Dana Bourgeois talks about tone woods at Northern Lights Music on 11/8/2018. To see what guitars are available at Northern Lights go to northernlights...
Ive been working for dana for almost a year now.. i have to say, watching him voice and just tbe company as a whole, is the greatest gift ive ever been given in my life! Such an amazing person
@@LegsON It is actually a serious and sincere question… I’ve got a Les Paul Custom CS with a Richlite fretboard, and let me tell you, it feels amazing and it is so stable… never had tuning issues.
I like watching Dana's eyes and facial expressions as he taps the wood.... it's almost like you can see the brain processing the sound waves as he does so.
Wow, this might be the most interesting geek talk I've ever heard. I got a little excited and jealous when he started passing the wood slabs around to the audience.
One of the coolest demonstrations I've ever seen - amazing knowledge and clever use of the boards to illustrate their resonance without even using strings or a guitar.
I had a boss who found a stack of 1/2"x8"x4' quartersawn old growth redwood in his garage. He asked if anyone wanted them then his buddy snatched them before I could put them in my car at lunch, I'm still mad about it.
He gave such a great presentation! Lots of interesting, useful info and details, without ever advertising for himself, nor making absolute statements, always just saying what works for him with how he makes Guitars.
Thanks for sharing an awesome video! Met Mr. Bourgeois last year in Lexington, KY. Such a nice gentleman, took much time to answer my questions. Thank you Dana, you are the best!
This video is fantastic. I love the guitar building and voicing videos from Dana Bourgeois. This guy has so much knowledge and passion in building acoustic guitars. I didn’t pay enough attention to Bourgeois guitars I’ve seen in a couple of stores but after seeing these videos, I’m definitely going to check them out more closely. I just wish more stores carry them in Toronto area. Thank you for these great videos!
maybe he did not have time to run out. He sure couldn't hold his breath. Thanks for being so compassionate Andreas. Things happen to folks. I'm sure he did not want to cough.
I like to say that rosewood has more of a bell-like sound quality. I've believed this ever since I saw Paul Reed Smith pick up a 4"x 4" post of solid Brazilian rosewood about 4 ft long. He held the post with thumb & fingers of one hand, allowing the post to freely hang downward, as he rapped the post with his free hand. To my astonishment, this post of solid Brazilian rosewood rang like a bell, or metal pipe, and continued to ring!!! Most other wood types would've had a dull, thudding sound.
Very informative, I enjoyed listening to Dana's presentation. I once drove 800 miles to Bourgeois Guitars and asked Dana to build me a guitar with an 1-5/8" neck due to a injured hand. He bluntly refused to even talk to me, which I did not appreciate. Since then, I have had two guitars made with my required 1-5/8" neck. They have worked out fine, no problems. Barry M Nova Scotia, Canada
Barry Barry Barry! we have some world renowm lute's here, I know one on North Mountain Annaplois valley and another that sold and delivered an acoustic to Kieth Richards that lives near Shelburne and...well boat building has left a plethora of mahoganies [200 yr old, Bluenose 1 and 2, sunken reclaimed teak , koas and plenty of douglas fir that was sent here as ballast from sailing ships from the west and left in piles when they went back with fish and other products.....they were then resawn and used as trim in the 50s and then renovated houses unloaded it into the market again....so we have the materials and we have the talent. Quebec also has Laravie and Goudan custom....but no need to leave Barry. Rick Bilgewater NS.
The wood with the HIGHEST velocity of sound is not Brad Rosewood....it is Braz Pernambuco...the wood used in violin bows...er, I mean, THE BEST violin bows. Over 5,000 metres per second. These is a meter that measures this.
Very nice presentation. Very informative. Dana is an extremely knowledgeable guitar builder. The proliferation of "you know "s threw me off now and then, but I enjoyed his presentation VERY MUCH!
@@Revansstuntdouble Haha, I haven't been a kid for a long time so I wouldn't know...but you may you maybe mixing it up with 'crossing swords'. A different thing entirely. 😁
Wow! This is an amazing video. I learned so much here. I have also heard Tom Bedell speak on a similar topic, which sparked my interest in tonewoods. I recently purchased an Eastman OM, which uses the Bourgeois method for tuning the soundboards, and I am totally impressed with the sound.
You've built within me a Romance now... "Velocity of Sound" is her name Thank you for this - truly a wealth of information - loved this video - thank you
The speed (velocity ) of sound is a constant at any given altitude. The term "velocity of sound" in regards to wood species is redundant and really means nothing.
What Dana says about straight-grained woods is exactly what I’ve noticed in real-life in regards to grain. Every straight-gain koa guitar I’ve ever played has sounded so much better, more lively, punchy and dynamic than their crazy-patterned siblings.
