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hey folks, i was just curious as to who of you out there have built with AA adirondack tops. there is quite a large gap in price between the AA and AAA grades. at this point im not willing to pay for the AAA grade for fear of destroying a beautiful (expensive) piece of tonewood. the adi guitars ive played have had a beautiful creamy white color to them, which i love, and fairly wide grain spacing. the wide grain doesnt bother me (i actually quite like it), but id like to build with a fairly homogenous (in color) piece of wood. am i asking too much out of AA? obviously the ultimate goal is to make a great sounding guitar, but asthetics are important too. are there any better alternatives to this wood, keeping appearance/sound/price in mind? pictures would be cool if its not too much to ask. anyways guys, id really appreciate your help/opinions.

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sweat the small stuff.

This guitar is built with AA adi spruce.  It has a beautiful tap tone to it and I really like the streaks in the grain.  It add s character, and a bit of a rustic look.   I, like you couldn't justify the price difference between AA and AAA for this guitar.  Maybe once I get  a bit more experience under my belt but for now, the second grade wood works great for me.

I bought a half dozen AA Adirondack tops last year. I told the guy over the phone that I was more concerned about stiffness than cosmetics and he obliged me. None of the tops I received would have made it on a factory guitar. But they were very stiff, so I have no complaints. So far, I've built two guitars using those tops. They're pretty representative of the lot:
This top shows uneven coloring, ranging from cream to yellowish-amber.
The growth rings are uneven, somewhat "wavy". The grain is course,
probably 6-8 rings per inch.



The second top has straighter grain and the density is better, probably 8-10 rings per inch. I'm sure a lot of folks wouldn't care for the "winter grain" on this one.



That said, I've really come to like the looks of these non-homogenous tops. I think they add a little character to the instruments. If you like tight-grained, even colored tops, you may want to look for something else, but again, I like em.

Please excuse my poor pictures. My camera is pretty crappy and my
photographic skills match the camera, but you can get a general idea.

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Jim Womack

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. "
Will Rogers

This is the top I am working on now. I think it might be a AAA for your reference. The color is a littlr blotchy from handling. I just finished the braces.

 

 

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Wisdom is justified by her children

Heath I am building my first using AA adirondack. I really wanted the AAA but like you the thought of possibly totally throwing away so much money swayed my choice. I have no idea how stiff it might be compared to the AAA grade . It does have noticeable runout but only time will tell if thiss will be detrimental to tone .

Craig.

Here is a similar Adirondack Red Spruce top to the others posted. It's over a Cocobolo back and side set. The most beautiful and best sounding guitar to date for me.

I like what John Griffin says about his lower grade red, "tonally the equal of the higher grades". You can build some screaming tone machines with AA wood.

Here is another pic of an AA grade addy top on my brother's guitar:

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

The buying public needs to get used to the idea of buying guitars with tops that are not cosmetically 'perfect' - the day is coming when we will be happy to use whatever we can get our hands on.... and if you look at a lot of old guitars, you see that perfect color and grain was not what they typically selected for.

gentlemen, as always, thank you for taking the time to answer some of my questions and for posting the pics of your great work. its sometimes difficult to get a good idea of what some of this stuff really looks like from pictures alone. and honestly, i spend far too much time in my brain and not enough time in my shop. seems ive lost a bit of motivation lately. so i just sit and dream up guitars. anyways... as per usual, you guys are great and i appreciate the help.

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sweat the small stuff.