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Posts: 98
Joined: Aug. 20 2008
From: Los Angeles, California
mexican vs mediteranean cypress
Greetings All, QUick question. For those who are familiar. does anyone one know the tonal differences between a blanca made with mexican cypress vs one made with mediteranean cypress. Any info would be greatly appreciated
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to daffey)
Daffey, In your other post you mentioned that you were looking at a Salvador Castillo or A Navarro. I don't know whether the back and sides made in 2 different types of Cypress would make a significant difference, but I do know that Salvador told me that he prefers the mediteranean cypress. So if he is making your guitar, I would go with what he thinks makes the better guitar
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to daffey)
Thats an interesting question.
Here's my question to you:
Does it matter?
Honestly, you are buying a great guitar one way or the other. the prestige of "spanish" cypress is an illusion IMHO. None of it comes from spain anymore. So, If you are to be true to the spirit of the early flamenco guitars, use the cheapest most abundant wood. They happened to be in spain, so it was spanish cypress. Now, mexican cypress is more readily available. I can't help but wonder if it would be more authentic to engage in the spirit of the early flamenco guitars rather than the materials they were made of... lol
All in all, the differences would be so minute that I ask you, is it worth the difference in price to you?
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to HemeolaMan)
I have owned guitars with Alaskan cypress (yellow cedar) Monterey cypress (Mexican cypress) and Mediterranean cypress. I don't imagine that there is much, if any difference in in sound between them. I would think that difference in sound will come more from the top and what each luthier does with that top, than what the back and sides are constructed with.
However, Mediterranean cypress is the only one that has that delicious aroma.
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to ngiorgio)
quote:
ORIGINAL: ngiorgio
I have owned guitars with Alaskan cypress (yellow cedar) Monterey cypress (Mexican cypress) and Mediterranean cypress. I don't imagine that there is much, if any difference in in sound between them. I would think that difference in sound will come more from the top and what each luthier does with that top, than what the back and sides are constructed with.
However, Mediterranean cypress is the only one that has that delicious aroma.
Not entirely true I'm afraid. Cypress smells like cypress whether it's from Mexico, Monterey, Spain or anywhere else. Alaskan Yellow Cedar is a different wood. Most of that "delicious smell" you mention is really from the Spanish Cedar used in the neck. That's the sweet, spicey aroma you get when you put your nose into the sound hole. Of course, cypress does have a distinctive somewhat spicey smell but it's much more delicate than the Spanish Cedar. After building guitars for a few years many people learn to dislike the Spanish Cedar smell (and taste). I wear a respirator when I mill it since if you don't it takes some time to get the nasty taste out of your mouth and nose. It takes all the pleasure out of a nice red wine with dinner .
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to daffey)
Another good reason for wearing the dust mask is that Cedar (cedrella) is very bad for the lungs. I try to wear a dust mask every time I produce fine dust. And I have an air cleaner running.
I can smell the cypress in the guitars, and with a soundport its very present. I know its the cypress I smell, Because I just finished two guitars with ports, one with med. cypress and another with CDN cypress, both with cedar necks and they smell very different. Another thing is that the cypress smell almost disappears with time.
Untill now, I have only made 2 guitars with CDN cypress, but both have turned out VERY well. Both also have a top quality Euro spruce top. Its not enough to have a clear idea about sound qualities etc, but I´m pretty sure that the wood works very well. Also another thing is that the quality of the wood is very high. Very narrow grain and 100% quatersawn.
Problems with cypress is that in cheaper grades it has wide grain, is not to well sawn and has parts which are "mushy". These pieces I dont like at all they are floppy to touch.
Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to daffey)
i would have to agree with ngiorgio--mediteranean cypress does have that great aroma and is very detectable. i have a lot scraps of mediteranean cypress and that aroma is the same as when i stick my nose into the sound hole. true, there is cedar aroma but the cypress aroma is very detectable--especially after a few humid days--and doing a side by side aroma test (sound hole vs. scrap) confirms the aroma.
one thing i have noticed is that inexpensive flamenco guitars built with cypress do not have that cypress aroma that expensive flamenco guitars have. i suspect they use a non-mediteranean cypress.
one good test: sniff a cordoba flamenco guitar and sniff a ramirez, green or other such guitar--there is a big difference in the aroma.
Posts: 6440
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
quote:
Untill now, I have only made 2 guitars with CDN cypress, but both have turned out VERY well. Both also have a top quality Euro spruce top.
I assume mine (the star of "El Guitarrero") is one of those. Out of interest, how do you rank that particular guitar in terms of 1A, 2A etc.? That stuff always confuses me. What makes a 1A Anders, for example?
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to keith)
quote:
ORIGINAL: keith
i would have to agree with ngiorgio--mediteranean cypress does have that great aroma and is very detectable.
I never said that cypress didn't have a distinctive smell. I'm quite familiar with it after 40 years of guitar making. The fact remains that the most agressive aroma from a properly made guitar is the Spanish Cedar in the neck. Whether anyone can detect the more delicate cypress smell is irrelevant to me. I personally don't like it or the Spanish Cedar aroma. I prefer the smell of a good red wine.
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to daffey)
Being the ever-inquisitive Google scholar that I y'am, I decided to look up Mexican Cypress and this is one of the first images that popped up:
Holy shinoli that sucker is ginormous! No wonder the Mexican variety costs so much less, you could replicate a few dozen Noah's Arks just from this tree alone.
Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px
Posts: 302
Joined: May 27 2005
From: Zürich, Switzerland
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to daffey)
Hy all
There has been told a lot already about this topic.
I totally agree with Anders that the builder is always more important than the wood. Nevetheless i've learned that wood is not unimportant allthough the quality of the wood for the soundboard is much more critical than the wood for backs and sides. In regards to the cypress question i've purchased some monterrey cypress from Australia and the stuff was way too fast grown for my quality measurements. Besides of the rather bad appearance of the wood it also doesn't smells good. Luckily i didn't purchased a larger quantity of it. I wouldn't buy it anymore and even less would i build with it. O.k. maybe i had bad luck and what i have purchased was not of first quality but i have lost my interest in monterrey cypress. I prefere to stay with cypress purchased from a turkish sawmill (not Octopus). I'm happy with the quality they sell and it definitely makes good looking, sounding and smelling guitars.
RE: mexican vs mediteranean cypress (in reply to Armando)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Armando
Hy all
In regards to the cypress question i've purchased some monterrey cypress from Australia and the stuff was way too fast grown for my quality measurements. Besides of the rather bad appearance of the wood it also doesn't smells good.
Armando, The only Monterey Cypress I've used was from Monterey, California. It was virtually indistinguishable from Mediterranean Cypress. As I recall I bought 20 sets. When I decided to buy some more the price had gone up and it was more expensive than Spanish Cypress so the original sets were all I ever had. You're smart to buy the Turkish cypress. What they sell appears to be very good quality for the price although I haven't used any of it yet since the sets I have need a couple more years of aging.
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