Cedar top vs. spruce top

[Max Girouard]

I have been in the market for my first F style mandolin and have been seeing quite a few mandolins with cedar tops. I was just wondering what differences the cedar would have over the spruce. Would a mandolin with a cedar top maintain it's value so that someday I might upgrade?

[Rick Schmidlin]

I have played some Webers that are killer mandolins.

I also love my Collings MF5 red spruce.

You really gotta play a bunch and not worry about resale value.

I do think the Webers will hold their own.

That's all folks,

[PCypert]

The Cedar Top is going to give you a livelier mandolin out of the box...typically. Not always the case. Some people are theorizing Red Spruce gives that great tone years from now that people are collecting today (old Martins and such). Who knows. Either will be fine. Buy used and you don't have to worry about taking a hit later on.

Paul

[Ray(T)]

If you are the type of person who is concerned about dings and marks in the top, stay away from cedar - a much softer wood than spruce and will show the wear. As we say in the UK - spruce is for tops and cedar for making garden sheds! But if you like the sound of it, that's entirely your business.

[Ted Eschliman]

All my acoustic mandolins have had a spruce top, with the exception of my Arrow "Jazzbo" which has Alaskan Cedar. Paul Lestock built it this way intending to give it projection and definition, even though it's a four-string. All I can say is it worked. It has a big and lovely sound.

[Rick Schmidlin]

If you are the type of person who is concerned about dings and marks in the top, stay away from cedar - a much softer wood than spruce and will show the wear. As we say in the UK - spruce is for tops and cedar for making garden sheds! But if you like the sound of it, that's entirely your business.
Well just ask Chad at Greg Boyds about Cedar, the Webers sound great.As for gitars ask the spirit of Clarence White whose Cedar topped Whitebook blew him away still rings in my ears, or ask the living James Taylor about Mud Slide Slim and his Whitebook or his Olson of today.

Alot of good Cedar out there. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif