There are many different options regarding tone woods. Environmental concerns are changing many options available to builders and the price for some wood is skyrocketing. Being as environmentally friendly as possible is our main concern. Our wood source claims to be very friendly towards the environment. They have not given us any reason to doubt them. They have obtained their "Forest Stewardship Council" certification and provide certified materials obtained through the FSC chain-of-custody. FSC standards ensure that forestry is practiced in an (1)environmentally responsible, (2)socially benefitial and (3)economically viable way. More information about the FSC is available at www.fsc.org.

Trying to describe the sound that will be produced by different types of wood is a difficult task. Each piece of wood is different. We have made guitars from the same species of wood and each one has it's own unique sound. You may have experienced this while trying out guitars in a music store. You may try two guitars of the same model but one just sounds better to you. The other may sound better to someone else. It is the combination of all components of the instrument that matters most. Certainly though, a particular species of wood has similar tonal tendencies. We will attempt to describe those tendencies below for the most commonly used wood in our shop.

Keep in mind that this is general information and is only meant to help guide you. You will certainly form your own thoughts as you experiment with different instruments. These are our opinions concerning tone woods as we have used them.

If you are considering having a guitar made for you, then you may already know what you like or want. If not, we can discuss it further to help you decide what may be best for your needs. Just click the "Contact Us" button to e-mail us.

Alder - Alder is primarily used for guitar bodies. It is rather plain in appearance with soft flowing grain patterns. Alder is lighter in weight than most other woods used for bodies. It has been described as twangy and percussive and has been used for years on many of the most popular guitar models. Many builders paint alder with a solid color, but it does accept a translucent finish nicely with very pleasing results. An alder bodied guitar with maple neck and ebony fingerboard makes a versitile, good sounding lightweight guitar.

Poplar - Poplar is a light-weight and light-colored wood that is usually used only for guitar bodies. It has similar tonal properties to alder but is a bit more aggressive like maple. It is a rather plain looking wood and is therefore often painted a solid color. Poplar performs nicely under a hard maple top.

Swamp Ash - Swamp ash is heavier in weight than alder and usually has a more visually stimulating appearance with bold grain patterns. It has become one of our favorite tone woods for solid body electrics for it's warm and airy tone. When used in conjunction with a maple neck and ebony fingerboard, it makes for a nicely weighted and well balanced guitar with great sustain and a punchy attack, especially when the top is carved.

Mahogany - Mahogany can be described as warm sounding with a midrange-rich tone and slightly rounded treble. It is often used as a stand alone body or as the main part of the body with a top laminated to it such as figured maple, lacewood, Oregon myrtle, etc. Mahogany bodies are known to produce guitars with excellent sustain. Mahogany is also frequently used for guitar necks, especially when the body is either mahogany or a combination of mahogany and another top wood. Mahogany necks produce a warmer sound than maple but do not usually feel as stiff.

Maple - We usually use maple only for necks or guitar tops, mostly because of it's heavy weight. It can be used for an entire body but is probably better suited for a smaller shaped body. Maple is heavy and dense and can be described tonally as having solid bass, warm midrange and bright treble. Often, flamed(tiger striped), quilted or curly maple with less figuring is used for guitar tops for appearance as well as helping to shape the tone of the wood under it-usually mahogany. Maple necks are very common and provide great strength and a stiffer neck than mahogany with a brighter sound. Laminated maple necks are our favorite necks, except we prefer a mahogany neck when using mahogany as a body wood.

Flamed Maple - Used for guitar bodies but more often just for guitar tops because of the high price, heavy weight and availablilty of pieces thick enough to make a body. We often laminate flamed maple to mahogany or poplar to help brighten the sound and create a beautiful and exotic looking guitar.

Quilted Maple - Like flamed maple quilted maple is used usually just for guitar tops. Quilted maple gets it's name from it's flowing quilt-like patterns. Quilted maple can appear 3-D like under a finish and is very eye pleasing to many people and just a bit to "busy" for others.

Oregon Myrtle - We are beginning to use Oregon Myrtle for guitar tops. It is flamed like maple but also has brown, blond, and tan streaks for more color contrasts.

Ebony - A fingerboard wood that is usually very dark in color and sometimes has grey and/or brown streaks. Ebony can be darkened further by applying an oil or dye for those wanting an almost black fingerboard. Ebony is dense and hard and helps in brightening the tone.

Rosewood - There are many species of rosewood. Most have similar properties. It is more porous than ebony and lighter in color-usually reddish brown. It will usually produce a warmer sound than ebony. We usually use Indian rosewood.

Pau Ferro - Pau Ferro has quickly become a popular fingerboard wood. We have not yet used it in our shop but soon will. We'll describe it more once we've worked with it a bit.