I know what you mean about the Mahogany thing... I eventually found a D28 Custom and it changed my mind. Now this guitar reminds me of a Steinway Piano.... happy pickin!🎶🎵
Wow surreal video ! What an insight for someone like me about take a massive punt on which woods for my forever guitar. Have to say that first piece of Padauk has it for me. All those people assiduously holding up lumps of wood and tapping was a golden RUclips moment😳
Awesome video. Nice taking the time to actually tap all the woods and explain. Gonna disagree on slow high altitude Alpine Swiss spruce just a little. 275-300 year old guys. Although I'm talking about a specific type of European in high elevations, veey cold, harsh growing conditions. It's basically Adirondack, but without the harshness, and more overtones. Red spruce u can drive slightly harder but it's not that mucb a difference. Especially considering how the alpine makes up for it. It's the best of red, mixed with the best of Sitka imo. You get the fundematals of Addy, with slight overtones and a very quick fast response with a quicker decay on picking. Different type of quickness. It basically sounds like an old red top almost out of the box. And the highs are nice and thick. It's a clearer sound too. And will reveil mistakes. Not as grungy I guess. But very loud. Sometimes extremely. But I love Addy for other reasons too and I'm not hating. My favorite tone wood by far. But I'm talking the old growth Swiss alpine high altitude stuff. There are may different types of the same European species and they all have different properties. Super versatile. Great for finger picking, blue grass, strumming, blues, or just some beautiful melodies. Some great sustain on slower pieced songs. Notes just ring out. On and on. It's just such a dam good too wood. Gotta get the good stuff though. Florinett has some of the best I've seen. Just needs to age a bit after u get it. But it's unbelievable. Almost certain Martin got it from them and then let it age before they used it finally after a 10 year hunt for the best FSC alpine they could find. After years of research and talking I'm almost sure, but can't completely confirm. But it's FCS certified and only a couple do that. And it's top notch stuff and only veey veey little have both. And I have other clues from messages. I'm also not a fan of torrifed and never will be. Don't like cheating. Don't like the look. I'd rather age it myself by playing over the years. It's also actually the stiffest per weight. At least the good stuff is. I believe the deflection is. 062, while red is 063,and yet weighs about 5 grams less on average on two of the same size and thickness. All my guitars in the future will have it. Any custom I get made will be that or Addy. Still a huge fan of Red if braced right, etc. Sitka I like still, but Swiss just took over for me. Especially over mahogany. By far my favorite over hog is Swiss alpine. Ugh. It's like merging your great hog with a bit of rosewood. Sold my rosewood after I got my Martin D mahogany 09, which is a ge with Swiss alpine spruce moon wood top and bracing. First time they used it for both. At least as far as they can track. The cm om13 used it to and what a guitar. Either way the right builder can make any spruce sound great. But make no mistake there is difference.
Great Info. I recently bought an eastman om with florinett alpine spruce + EIR body. And i wanted to find some info on it. Glad you took the time and wrote about it. My top is actually Torrified but i dont mind it
Years ago, I stepped into my local Guitar Center. They had just received a batch of Taylor guitars. I played 8 of these all the same model. You would think they all sounded the same? Absolutely not true. I did buy one that did not have the prettiest top, but it sounded more clear and projected better, and just felt like it vibrated more in my hands. So this video doesn't mean all too much to me because the guitar that you play, and sounds the best to you is the one to buy.
Taylor doesn't tune their guitars lol so of course they will all sound different. Even if they are the same model they probably didn't have the same woods being used on the soundboard back and sides and even if they did every tree is different. If you're shaving all braces down to the same size all with the same pattern of course they will sound different even if you used the same species of woods.
Thank you! Verry intresting. But now I wonder, that I love the sound of my maple/ sitka sruce jumbo so much. Couse in the examples they did´nt went the most resonating woods. But in a Jumo they work.
Interesting to listen to one man's take on wood sound quality. Even someone as experienced in listening as Dana. He is himself...in that we hear sound differently. I've always prefered the sound of a guitar with a mahogany back/sides. Yet I like mids and lows. Body. In the end we have to be THERE...in the shop to really hear the guitar. The headphones we're using watching RUclips videos will affect the sound we hear. As would the speakers we have on the table. So...
Great presentation. I would have loved to have heard the Macassar Ebony guitar as I'm I'm having a classical instrument made with it as I write. And being not at all biased, I believe building classical instruments an infinitely better use of tone woods than building steel-string thumpers, - just kidding.
