Alternative back and side woods

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TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

Alternative back and side woods

Have any of you luthiers ever built with Port Orford Cedar or Alaskan Yellow Cypress for back n' sides? what were your thoughts? can this also be used for the tops?

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Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 16 2007 16:59:37

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: Alternative back and side woods (in reply to TANúñez)

quote:

ORIGINAL: TANúñez

Have any of you luthiers ever built with Port Orford Cedar or Alaskan Yellow Cypress for back n' sides? what were your thoughts? can this also be used for the tops?

I've used both but not for many years. The Alaskan Yellow Cedar I have worked could be bent across the grain to an amazing degree without breaking. This is not a quality common to tonewood in my opinion. I have a couple of big billets which I'll probably make into a coffee table.

Port Orford Cedar would seem a much better choice than Alaskan Yellow Cedar; but it's so scarce at this point that the price for good quality wood is comparable to Mediterranean Cypress so why bother? I suppose you could use it for topwood if it were from the right tree. We have a couple of Port Orford Cedars on our property, they're both rather small but we're pleased to have them because of their beauty and rarity.

John Shelton

John Shelton

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 16 2007 18:21:15

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Alternative back and side woods (in reply to TANúñez)

Alaska yellow Cedar is the same as Canadian Cypress.

I have made 1 guitar of it (Simons) and its one of the best I´ve made. I find it to be a very nice piece of wood for backs and sides and if I lived on the other side of the big Dam, I would use it more.

I bought some sets from Acoustic woods on Vancouver islad and the wood is just perfect. with very narrow straight grain tons of silking. It has absolutely no figuring, so it looks a bit dull. The smell of it when you work it is like the inside of the pockets of some hippie Afghan coat.

There are many tonewoods which are not just alternatives, but as good as anything else you can buy. A problem is that it can be difficult to sell, because guitar buyers can be very conservative

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 16 2007 18:31:22

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Alternative back and side woods (in reply to TANúñez)

CDN cypress peghead

Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px

Attachment (1)

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 16 2007 18:33:21

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: Alternative back and side woods (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Anders Eliasson

Alaska yellow Cedar is the same as Canadian Cypress.

I have made 1 guitar of it (Simons) and its one of the best I´ve made. I find it to be a very nice piece of wood for backs and sides and if I lived on the other side of the big Dam, I would use it more.

I bought some sets from Acoustic woods on Vancouver islad and the wood is just perfect. with very narrow straight grain tons of silking. It has absolutely no figuring, so it looks a bit dull. The smell of it when you work it is like the inside of the pockets of some hippie Afghan coat.

This is the problem with making generalizations about a particular wood. The Alaskan Yellow Cedar I've worked came from the west coast of the USA, western Canada and Alaska. Obviously Anders' experience with the wood is different from mine. Trees from different regions can vary wildly. All of the AYC I have worked is punky with poor stiffness including the billets I still have although the brilliant yellow color makes it a dramatic and attractive wood.

John Shelton

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 16 2007 19:17:57

wiseguy493

Posts: 73
Joined: May 9 2007

RE: Alternative back and side woods (in reply to TANúñez)

I have worked with AYC and been disappointed with it also, but have also been disappointed with Red Cedar almost half the times I've used it. I've probably had bad luck, so i stick mostly to spruce tops.

Now to contribute to the subject... I've found that black walnut makes an excellent back, side and neck wood. Has anyone else used this?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 17 2007 2:45:37

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: Alternative back and side woods (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

quote:

The smell of it when you work it is like the inside of the pockets of some hippie Afghan coat.

Anders please stay out of my closet!!!

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Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 17 2007 2:51:40

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Alternative back and side woods (in reply to TANúñez)

The cross grain stifness of the CDN cypress (or AYC ) I have worked is very close to the cross grain stifness of The mediteranean Cypress I have worked.

On LMI´s Barbero plan made by Bill Lewis he has written that he prefers CDN cypress to Med. Cypress because he finds that it sounds better.

I will stick to Med. cypress because I live in Europe and so, I get it a bit cheaper, but also because thats what my clients want. And besides, I really love the smell.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 17 2007 10:07:58

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Alternative back and side woods (in reply to TANúñez)

Well guitars are supposed to sound and play well. The wood we use is only important if it serves this purpose.
Simon has uploaded a video of me playing the guitar you can see on the photos on this thread.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 24 2007 10:06:05