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I have someone who is asking me to build him a mahogany topped guitar (all mahogany dreadnought actually). Can anyone advise me on what approximate thickness I should be aiming for in the top? Also, in terms of sound, can anyone offer comparative words to describe a mahogany top guitar as compared to a sikta spruce top guitar?
Thanks,
Pat

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Drier, woodier, more emphasis on the fundamental and maybe more bass (or at least the balance is shifted that way).

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Jeremy Douglas

Hi Pat,

Paul Woolson build an all mahogany guitar a couple of years ago and when starting his research he started this post. Lots of good information in it.

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Thin the top (dependent on stiffness) .095-.110 pre voicing. Mahogany top, depending on what you do bracing and voicing will be surprisingly bright toned if you have never built a mahogany top before. now this statement is general. there is of course no way to know how you voice tops. If I could put a characteristic to tone difference between sitka and mahogany I would say the mahogany will be woodier in tone but by that I do not mean it lacks high freq response or over tones just a bit warmer.

Thanks for the input guys, it gave me the confidence to recommend to this fellow that we go ahead and do the mahogany guitar.

Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.