Maple compared to mahogany

[dorenac]

I'm looking at two similar A Gibsons. One mahogany back and sides and the other maple. Both from the early twenties. What generally will be some differences in the tonal qualities I could expect? I play mostly non-bluegrass music.

[EdSherry]

I'm assuming you don't have both of them in hand to compare head-to-head. If you do, then it's a matter of figuring out which instrument you prefer.

It's hard to describe sound in words. But in my experience, maple tends to be a bit "brighter" and "cutting" than mahogany. More midrange-y, a bit "tighter" sounding.

See this article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonewood

And this one:

http://www.dreamguitars.com/tonewoods.htm

I'm not aware of any comparable video/sound clips for different mandolins made with different woods, though Grisman's "Tone Poems" CD with Tony Rice shows how different instruments can sound very different, even when played by the same player and recorded the same way.

Here's a link to a YouTube video comparing the sound of three otherwise-the-same guitars with backs-and-sides made of mahogany, maple and rosewood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUSEJR6wG74

And another one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Ck_aBaukg&feature=related

[JEStanek]

The mahogany one should have a warmer tone than the maple. Like comparing a Weber Gallatin to the Absaroka on these video pages here (http://www.folkofthewood.com/page2518.htm#weber).

Jamie