Spruce Bodies

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JoeyM	Spruce Bodies		Lead	[-]
Posts: 13 Wed, Apr 30, 2008 05:07:35	Tags : None This is a thread for people who have built a guitar out of spruce or are curious about it....just a place to share about that. If anyone who has made a guitar out of spruce could comment on their experiences, the sound...anything, really. I think it would be awesome. From what I understand, it is somewhat related to pine, though has difference characteristics. What first got me curious about spruce was a site with different philosophies about sound, and how maple and spruce tend to produce sounds that are most natural and pleasing to the ear...and tend to be more transparent and natural in quality because of something about the composition of them. A little above my head, but very interesting. Also, I understand violins are made out of spruce, which is very intriguing, in a way. So this is just a thread for any general discussions about spruce as a tonewood for guitars, anything is welcome here. I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts... Joe
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nocaster		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 18385 Wed, Apr 30, 2008 11:14:30 The Big FIBer	> "What first got me curious about spruce was a site with different philosophies about sound, and how maple and spruce tend to produce sounds that are most natural and pleasing to the ear...and tend to be more transparent and natural in quality because of something about the composition of them." What was the context? i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin older ya'll people gets colder most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema
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JoeyM		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 15 Thu, May 1, 2008 17:51:30	I'll post a link. Last Edited By: JoeyM Thu, May 1, 2008 17:59:00. Edited 3 times.
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nocaster		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 18394 Fri, May 2, 2008 00:54:44 The Big FIBer	Okay, good. I suspect the context is in relation to acoustic guitars. i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin older ya'll people gets colder most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema
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JoeyM		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 16 Thu, May 8, 2008 18:34:44	Well, it's more about violins. But it's mostly a whole theory that he has, applying to acoustics and what not. Check it out if you're interested: http://www.ennemoser.com/c37theory.html
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nocaster		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 18433 Sat, May 10, 2008 11:37:08 The Big FIBer	The limited context is an important consideration. I don't think so much directly applies to solid-body guitars. For instance, throughout the violin family, from violin to double bass, there are major issues in respect of projection, which is why one might resort to maple. By the time you get to acoustic guitars, which have less of a projection problem, maple is already too bright for many tastes. And, by the time you get to solid-body guitars, maple bodies can be quite problematic in many configurations, and definitely not pleasing to the ears of most people. What the key point to learn is, first to understand the context, its limits, etc. I'll read that article when I get time, which might not be for a while. In the meantime, these sorts of thing have been discussed at length in the past, and it might be worthwhile spending some time with the search feature to see if you can find some of the significant threads of discussion. Things are a little slow on the forum at the moment, but this is definitely a topic worth revisiting, IMO. Unfortunately, for my part, I'm rather short of time right now. It would be great if those that have experimented with the likes of spruce, cedar, and fir, would fuel this discussion. i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin older ya'll people gets colder most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema
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bfurman	spruce electrics	#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1221 Sat, May 10, 2008 23:39:43 Contributing Silver Member	I own two softwood guitars - both with necks made from douglas fir. I started my softwood journey by choosing spruce as the top wood for a (chambered) mahogany guitar and then moved on to using spruce and douglas fir. With the mahogany guitar, I wanted to have a top that livened things up without attenuating midrange frequencies the way that maple does. I also liked the spruce esthetic with its subtle bearclaw figure. My goals were simple, and the top fit the bill. My second experience with spruce in an electric setting was with a fir top over a spruce solidbody. I'm not strictly a proponent of laminated bodies, but the fir had some sentimental value, and the spruce had some surface defects that needed covering. USACG built me a lovely Wolfpack body after gluing the layers together, and they also made a neck from some douglas fir that I provided. I chose pau ferro for the fingerboard. The guitar is extremely lively with an acoustic-like quality. The body is heavier than one might imagine (over 4 lbs.), but the neck is nice and light. The guitar has a rather flat frequency response, which can be good or bad depending on your perspective. It might not be a blues player's dream come true, but I like it for jazzy clean and light overdrive sounds. My third close encounter of the softwood kind was with a custom seven string made for me by Dave Wendler. Dave uses western red cedar for all of his carved solidbodies, and he also carved a douglas fir neck at my request. It's my favorite guitar by a mile. The cedar is warmer than spruce (just as it is for acoustic guitar tops), and the neck sustains like crazy. Once again, the fingerboard is pau ferro. This guitar is exceptionally light in weight (less than 5.5 lbs), and it does feed back in loud settings with high gain. The feedback is controllable, but it's something to get used to. Hope that helps. -Ben Edit: I'm a materials scientist by trade, so I'm extremely skeptical of the Ennemoser claims. How about we simply agree to call it anecdotal evidence? Last Edited By: bfurman Sat, May 10, 2008 23:51:45. Edited 2 times.
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JoeyM		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 18 Tue, May 13, 2008 05:52:21	Nocaster- Ahhh, right. Context. Good point! Very important. I will definitely take that into consideration. Ben - Ha, agreed ;-) Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am currently looking for a Parker Fly Artist to check out (has a spruce body). It's a little challenging finding one, but if I do find one and play it...I'll post about it here, if it's anything worth mentioning.
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orycterope		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 112 Sun, Jun 15, 2008 14:06:56 Contributing Member	Here's a video you need to see. It's about the new Godin Passion RG-3 guitars that have solid (chambered) spanish cedar or spruce bodies.
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nocaster		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 18570 Sun, Jun 15, 2008 17:27:41 The Big FIBer	...Nice guitars, but it seems to me that Godin is primarily employing the woods (cedar and spruce) for their combination of strength, light weight, ready availability, and familiarity. i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin older ya'll people gets colder most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema
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orycterope		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 113 Sun, Jun 15, 2008 18:29:48 Contributing Member	Exactly. Not only that, I'm pretty sure they use offcuts/less desirable pieces that can't be turned into acoustic tops.
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PeteMK1		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2075 Mon, Jun 16, 2008 11:12:14 Contributing Silver Member Resident Electronics Guru	Which of course doesn't mean that these pieces aren't perfectly suitable for building electric guitars. I watched the video, but the tones, both dry and amplified, didn't impress me at all. IMO, it's not really possible to judge the guitars by that; a test-drive would be necessary. You can say you to me.
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orycterope		#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 114 Mon, Jun 16, 2008 22:58:21 Contributing Member	PeteMK1 wrote: Which of course doesn't mean that these pieces aren't perfectly suitable for building electric guitars. Indeed. Godin never ceases to amaze me. They come up with simple but effective ideas, and are able to produce sub-$500 guitars that can easily rival $1000+ offerings of other major manufacturers, while still keeping the production in North America. Every Godin I have tried (SD, LG, Radiator, Exit 22 and Montreal) played beautifully well, and I'm pretty sure the Passion RG-3s are no exception. And I'm really itching to try the recent Triumph and 5th avenue : Last Edited By: orycterope Mon, Jun 16, 2008 23:04:31. Edited 1 time.
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nocaster		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 18571 Tue, Jun 17, 2008 10:21:21 The Big FIBer	Not knocking Godin at all. Just saying that, in this instance, spruce and cedar weren't being chosen as electric guitar tone woods, so probably not the greatest help to JoeyM or furthering their employment as such. i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin older ya'll people gets colder most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema
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