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Guitars like most string musical instruments have a major part of them built with woods. The woods are used to craft several guitar parts. Most guitars are not made of a single wood entirely. There could be about two or more woods constituting to form a single guitar.
However, this combination does have a reason to be like that as most guitars sound great with several kinds of wood of different tones. Whichever wood is used for a particular part is appropriate, serving a special function they are naturally good for. Some woods are best for the fingerboards, top, sides, etc. These woods also vary in weight, tone, color, etc.
Guitar woods serve different purposes for different kinds of guitars. A wide range of acoustic guitars is dependent on tonewoods for acoustics qualities. Meanwhile, electric guitars can make little use of a wood’s acoustic properties, and consider other features like the weight of the wood or even its appearance. Check out the best songs for bass test.
Additionally, the woods specially used to make guitars are called “tonewoods” mainly because of their acoustic characteristics. They have a direct impact on the way a guitar would sound. This reason is why they are widely used to craft numerous stringed musical instruments.
A luthier, when making these instruments, consider all these characteristics and makes careful choices on the right wood to use when building string musical instruments like guitars as it will determine the final features, looks, and tone of the guitar.
In this article, we will be showing you a broad variety of woods that are best for guitars and how they can suit your preferences.
Woods That are Best Used for Guitars?
Considering beauty, there’s a wide variety of woods with several attractive patterns and hard grains on them giving your guitar attractive looks. Guitar woods comes beautifully with their natural colors. There are the cream-colored woods down to black alluring ones.
However, not every wood can be used in various parts of a guitar. Most tonewoods are good for the tops while some are considerably used for the fingerboards owing to their smooth texture.
These woods are used for various guitar parts, and adornment. Here’s a careful pick of the best woods for guitars below.
Spruce
This wood ranks number one. This common variety adds to guitar physical qualities. Spruce is easily spotted by its cream color. Its tone makes it an all-purpose wood in making guitars. It sounds great when merged with other tonewoods.
The European spruce is an adequate type for quality tops of your guitar. The Sitka Spruce is a common type from Canada, possessing various striking textures and well defined by its bright basic harmonics. There’s another type from Canada, the Engelmann Spruce. Its color is lighter than that of Sitka.
Maple
A very hard wood from Germany extensively used to craft the backs and sides of guitars, but rarely used for the tops. Its note definition is very impressive and produces sharp musical sounds. Its color is white and it is greatly valued for its patterns, especially curls, giving your guitars an outstanding appearance.
Walnut
Walnut is equally a hefty wood. Its tone is slightly warmer than maple, although it still has good sustain. Its appearance comes much alive when polished with oil.
The Black walnut from the USA is an affordable variety with a dark brown tone. With good acoustics making great guitar backs and sides. Also, there’s the European Walnut from Spain. A dense type appearing in mixed hues of brown.
Mahogany
Originated in Brazil, this hard is widely used to create the neck, back, and sides of acoustic guitars. Mahogany is a dense wood, very sonorous, and appears either in a brown or sometimes reddish tone.
Mahogany is well-known to be sturdy and quite inexpensive. Its accessibility and good looks have made it among the widely used guitar woods. The African Mahogany from Cameroon is a variety, with a light tone and comparable to the actual Mahogany wood.
Cedar
This wood is best for guitar tops after Spruce. It’s recognized by its light reddish-brown tone. It is less dense and has less sustain. However, it’s rapid in attaining its full tonal capacity. This makes fingerstyle players love it.
Koa
Originated in Hawaii, Koa comes in a variety of vibrant golden tones; from the lighter ones to the darker ones. This wood has impressive looks with very tough grain patterns, especially curly ones, which adds beauty to a guitar. Great material for making attractive guitar backs and sides. A universal wood that provides a nice harmonious tone. Combine this wood with an Ebony fingerboard and experience better sounds.
Ebony
This wood comes from the African continent. Mostly, from Cameroon and Nigeria. From its name, it’s certainly a black alluring wood. It’s highly durable and dense. Ebony possesses sharper basic rhythm and incredible sustain.
Owing to its smooth feeling when touched, Ebony is best for guitar fingerboards. However, it could easily crack when there’s a rough change in atmospheric conditions. A more solid type is the Madagascar ebony which doesn’t crack easily like the African ebony.
Rosewood
This super hardwood appears in assorted vibrant colors, usually brown and purple. Rosewood exhibits a milder tone due to its permeable nature. This wood is limited and costly but makes solid guitars backs and sides. Brazilian rosewood is an attractive kind with evident acoustic attributes. Though, it’s now rare to find in marketable amounts.
However, there’s an alternative to it, the Indian rosewoods. But still, its beauty can’t be compared to that of the stunning Brazilian’s. However, Indian the peculiarities of the Indian rosewood has made it a popular material for many parts of a guitar.
Conclusion
Woods are not just randomly selected to make the guitars we see around. Moreover, a variety of woods can have a specific effect on each guitar that’s being made. It could be the weight, or more importantly, how your guitar will sound. We hope this article has enlightened you on how the right woods could help get the right features for your guitars.