I watch for some reason a lot of guitar building videos. This is very interesting to learn there is so much to the different types of wood, and listening so far (43 minutes in) to woods used back and sides. I read that back and sides material, no matter what it is, only influences about 5% of the sound. Has anyone heard that before? If that's true, then they could save a lot of trees by using some synthetic material for back and sides and be serious about choosing what type of wood for the face. I'm only amateur but listened to an interview with the 2 guys that build the Casimi guitars in South Africa. They really like African Blackwood a lot. Is that mainly them, as Dana seems not that impressed with African Blackwood, doesn't even use it. The Casimi guys never said they had a problem with their guitars cracking easily... but maybe that is true because the Casimi guitars haven't stood the test of time yet as they seem fairly new. Any input from anyone is greatly appreciated. Thanks for such a great presentation!! I'm only amateur and find it interesting! I like what Taylor is doing about ebony, buying the last stand of it and carefully managing it for future generations. As far as ethics and wood, and Dana saying India is very good at managing their forests... doesn't the need for money and greed set in with getting the rosewood and weakening regulations on India's harvest? My guitar has East Indian Rosewood back and sides, so that doesn't come close in sound and beauty to Brazilian Rosewood? In 1977 my roommate in college was very kind and I visited his home and met his family in Lake Minnetonka, MN. His mother worked for General Mills, the big flour company with headquarters near to where they lived. Her job was giving tours of the company facility to people from all over the world. She gave my friend and I a special VIP tour. When we were in the main conference room that had a big long table, a very big room, she said all the beautiful walls were of rosewood panels. Now days, what happens to buildings like that, where there is a lot of rosewood from the old days, and the building is being demolished or remodeling etc. Do guitar builders ever buy that and use it? I met a violin builder who has a small school, like about 8 students. He showed me different boards he had found from old building sites where demolition was going on. He would search for pinewood. He loved pinewood from very old buildings. He would just hunt in the scrap piles. Some pieces he loved were badly damaged, yet he said they were still excellent wood and worth repairing. Pretty amazing! He had built 365 violins in his lifetime by then (about 5 yrs ago) and seemed in his sixties. I wonder why violins don't have hardwood back and sides... His violins would even auction in New York City for a lot of money. Why don't renowned guitars sell for as much as violins? This man was so talented they were bringing a 3.4 million dollar violin to him. They were coming from Chicago to his school/studio/shop in St. Paul, MN!
Hello Dana, i'm from across the bay, north of Yarmouth NS. I just finished listening 2 ur tone woods talk. n realizd i'd herd of u b4: a cousin said a few years ago she'd like 1 of your guitars - i'd assumed u were a 1 man luthier from N B. like is said in french: i herd a different bell sound about the Italian violin fiddle masters. n if it's important i might have the reference. seems their best spruce had bin submerged under water 4 @ least 6 yrs to bring the grain closer 2gether thereby making the wood harder, or is it stiffer? i 4get. n that their maple wood wuz harvested in the dead of winter when the sap wuzn't running. n i suspect that like our forefathers they also cut their wood when the moon wuz @ the right sign of the Zodiac. there's a best time to cut trees so the paint sticks 2 the wood better, so it dries without ever rotting, just like there's a time 2 drive fence posts so the frost don't heave them up, a time 2 slaughter 4 best meat, n a time 2 cut alders so they don't grow again or plant seeds. n if u'r interested. i can find the parameters 4 that 2o. n i suspect, it's a bit like how MicMacs choose n havest an ash 2 make baskets. along w being straight n free of branches for @ least 6' n have a certain diameter. it must have a certain sound n smell, n since they did everything w nature, i can easily imagine that in the past, they checkd out the planets, as all aboriginals on the planet do. i wuz surprizd that there r no females in ur work crew photo. saw dogs... can't c what their use'd b 4 making guitars. Martin benefitted from women's better finishing abilities than men's. n i heard that from furniture makers 2o. ur website contact system is non functional when i click SEND Happy New Year, :o)))
Interesting how his belief that rosewood is the more “mid rangey” tone and mahogany is the one that is NOT “midrangey” & has deep lows and great highs are actually the vice-versa belief for the general guitar knowledge of luthiers from makers like Martin & Taylor. Im kinda confused now. This guy though seems really passionate about his career. Great presentation btw.
I live in Iran and I am a professional Iranian classical music instrument player. I play an instrument called SETAR . Setar's bridge is wooden. I wanted to know what would be the best wood for transferring sound from the strings to the soundboard?
Anything that’s really hard and wouldn’t let any of the string’s vibrations diminish on the way to the top. Any wood in the diospyros family (ebony) and a lot of wood in the juglans family (walnut) are usually good bets
@@bootydontlie4182 Rosewoods may be a better bet than ebonies as their lower density but similar hardness result in less inertial damping and greater energy transference.
Maple, mahogany, snake wood or purple heart in addition to the sitka spruce. I am studying myself to be a full luthier of traditional world classic instruments. If I recall sitars have a beautiful twang to them like a cross between a violin and a guitar. Maple or spruce for the old world is the standard. I don't like how some don't sound as loud since I'm wanting to make a Tertis viola I want to crank up the volume and keep the bright warm tones. Mine are usually made from sitka spruce as are most bridges. I am deciding if like guitars I'm using different woods to give the full effect for my viola or if one wood will do it all and make it sound fantastic on the first play. A viola usually takes three years to sound good. So from first play would be a huge upgrade
In my experience Padauk rapidly loses its orange, going deep blood red. Then it slowly keeps on going until finally stabilizing at a boring dark brown color with a tiny hint of red and purple. I find it to be just another flashy but ultimately quite ugly coarse grained exotic.
When playing with instruments where the frequencies are outside the range of the guitar (mandolin, fiddle, etc), I like Brazilian with red spruce if I am the only guitar. When playing with multiple guitars, I prefer to use mahogany with red spruce because the volume of the fundamental note is louder, and the harmonics are strong in the mid range and higher frequencies. If I am playing in a duet or trio with no bass, I prefer to use Brazilian with sinker redwood because this combination is very strong on the bottom end and I can "fill in" some of the missing bass frequencies. Incidentally, this combination is really good for altered tunings like drop d and dgdgbe, etc.
