Guitar with Walnut back n sides

[TheTool]

Hey guys,

 

I've finally worked out why the guitars I have been playing recently have left me underwhelmed, turns out I'm a huge fan of Walnut (its what my classical is made from, with a cedar top) which has a nice smooth tone about it.

 

Anyway, are there any acoustic guitars (not bothered about a pickup at the moment, I'll get one at a later date) that aren't to expensive that have walnut back and sides and a ceder top?

 

Or am I looking a

[EvilTwin]

Taylor is one of the only big manufacturers that I can think of that uses walnut (or grafted walnut). It'll cost you a bit, too.

 

If you can live with a different back/side wood, you'll find plenty of guitars that utilize a variety of back/side woods with cedar as the top (which will be your primary tone generator).

[Freeman Keller]

Taylor does some highly figured Claro walnut guitars (I've never played one but they look stunning). I think they they tend to be rather spendy but it is possible that some of the limited 4xx gits have been walnut, in which case the costs would be more reasonable.

 

From reading about it in the LMI wood catalog I believe walnut is harder to work - as I recall it tends to split when bent for sides.

[JasonA]

Larrivee has used it from time to time, including the recent release of L-03W and D-03W models.

 

Martin used to make the OMC-16WE.

[TheTool]

http://www.taylorguitars.com/Guitars/Fall-Limited/814ce-LTD/ = phwar

 

But thats about

[drnihili]

Lowden has also used it. But in all of these cases, you're looking at upper end guitars, well above the $1000 dollar range.

 

Have you checked into some other woods (Koa, ovangkol, maple, cherry, ...) besides walnut? I know Ibanez has several models with exotic woods, perhaps one of them would be more to your liking.

[TheTool]

I just want it to look nice and sound good. I like gloss finish on guitars and its hard to find them at this price range really. All seem to be satin :-/...

 

I'll find one... but I dont want to get anything to extravagent becuase of the moving around thing.

[Freeman Keller]

Here is Ervin Somogyi's take on walnut, koa and mahogany

 

"The denser and more brittle the wood, the more it will ring; the lighter and looser the wood is, the more it will be an acoustically passive part of the guitar. Heavy koa, mahogany and walnut are all comparable in their tone. Everything else being equal, it is generally recognized that mahogany and koa will produce a "warmer" sound in a guitar than the more brittle rosewoods can."

 

Dana Bourgoeis

 

"Maple and walnut tend to be more acoustically transparent than other tonewoods, due to a low velocity of sound and a high degree of internal damping. That is to say that they allow tonal characteristics of the top to be heard without the addition of extraneous coloration and may even serve to attenuate some of the overtones emanating from the top.

 

The harder, denser examples of these woods, such as sugar maple and black walnut- particularly quartersawn examples-tend to lean slightly more toward the tonal direction of mahogany, while softer examples, such as bigleaf maple and claro walnut, tend toward greater tonal transparency"

 

LMII

 

"With its rich brown color and occasional black streaks, Walnut produces a striking instrument with a crisp, dry tone and a strong fundamental. Walnut works well in all respects, has a pleasant scent, and once it has been dried is very stable."

 

To me it sounds like walnut has a lot in common with maple. And lots of sound samples to occupy your time

 

http://www.thepodium.com/t-soundsamples.aspx

[TheTool]

^ Thanks dude. That'll help me out a fair bit ^^.

[conway]

Alvarez made a walnut om size guitar in the late 80's early 90's that were pretty nice to look at and play. I don't remeber the model but I do see them on ebay from time to time around 350-500.00 I actually played one a few months ago. It was a nice guitar. They also have the cedar top which make sense. Walnut is a hard wood so the cedar softens the sound a bit. It would be very tinggy with a sitka top so cedar it is.

[conway]

Forgot to metion, They sold for around $900.00 back then.

[TheTool]

Hmm looks like I'm going to have to settle for a Rosewood/Ceder or Maple/Spruce...

 

Thanks guys you've been alot of help.

[drnihili]

Just searching around the closed auctions in EBay....

 

Looks like Dean makes or made an all walnut model.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-DEAN-EXOTICA-WALNUT-ACOUSTIC-ELECTRIC-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ250154732211QQihZ015QQcategoryZ113478QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Luthier Tim Metcalf from Tenessee makes them, apparently starting at about $1000. http://cgi.ebay.com/handmade-custom-Metcalf-dreadnought-cedar-and-walnut_W0QQitemZ280147263905QQihZ018QQcategoryZ2385QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

(note the email in the listing if you want to contact him.)

 

Taylor made a 410 in sitka/walnut http://cgi.ebay.com/Taylor-410-E-2006-Walnut-Sitka-Fall-Limited-Guitar_W0QQitemZ270158558388QQihZ017QQcategoryZ33031QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Taylor also made the W10CE, though the top again looks to be spruce and it's pricier than the 410

 

Ovation with a walnut top. Pretty, but ....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Ovation-Elite-2000-Mars-Ltd-Ed-Burled-Walnut_W0QQitemZ320148658149QQihZ011QQcategoryZ113480QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Looks like one possibility to consider might be ordering from a local luthier who's willing to custom make one.

[TheTool]

Hmm Patrik Eggle lives locally . He set up my PRS for me, But I really dont want to spend

[hempomatic]

Still decidedly high end, but you can get a McIlroy walnut/cedar for a lot less the a Lowden. Still about 2500 American though. I've been looking for a used one for a while, none seem to exist.