Materials/Woods.

guitarjack66

thomasross20 said:

I am very, very interested in Chechen as a back and sides wood. The new Lowdens with Lutz and Chechen sound fantastic. I keep wanting an EIR but the mids dip kills me. Chechen seems very balanced.

Is this Chechen a wood from Chechnya?

thomasross20

No idea, I think it's Mexico actually, but it's like a softer rosewood and like my Bhilwara, I find these softer rosewoods to have more of a mahogany EQ but with a touch more bass and harmonic content and I really like that. I've been checking out a bunch of rosewoods like Guatemalan, Chechen etc etc and I think I'd like a Lutz top and soft rosewood for my custom Halcyon build. 

Timcito

I think we and our guitar producers have already opened ourselves up to new possibilities, and it's only the real diehard who insists on rosewood, mahogany, and maple as tonewoods. Larrivee, for example, has been successfully making and selling guitars made from all kinds of woods for years as have many other makers.

Tannin

Maple is a funny one. It is seldom rated in the first rank of tonewoods (largely, I suspect, because diehards think a guitar back has to be dark in colour, which is pretty dumb) but it unquestionably belongs there with the best of them. And it is probably the least threatened most common major tonewood out there. 

(I'm talking the standard Sugar Maple (aka Rock Maple) here. Yes, the same tree you get the syrup from. But there are many others. European Maple is unfamiliar to me but very well regarded, as is Sycamore (another maple species). And one or two people here bought Taylors recently with the softer, lighter Big-leaf Maple as the top. I'd like to try that one day.)

DavidR

Timcito said:

I think we and our guitar producers have already opened ourselves up to new possibilities, and it's only the real diehard who insists on rosewood, mahogany, and maple as tonewoods. Larrivee, for example, has been successfully making and selling guitars made from all kinds of woods for years as have many other makers.

Mmmm. Not easy to find figures for acoustic top sellers. Would be interested if anyone could find some.
But did find a best sellers list on the BAX MUSIC website so here goes!

1. 

Fender CD-60 V3 Natural WN Acoustic Guitar  

• Wood type (back)mahogany
• Fretboard woodwalnut
• Wood type (soundboard)spruce
• Wood type (sides)mahogany                                                   Laminate construction

2. 

Fazley FE118CBK Electro-Acoustic Guitar (Black)

• Wood type (back)mahogany
• Fretboard woodroupana
• Wood type (soundboard)spruce
• Wood type (sides)mahogany                                            Laminate construction

3.  Was also Fazley FE118 but in Natural

4. 

Fender Classic Design CD-60S Black Acoustic Guitar

• Wood type (back)mahogany
• Fretboard woodwalnut
• Wood type (soundboard)spruce
• Wood type (sides)mahogany                                                     Solid Top

5. Was also Fender CD-60S but all-Mahogany

6. Was Fender CD 60 All Mahogany but a cutaway 

7.

Yamaha FG800M Matte Acoustic Guitar

• Wood type (back)nato
• Fretboard woodrosewood
• Wood type (soundboard)spruce 
• Wood type (sides)nato                                            Solid Top

8. 

Seagull S6 Original acoustic steel-string guitar, natural

• Wood type (back)cherrywood
• Fretboard woodrosewood
• Wood type (soundboard)cedar
• Wood type (sides)cherrywood                                   Solid Top

9. Another CD60 (black, cutaway)- Same woods

10. Yet another CD-60! (natural, cutaway)

DavidR

The above are not expensive guitars; and its a very small survey. There's a bit of variety there isn't there with use of roupana, nato, cherrywood, walnut.

But, generally, the same old woods, even when laminates are used the trend is still for the 'traditional' woods. Is that because manufacturers know that's what buyers still expect??

Also shows how popular the CD-60 is!

P.S.

SOUTH AMERICAN ROUPANA (PARINARI CAMPESTRIS - ROUPALA MONTANA)

Origin: Venezuela and Brazil.
South American Roupana (Parinari Campestris) is part of the Chrisobalanaceae family and - after careful researches - is the wood that our Master Builder Roberto Fontanot has considered to be the best replacement for Rosewood (Dalbergia Latifoglia) considering the newest CITES* directions. This wood has really similar aesthetic characteristics compared to Rosewood, with even more accentuated veins. The color is slightly tending to yellow in the lightest parts, with veins that are remarkably darker.
Sound: Used mainly for the fretboards of acoustic / electric / classical guitars, but also basses and ukuleles, this wood shows hard and reflective sounds, with good response on low frequencies. Compared to rosewood we can define it a little more brilliant. When using it for bridges of acoustic instruments, it shows good sustain and a sound equivalent to rosewood.
Application: as a replacement of Indian Rosewood, except for backs and sides. Fretboards of all instruments and bridges of acoustic guitars.

(From EKO Guitars website)