Alternating thin coats of french polish and tru oil. The first application, in a warm room. The second coat of FP should be 10% your lover's blood. The final coat of TO, applied in a warm room, again, to self- level.
My experience is that mahogany is very strong on the principal or fundamental note when combined with a red spruce top, and the harmonic overtones are very focused or defined; rosewood with red spruce seems to me to have a wide range of complex overtones, IMHO.
I would have thought that for really meaningful tap test results each wood sample would need to be exactly the same dimensions, be clamped in exactly the same place and tapped in the same place.
Cheap common and easiest to work the soundboard of choice will always be good ole' SPRUCE for all acoustic guitars. These guitar builders would love you to believe that the exotic and expensive woods are best , but it is just not true.
- Metallic -
Indian Rosewood 11:55
Brazilian Rosewood 14:02, 15:52
Madagascar Rosewood 17:03
Cocobolo 18:18, 19:54
Padauk 24:18
Indian Ebony 26:47
- Woody -
Honduran Mahogany 14:50, 36:29
African Mahogany 37:04
Maple 40:52
Walnut 42:53, 50:33
Hawaiian Koa 47:36
- Top -
Sitka Spruce 1:02:18
Adirondak(Red) Spruce 1:03:13
European Spruce(Itanlian/Austrian) 1:04:33
White Spruce(Canadian) 1:05:50
Red Wood 1:06:29
Torrified Adirondack 1:07:00
thanks ! u are the best
So by the time anyone watches & listens from all those time stamps, ya might as well just watch the whole presentation. Good grief man.
For the metallic part, i thought the Madagascar rosewood had the most harmonic content and resonance
Howabouthetruth It’s to easily compare them, good grief...
much thanks :)
Ive been working for dana for almost a year now.. i have to say, watching him voice and just tbe company as a whole, is the greatest gift ive ever been given in my life! Such an amazing person
Cool, congratulations!
What do you guys think about using Richlite as the fretboard material?
@@PietroLucena Good Lord, you're shameless! 🤣
@@LegsON It is actually a serious and sincere question… I’ve got a Les Paul Custom CS with a Richlite fretboard, and let me tell you, it feels amazing and it is so stable… never had tuning issues.
@@PietroLucena Well, tonewood doesn't matter much for electrics. So I agree that might be extremely practical for them.
A very interesting talk with actual demonstrations that really brough what he was saying alive!
I like watching Dana's eyes and facial expressions as he taps the wood.... it's almost like you can see the brain processing the sound waves as he does so.
Wow, this might be the most interesting geek talk I've ever heard. I got a little excited and jealous when he started passing the wood slabs around to the audience.
What an excellent presentation. I loved hearing Dana tap the woods in front of the microphone. Fascinating.
One of the coolest demonstrations I've ever seen - amazing knowledge and clever use of the boards to illustrate their resonance without even using strings or a guitar.
I had a boss who found a stack of 1/2"x8"x4' quartersawn old growth redwood in his garage. He asked if anyone wanted them then his buddy snatched them before I could put them in my car at lunch, I'm still mad about it.
He gave such a great presentation! Lots of interesting, useful info and details, without ever advertising for himself, nor making absolute statements, always just saying what works for him with how he makes Guitars.
Thank you Dana. This is everything I wanted and needed to know re tonewoods, definitive, clear.
Dana is a Master , attended a tone tap lecture of his at the Artisan show and a wealth of information
I’ve always avoided picking up a Bourgeois due to cost, but this is making me want to try one.
generally speaking with guitars .. you get what you pay for, except maybe with some diminishing returns.
Thanks for sharing an awesome video! Met Mr. Bourgeois last year in Lexington, KY. Such a nice gentleman, took much time to answer my questions. Thank you Dana, you are the best!
Such a nice talk and lots of information. Thank you Dana Bourgeois.
Really good overview of the tonewoods Dana - much appreciated...
This video is fantastic. I love the guitar building and voicing videos from Dana Bourgeois. This guy has so much knowledge and passion in building acoustic guitars. I didn’t pay enough attention to Bourgeois guitars I’ve seen in a couple of stores but after seeing these videos, I’m definitely going to check them out more closely. I just wish more stores carry them in Toronto area. Thank you for these great videos!
I'm in Toronto too. Only ones I've seen are a few used models popping up here and there
Very interesting and amazing sounds from the different woods.
Thanks for leaving the first comment, Russell!
But a bad (coughing) Sound from the team. I dont understand why that guy couldnt leave the room when shooting a video. ;-)
maybe he did not have time to run out. He sure couldn't hold his breath. Thanks for being so compassionate Andreas. Things happen to folks. I'm sure he did not want to cough.
