Official Luthiers Forum!

Got a possible commission for a guitar with Bloodwood B&S. I was thinking Englemann, but he wants a warmer tone. Port Orford?? I've heard of people using Redwood, but not seen the combination, and can't really picture it in my head... Anybody got any experiences to share tone wise????
How bought pics???

_________________
Rob

Italian spruce top, 4 piece back, sounds great, very mellow. Bloodwood is very underated I think, great taptone. It's also brittle and heavy, so beware.

_________________
Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

That's one beautiful guitar. I love bloodwood binding but never seen bloodwood back and sides. Hmm seems I have another combination to look at in the future.

Western Red Cedar is pretty dang warm. Might look good.

_________________
-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
Instagram | YouTube

I remember hearing a sound clip of Laurent's guitar and it sounded fantastic. I have a big plank of quartered bloodwood I might have to try someday.
Stuff is really hard. If your jointer knives are not totally sharp the stuff just bounces off of them instead of cutting.
Link

_________________
Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Where do you get instrument grade bloodwood for backs & sides? LMI has it listed but it's been backorderd for over a year. How about Ad spruce for the top.

Yup--fine looking guitar, Laurent.
But Rob, don't rule out Engelmann as unable to impart warmth.
Everytime I use it I have to remind myself that I really "prefer" Sitka. That Picea engelmannii always amazes me.

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Jim over at the Luthiers Community BB had some really nice bloodwood B&S. I bought a dread sized set from him - very reasonably priced!

RCTonewoods sometimes has some sets in bloodwood. I bet if you give Bob a call, he can set you up. If you can saw your own, Gilmer Woods has bloodwood pretty frequently. Tough to get in quartersawn, though. I use it for violin fingerboards and it's great! Very hard.

As for Engelmann, I have a recent build that has an Engelmann top, fairly thin and lightly braced, and it has a nice warm "throaty" lower midrange voice, as well as plenty of "zing" in the high end. (back and sides are cocobolo) Thing about Engelmann is, though, that it doesn't have a lot of dynamic range. Strumming this guitar hard will cause it to "break up", not too dissimilar to what happens to a speaker when its overdriven. It's a noticeably softer wood compared to other spruces.

If you leave your Englemann top a hair thicker, that will not happen. I've seen some pretty stiff Englemann as well, although the wood is always softer and easier (quicker) to sand than other spruces.

_________________
Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/