Instrument materials   

I use only the best quality materials. Guitar soundboards are made of tight grained woods(cedar, Sitka spruce, larch , Englemann spruce and redwood) often exhibiting 25 grain lines to the inch or better. They come from split billets (to avoid grain runout) and the majority has been stored by me for up to ten years.  Each guitar soundboard is hand finished to maximize its visual impact, highlighting the tight grain and crossflower.  The use of this tight grain wood allows me to work the top thinner giving maximum control over tonal balance and response. I have in stock, exceptional quality Sitka and Englemann spruce and Western red cedar. I have also had great success with koa wood as a soundboard.

Each of these woods has an individual character. Sitka spruce is the standard for steel string guitars, bouzoukis and folk harps. It has the highest strength to weight ratio of all the woods, making it a favourite for planes as well as instruments. I would  characterize this wood as having good volume and sustain and a lively, clear resonant voice. Its coloration is creamy with some pink overtones.

Englemann spruce is whiter in coloration, close in colour and response  to the European spruce. It is used primarily for classical guitars. It has a warmer more subdued voice than the Sitka.

Western red cedar is a tawny reddish brown wood that seems to vary in colour regionally. It has a warm full bass response with a sweet and mellow voice.

The koa wood soundboard, I found it gives a bright, well rounded sound, very clear and responsive. I like it, though it is unfortunately scarce in these parts.

Necks, I like to make from Honduran mahogany, black walnut, or curly maple. I prefer to use vertical grain woods( also known as quarter sawn or edge grain) for greater stability. For classical guitars, I have a supply of vertical grain cedrella or Spanish cedar. I join the headstock to the neck with a scarf joint, avoiding the short grain problems of this critical area.

Fretboards are made from ebony, Indian or Brazilian rosewood with mother of pearl fretmarkers.

Back and sides can be made from a variety of materials. I like to use highly figured woods. I have in stock curly and quilted maple, bocote, black walnut, Macassar ebony, cherry, padauk, blackheart, bubinga, tulipwood and Indian  rose wood. These woods colour the sound of a guitar. Their pore structure and density affect how the sound waves, generated by the soundboard, are reflected and absorbed. Thus a closed pore wood such as maple is brighter and sweeter in tone. An open pored medium density wood gives the affect of a rounder, mellower sound. An example of these woods is padauk or Honduras Mahogany. 

I also have a quantity of very good quality vertical grain Brazilian rosewood for two and four piece backs. Most of this wood was harvested more than fifty years ago. It is considered very rare and is covered under the CITES treaty. Also known as jacaranda, this wood has exceptional colour with strong veins of  purples, black and cream. Brazilian rosewood is considered the finest material for the manufacture of guitars.

I like to use a contrasting wood for trim. I am especially fond of tulipwood for trim though it is both expensive and scarce. Other options are bocote , ebony, maple or padauk. Basically, any wood is suitable for binding , provided it can be bent to conform to the extreme curves of the guitar. Rosettes on the steel strings are usually a series of inlaid dyed veneers. I have some fine Spanish rosettes for classical guitars.

Selection of materials is important, but equally if not more important is what you do with them in the  construction.

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