I like to say that rosewood has more of a bell-like sound quality. I've believed this ever since I saw Paul Reed Smith pick up a 4"x 4" post of solid Brazilian rosewood about 4 ft long. He held the post with thumb & fingers of one hand, allowing the post to freely hang downward, as he rapped the post with his free hand. To my astonishment, this post of solid Brazilian rosewood rang like a bell, or metal pipe, and continued to ring!!! Most other wood types would've had a dull, thudding sound.
Like a master chef, with Huge Intuition for music!!!....this is Fantastic!🎶🎵
WOW!!!!!!! THANK YOU, FOR THIS AMAZING LECTURE, AND DEMONSTRATIONS!!!! VERY COOL!!!!!!! [THEIR WEBSITE IS NOT FUNCTIONING TOO WELL!!]
His guitars are right on the border of Heaven
What a great, instructive video! Thank you Dana and thanks to you guys who made and posted this.
Very informative, I enjoyed listening to Dana's presentation. I once drove 800 miles to Bourgeois Guitars
and asked Dana to build me a guitar with an 1-5/8" neck due to a injured hand. He bluntly refused to
even talk to me, which I did not appreciate. Since then, I have had two guitars made with my required 1-5/8"
neck. They have worked out fine, no problems. Barry M Nova Scotia, Canada
It's hard to get a read on him....odd duck?
Should've tried harder to pick up the phone
You drove 800 miles without talking to him before hand?
Barry Barry Barry! we have some world renowm lute's here, I know one on North Mountain Annaplois valley and another that sold and delivered an acoustic to Kieth Richards that lives near Shelburne and...well boat building has left a plethora of mahoganies [200 yr old, Bluenose 1 and 2, sunken reclaimed teak , koas and plenty of douglas fir that was sent here as ballast from sailing ships from the west and left in piles when they went back with fish and other products.....they were then resawn and used as trim in the 50s and then renovated houses unloaded it into the market again....so we have the materials and we have the talent. Quebec also has Laravie and Goudan custom....but no need to leave Barry.
Rick Bilgewater NS.
@@guymandude999 No I just wanted to go for a drive.
The wood with the HIGHEST velocity of sound is not Brad Rosewood....it is Braz Pernambuco...the wood used in violin bows...er, I mean, THE BEST violin bows. Over 5,000 metres per second. These is a meter that measures this.
I watched this whole thing. I have so much respect for this knowledge and love the information. It was still a very slow watch haha.
Very nice presentation. Very informative. Dana is an extremely knowledgeable guitar builder. The proliferation of "you know "s threw me off now and then, but I enjoyed his presentation VERY MUCH!
It’s a freaking draggggggg
I could just tap boards with him for a year. Really great video, thank you.
Is that what the kids call it these days?
@@Revansstuntdouble Haha, I haven't been a kid for a long time so I wouldn't know...but you may you maybe mixing it up with 'crossing swords'. A different thing entirely. 😁
Most important video on RUclips.
He did a fine job on mine. Best guitar I've ever owned
Wow! This is an amazing video. I learned so much here. I have also heard Tom Bedell speak on a similar topic, which sparked my interest in tonewoods. I recently purchased an Eastman OM, which uses the Bourgeois method for tuning the soundboards, and I am totally impressed with the sound.
Dana! Just build me a D-28 copy. You are one of the best! Reclaimed stumps of Brazilian Rosewood.
You've built within me a Romance now...
"Velocity of Sound" is her name
Thank you for this - truly a wealth of information - loved this video - thank you
The speed (velocity ) of sound is a constant at any given altitude.
The term "velocity of sound" in regards to wood species is redundant and really means nothing.
What Dana says about straight-grained woods is exactly what I’ve noticed in real-life in regards to grain. Every straight-gain koa guitar I’ve ever played has sounded so much better, more lively, punchy and dynamic than their crazy-patterned siblings.
the longitudinal strength of the straoght grain is allowing better propagation of circular expanding transversal soundwaves
and obv, it looks infinitely better
@@kanker5256 so does that mean that burl wood is an ill choice for tone wood?
@@spartanguitarist6579 burl is AWFUL for tonewood. plus, it is a nightmare to work with.
@@kanker5256 really? that’s a shame because i want to start making a guitar and burl wood looks really beautiful
Very cool. Thanks.
Love this. If anything could pull me away from my obsession with mahogany guitars it would an Addy /Brazilian made by this man.
I know what you mean about the Mahogany thing... I eventually found a D28 Custom and it changed my mind. Now this guitar reminds me of a Steinway Piano.... happy pickin!🎶🎵
Wow surreal video ! What an insight for someone like me about take a massive punt on which woods for my forever guitar. Have to say that first piece of Padauk has it for me.
All those people assiduously holding up lumps of wood and tapping was a golden RUclips moment😳
Sasquatch hunters convention.
happens at the PRS seminars too
I wonder if Italian engineers in Maranello having been doing the same with Ferrari con-rods over the years.
Awesome video. Nice taking the time to actually tap all the woods and explain.
