier
David Hajicek
I've got some and it is wide enough. I'll have to give it a try one of
these days.
Dave Hajicek
JimLowther
Oh, yes, it is inevitable. It is all a matter of personal taste
whether it is attractive or not. I see saw timber going to the mill
in much smaller dimensions these days. I suspect that makes problems
with runout much more prevalent.
How cold is it up there? It's 26 in my part of Texas.
alcarruth
stopped snowing for most of the past week; it doesn't amount to much
on any given day, but over time it adds up. The local ski areas are
happy: last year it rained just before Christmas, and there was almost
no snow on the slopes throughout the break. Much better this year.
I saw some 14 footers of South American Cedar a few years ago that
were 1-1/2" thick and 42" wide. Makes you wonder what they cut in the
'good old days'.
Alan Carruth / Luthier
David Hajicek
On Jan 2, 4:27?pm, alcarruth <alcarr...@aol.com> wrote:
Best wishes,
Dr. Jim Lowther
========
Was that below zero? The suburbs were about 30 below this morning. It was
a balmy 10 below at my house. 15 below the other day. Needless to say, you
don't run out to get the newspaper in your skivvies. More than once. ;>)
Dave Hajicek
JimLowther
> "JimLowther" <JimLowt...@aol.com> wrote in message
>
> - Show quoted text -
Yesterday it was actually colder in Fort Worth, TX than Anchorage, AK
(according to the local weatherman). Here in FW anything below
freezing is extremely cold. Cold starts at about 50 degrees. So when
it gets into the teens as it has the past couple of days that is an
Event.