Wood Information

In this section, some information of the wood and the tonal characteristics will be given. Also, some woods species have multiple names and can lead to some confusion over what you maybe looking at. Wood species on this website are listed in the names as they are purchased.

* This page will continually be updated as there is a ton of information to read out there

Soundboard woods

Out of all of the wood on the guitar the soundboard makes the most difference to the sound.

The sound produced by the strings of the guitar is transferred through the bridge onto the soundboard (the top) and is amplified by the top as it vibrates. This is why the larger the soundboard the louder the guitar will be.

The soundboard is where most of the sound characteristics of an acoustic guitar will come from. These would come from a few factors: the species of the tonewood is the first thing to think about. This will give the guitar it’s overall characteristics in sound. Back and sides are a secondary factor to the guitar’s sound. The neck, fingerboard and bridge also is a factor but the sound comes from the body.

The grade of the soundboard is another factor. With the exception of some tonewoods being more flexible than others to begin with, the higher the grade of a soundboard, the stiffer it should be – less flex. Not saying that a little bit of flex is bad but it also depends on what you are aiming for in the overall sound. Soundboards (generally speaking of Spruce and Cedar) with a higher grade will have tighter, straighter grains and less flex.

Bracing – how the guitar is braced, the type of wood used, the grade of the wood used, width and height of the brace, Scalloped or non scalloped braces. I was even told changing the degree of the X bracing will make a difference. One thing I have learned and have added to my build method is tone tapping while shaping the braces. Any little bit helps and I am willing to try it.

Cedar: Cedar is a bright sounding wood option, though produces a warmer tone than spruce. I find that it generally has tigher grains than Spruce boards of the same grading but it is a softer wood so the issues of bridge lift on a guitar with Cedar is quite common.

Hawaiian Koa: Koa is a pricier wood as it’s less common. This is one of those woods that sounds better with time. A guitar with a Koa soundboard will start out life with a very bright sound. But as it ages (the more it is played) it will mellow out and become richer and warmer sounding and show more emphasis toward mid range tones.

Koa is suited more for finger picking style of playing.

Mahogany: Mahogany is a dense wood and  it produces a strong/meaty mid range sound with more subtle overtones (a very “non-abrasive” sound) which leads to an “earthy” “mid-rangy” sound.

Mahogany tops are great for playing blues.

Khaya (aka African Mahogany): Khaya gives brights sounds with focused mids. It’s a hard wood with wide dynamic range and is good for both softer and louder playing styles.

Spruce: Spruce is the most common top wood. Spruce is light but strong and comes in a number of varieties with the most common variety for guitar tops being Sitka Spruce.

It is characterized by it’s light colour and often looks great contrasted against darker colored back and sides tonewoods.

Sitka Spruce is a great all round soundboard material and responds well to both aggressive playing and more subtle playing. Sitka Spruce has a wide dynamic range and resonates well with a wide range of tones.

This all round ability is most likely the reason it is so common as a soundboard material. It is the common soundboard after the World War.

Red Spruce (AKA Adirondack – Adirondack is NOT a wood species. It is a park in New York where they harvest Red Spruce) is another variety of spruce that is great for soundboards. The advantage of Red Spruce is it’s dynamic tonal range and the ability to play loud without losing clarity of sound. Red Spruce is more for flat picking and hard strumming.

Engelmann Spruce is also used for soundboards – this is great for those with a softer touch as it responds well to that soft touch – it doesn’t sound as good when you play aggressively. However, Engelmann doesn’t have the same sound projection as Sitka.

European Spruce – has many other species under the generic name of “European Spruce”. However, there are Spruce boards that are speicifically sold as “European Spruce” and not under a different name. It is a very stiff and resonant tonewood and has the fastest velocity of sound of any soundboard tonewood. But it is hard to get high grade soundboard materials which shows in the pricing of the wood. This soundboard tonewood exceeds Red Spruce in every aspect but people still think Red Spruce is the Spruce to get because of pre-war guitars that had Red Spruce soundboards.

Carpathian Spruce is another European Spruce variety that has a very tight grain and makes a stiff soundboard. It’s quality is very resonant and is considered in between Sitka Spruce and Red Spruce.

This soundboard is great for guitarists who like to play aggressively.

Caucasian Spruce (aka Oriental Spruce) is another option in the European Spruce family. It’s very stiff and tight grained and has great sound projection.

Old growth wood is more firm and is structurally sturdier. The grains will be very tight making these rare pieces of wood ideal for top end guitars.

Back and Sides

The back and sides of the guitar are important tonally and can really compliment the sound that is created through the top. It is always nice to have something visually appealing like figured wood but the truth is quartersawn tonewoods make a better sounding guitars.

Mahogany: Mahogany is great for the backs and sides of a guitar as it has a great mid range character. It can enhance the mid range tones and add thickness to the sound.

As with using Mahogany as a top, it is great for blues as back and sides – but combined with other tops it can work well with a large range of different styles.