Gonna disagree on slow high altitude Alpine Swiss spruce just a little. 275-300 year old guys. Although I'm talking about a specific type of European in high elevations, veey cold, harsh growing conditions. It's basically Adirondack, but without the harshness, and more overtones. Red spruce u can drive slightly harder but it's not that mucb a difference. Especially considering how the alpine makes up for it. It's the best of red, mixed with the best of Sitka imo.
You get the fundematals of Addy, with slight overtones and a very quick fast response with a quicker decay on picking. Different type of quickness. It basically sounds like an old red top almost out of the box. And the highs are nice and thick. It's a clearer sound too. And will reveil mistakes. Not as grungy I guess. But very loud. Sometimes extremely. But I love Addy for other reasons too and I'm not hating.
My favorite tone wood by far. But I'm talking the old growth Swiss alpine high altitude stuff. There are may different types of the same European species and they all have different properties.
Super versatile. Great for finger picking, blue grass, strumming, blues, or just some beautiful melodies. Some great sustain on slower pieced songs. Notes just ring out. On and on.
It's just such a dam good too wood. Gotta get the good stuff though. Florinett has some of the best I've seen. Just needs to age a bit after u get it. But it's unbelievable. Almost certain Martin got it from them and then let it age before they used it finally after a 10 year hunt for the best FSC alpine they could find. After years of research and talking I'm almost sure, but can't completely confirm. But it's FCS certified and only a couple do that. And it's top notch stuff and only veey veey little have both. And I have other clues from messages.
I'm also not a fan of torrifed and never will be. Don't like cheating. Don't like the look. I'd rather age it myself by playing over the years.
It's also actually the stiffest per weight. At least the good stuff is. I believe the deflection is. 062, while red is 063,and yet weighs about 5 grams less on average on two of the same size and thickness.
All my guitars in the future will have it. Any custom I get made will be that or Addy. Still a huge fan of Red if braced right, etc. Sitka I like still, but Swiss just took over for me. Especially over mahogany. By far my favorite over hog is Swiss alpine. Ugh. It's like merging your great hog with a bit of rosewood. Sold my rosewood after I got my Martin D mahogany 09, which is a ge with Swiss alpine spruce moon wood top and bracing. First time they used it for both. At least as far as they can track.
The cm om13 used it to and what a guitar.
Either way the right builder can make any spruce sound great. But make no mistake there is difference.
Great Info. I recently bought an eastman om with florinett alpine spruce + EIR body. And i wanted to find some info on it. Glad you took the time and wrote about it. My top is actually Torrified but i dont mind it
Fascinating - thank you
I must line up my hi's and low's and mids with Dana , that tunes me in to play now.
Superb watch. Such insights and knowledge
Great video! The best I've seen.
He seems like such a nice guy. I thought this was very interesting and entertaining to listen to.
If you had a Pernambuco piece there it would ring and ring and ring!
Its just much rarer in guitar billet size. But I have some 8-1\4" wide :)
Years ago, I stepped into my local Guitar Center. They had just received a batch of Taylor guitars. I played 8 of these all the same model. You would think they all sounded the same?
Absolutely not true. I did buy one that did not have the prettiest top, but it sounded more clear and projected better, and just felt like it vibrated more in my hands.
So this video doesn't mean all too much to me because the guitar that you play, and sounds the best to you is the one to buy.
Taylor doesn't tune their guitars lol so of course they will all sound different. Even if they are the same model they probably didn't have the same woods being used on the soundboard back and sides and even if they did every tree is different. If you're shaving all braces down to the same size all with the same pattern of course they will sound different even if you used the same species of woods.
"I generally break backs..."
We know Arnold... :D
Ok how cute was it when they started clapping for him and he joins in for a second before realizing 😂
I just bought a martin D18 sinker mahogany. Best sounding guitar I have ever played.
Awesome, learned so much 🙏
this is amazing stuff!
Thank you! Verry intresting. But now I wonder, that I love the sound of my maple/ sitka sruce jumbo so much. Couse in the examples they did´nt went the most resonating woods. But in a Jumo they work.
Very interesting video and a very informative. Thanks
fascinating video. /thanks
a very interesting presentation.
Thank you Sir.. Very informative.. Educational, instead of sale oriented. Torrefaction Maple?
Interesting to listen to one man's take on wood sound quality. Even someone as experienced in listening as Dana. He is himself...in that we hear sound differently. I've always prefered the sound of a guitar with a mahogany back/sides. Yet I like mids and lows. Body. In the end we have to be THERE...in the shop to really hear the guitar. The headphones we're using watching RUclips videos will affect the sound we hear. As would the speakers we have on the table. So...
What would a guitar sound like if it has spruce back and sides and a Brazilian rosewood top?
Like a nightmare to get through customs
@@jakevoss7885 what do you mean, J?
There are about 20 different Acacias, just in Australia alone.
The African Padauk sounds better to me than the Brazilian Rosewood. Wasn't expecting to feel this way.
Loved this. What I took away from it is as annoying as it sounds, Brazilian is just ughhhhh, it just does the job so well.
It looks like a Shure SM81 he's using to pickup the tone of wood when he taps it.
What would be the best wood combo for a good old 30's blues sound?
very interesting!!
