Red Spruce, often called Adirondack Spruce, grows in the eastern part of North America and is a classic top wood for acoustic guitars. This species of spruce is slightly heavier than other varieties, and takes more energy to get moving. This gives Adi the ability to resonate well with a hard attack without getting distorted. I have found that as a bracewood, it pairs very well with nearly every top. Especially softer top woods like Cedar and Redwood. I find it gives a more robust tone than Sitka Spruce bracing.  It is very hard to find high grades of Adirondack Spruce these days, and what is available is very expensive.

Amazon Rosewood is one of my favorite back and side woods. This heavy and dense tropical hardwood, a member of the Dalbergia genus, is famous for its beautiful color and grain. However, it excels in the tone department as well. Expect a warm bass response, plenty of high end shimmer, and a very good set of overtones. 

Australian blackwood is a member of the Acacia family, and closely resembles Hawaiian Koa. Its tonal profile is similar as well. Being a little denser than former, Blackwood is more effective as a back and side wood than a top. 

This is the classic variety of maple on steel string guitars. This wood is an all around great wood for backs and sides. Maple can sound very different depending on the construction techniques of the builder. It also tends to be a good reflector for the top wood when left thick, creating volume, power, and projection.

This hardwood is native to Africa, and is a decent substitute for mahogany. It   has many of the same tonal properties. However, I find it hard to find decent quality sets, as many of them differ in density throughout the same board, causing problems when bending. Most notably, rippling. 

Often considered the holy grail of acoustic tonewoods, Brazilian Rosewood boasts a very high velocity of sound. Simply put, It transmits energy very effectively. Expect a very lively response, with every frequency range being represented, but with particular accentuation of the bass and treble. The overtone content can be magnificent as well. Finding good sets is almost impossible however. Sadly, most cuts of Brazilian Rosewood today do not hold a candle to other Rosewoods, however they do look gorgeous. Brazilian is also quite unstable, and tends to crack.

Cocobolo is a very heavy and dense wood, found in Mexico into Central America. A member of the Dalberia genus, Cocobolo is a true Rosewood. Due to its weight, it must be treated differently then other back and side woods to make it resonate well. However, if done right, expect a powerful bass with volume, clarity, and projection.

Douglass fir, a tree known more for Christmas than guitars, is actually a fine tonewood. It sounds more like mahogany than a softwood when used for the top. I’ve never used it for the back and sides. However, I have played guitars by other luthiers using the wood, and found them to be very nice. I bought a few tops that were reclaimed from the bleachers at a catholic school gym. I even have an unsanded board from the bottom that still has scribing and bubblegum stuck to it from 50 years ago. I love a good story that goes along with the wood.

East Indian Rosewood is one of my personal favorite back and side woods. Expect great overtones, plenty of sustain, and an accentuation of the bass and treble, with the midrange taking a backseat. East Indian Rosewood also has a growl to it on the low end that is very hard to explain. No other rosewood I’ve worked with has this characteristic, and I love it.  EIR is underrated in my opinion. Probably because it is so common. However, this is a first rate tonewood and gives Brazilian a run for it’s money any day.

One of my favorite tonewoods of all time, Koa is famous for it’s great looks and sweet tone. While similar to mahogany, as a back and side wood, I have found it to have more overtones,  but still has a strong fundamental. In a top, it’s important to find a low density piece to avoid the slightly muffled sound often found on factory made Koa guitars.

One of the long standing exquisite tonewoods for a very long time, Honduran Mahogany works very well for both the back and sides, as well as the top. It produces a warm but clear tone. Mahogany doesn’t have the overtone content that the rosewoods have, but makes up for it with a strong fundamental that microphones seem to really like. The more I build with it, the more I love it. It also makes for a fantastic neck.

This wood is nearly identical to Ovangkol. Both share nearly the same specs, and can be almost impossible to tell apart at times. If you like Ovangkol, you’ll like Mutenye.

One of my favorite “alternative” tonewoods. This African hardwood sounds like a combination of maple and rosewood. It has solid bass and overtones, but a bright projection similar to maple. it’s particularly beautiful under an oil varnish finish. Ovangkol and Mutenye are nearly identical in every way, and I often use them interchangeably.

Another African wood, this bright red wood packs a huge punch. Very reminiscent of the rosewoods, Paduak offers many of the same tonal properties. I’m not sure why this wood is not very common out there today, but it deserves credit.

This rare species of ebony is not one that most luthiers get the chance to make the back and sides out of. Tone is very similar to that of other ebonies. Expect clarity and bass response, but with a good midrange as well. Works well for jumbos and baritones. Makes a great looking fretboard as well. It can be finicky and prone to warping, so selection of the piece is very important.

This wood is often though of as a substitute for Honduran Mahogany, I completely disagree. Sapele has its own fantastic characteristics, including a clearer, snappier tone, more overtone content, and more sustain. I have used Sapele successfully as a top before, but I tend to prefer using Honduran Mahogany due to it’s lighter weight. Figured examples of Sapele can be absolutely stunning.

This is another wood often considered a mahogany replacement. I find it to sit in between Sapele and Mahogany, although it looks and feels much like Sapele. This is also my favorite neck wood due to it’s strength, stability, density, and fine grain. It feels absolutely stellar on the hand when finished with oil. 

Sitka Spruce has the best strength to weight ratio of all the spruces. This means you can build a lighter guitar while still keeping the structural integrity in check. It can be loud, soft, warm, bright. Sitka Spruce is the jack of all trades when it comes to top woods. It does everything well.

As a fingerstyle player, this is my personal favorite top wood. Cedar is very soft, and not very stiff, so it certainly is not recommended for a flat picker. However it delivers incredible overtones, rich vibrant bass, and a crystal clear treble. It pairs incredibly well with the Rosewoods if braced right. Western Red Cedar never fails to knock my socks off.

Zebrawood is a gorgeous wood. It’s tone is very similar to the rosewoods, but with quite a different look. This wood is especially prone to rippling during and after bending, and can be very difficult to work with. However it does make for a stunning guitar.