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What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
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Author:  Darryl Young [ Sun Nov 21, 2010 7:27 pm ]
Post subject:  What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
Well, after reading the comments on the Sapelle thread, I almost bought Todd Rose Sapelle back/side set........but someone beat me to it.

David White made the Cuban Mahogany sound sooo good that I just bought a set off one of Zootman's auctions to build a 00. Right now I'm leaning toward building a 00 sized Norman Blake style like Todd Stock recently built (12 fret neck on a 14 fret body with the bridge closer to the middle of the lower out). I'll probably use the short martin scale.

So what top wood compliments the the Cuban Mahogany? I'm considering Red Spruce to add some sparkle/overtones to the mid-range biased mahogany.....but what do I know? I've never played a 00 as far as I remember and I've played very few guitars with Adi tops and I've never played a guitar made with Cuban mahogany.

What do you suggest?

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Author:  Rod True [ Sun Nov 21, 2010 7:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
Well, it does depend on the overall sound you want.

I've only built one with Cuban and I paired it with Adi (the only spruce gutiar I've built to date, all others are cedar). Happens to be that the Cuban/Adi guitar is a L-00 Nick Lucas Special. I made it with 25.6" scale though. I really like how crisp sounding the Adi makes a guitar, as I'm use to the warmth of cedar. That was the goal with my build anyway. Crisp sound, like a crisp winter morning. But like you, what do I know LOL.

Anyway, here is picture and you can see more at my wife's photoblog here

Image
Author:  Darryl Young [ Sun Nov 21, 2010 8:20 pm ]
Post subject:  What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
Very nice Rod! What wood did you use for headstock, binding, and end graft?
Author:  Rod True [ Sun Nov 21, 2010 8:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
Thanks Darryl

Full specs of the guitar.

B/S: cuban
Top: adi
Fretboard, binding, bridge, headstock, end graft: Tasmanian blackwood
Rosette: cuban
bracing: adi
liners: spanish cedar
neck: hondo
Author:  CharlieT [ Sun Nov 21, 2010 9:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
That Nick Lucas Special is sweet!!! :P
Author:  Colin S [ Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
One of my favourite guitars that I have built was a Cuban mahogany/redwood OOO, there is a thread on it here including a sound file.

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=19044&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=Redwood&start=0

Here's a some of pictures:

Image

Image

Colin
Author:  JJ Donohue [ Mon Nov 22, 2010 9:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
In my opinion, any top will sound great with any B&S set as long as you voice it properly. I've always subscribed to the idea that we pick the B&S with our eyes and choose the top with our ears and touch. My ears favor a top that is dry sounding and very responsive to tapping and scratching. My hands favor a top that is stiff in the cross-grain direction.

I love Cuban and Honduran Mahogany for their natural beauty as well as their willingness to be formed into a guitar shape. I have built one Cuban Mahogany SJ with Lutz Spruce. It was one of the last guitars that I used scalloped bracing and it sounds great. Since I changed to lighter tapered bracing I have noticed more responsiveness, increased volume and sustain and a more balanced tone. The point I'm trying to make is that it will give you more noticeable results by concentrating on the top's stiffness as well as how it is braced and where you thin out the top and lighten bracing. The whole guitar works as a system and there are a myriad of large and small elements that add up to a sound. I'm still on that journey with a lot of miles left to discover.

Have fun and take lots of notes!
Author:  Laurent Brondel [ Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:16 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
Pairing a top with a back & sides set goes beyond generalising about species. It is sometimes possible, more often it is not. What is mostly important IMHO, is to really pair them together. In other words I would choose a top that has tonal characteristics complementing the Cuban set.
Author:  Dave White [ Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
Darryl,

Pretty much what the others have said - it depends on the sound you want and how you voice it. I've used Euro and Lutz spruce, cedar and Cuban mahogany tops with Cuban b/s from Concert to Baritone size guitar and all sound good. As Colin says Redwood/Mahogany is a classic mix used a lot by George Lowden.

By the way, I wouldn't describe mahogany as mid-range biased - it has more of a clarity and helps note seperation across the strings in my mind (we're into wine tasting territory here :mrgreen: ) but in my experience good Cuban has that reverby edge of Rosewoods and gives more complexity and interest (at least to my ears) to the notes.

Nice set from the Zootman by the way.
Author:  James Orr [ Mon Nov 22, 2010 12:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
Darryl, my next guitar will be Cuban/Redwood.
Author:  Darryl Young [ Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
All this talk of Cuban matched with Redwood makes me wish I could hear that combo. What is it about Redwood that makes it match up with Cuban so well?
Author:  Colin S [ Wed Nov 24, 2010 5:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
Darryl Young wrote:
All this talk of Cuban matched with Redwood makes me wish I could hear that combo. What is it about Redwood that makes it match up with Cuban so well?


Darryl, here is a link to me playing my Cuban/redwood OOO. I'd had a fair bit of 18year old Talisker when I recorded this so don't be too critical!

Slowdown

Colin
Author:  Darryl Young [ Wed Nov 24, 2010 3:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Top Wood to Match With a Cuban Mahogany Back/Side?
Thanks for posting that coundclip Colin......it sounds great! You can hear a little of the reverby sound David mentioned previously.

That guitar is beautiful and looks nice with the maple bindings. Alternatively, black bindings look nice as well like on this guitar built by Brock Poling:

Image


Or this parlor with black used on the heel graft and the back of the headstock:

Image

I'll have to see what binding will look nice with the set I receive.
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