Members Guitarboy48 Posted March 23, 2009 Members Share Posted March 23, 2009 Could a cedar topped guitar sound good playing bluegrass, or is the bright, sharp sound of spruce needed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members min7b5 Posted March 23, 2009 Members Share Posted March 23, 2009 Could a cedar topped guitar sound good playing bluegrass, or is the bright, sharp sound of spruce needed? Could be great, depends on your touch... however, on the whole, flatpicking often requires a top that is more dynamic -more head room. It's not so much that cedar is bright, or warm, it's that it only has so much dynamic range. Red spruce -my own choice for playing fiddle tunes- seemingly just never stops in terms of volume and range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guit30 Posted March 23, 2009 Members Share Posted March 23, 2009 It might work if it is a dreadnought, Dan Tyminski's old 1945 HD28 looks cedar, it is so dark. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar_stringer Posted March 23, 2009 Members Share Posted March 23, 2009 Cedar tops are easily overdriven, particularly with larger guitars (dreads, jumbos), in efforts to achieve headroom. This is akin to an amp speaker that's being driven too hard. The tone clarity breaks up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted March 23, 2009 Members Share Posted March 23, 2009 Spruce is probably the more traditional sound. Cedar seems more delicate to me. Better for classical and parlor guitars. Maybe on a Jumbo more for fingerpicking than flatpicking. I'm sure a good luthier could build a top from cedar that would work for bluegrass if he braced it heavier and built it a little thicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted March 23, 2009 Members Share Posted March 23, 2009 Could a cedar topped guitar sound good playing bluegrass, or is the bright, sharp sound of spruce needed? Well, if you asked just about any bluegrass picker what he thinks, you're gonna get a lot of "Bluegrass = Sitka Spruce (or Adi) and Rosewood" (which usually equates to a Martin HD-28 in the average bluegrasser's opinion.) I have to agree with the Spruce/Rosewood combination, but it doesn't have to be an HD-28 to sound good. Just about any decent quality dread with the proper woods, set up right, with good strings, would fill the bill nicely. I've played a ton of them in the "under $400" range that sound really good. Having said that, my "dream" guitar is, and will probably always be, a Martin HD-28, but I just can't afford that luxury. Soooooooo, I just keep on playing my old 30 year old "HD-28 Clone". It still does what I need it to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigald18 Posted March 23, 2009 Members Share Posted March 23, 2009 My pick for best bluegrass guitar is the Martin D18 - Sitka Spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. The bass is more powerful on mahogany than it is with rosewood.BigAl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhandler Posted March 23, 2009 Members Share Posted March 23, 2009 Like others have said, Cedar is not the first choice for Bluegrass pick'n. But I think it can depend an awful lot of the particular guitar. I played some B/grass riffs with an Epiphone Masterbilt EF500RCCE and it was awesome! That is a guitar you would never expect to sound good flat picked like that, but it did. Now I want one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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