Would you have used this piece of wood ?. - No mando.content.

[John Arnold]

Would you use these?

I have used tops like that. In fact, Engelmann with some compression wood was my preferred top material in the 1980's before I started cutting red spruce. Compression wood is denser and harder than normal wood. IMHO, a lot of 'white bread' Engelmann is too soft for my use.

0000 size guitar with compression Engelmann top, circa 1990.



Engelmann with red streaks, from my 1980's stash.



In the 1990s, I built a MerleFest commemorative guitar that was named 'Deep Gap'. It had a WV red spruce top that was from a 350-year-old tree. It also had the red streaking like the Englemann above. I put the guitar on display at an ASIA Symposium, and Bruce picked it up and played it. Tongue and cheek, he told me that you couldn't build a good sounding guitar with a top that had color in it.
As wood vendors, we are well aware of the bias toward pretty wood, and how ridiculous it is when it comes to the real important qualities, namely sound and structure.

[Phil-D]

Gee, no one stated the obvious...why knot?

[David Lewis]

Gee, no one stated the obvious...why knot?

The discussion would have branched out into several splinter groups.

[objectsession]

Gee, no one stated the obvious...why knot?

Sounds like Stradivari was barking up the right tree.

Sorry, that joke was awful . . . I'll leave.

Puns are the root of all my problems.

[Eric Oliver]

Spruce,
On a slab-cut back, or top, is there a preference for growth-ring orientation (rings cupping up from the ribs, or down), or would the "anomalies" be more of the guide in that?

[belbein]

I vote for character. I love Taylor's idea of using non-homogeneous wood for their fretboards: they do it for conservation, but I love the look of real wood.

My first mandolin had a grotesque discoloration on the front of the fretboard, something like what Mandoborg illustrated, but waaaaaay bigger. I used it as a base for creating an inlay. It worked really well (until my lousy finish job screwed it up).

[David Newton]

Here is a famous Pine 00 guitar, with obvious defects.

[bassthumper]

the Taylr 'forklift' guitar sounds good...is it possible certain flaws enhance tone?

[oldwave maker]

Yes, Spruce finds some interesting farwoods!

[David Newton]

These threads are fun, but every builder knows if he uses anything but "perfect" wood, he is limiting the number of potential buyers.
Even though I have sold every guitar with challenged wood, they always brought less. When using lesser wood, I have to compensate by with less labor somewhere, like less trim or finish, to justify the lower price it will bring.
I will still do it though, because I want to.

[journeybear]

This builder shows no compunction about using knotty wood and otherwise compromised materials. But then again, his creations have other, more pressing issues ...



I own the first two. I passed on the third. Enough is more than enough!