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So im not finished with my first and yet Im already thinking of my second! I'd like to use cedar for the top but other than a rosewood, what do yall think is a combonation with Cedar.

thanks in advance

I think cedar goes well with wood. Yeah, go find yourself a piece of wood and use that.

Actually, koa is one of my favorites with cedar. Also Indian rosewood, but you said not that.

Or if you're looking for something more exotic, you could try movingui. I've never heard a guitar made with it, but tapping on my sets I'm betting that it will be killer when paired with redwood, and great with cedar as well. Zoot Man Bob has some in stock http://rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_23

You see Mahogany paired with cedar quite alot. Koa is also something that pairs well with cedar. Fillipo is right though, the sky is the limit. If you're going to keep the guitar, match it to a back and sides of a wood that you'd maybe be iffy of buying in the music store but think would make a cool guitar.

I am working on my first guitar that's Port Orford Cedar and Rosewood. It's something I probably wouldn't take a shot at buying in the guitar store but it's something that I think will turn out awesome so I'm building it.

Marc

All right. Just what the heck is that suppose to mean? I was thinking of doing a Cedar/Maple
L-00 for my next one.

One of the nicest guitars I have played was a Cedar/Zebrawood built by Dan Minard. That combination works. It looked great too.

Also what Filippo said.

would go great with Hondo Hog, Koa or Maple would be nice. Any rosewood would be good too. So may factors than just the wood. Body size, intended playing style, bracing...

I do like the find a piece of wood and use that answer. If its good wood, and you build it right, it will sound good. Different options will make it sound different, but....

I built an African Mahogany (Khaya) with a Western Red Cedar top (dred) and it sounded wonderful. It had a very clean and clear, ringing tone. The sustain was forever. I'm now working on one that I hope to be similar to Jim Olson's James Taylor signature model - EIR and WRC. But as others have said, go for what stirs your soul.

Good luck,
Chuck

_________________
"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong"
- Joseph Chilton Pearce

Well besides most of the various woods out there, you could try things like
paper mache,
fiberglass,
carbon fiber,
steel, brass and even aluminum too
I bet that even ferroconcrete would work...might be a bit heavy, but it would work.
Heck I even heard of dudes using popsicle and match sticks to build instruments with.


blessings
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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How about a figured cherry back and sides, and straight grained cherry bindings?
A neutral/stealth geetar.

Cedar-Walnut is often thought to be a great combo.

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David Malicky

Gotcha And the darker the better on. I'd like to see a photo of the one Filippo has.

Thanks,
Danny

Salmon and a nice crisp Chardonnay!

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I'm building a OOO that is WRC and Peruvian Walnut...very pretty combo. You can get good deals on black walnut, great choice for #2...

I'll start by saying this is my opinion (at this moment) and is subject to change at any time.
I assume you are talking about steel string guitars. If you're talking classical, please ignore the rest of this note.
I've built a few Cedar topped guitars & liked them all a lot. But... they tend to have very long sustain & overtones that are loud & complex.
You might say "Cool! Just what I'm looking for", but it is possible to have too much of a good thing. When playing leads on my #2 guitar (cedar & EIR) the overtones built to the point where they got in the way. I had to keep on damping the unplayed strings to stop the distracting "noise".
My most successful cedar guitar had a Zebrawood back & sides. The Zwood had a fairly dull tap tone with very little ring to it. I think this had a beneficial effect on the guitar. The overtones were there, but not overpowering. The sustain was just what I wanted it to be. It looked really cool too.
It *could* be that the dull tap tone of the zebrawood had little or nothing to do with the great sound of that guitar. I'd probably have to build at least 10 more to see if there's a trend. At the rate I build, that ain't likely to happen!
That said, there's another Cedar & Zebrawood Jumbo on the drawing board right now. I hated selling the last one!

thanks for all the replies.

my first one is EIR back/sides. Sitka top. maple binding scheme. posted here:
viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=30383

I have a ton of ideas for my second. baritone, uke, 7 string. but i think id like to try another dread but with cedar. I just wasnt really sure what would work good with it other than rosewood. My mentor has built one with a cedar top and BRW back/sides and The sound of that guitar blows me away but Im not touching BRW until i have about 10 guitars under my belt!

I just want to try something other than EIRW. Walnut keeps coming to mind. so many choices though!

Padma - you forgot BONDO. Now THAT would be a guitar!!

+1 It would be my choice as they do go good together.

One more for cedar/walnut. Sound and looks.

Cedar's got a nice brownish tone. I like that maple/cedar combo option for a striking guitar visually.

I built a cedar/black walnut guitar - nice guitar. any issues were due to the builder and not the woods...... .

Seriously, as you can tell, there's a strong ethos here of "it's not the wood, it's the builder and the technique used." Over my last several guitars, I'm starting to see the wisdom of that. However, on your second guitar, I empathize with your interest in narrowing the number of variables to think about. I do think the choice of wood species matters. I've got to believe if you built two guitars as identically as you could, with African Blackwood B/S on one, and Mahogany on the other, the guitars would have a different sound (yeah, I know, there's great variablility in wood, within species. Matching tops, even from the same log, is very hard, even with deflection and density testing). Nevertheless, choice of species for back and sides is more than just visual aesthetics, right? It's an interesting point of dioscussion, anyway.

So, lets talk in generalizations (and yes, I'm opening myself to correction and controversy. Fair enough, I'm feeling my oats today.)

Cedar is less dense (in general) than spruce, and softer. You probably will need to build a bit thicker, and take great care with the top when building the guitar. Breathe on it wrong, and you'll get a ding. A spit coat of shellac once you have it thicknessed (or two) can help to minimize this, but you'll have to be very careful. Good for building good habits, anyway. (Keep chisels and sharp objects away, don't throw hammers in the workshop,etc.) Yes, I know from experience.

My experience with cedar (and others have confirmed it) is that the guitar is very "open" almost from the time you put strings on it. If Adirondack can take years to fully open up, western red cedar is the "anti- Adirondack". I've got some thoughts on this, not at all based in science, which mean that matching a very "open" top with back and sides which are extremely resonant, (maybe a very hard wood like Amazon Rosewood, or African Blackwood, etc. would require some real building chops not to end up with a guitar that sounds tinny or metallic. (I'm curious about the perspective of others who've built with these). It occurs to me that that may be why people like black walnut with cedar. It seems to me to sit midway between a rosewood and mahogany. Koa, too, is somewhere in there, midway.

On the other hand, if you want to match with a very hard wood, to drive that "piano - like" sound that the rosewoods tend to have, why not Osage Orange? Tap tone like a rosewood, cheaper, and you can still have that contrast of darker top and lighter sides (although I think they'll get a bit darker over time).

Most important. Have fun with it! Any combo you choose will work.

Another +1!

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

WALNUT!

How about Oregon Myrtle ?

-jd

Go for the matchstick look.



then there is this one



Of course you go do the fuzzie wuzzie furry thing...




Hope this helps.


blessings
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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I am building this right now. Chocolate cedar top and ovangkol.



Michael

My first was cedar and oregon myrtle. The sound was fantastic! But now days I'm finding I like the Cedar/Koa the best. But you can't go wrong with any combination. Cedar is a great fingerstyle guitar wood. If you will be heavy flat pickin' then you might want to go with adirondack or spruce instead. Good luck!

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com