Soundboard woods

Different top woods have been described as having slightly different tonal properties. The soundboard is probably the most crucial element to a particular guitar's sound so the choice of wood can make a big difference.

Sitka Spruce
Sitka Spruce grows in North America and is commonly used by most of the large factory built guitar companies. It is the darkest in colour of all the spruces and ages to a golden colour over time. It lends itself to flat picking guitars and responds well to firm finger picking. It is often the wood of choice for larger guitars and although it can be a little unresponsive for smaller instruments if chosen correctly still makes a great guitar.

European Spruce
More expensive than Sitka, European Spruce grows in the European Alps both in Germany and Italy. It has clarity and a great depth of tone giving it a power and subtlety that is hard to match. It takes a few years to mature into its full sound. European Spruce is lighter in colour compared to Sitka being a milky white colour. The growth lines can be very faint or are sometimes quite dark and prominent.  The timber is not always uniform and even grained, especially when compared to Sitka.

Adirondack (Red) Spruce
Adirondack Red Spruce was used for the tops on many of the great pre-war (now vintage or collectible) American guitars. It has since become very scarce and hence very expensive. Many guitar makers today believe that this wood is a significant contributing factor to the strong, clear tone of those older instruments. In the last ten to fifteen years there has been a resurgence of its use by many hand builders especially for flat-picked instruments, in an effort to capture that vintage sound. Small quantities of this wood are available but cosmetic grade wood is hard to come by. It is a great wood combining the bright overtones of European Spruce with the punch of Sitka and if you are prepared to put up with variation in colour and grain width it will produce a very responsive instrument. It is generally lighter in colour than sitka.

Englemann Spruce
In the last few years Engelmann Spruce has grown in popularity. Many makers now use it in lieu of European Spruce since good Engelmann has many of the traits desirable in a good European top and it is more readily available and hence more economical. The tops are often more homogeneous looking with the early and late-growth rings being less distinct than those of Sitka. It is a very responsive top wood for fingerstyle players, with a full, open tone and clear trebles.

Western Red Cedar
Cedar is softer, and not as strong nor as elastic as Spruce, but it is more stable with changes in moisture content. It is liked for its warm color, straight grain, and clear crisp tap tone. The color ranges from light to reddish to chocolate brown.  Cedar excels for fingerstyle guitarists and is open and responsive from the onset. A guitar with a cedar top tends to sound mature from the start. It does, however, have less headroom than the Spruces making it less suited to hard flatpicking and strumming.