Official Luthiers Forum!

Someone already asked my question about tops and I suspect that the answer to what difference the backs and sides make will be similar, but here goes.

How much difference does the back and side material make? Is most of the sound quality produced by the top? How do you tell the good from the bad? I've seen what looks like good mahogny at the lumberyard, even quartersawn pieces if I dig through the pile deep enough. Same for maple and other woods I seen used on guitars. The cost of picking it up there is a fraction of what the guitar suppliers charge. How can I tell if its worth trying? If you had to choose, would you rather have a great top or great backs and sides? I'm just learning and would rather wreck some cheaper wood as I figure things out but I'ld still like to produce a decent guitar. Thanks,

Joe Volin

Joe,

Welcome to the forum!

I don't have much practial experience in guitar building. But, from those I have talked to, and from what I have been reading lately, back and sides are the frosting on the cake. The top is the cake! When Torres built a guitar, his 1st priority was the top. He built a guitar with paper mache back and sides to prove why.

So much attention is given to backs and sides, but I am beginning to think it is not nearly as important as the top. So, I intend to start trying to purchase the best top I can afford for each guitar I build.

Of course, the skill of the builder is probably the 1st condition for a quality instrument.

Jeff

If I had to choose, great top over great back and sides each and ever time. That's where 90% of the tone production comes from. The back/side woods colours the tone, but often less than simply the body shape or choice of top and bracing.

As for 'best top you can get', don't necessarily spring for master grade wood if you're starting out; the differences are very, very often little more than cosmetic. Tight grain spacing and even colour very often mean diddly when it comes to stiffness and tap tone. I sifted through a lot of high grade tops that weren't half as stiff/nicely tapping as a good number of the lower grade stuff. Go one step down or so, and you'll be just fine. Besides, it'll have a bit more character as well. Stripin' aint a bad thing :-)

If you can resaw the mahogany, cherry, maple or walnut you find at your lumber yard, and feel comfortable doing that and thicknessing it (and/or have the tools), go ahead and buy the boards. Look for well-quartered (if at all possible), straight-grained, even wood. Really not that difficult to find. But keep in mind resawing requires an investment of money (tools) and time (to learn to do it). I'll eventually make that investment, I'm sure, but for now I'm more than happy to have people who know what they're doing, and have access to some dang nice wood to boot, cut and match it all up for me.

A little thing I do with full boards, since my electric building days, is tap it. If it's got a nice 'taptone', I feel more comfortable than if it doesn't. A lack of 'ring' can sometimes betray the presence of hidden shakes/cracks/other faults, so it's worth being a little careful there.