Rambler Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 A sidebar from Strummer's Ren Fergusen article link. Sounds about right to me. Mahogany: “It’s friendly – it holds on to the chorus notes really well and gives you this back-filled sound. If you pick with your fingers, you can get great clarity. Ragtime and blues can be played on mahogany and sound perfect.” Rosewood: “Rosewood is harder to set in motion – Rosewood has a richer tone than mahogany, a more enduring sustain and a sweetness [not sure about that--can cool be sweet?], but perhaps not excitement [breathey, shimmering top notes] of a mahogany instrument.” Maple: “Maple is clean and clear and holds the midrange incredibly well. It projects really well. Maple may not have the sustain of rw or the “party” sound of mahog, but may project more / seem louder than either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLiveSoundGuy Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Those descriptions are pretty much dead on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 That's my experience too......although Maple can sometimes have some real highs that can sound "jangly" sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 One other note, FWIW, at this year's Homecoming we were told that mahogany is more suited for a male's singing voice and maple is more suited for a female's voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I have noticed that my Maple Taylor 612C is great with woman's singing voices while the Gibson AJ (Rosewood) is much better for male voices. My Walnut custom build leans more toward the Taylor tone but still is different. I love the AJ for dark sounding fingerstyle tunes (Think Amazing Grace) and the Maple for songs where the trebil should shine (Pacabel Canon in D for example) while the walnut works much like Hog does and is great for my Open G and DADGAD tunings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 "we were told that mahogany is more suited for a male's singing voice and maple is more suited for a female's voice.' Care to elaborate? Top notes? relative volume? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Care to elaborate? Top notes? relative volume? Man, you are really testing my memory now. I thought I was doing good remembering that much. I only remember them saying that they blended better with the particular voices. Maybe someone else can remember more than me and will chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 i have taken note of these observations in my own observations of the current batch of S/SWs in popular music today. chanteuses like colbie caillat etc are using stuff like the taylor 600 series and j series (165,185,200) gibsons - all maple. the guys, matt kearney et al, are using the trusty j-45s, 'birds etc. i think that assessment is dead on, whether it is by design or happy accident. im sure there is a knowledgeable studio engineer giving these new (read - dont know their a-holes from holes in the ground) artists helpful advice and direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 One other note' date=' FWIW, at this year's Homecoming we were told that mahogany is more suited for a male's singing voice and maple is more suited for a female's voice. [/quote'] When I play John Prine songs on my J-45 'Hog and sing along, I sound like a Santa Gertrudis bull and when I play and sing the same song while playing my SJ-200 maple, I sound like a canary. Weird! Thanks, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 I'm skeptical. Not sure one can generalize about women's voices (they range from Odetta to Dolly) , let alone fit a tone wood to them. Rory Block, Kate Edwards, Gillian Welch, & them Indigos (among others) must not have gotten the memo! Oh, and guys-- loose those J00's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I probably should have said that they did say that they found this "generally" to be the case. I'm sure there will be exceptions to their findings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I probably should have said that they did say that they found this "generally" to be the case. I'm sure there will be exceptions to their findings. All generalities are false. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLiveSoundGuy Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 So, how exactly would KOA fit into all these descriptions? More to the point, how would it compare against flamed maple? Even more to the point, let's say a J-200 maple Vs a J-200 KOA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Who knows??? Boy, am I ever starting to regret bring this up. I would think that Koa would be more in line with the mahogany. At least that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Who knows??? Boy' date=' am I ever starting to regret bring this up. I would think that Koa would be more in line with the mahogany. At least that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.[/quote'] forgive my layman talk but i'd agree adding that koa has more of a 'ping' to it. also ive never played a koa that had a really rich bass end but i've never played the j200K - 200k for koa not 200K - how much they'll cost before too long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLiveSoundGuy Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I can't say that I have ever played, or for that matter knowingly heard a koa guitar. So I have no inclination of what it would sound like. Now maple, I am very familiar with. Rosewood, and Mahogany as well. This is why I was curious how it would compare in tone to the other woods. Guess I'll have to try and play one someday. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticat Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Thanks Mike, Guess I'll have to go for the Doves in Flight? But that a Maple guitar also, may a little to girly you think. May be I'll have to buy the new Steve Earl , Martin M - 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I have all three, maple, rosewood, and Mahogany. The mahogany, is the sweetest warmest sound of the three, very even across the notes. . The rose wood, is louder, more overtones, more strength of sound. The Maple is quilted ( I dont' know if this makes any difference) but it has brighter mids and highs. It is a dreadnaught, so I can strum it hard without distortions....my picking and strumming guitar, it literally sings. I have played a lot of Maples before I got this one, and I often found them " Jangly" sometimes tinny, if that is a word, and probably played 20 Koas in my time, ALL except two were exceptionally jangley. Harsh to my ears. If I EVER buy a Koa guitar, I will play it first....never from an on line seller. I LOVE the grain however...just beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 Hey Strummer-- it's an interesting notion, even if we dont all buy in. As for koa, its got a lot of the characteristics of maple. It's balanced crossed the spectrum and (unlike hog/rose) doesnt generate a lot of overtones or high end sparkle. Not as bright as maple, however. In July, I played maple and koa AJs at the Guitar Sale. Very similar. With Koa, one experiences a little more bass presence and relatively less top cut. But basicly not a big difference. Vanilla vs french vanilla. Not like Rws dark chocolcate. Or hog (strawberry?). J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 This might make for an interesting "experiment" at the next Homecoming. We could have Gilliangirl, Cunkhead and Acousticat sing with guitars of various woods and see whiich sound better???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 This might make for an interesting "experiment" at the next Homecoming. We could have Gilliangirl' date=' Cunkhead and Acousticat sing with guitars of various woods and see whiich sound better???? [/quote'] So long as costumes don't count -- Cunk would probably win! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 This might make for an interesting "experiment" at the next Homecoming. We could have Gilliangirl' date=' Cunkhead and Acousticat sing with guitars of various woods and see whiich sound better???? [/quote']There'd be mass suicides in Bozeman if you had me singing LOL That being said, I have a relatively low voice for a girl. I'm typically 2 full steps down from any key Gillian W plays a song in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 my mom says i make dylan sound like pavarotti. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 There'd be mass suicides in Bozeman if you had me singing LOL That being said' date=' I have a relatively low voice for a girl. I'm typically 2 full steps down from any key Gillian W plays a song in.[/quote'] Maybe Gillian is 2 full steps higher than normal???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 I know better than to sing AT ALL. You know the recurring Simpsons character of the teenage boy (usually a fast food employee) with the voice that's cracking? Well, he, Ed Grimley, Gilbert Gottfried and Bobcat Goldthwaite all had a love child and gave me the voice. For couch playing I do hum a lot, which is less likely to cause damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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