You can use it with a Mahogany top to really get that mid-range dominant, compressed, warm, thick kind of sound. Or you can use it with another top (such as Sitka Spruce) to “mellow” out or add warmth.

Sapele: Sapele is similar to Mahogany but there are some subtle differences.

Maple: Maple works well in the back and sides of the body because it has a “low response rate”, a bit like Mahogany. And, like Mahogany this means that it has fewer overtones which leads to notes having a quick decay (less resonance – dies off quicker). Bright, immediate tone with excellent projection.

This means it complements the sound of the top without messing with it too much.

Unlike Mahogany though, Maple has more emphasis on higher notes and brings “focus” to individual notes.

Koa: In addition to being a great soundboard material, Koa is also great for the back and sides. It goes great with a Koa top. This wood sounds better with age and is typically found on more high end guitars.

Rosewood: Rosewood is a very popular wood for guitars and has been used a lot traditionally too.

Very different to Maple, Rosewood has a “high response rate”. It has great mid-range like Mahogany but also expands well into the high-end tones and low-end tones, producing deep bass notes and bright treble notes.

Rosewood goes well with bluegrass players looking for that punch in both the low end and high end – but it’s very versatile and will go well with a lot styles depending on the top. It is also accommodating for finger-picking, flat-picking and strumming.

Rosewood has rich overtones and that high response rate allows for a sharp attack into the note and a lot of resonance. It is probably not ideal in a band setting because it might be prone to feedback issues.

Brazilian Rosewood now is the most sought out for back and sides but it comes at a high cost. It is great in all categories for tone: deep bass, mature mid-range and clear trebles. It has the fastest velocity of sound out of all back/sides tonewoods.

Madagascar Rosewood is the cheaper alternative to Brazilian Rosewood but the prices have been very comparable to the price of Brazilian Rosewood recently. It shares very similar tones to Brazilian Rosewood.

Walnut: Walnut has some of the qualities of Koa in that it changes its tonal character with time. The low end will start out deeper and fill in the more it is played.  It has a bright top end like Koa but stronger mid tones coming through.

It is said to have mid range qualities somewhere in between Mahogany and Rosewood.

If you paired Walnut back and sides with a Cedar top and a smaller guitar this would be great for finger-style. If you paired it with a Spruce top and a larger guitar it would be bolder and more aggressive for strummers and flat-pickers.

Cherry: Sound-wise it falls between rosewood and mahogany. A bit more on the mellow side of half way.

The colour of the wood will darken in time with exposure to light into a rich amber colour.
Cherry also exhibits a visual “holographic” movement against the light at different angles, appearing to change from light to dark.

Pau Ferro (aka Santos Rosewood, Morado or Bolivian Rosewood) is often used as a Rosewood substitute. Mainly because it is more sustainable. It is usually lighter in colour, but harder and has tighter grain than Rosewood. Pau Ferro will give a slightly brighter and sharper tone. Pau Ferro is commonly used for back and sides as well as fingerboards.

Cocobolo is from the same family of Brazilian Rosewood and has variable colouration from bright orange to dark brown and purple or yellow. Cocobolo is often used as a replacement for Brazilian Rosewood as Brazilian Rosewood is getting harder and more expensive to come by. It produces a strong midrange, has a bright tone and gives clear and articulate notes.

Black and White Ebony (aka Pale Moon Ebony) is very dense and heavy which gives a very focused tone with tight lows and clear highs.

Macassar Ebony: has a chocolate and light brown colouration. It has a strong bass and lower mids with clear and transparent highs and is very responsive. clear and loud.

Khaya (aka African Mahogany) isn’t considered as “genuine” Mahogany but is very similar to Central American Mahogany. It’s tonal properties are warm and mellow, provides excellent low frequencies , pronounced lower-mids and unpronounced high ends. Khaya is suitable for both sensitive playing and louder, percussive styles.

Malaysian Blackwood: features dramatic mix of chocolate brown wild figuring with reddish streaks. Tonally, it is very close to Ebony with a strong bass and more defined mids.

Choco Mango: gives balanced tone with a warmth close to Koa: very focused mids and highs.

Monkey Pod: visually has a golden amber colour with dark streaks similar to Koa or Black Acacia. It produces a very woody tone and has clear high frequencies. It is very similar to Mahogany.

African Ovangkol: visually similar to Rosewood but has a lighter, coffee-coloured hue. Tonal qualities are very similar to Rosewood with a slightly livelier mid-range and a little less on the bass.

African Padauk: could be very visually striking with tonal properties of Rosewoods: warm and focused lows with clear highs and plenty of overtones.

Purple Heart: unique in it’s natural purple colour. Sounds are close to Rosewoods with well defined basses and clear trebles.

Wenge: known for it’s dark chocolate streaks and tonal properties remarkably similar to those of Brazilian Rosewood. Tight bass response and loads of shimmer on top. Wenge is a delicate wood to work with.

Ziricote: is heavier than most Rosewoods and is delicate to work with. It looks and has tones similar to Brazilian Rosewood.

Bubinga (aka African Rosewood): denser than Rosewood which gives great sustain and clarity with warm tones.