oak & cedar

[xsouldriverx]

so oak and cedar are some pretty common woods in things like house building, hard wood floors, furniture etc etc. but ive never seen a guitar made out of these woods (well some acoustics in cedar) and i was wondering if there was a reason why. when i look at these types of wood i see that knots are common, is this a reason why?

[FLICKOFLASH]

Oak is very heavy too much & cedar is uncommon in body blank sizes & imagine pricey ,though there is a body blank on ebay ( very light I may add)

[monroe]

A cat I used to know built an 80's super strat with a red oak body. It was as resonant as a picnic table and twice as heavy. Plus, the open grain was impossible to fill propely.

[61LPSG]

I saw a Les Paul recently that had a cedar top. I would guess that it sounds cool since cedar is a good "tonewood". I would stay away from oak for many reasons. I have some red alder that has a real nice flame pattern, might experiment with that...looks like pinkish maple, and alder is a decent tonewood. Not quite big enough a piece for an LP.

[Mr Bones]

a lot of classical guitars use cedar.
I will throw a wood into the mix that I've never hear of being used, and that is Buckeye (or American Chestnut). I will let you know how it sounds in a few weeks, but it is dirt cheap, and about the same weight as Basswood, but nicely flamed like maple.

[asmith9509]

I've dabble around as an amateur woodworker; so far my experiences have been as such.
Oak- very heavy, very dead and non-resonant, very splintery and difficult to work, very open grain.
Cedar- lightweight and very resonant, but very soft. Very plain cosmetically; nice close grain. Great for acoustic guitar tops but probably not as well suited for electrics, due to the ease with which it can be damaged.

However- I like the general direction of the discussion. In my opinion (begin environmental rant) it is a shame the whole world thinks that the only suitable woods for guitar building are rosewood, mahogany, and maple. All of the old-growth rosewood and mahogany is pretty much gone at this point, and there are pretty severe supply restrictions on the replanted trees now. There are literally hundreds of other species that are wonderfully suited for guitars, but most players don't have any interest in them. I played a locally made acoustic with a sycamore top and cherry back/sides that killed- up there with the Goodalls, Olsens, etc.

[Mr Bones]

Originally Posted by asmith9509

I've dabble around as an amateur woodworker; so far my experiences have been as such.
Oak- very heavy, very dead and non-resonant, very splintery and difficult to work, very open grain.
Cedar- lightweight and very resonant, but very soft. Very plain cosmetically; nice close grain. Great for acoustic guitar tops but probably not as well suited for electrics, due to the ease with which it can be damaged.

However- I like the general direction of the discussion. In my opinion (begin environmental rant) it is a shame the whole world thinks that the only suitable woods for guitar building are rosewood, mahogany, and maple. All of the old-growth rosewood and mahogany is pretty much gone at this point, and there are pretty severe supply restrictions on the replanted trees now. There are literally hundreds of other species that are wonderfully suited for guitars, but most players don't have any interest in them. I played a locally made acoustic with a sycamore top and cherry back/sides that killed- up there with the Goodalls, Olsens, etc.

I like taking it in that direction, but to say that cedar is plain!!!!

A really great sustainable lumber, that unfortunately falls into the category of very easily dentable is Paulownia. This stuff is absolutely the most resonant wood ever, is really easy on blades and cutters, and cheap. You can grow a full sized tree in 3 years!!! I have 5 planted in my yard.

[xsouldriverx]

the whole world thinks that the only suitable woods for guitar building are rosewood, mahogany, and maple.

my guitar build im doing now is paudok neck, ebony fingerboard, and a metal body. but if you look around there really are some gorgeous woods out there. lacewood is one of my favorites and bloodwood is good as well.

[asmith9509]

Yeah, lacewood is really sexy. Anyone know how it is to work with?

[xsouldriverx]

its a soft to medium density wood so i would say itll be easy to sand/cut