Dana. What guitar is in the back with the slot head?
I used a piano sound board on a dreadnought, it sounded like a banjo
Great presentation. I would have loved to have heard the Macassar Ebony guitar as I'm I'm having a classical instrument made with it as I write.
And being not at all biased, I believe building classical instruments an infinitely better use of tone woods than building steel-string thumpers, - just kidding.
I plan to learn to make both. Also want to make them hybrid acoustic/electric instruments that are the best of both.
hard curly maple back and sides
I watch for some reason a lot of guitar building videos. This is very interesting to learn there is so much to the different types of wood, and listening so far (43 minutes in) to woods used back and sides. I read that back and sides material, no matter what it is, only influences about 5% of the sound. Has anyone heard that before? If that's true, then they could save a lot of trees by using some synthetic material for back and sides and be serious about choosing what type of wood for the face.
I'm only amateur but listened to an interview with the 2 guys that build the Casimi guitars in South Africa. They really like African Blackwood a lot. Is that mainly them, as Dana seems not that impressed with African Blackwood, doesn't even use it. The Casimi guys never said they had a problem with their guitars cracking easily... but maybe that is true because the Casimi guitars haven't stood the test of time yet as they seem fairly new. Any input from anyone is greatly appreciated. Thanks for such a great presentation!! I'm only amateur and find it interesting! I like what Taylor is doing about ebony, buying the last stand of it and carefully managing it for future generations.
As far as ethics and wood, and Dana saying India is very good at managing their forests... doesn't the need for money and greed set in with getting the rosewood and weakening regulations on India's harvest? My guitar has East Indian Rosewood back and sides, so that doesn't come close in sound and beauty to Brazilian Rosewood?
In 1977 my roommate in college was very kind and I visited his home and met his family in Lake Minnetonka, MN. His mother worked for General Mills, the big flour company with headquarters near to where they lived. Her job was giving tours of the company facility to people from all over the world. She gave my friend and I a special VIP tour. When we were in the main conference room that had a big long table, a very big room, she said all the beautiful walls were of rosewood panels. Now days, what happens to buildings like that, where there is a lot of rosewood from the old days, and the building is being demolished or remodeling etc. Do guitar builders ever buy that and use it?
I met a violin builder who has a small school, like about 8 students. He showed me different boards he had found from old building sites where demolition was going on. He would search for pinewood. He loved pinewood from very old buildings. He would just hunt in the scrap piles. Some pieces he loved were badly damaged, yet he said they were still excellent wood and worth repairing. Pretty amazing! He had built 365 violins in his lifetime by then (about 5 yrs ago) and seemed in his sixties. I wonder why violins don't have hardwood back and sides... His violins would even auction in New York City for a lot of money. Why don't renowned guitars sell for as much as violins? This man was so talented they were bringing a 3.4 million dollar violin to him. They were coming from Chicago to his school/studio/shop in St. Paul, MN!
Hello Dana,
i'm from across the bay, north of Yarmouth NS.
I just finished listening 2 ur tone woods talk. n realizd i'd herd of u b4: a cousin said a few years ago she'd like 1 of your guitars - i'd assumed u were a 1 man luthier from N B. like is said in french: i herd a different bell sound about the Italian violin fiddle masters.
n if it's important i might have the reference. seems their best spruce had bin submerged under water 4 @ least 6 yrs to bring the grain closer 2gether thereby making the wood harder, or is it stiffer? i 4get. n that their maple wood wuz harvested in the dead of winter when the sap wuzn't running.
n i suspect that like our forefathers they also cut their wood when the moon wuz @ the right sign of the Zodiac. there's a best time to cut trees so the paint sticks 2 the wood better, so it dries without ever rotting, just like there's a time 2 drive fence posts so the frost don't heave them up, a time 2 slaughter 4 best meat, n a time 2 cut alders so they don't grow again or plant seeds. n if u'r interested. i can find the parameters 4 that 2o.
n i suspect, it's a bit like how MicMacs choose n havest an ash 2 make baskets. along w being straight n free of branches for @ least 6' n have a certain diameter. it must have a certain sound n smell, n since they did everything w nature, i can easily imagine that in the past, they checkd out the planets, as all aboriginals on the planet do.
i wuz surprizd that there r no females in ur work crew photo. saw dogs... can't c what their use'd b 4 making guitars. Martin benefitted from women's better finishing abilities than men's. n i heard that from furniture makers 2o.
ur website contact system is non functional when i click SEND
Happy New Year,
:o)))
Can you get Billy Proletariat on next please?
The Padoak sounded like a gong!
I spy, with my eye, two tele’s hanging on high.
MtnLiner I spy with my little eye, a half shell of a guitar that I used to help make...;)
I wonder about Okume also I have heard that California Bay Laurel is a good tone wood aka Myrtlewood.
Interesting how his belief that rosewood is the more “mid rangey” tone and mahogany is the one that is NOT “midrangey” & has deep lows and great highs are actually the vice-versa belief for the general guitar knowledge of luthiers from makers like Martin & Taylor. Im kinda confused now. This guy though seems really passionate about his career. Great presentation btw.
