What kind of woods does the "normal" nylon acoustic generally have?

[grunge782]

I know for a dreadnought the "normal" woods would be whats on the Martin D-28 (Spruce top and rosewood back and sides). What do nylon guitars usually have? I see a lot with cedar tops and mahogany backs, but I thought the normal standard was a spruce top and rosewood back.

[Freeman Keller]

"Normal" would probably be rosewood, braz if it was really old, with spruce tops (often one of the European varieties, I see Engleman a lot). Red cedar is a popular top for classicals, and of course there are a lot of people experimenting with laminates, nomex, even balsa. Flamenco guitars are often Engleman tops with cypress b/s. But a "classical" classical (Torres, Hauser, etc) would be spruce over rosewood.

[gitnoob]

I think Cypress became associated with Flamenco guitars simply because it was a cheap and available wood.

 

Spruce has always been desired for all instruments because of its high strength and low weight.

 

Brazilian Rosewood was preferred for its glass-like high-frequency response. I never understood why maple became the standard for many instruments -- it doesn't add much tonal color at all. Maybe that's a desirable trait for bowed instruments.

[grunge782]

Thanks guys, that is what I figured but just wanted to be sure.