Official Luthiers Forum!

I have a few questions...

I am starting to plan my first build after spending a week learning from Kevin Gallagher and building a guitar in his class. I am really interested in using a redwood top. I like the looks of both the straight grained and sinker redwood, but am not a huge fan of the curly redwood, and from what i have heard the redwood tops provide the type of tone I am looking for. So the first question is...what are some good sources for straight grain or sinker redwood tops?

I am looking to build a guitar that will have great bottom end. I have been looking around at different woods and really want to match something that will complement the redwood both in tone and aesthetically. Any suggestions on back and sides to match a redwood top would be greatly appreciated.

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--Kyle Burner--

Hey Kyle,
Welcome to the forum.

You will surely find this web space an invaluable resource as you build guitars.

Redwood is a great choice and an increasingly more popular tonewood. Your question of matching a particular topwood to back/sides has been discussed recently. You shouldn't have to dive too deep into the archives to find some great material on the subject.

Builders seem to be in three camps on the issue.

Camp 1. Back and sides don't matter. (see the cardboard torres thread)
Camp 2. (closely related to camp 1) It's all in how you build it. If you want balance, then build balance into the instrument. If you want bass, then lighten things up.
Camp 3. There are specific woods that work together for specific sounds. Redwood should only be built with Walnut for fingerpickers (or maple or rosewood or mahogany...)

Generally speaking, if I'm building for bass, I go for mahogany. That said, picturing a mahogany/redwood instrument makes my eyes cross. The Rust on red colors of the woods aren't exactly complimentary.

This is going to be a tough call. For a first instrument, you're not going to end up with something that sounds just like a redwood instrument you played down at the local pickin' parlor. You will most likely have a nice sounding instrument though. AND, if you're building an instrument and it turns out nice, chances are it won't be your last build either.

Consider EI Rosewood. It is nice to work with, is pretty stable through the bending process and is widely accepted as an all around good wood. The redwood is going to lend some warmth to the tone, especially if it isn't over braced and the Rosewood could keep things from getting too bassy.

There are a myriad of opinions on the topic, some dissenting and some agreeing.
Whatever you go with will probably work out just great.

Sorry I couldn't be more definitive.

Dave

Three words - co-co-bolo

Check out Lance's site for beautiful Redwood topped, Cocobolo guitars.

I'm currently working on a Cuban/Redwood OOO. Mahogany/cedar guitars are something of a classic combination, and with Redwood always seeming like cedar on steroids the combination should be magic.

I was undecided which mahogany to use so I sent these two pictures to my Aesthetics Consultant (Dave White) and he agreed with me to go with the Cuban. Cuban always seem to have a 'rosewoody' edge.





Colin

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

See this recent thread for a discussion of sources for non-figured
Redwood soundboards:

http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=17746

Claro Walnut or Myrtle have always seemed to be nice with Redwood(I am a fan of NW woods). Redwood is an amazing wood. The nice thing about straight grain Redwood is that it is also an inexpensive wood(well until you have the instrument wood tag tossed at it, or some body mentions "sinker" and tonewood). It is funny how that works. Don't get me wrong, straight grain, well quartered wood with minimal runnout is more expensive because it is less efficent to produce, but I see so much jabbing when these woods gain acceptance. The nicest Redwood I have run across has been nice clean old growth timber, not fancy, just solid soundboard stock.

Rich

Thank you for the posts so far, I can see this is going to be a very hard decision. I am sold on the redwood top now hearing all the positive responses here, now I just need to make the decision on back and sides.

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--Kyle Burner--

Mahogany.

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"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 haven't played a redwood topped guitar that I haven't LOVED. Pairing it with cuban mahogany sounds like a match made in heaven.

Thank you for all of your input, all these posts are getting me really excited to pick the wood and begin the build. My decision is down to EIR, Mahogany (probably cuban), of Jatoba. I know that really doesn't narrow it down much, but hey at least it is a start.

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--Kyle Burner--

I'll throw another log on the fire ... madagascar rw, bound in ebony, red/blk/red purfling. The new owner just about died when I opened the case... it was his 50th birthday present.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

All I can say is WOW....that is almost exactly the look I wanted. I was planning on throwing some red in there for the perfling. Seeing a picture of it makes the decision that much more easy. Isn't Madagascar usually pretty expensive? I am trying to stay away from real expensive woods being that it is my first build. If I could find a piece in my price range though I might have to go with that.

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--Kyle Burner--

Check Allied Lutherie for mad rw .. not cheap, but its one of the few thats essentially inexpensive (and legal) braz rw ....

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Cany you say Macassar Ebony

Well, dang, you guys (meaning Tony and Michael)! This IS the golden age of lutherie!!!

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Carlton Macksam
Muskegon, Michigan

There he is!!! Welcome back Carlton my friend!

Thanks again, man!

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Carlton Macksam
Muskegon, Michigan