Official Luthiers Forum!

What are you more into? The soundboard or the back/sides? If you had
to have one plain and one exotic, which would you go for? Bearclaw adi
or flamed koa, for example? Which would excite you more?

I'm a soundboard kind of guy. Just decided.

Back sides for me, keeping the top moderatly beautiful

I want the guitar to speak for itself from the front, sound first, than bling. Once the playing is over, admire the appointments of the instrument.

Bling on Baby, Bling on...

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Backs/Sides, mostly. I kinda like relatively subdued topwood. Silk like mad, a bit (lot) of colour and darker lines I'll gladly take, and I'm certainly not at all averse to some nice bearclaw from time to time, but I do like slightly flash back/sides. Although Bearclaw Adi would excite me more than flamed koa (not sure why, but Koa's never really tickled me all that much...)

Then again, I'm the kind of guy who can't decide whether the natural finish, regular, no-figure mahogany back of his electric is prettier than the AAAA flamed maple top, so maybe I'm just all messed up that way....

Mostly the back & sides get the "ooh's and ahh's". But as builders and wood frieks, we can also go nutty over a great top. That said, I have some redwood that makes me a little weak in the knees when I see it.


Of course, the following image kind of does it for me too...this is going to be a OOO-12 for me.



Now that is "Bling"...


Don Williams39019.7941435185

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

How about the sound? We are building musical instuments and the sound is 90% of what I'm interested in.

That said as the sound is 90% dependent on the top, then that takes precedent over everything else. Give me a great piece of European spruce and I'm happy. That said if I can have a really nice mahogany B&S as well then I'm a very happy bunny indeed!

Colin    

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

test

_________________
R.W. '' Rollo'' Scheurenbrand
http://www.koaguitars.com

Choose the top to please your ears, the back and sides to please your eyes.

Exactly what Mario said. However, the subject James was inquiring about is the visual appeal of tops and backs, and which is more important to us if figured or plain.   

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I have always been a sucker for extreme bear claw and have had good success with sound (except for that classical I posted). Now having said that, I think my best results have all been ADI and I think I am now becomming an ADI junkie. Have used on Dreads and 000 style and really like it. To me, it sounds crisper if that is a good description.

Right right. I definitely believe sound is far more important. I know that I
don't look at a guitar while I play it. I got burned out on guitar during
college because of my scholarship responsibilities with it. Every time
there was an event, they'd plug the jazz band in like a crockpot. I eased
back into it via piano. I'm taken right back to the burn out if the sound
isn't like a balm.

But as far as the visuals go... The walker website did this to me. I'll take
plain back/sides any day if the top is stunning!

Sorry. I realized this was the wrong forum afer I posted it. It should be in
OT.

James, this is very much on topic. This is guitar related discussion, in this case aesthetics for building. Good subject.

One other factor is "smell", as in the smell of the woods being used. There's nothing quite like cedar for tops, and Brazilian for backs and sides. Although Imbuia smells great too.

Don Williams39019.7953472222

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

[QUOTE=Mario] Choose the top to please your ears, the back and sides to please your eyes.[/QUOTE]

But doesn't the back contribute to pleasing your ears?Aoibeann39019.8590972222

_________________
Aoibeann

Yes, I believe so, even if others don't. The best description is that it augments or diminishes the character of the sound. The primary voice is in the top, but the back affects the tone too.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Yes, the back certainly has the ability to annow or please the ears, also! But there's so much more variation in exotics, that there is always a back that can do both. Basicly, choose the species you expect will have the tone you're after, and then find the prettiest none of that species.

On the other hand, there is an awful lot of butt ugly red spruce out there that will sound killer, and I've handled lots of lovely, even grained, silky Sitka that was duller in tone than a poetry reading convention...! Of course, there's pretty Sitka that will sound fine, and ugly red that will sound ugly, also, and that is why I say choose the top with your ears. Softwoods vary a lot more within the same species than hardwoods do.

