Guitar Top

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Type of Top - Most acoustic guitars have tops (sound boards) which are made of spruce. Other woods are occasionally used which produced different timbres. The highest quality guitar tops are made of solid wood and not a laminate. Solid tops are lighter, more flexible and resonate better than laminated tops and are assumed to sound better as they age. Laminated tops are typically 3 plies and are much more durable than solid tops.

		Solid Top - Viewed from the edge of the sound hole, it can be seen that this top is made of one solid piece of wood. Notice that the wood grain is evenly spaced and runs vertically. These attributes are used in the grading of tops. This is a high quality guitar top.
		Laminated Top - Also shown from the edge of the sound hole, it's easy to see the laminations in this guitar top. Laminated tops are durable but don't resonate very well. The only exception to this is that at least one company laminates carbon graphite to an extremely thin layer of birch. The result is a guitar top that is incredibly thin and resonates extremely well.

Wood Selection - Many woods may be used in the manufacturer of acoustic guitars. Spruce is the most common. Cedar and mahogany are distant seconds and occasionally pine or more exotic woods are used. The choice of wood used is a huge determining factor over the basic sound of the guitar. Properly designed, almost any wood can be made to sound good but a few conclusions can be drawn with regard to certain woods and how they will generally effect the timbre of an acoustic guitar.

Bracing - The guitar's internal bracing scheme will make or break a guitar in terms of sound. Bracing a guitar well involves creating a scheme that keeps the guitar's top from distorting or cracking yet allows the top to vibrate freely. Manufacturers take great pride in their bracing schemes. They should. It's quite a feat in engineering to design effective bracing when you consider that the strings can exert almost 200 pounds of tension!

Spruce - The most commonly used wood for acoustic tops. Spruce for guitar tops is graded for flexibility. The more flexible it is, the higher the grade. Generally, spruce produces a warm sound with good attack.     Mahogany - Often, mahogany produces a sound which is brighter or more trebly than spruce. It is harder and probably more durable as well. The mid-frequencies are less pronounced and the attack is a little harder or quicker which also contributes to mahogany's brighter sound.     Cedar - Cedar is a very soft wood with a grain pattern similar to spruce. Cedar is less durable but sounds warm with an airy, delicate quality. It's usually not as loud but is very responsive to the dynamic player.     Maple - Maple is beautiful to look at. It has sound characteristics somewhere between spruce and mahogany. It's a fairly hard wood so it can be very loud and bright in sound. Flamed maple like this example is more often used for premium backs and sides.     Koa - Koa grows only in Hawaii. It's an oily wood and produces a sound that is fairly dark and bassy.