Cedar Topped mandolin VS Red spruce VS Sitka ?

[jstout]

For Bluegrass playing ? Red Spruce, Sitka which one would you pick.
thanks..............jstout

[Spruce]

Blondes, Brunettes, or Redheads??

98714

[jstout]

Im told cedar dont "cut'' like spruce does in a BG jam situation ?
never played a cedar top so......................
best............jstout

[almeriastrings]

Western Red Cedar can be "soft" or quite "hard". Very variable. Generally speaking it tends to work best if not driven too hard. It is excellent for players with a lighter touch. Red spruce is at the opposite end of the spectrum (again very generally). Sitka, somewhere in the middle, but veering more toward the Red Spruce end... there is a lot of variability, however and in the case of a mandolin, how it's carved will have a huge influence. Fact it, they are all good, and a good builder can make a superb instrument out of any of them. Whether it suits your particular style, and sound, only you can decide. Try to play some examples...

[billhay4]

I'd pick the one that sounded best.
Bill

[Spruce]

I'd pick the one that sounded best.


That would be the redwood, right? ;)

[Timothy S]

This question seems to be prevalent in the guitar playing circles, where builders are becoming more and more adventurous with top woods (i.e. Sitka, Adirondack, German, alpine, Lutz, cedar, redwood, koa, myrtlewood, mahogany, etc.). almeriastrings hit it head on by saying that each wood has a perceived strength. In the guitar world you'd hear about woods good for flatpickers vs. ones for fingerstylists, again based on the player's attack. I've got two guitars, one Redwood/Ziricote and another Sitka/EIR that are both phenomenal and work equally well for a variety of playing styles. It really does come down to personal preference, as well as the skill of the builder in making the most of the material.

[doc holiday]

For a while about 8 yrs ago or so Weber built some Yellowstone mandolins w/ cedar tops. Eric Uglum w/ Lost Highway at the time played one. Eric has a strong right hand, & the tone of that mandolin was always on the verge of breaking up. Instead of his '46 D18 also played a Noble dreadnaught he got from Greg Boyd, that also had a cedar top. I guess he liked that 'overdriven' tone.

[dcoventry]

My Truagott guitar is Engelmann over Maple, and so quite bright. I have noticed that is reaches a certain volume and starts to distort or breakup a little. It really does not like a heavy right hand, and really doesn't need it as it cut's like a knife and rings like a bell. However, it has irritated me on occasion that it seems to lack that next gear. Still a serious keeper and this speaks more to how I need to play it rather than a flaw in the instrument.


My Rigel G5 is classic RS over Hard Sugar Maple. It's an animal. I've yet to find it's limit, actaully; the harder I play the louder it gets. The other day, my kids yelled from the other side of the house for me to turn down my amp. I have no amp. Yet, it's pleasant at low levels with excellent touch and then you get get to a crispy BG pop closer to the bridge. Incredibly flexible little box right there. Think I'll keep that one, too.

THe Phoenix Jazz is Bosnian/European Spruce over a softer Red Maple. Elegant tone to say the least with phenomenal responsiveness. Sure, a lot of this is Rolfe crafing a light as a feather uber-resonant craziness. I played this for the first time in a long while and was blown away by the volume, yes, and tone yes, but again it wanted to go only so loud and got a little fuzzy, but very musical. Natural distortion if you will. I be keeping this, too.

What does it all mean? It means I'm keeping mine and looking for more.

[jstout]

Thanks for all the good information, does anyone know if Gibson/Collings or Weber is making cedar topped mandolins ?
best.................js

[Timothy S]

I think Weber still makes them on special order, but I can't say for certain. Jeff over at Acoustic Vibes has an A and F style mandolin with cedar tops in stock. I'd suggest giving him a call and talking about them. I've purchased both my guitars and mandolin from him and he's a first rate guy. Hope this help mate.

[billhay4]

That would be the redwood, right?
Well, it depends....
Bill

[dcoventry]

Oh yes, one more thing....

Why is it that to get a RS topped Gibson Mando or Guitar, you have to, in general, go right to the top of the line stuff. It's my belief that Gibson knows that in their hands the woods perform differently, and price according. Certainly, cost of materials is not the reason!

Loar specified woods he liked probably based on a mix of availability, performance and cost. RS came out as the choice for tops. Is that meaningful? Dunno. But perhaps the Adi over Maple sound is so common that it has become a baseline for what we call "good BG tone" or some such. French Oak is the baseline wood flavor set for most great wines, not American oak.

[Spruce]

Loar specified woods he liked probably based on a mix of availability, performance and cost. RS came out as the choice for tops. Is that meaningful? Dunno. But perhaps the Adi over Maple sound is so common that it has become a baseline for what we call "good BG tone" or some such.

Yeah, and if Lloyd had chosen Norweigen Spruce for the F5s--and printed that up in his catalogs--then we'd all believe that Euro over Maple is the Holy Grail BG tone...

Oh, wait a minute...
He did... ;)



...does anyone know if...Weber is making cedar topped mandolins?

The cedar-topped Webers have always been by far my favorite, hands down....
(And not just because I had a hand in the wood selection)...

But I had a talk with Bruce recently at NAMM, who said there had been some less-than-stellar press lately on them, and thus the demand for cedar-topped Webers had diminished??

This is a shame if true, because those mandolins were fabulous...
Every one I played was just on fire...
YMMV...

[sgarrity]

I'm generally not a Weber fan but every cedar topped one I played was a wonderful mandolin. There were a few I would have bought on the spot if the owner had been selling. I currently have a Rockbridge 000 guitar that is Honduran RW with a cedar top. It's a great guitar and handles flatpicking just fine.

[dcoventry]

[QUOTE=Spruce;1137717]Yeah, and if Lloyd had chosen Norweigen Spruce for the F5s--and printed that up in his catalogs--then we'd all believe that Euro over Maple is the Holy Grail BG tone...

Oh, wait a minute...
He did... ;)


Truly and exactly one of my many rambling points I was trying to make. Honest.

[yankees1]

Blondes, Brunettes, or Redheads??

98714 One of each !