Official Luthiers Forum!

For fingerstyle:
How does lutz compare to the standards; redwood, cedar for top. Why do you choose what you choose?

Lutz will be more treble orientated, brighter crisper tone. Redwood and Cedar will be more mid tone orientated, warm deeper tone. This is a vast generalization but is pretty apt.

[QUOTE=bob J] For fingerstyle:
How does lutz compare to the standards; redwood, cedar for top. Why do you choose what you choose?[/QUOTE]

I look @ primarily 4 things. Stiffness (primarily longitudinal), density, clear definable grain lines and tap tone.

Then I consider other things such as how much run out the top has, color, uniform grain and other cosmetic issues.

I almost never pick a top based on the cosmetics, I use that to pick from 2 or 3 good choices.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Bob;
I hate to say it but that is a openended question!
Each piece of top wood has to be scrutinized for what you the maker want to use it for.
I have many Lutz tops!
Some are so stiff I'd would not use them for a small guitar (unless i made them very thin)or braced them very loose.
I took a Lutz 36.6mm wide steel cutaway to Montreal with Big leaf B & Sides with a 7/8" sound port and it sold right away!!!
Why -because i choose the right top for that paticular guitar!
So if you have some tops to pick from(buy all you can now) pick the one you think will be the best for the fingerpicker.(not to stiff)
Cedar is nice but how you work it will be important to the future of that top.
Euro is great but i hope you have some great ones!
Mike





www.collinsguitars.com

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Mike Collins

For me, based in Europe I can get hold of some stella European spruce, and for me it has no peer. I'm working on a piece of P. orientalis at the moment and it is probably the best wood I have ever handled. That said, when I'm accompanying my wife's singing I play a cedar/BRW guitar because the more mellow sound suits the female voice.

However, I do have some of Shane's Lutz, and to me it is the best Spruce that I have ever seen come out of North America, I would have no hesitation in using it for any of my guitars. In fact I've got a Lutz/Black Limba planned.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.