Official Luthiers Forum!

I have almost made the decision on the wood combination that I would like to use for my first guitar. Even though I am not planning to use anything fancy I would like to have your thoughts. 

EIR or MRW for back and sides (I fancy MRW a bit more)

Italian Spruce for the soundboard

Italian spruce for top bracing and mahogany for back bracing and blocks.

Hon Mahogany or Sapele for the neck

Ebony for FB and Bridge

Ebony for headplate

I would like to build a guitar that will serve both fingerstyle and flatpicking if it is possible.

I am open to changes so any suggestion is more than welcome.

Thanks guys.

 

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Andy

Italian spruce if you look for the best!!

Cumpiano strongly suggests Mahogany for back and sides in his book for one's first. It is easy to bend and work, inexpensive and produces a terrific instrument. All your other choices look just fine.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

well, i think it all just depends on how much money you want to spend and how much risk you are willing to take with your investment. i would suggest not breaking the bank on the first one. youre bound to make some mistakes and tonewood is expensive. in the end, it really only matters what you like. what is expensive to someone else, may be pocket change to you. i chose woods that fit my budget and style and i was happy to spend the money. i say if you like mad rose and italian spruce, go for it and enjoy every second of it. i think it sounds like a beautiful combo.

what shape are you building?

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sweat the small stuff.

I agree that you should fit your first set of woods to your budget. It's not uncommon to break a side or overthin a top on the first one. If that's OK, go for it. But expensive woods don't guarantee a great quality guitar. Second quality spruce tops, EIR or mahogany sides and back, have produced many great-sounding guitars. Suitability of the guitar wood for a particular style is a much-discussed subject, but I haven't found any clear concensus. Also, consider that this is a very addictive hobby. You'll probably have lots of additional chances to build with expensive woods.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

EIR is fairly inexpensive and makes beautiful guitars. I have worked with Sapele, and I would not suggest this wood for a first neck because it is a little harder to work than the honduran mahogany.

The only thing on your list that raises any concerns is the choice of ebony for fingerboard, bridge and headplate. Ebony may be inexpensive in your part of the world, but it is quite expensive here. There are many other woods that are both easier to work and less expensive too. Black ebony dust has a way of finding it's way into every pore and crack in and on the guitar. Be careful when working it around that Italian spruce top! (voice of experience)

The choice for Italian spruce for the top is excellent! My first guitar was built with it and I am quite pleased with the sound of this guitar.

Have you chosen a body style yet? If not, the OM style guitars fit the need for that fingerpicking/flatpicking combination with rich even tone and plenty of volume.

Please keep us posted on your progress!

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Reguards,

Ken H

EIR is no longer any more expensive than Honduran, or at least not by a huge amount, and is a heck of a lot easier to bend. I'd save the Madrose for the second, start with the EIR, Italian's good (Rivolta's grade I contains some of their nicest tops, IMO).

Personally, I'd use spruce braces throughout, top and back. I'd suggest a rosewood bridge (lighter, less damping) over ebony.

Personally, I like rosewood guitars, so that's what I built. My first is pretty much what you've specified, Grand Auditorium shape (modelled, dimensions-wise, on Taylor's), and the guitar works well flat and fingerpicked, and for vocal accompanyment (I'm a singer-songwriter-type player...)

I'd stick to the EIR or Honduran for a first guitar, or another possibility which is easy to work and bend, is inexpensive, and produces a nice guitar is Walnut. I've just finished a Walnut/Italian OM as a DADGad guitar and I'm very happy with it. As Mattia says, rosewood bridge.

If you need advise for suppliers or anything else, PM me.

Colin

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

EDIT:

That should of course be advice!

Colin

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

The body shape is based on Cumpiano's book so I'd say is an OM.

I like the Ebony bridge as it would match the FB but on classical guitars the bridge is almost always Rosewood and this tends to suggest that rosewood does help with firgerpicking.

Could you help me understand why? Is it due to a lower damping factor only or is the weight too?

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Andy

Italian spruce if you look for the best!!

Hi Andy!

Where abouts in the Uk are you from?

Good luck with your first build, it's an addictive hobby.... It looks like you've got some great advice there already!

Andy: both mass and damping. Ebony's heavy, and compared to most rosewoods, it's a 'thuddy' sort of wood. Doesn't ring out nearly as much. Drop a few blanks on a hard surface and listen, or hold at a node and tap (bit difficult with bridge blanks, doable with fingerboard blanks). But mass also plays a significant role; the bridge weights as much as the rest of your bracing combined, if not more, and as such is a significant part of your guitar top's weight (the top itself being the heaviest bit of wood, naturally).

Sam, I live in Preston. And you?

What about African Blackwood for the bridge? I read that it rings out even better than BRW but it is heavier.

Are there any other woods that you have used for bridges and you would suggest?

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Andy

Italian spruce if you look for the best!!

A lot of good choices here.I'm currently working on a Walnut SJ and I like it a lot.It bent very easily and looks nice.I like RW bridges too but Use whatever You like......
Good Luck with it Andy !

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Andy,The best sounding guitar I`ve ever played was Madrose.It seems easy enough to work,may be prone to splitting with the grain.It also makes a great fingerboard ,headpiece, and bridge combo.Very beautiful,great sound.Allied has some nice bridges and fingerboards.As you can tell I really love the stuff.I say go for it if you have quite a bit of woodworking experience. Mattia,the other day you said you have lots of it laying around.If you want to get rid of some holler at me.It seems it`s getting hard to get the good stuff here in the US.
                        James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

Plus, as an added bonus, the EIR is very easy and forgiving when it comes to filling in gaps with CA and sawdust... It makes for an almost invisible repair... Plus, it smells nice!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

James: I think I'll keep it, thanks! Mine's all from Madinter in spain (save on perfectly quartered, very, very plain set that may be a different 'madagascan'), very reasonable priecs, very nice wood. Figured I'd buy fingerboards, bridges and headplates in bulk.

Mattia it doesn`t hurt to ask.I can`t blame you for keeping it.I know you`ll make great sounding guitars with it.Sorry Andy I`m not trying to hi-jack your thread.          ;     James
                     

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

I'll second what Dave said about Walnut. My first is Walnut and I was surprised at how easy it was to bend the sides.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."