hi everybody,
I have a friend who is getting a custom Collings guitar
and he is wondering which is a better soundboard wood
(for bluegrass) Aderondack or German spruce ?
which do you prefer and why?
thanks,
MandolinTim
hi everybody,
I have a friend who is getting a custom Collings guitar
and he is wondering which is a better soundboard wood
(for bluegrass) Aderondack or German spruce ?
which do you prefer and why?
thanks,
MandolinTim
You'll probably get a lot of various opinions on this, but I think it's the wrong question, to some extent.
The better piece of wood makes the better top. Red spruce and european spruce can both be excellent, or poor, or anywhere in between. I'd select a good top and not care what species of tree it came from.
In other words, I'll take a good european top over a bad red spruce top, and a good red spruce top over a bad european top.
John Hamlett
www.hamlettinstruments.com
I prefer Aderondack or Sitka. German can break a liittle after a very hard attack. It is great for fingstyle or lighter playing. It subjective but if I was ordering a guitar for Bluegrass it would be Aderondack.
Agree with sunburst, this is a non-question. It depends much more on the individual tree / growth process / aging than on the species. Adirondack (correct spelling please!) spruce is not allowed to grow so large for the most part nowadays (it goes for pulpwood) so you don't get the same wood as Martin got in the 1930's.
As for German spruce -- that's like saying American spruce -- there's a wide variety.
I have a Lebeda with a nice strong wide-grained Bohemian (in Czech Republic) spruce top, it sure isn't going to break!
Just a bit more perspective, I agree with John Hamlett's approach to the wood, but more important is the luthier and what he/she does with it. This is great for a generality, but you sais the guitar is coming from Collings and is to be used for bluegrass. In this specific case I would recommend the red (Adirondack)spruce because Collings has very picky standards for selecting their wood and they have a specific 'receipe' for making a guitar that will produce a very bright and powerful sound with this material. The other choice would probably be fine, but you will get an extra edge with the red spruce.
I could send you samples of Engelmann, White, Red from the Adirondacks, Red from the Appalacians, European from Italy, and European from the Ukraine, and you (and I) would only be guessing as to which is which...
So which is "better"?
Orcas Island Tonewoods
Free downloads of my mandolin CDs:
"Mandolin Graffiti"
"Mangler Of Bluegrass"
"Overhead At Darrington"
"Electric Mandolin Graffiti"
I suggest you have Collings make that decision
"If you can make it to 50 without growing up, you don't have to..."
Rob Powell AKA The BeerGeek
I'm glad to see most of the folks here agree that species not at all the important question. Perhaps some piece of "German" did once break a little after a very hard attack, but I would never say that's a characteristic. No species of spruce is that homogenous, visually or structurally.
If you're interested, click here for a piece I've been working on for a number of years about what is "German" spruce.
I have to say readings Paul's posts on this subject in the past, he is the expert!
"So, which is better?" Answer, the one that sounds best! And you won't know that until they are ALL made and played, which seldom happens at any one time.
All this focus on the materials and technical aspects tends to miss the point that IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC! If it weren't for the music we wouldn't be making ANY instruments. That being said, I am glad that there are some folks that are sufficiently picky about their instruments that they don't mind too much about spending my price to get the tone or feel they are looking for. If it takes "better" wood to satisfy them, then we will use it to make their instrument. Actually, I think the "better" wood is just about any wood that is used well to take advantage of it's qualities.
My preference, like many is Adirondak with Brazilian rosewood, however, the best sounding guitar I've ever played was East Indian rosewood with Sitka spruce top. If all things were equal and theory alone was the issue my first choice would be the best for Bluegrass. However, all things are never equal and each individual instrument must be judged on its own merit. Then there is the most important factor of all; different strokes for different folks! Isn't it grand? I love so many things it's hard to settle on a 'perfect' instrument. That is why I can love our MMs, Michael Lewis jazz mandolins and Rigels. They are about as different as night and day, but each an incredible instrument in its own right. Which is better? It's not about competition, but about the tone for your application today. Thank you.
Have a Great Day!
Joe Vest
hi everybody,
this is what I was thinking(to many variables), but I wanted a second opinion
about it before I told my friend what to spend his money on!
thanks,
MandolinTim
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