This is on subject! You got the right forum <bg>

[QUOTE=Mario]On the other hand, there is an awful lot of butt ugly red spruce out there that will sound killer, and I've handled lots of lovely, even grained, silky Sitka that was duller in tone than a poetry reading convention...! Of course, there's pretty Sitka that will sound fine, and ugly red that will sound ugly, also, and that is why I say choose the top with your ears. Softwoods vary a lot more within the same species than hardwoods do.[/QUOTE]

Yup...

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

[quote]One other factor is "smell", as in the smell of the woods being used. [/quote]

     Wow! Don! I think you've stumbled onto something! I should make a guitar for smell! All kinds of aromatics! Huhm!

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

[QUOTE=Billy T] [quote]One other factor is "smell", as in the smell of the woods being used. [/quote]

     Wow! Don! I think you've stumbled onto something! I should make a guitar for smell! All kinds of aromatics! Huhm! [/QUOTE]

Scratch and sniff?

_________________
Aoibeann

Billy, make a plywood guitar and put some pot pouri in the soundhole.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

[QUOTE=Billy T] [quote]One other factor is "smell", as in the smell of the woods being used. [/quote]

     Wow! Don! I think you've stumbled onto something! I should make a guitar for smell! All kinds of aromatics! Huhm! [/QUOTE]

Hey, it's part of the aesthetics...

I didn't say it was a BIG factor, just that it was "a" factor. Here's a few reasons why...

I have a good friend who used to have an old Martin Brazilian dreadnought. He loved the way his guitar smelled inside because of the BRW. He keeps telling me that one of these days he's going to commission a BRW guitar from me because he misses that old Martin.

In the same way, everytime I pick up a set of cedar and smell it just because it's aromatic, it reminds me of the Lowden I didn't buy which I'm still kicking myself over after 20+ years. Scent is a very powerful sense. It can evoke very deep and old memories. Don't underestimate the power of that...

If you go back to Brock's posts on marketing, you will read that we're not just building guitars, we're building something that is heavily emotional for the consumer. We're evoking a memory, or giving them an experience that is partly creative and deeply personal, or fulfilling a dream. I know one guy who bought a guitar with a cedar top just because he loves the smell of cedar, and it brings back a particular memory for him. You can't argue with that.

Let's face it...fragrance has an effect on us. Why do you think women wear perfume? It isn't just for them folks. It may be seemingly a ridiulous notion for you, but don't discount it entirely...

Hey, I know what I'm talking about here, even if everyone else thinks I'm talkin' jibberish.


Don Williams39019.9544791667

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

No Don you aren't talking jibberish. Scent is the strongest physical sense tied to our emotions. I hadn't thought of a guitar in those terms. I associate sight and sound with it, sound being the strongest.

_________________
Aoibeann

I think you missed the point, I think it's a GREAT idea. Mix all kinds of woods for scent of the wood.

Kind of a "Sniffitar®". (patent pending)

[quote=Old Man]Billy, make a plywood guitar and put some pot pouri in the soundhole. [/quote]

Ron, have you smelled that stuff? I think I'd rather smell a guitarlet! Yea! and a dreadnaught at that!

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

I am more into the Soundboard/Top if I had to pick. Certainly the Back & sides play a role especially in appearance with all the grain pattern options. But I am a Top man i would have to say.

Mike

[QUOTE=Don Williams]I know one guy who bought a guitar with a cedar
top just because he loves the smell of cedar, and it brings back a
particular memory for him. You can't argue with that.[/QUOTE]

Well, I'll hi-jack my own thread

Have you guys seen the new chevy commercial? They played it during
every commercial break during the games today. "This is our country."

It's all about associating with something - lifestyle in particular. I was in
a woodworking store yesterday to get a chisel and noticed how every
poster and brochure had warm colors, a weathered maple bench, and
some other rickety odd and end.

Associate the guitars to an image or lifestyle if you're selling them.
America is so consumer-driven that this is almost a sure-fire way to get
noticed.