Yellow Birch---didn't see that discussed---
I honestly don’t think the Maple sounds dull.
Imagine a passerby seeing a group sitting in a circle passing and tapping on pieces of wood and wondering what the *******??
What is your opinion on Osage Orange?
Did I miss maple? Some maple woods sound great. And pau ferro( iron wood)
Free L.L. Bean advertisement :D
Have you ever made tops with the bottom half indian rosewood and top Brazilian rosewood .
Did I miss him mention anything about Lutz Spruce?
What’s your thought of Cambodian rosewood?
Effective speaker and good talk, but I couldn't resist a chuckle when he started nervously juggling his water and cap around 35 minutes in.
The legend goes that Dana personally goes to Home Depot to select the finest plywood to build his guitars.
You win the award for best comment!
My question is: why not cedar?
Holding my phone in a way that the speaker is over my hand. Maple vibrated the most.
A man of science I see.
Very informative video. What does easy decay mean?
Sounds like a Sasquatch hunters convention with all that wood knocking.
I live in Iran and I am a professional Iranian classical music instrument player. I play an instrument called SETAR . Setar's bridge is wooden. I wanted to know what would be the best wood for transferring sound from the strings to the soundboard?
سلام. از استخوان به عنوان خرک استفاده کنید و از جگ برای پل گذاری. بهترین گیتارهای دنیا این گونه ساخته شده اند.
Anything that’s really hard and wouldn’t let any of the string’s vibrations diminish on the way to the top. Any wood in the diospyros family (ebony) and a lot of wood in the juglans family (walnut) are usually good bets
@@bootydontlie4182 Rosewoods may be a better bet than ebonies as their lower density but similar hardness result in less inertial damping and greater energy transference.
Maple, mahogany, snake wood or purple heart in addition to the sitka spruce. I am studying myself to be a full luthier of traditional world classic instruments. If I recall sitars have a beautiful twang to them like a cross between a violin and a guitar. Maple or spruce for the old world is the standard. I don't like how some don't sound as loud since I'm wanting to make a Tertis viola I want to crank up the volume and keep the bright warm tones. Mine are usually made from sitka spruce as are most bridges. I am deciding if like guitars I'm using different woods to give the full effect for my viola or if one wood will do it all and make it sound fantastic on the first play. A viola usually takes three years to sound good. So from first play would be a huge upgrade
I would love to try an experiment. If I can source some rosewood
In my experience Padauk rapidly loses its orange, going deep blood red. Then it slowly keeps on going until finally stabilizing at a boring dark brown color with a tiny hint of red and purple. I find it to be just another flashy but ultimately quite ugly coarse grained exotic.
they all sounds same for me) does that mean that i don t have musical ear?
What is the loudest possible wood for the Banjo Killer? I'm sooooo quiet.
Brazilian/Adirondack
Adirondack top/Mahogany back & sides hands down. They really cut thru and stand out in a loud group.
When playing with instruments where the frequencies are outside the range of the guitar (mandolin, fiddle, etc), I like Brazilian with red spruce if I am the only guitar. When playing with multiple guitars, I prefer to use mahogany with red spruce because the volume of the fundamental note is louder, and the harmonics are strong in the mid range and higher frequencies. If I am playing in a duet or trio with no bass, I prefer to use Brazilian with sinker redwood because this combination is very strong on the bottom end and I can "fill in" some of the missing bass frequencies. Incidentally, this combination is really good for altered tunings like drop d and dgdgbe, etc.
"I'll tell you a walnut story..."
Is he planning of building guitars or drums?
With metallic you mean bel like?
What and how finisher and finishing is best for guitar?
Satria Samudra no finish/satin, every layer of paint or lacquer u add will reduce volume and top end
Alternating thin coats of french polish and tru oil. The first application, in a warm room. The second coat of FP should be 10% your lover's blood. The final coat of TO, applied in a warm room, again, to self- level.
I always thought mahogany was supposed to have more mid range vs rosewood
My experience is that mahogany is very strong on the principal or fundamental note when combined with a red spruce top, and the harmonic overtones are very focused or defined; rosewood with red spruce seems to me to have a wide range of complex overtones, IMHO.
Hi Dana, I'm Mr. Proletariat
I would have thought that for really meaningful tap test results each wood sample would need to be exactly the same dimensions, be clamped in exactly the same place and tapped in the same place.
As every billet of timber and species and cut differs over a large number of variables your conditions would be almost valueless.
I must agree Terry. Not comparing apples with apples here.
No Amazon Rosewood? No, it should have been mentioned
anzon the same volicity of madacascar and cocobolo, very hard
thank you question please have or can you find or make guitars out of Lignum Vitae?
It murders tools. Hardwoods are killing.
You would not want to do that. It's impossibly oily and virtually poreless. As a nut or saddle...?
Cheap common and easiest to work the soundboard of choice will always be good ole' SPRUCE for all acoustic guitars. These guitar builders would love you to believe that the exotic and expensive woods are best , but it is just not true.