Tonewoods

[Airborne]

Is there a difference in tone between the 312ce 12 fret with Sitka/Sapele and the 322ce 12 fret Hog/African Blackwood. This guitar would be for fingerstyle/moderate strumming. Which would be your choice? Thoughts on the 512ce 12 fret cedar/hog. Thanks for any opinions.

[boneuphtoner]

Hey there - although this isn't the grand concert comparison you asked for, this does feature the same tonewood comparison you asked for - the 314 versus 324, and will probably give you an idea of the 312 versus the 322.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBRf1MDceNo&t=361s

I love the mahogany topped 300 series guitars, and both of my flagship guitars feature mahogany tops in this series.  If you want to hear how beautiful the 314 can be, check out Daria Semikina's videos on youtube - they are magical, and show  how great sitka/sapele can be.  I don't think you can go wrong with either of these. 

Let us know how it goes!

[timfitz63]

There is a definite difference in tone between the Sitka/Sapele pairing and the Mahogany/Blackwood pairing.  As Sapele is a close cousin of Mahogany, there is probably less tonal difference between a 312 and a 512 than a 312 and a 322.

Something that helped me conceptualize how these tonewoods all play together is to think of the guitar top as the acoustical source (which is probably why it's sometimes referred to as a soundboard), and the body as an acoustical 'mirror' in the sense that it reflects certain frequencies to our ear.  Some tone woods (like Sapele and Mahogany) reflect mostly mid-range frequencies and sound 'warmer;' others (like Maple) are biased more toward the high frequencies and sound very clear and bright; some (like Rosewood and Cocobolo) cover a wide range of frequencies, spanning from low to high, and provide good overall balance.  Blackwood tends to be (at least to my ear) like it's acacia cousin, Koa (reflecting the mids and trebles), but with more clarity and less 'warmth.'

So a 312 would sound balanced, dominated mainly by the mids and having an added touch of warmth.  A 512 would still be dominated by the mids, sounding even more 'warm' because the Cedar top would bounce more of that acoustic characteristic off of its Mahogany 'reflector.'  But the best description I've found for the Mahogany/Blackwood 300's is "darkly clear."  The Mahogany top is not the acoustical 'mirror,' but now becomes the acoustical source -- so balanced but with focus on the mids -- which is now getting reflected back to our ears by the Blackwood body with a bit more clarity and 'sparkle.'

I also like the Mahogany/Blackwood pairing -- much better than the previous pairing of Mahogany/Sapele in the 300 Series, which was just too sonically 'one-dimensional' to my ears, if that makes any sense...

[Strumming Fool]

There is a definite difference in tone between the Sitka/Sapele pairing and the Mahogany/Blackwood pairing.  As Sapele is a close cousin of Mahogany, there is probably less tonal difference between a 312 and a 512 than a 312 and a 322.

Something that helped me conceptualize how these tonewoods all play together is to think of the guitar top as the acoustical source (which is probably why it's sometimes referred to as a soundboard), and the body as an acoustical 'mirror' in the sense that it reflects certain frequencies to our ear.  Some tone woods (like Sapele and Mahogany) reflect mostly mid-range frequencies and sound 'warmer;' others (like Maple) are biased more toward the high frequencies and sound very clear and bright; some (like Rosewood and Cocobolo) cover a wide range of frequencies, spanning from low to high, and provide good overall balance.  Blackwood tends to be (at least to my ear) like it's acacia cousin, Koa (reflecting the mids and trebles), but with more clarity and less 'warmth.'

So a 312 would sound balanced, dominated mainly by the mids and having an added touch of warmth.  A 512 would still be dominated by the mids, sounding even more 'warm' because the Cedar top would bounce more of that acoustic characteristic off of its Mahogany 'reflector.'  But the best description I've found for the Mahogany/Blackwood 300's is "darkly clear."  The Mahogany top is not the acoustical 'mirror,' but now becomes the acoustical source -- so balanced but with focus on the mids -- which is now getting reflected back to our ears by the Blackwood body with a bit more clarity and 'sparkle.'

I also like the Mahogany/Blackwood pairing -- much better than the previous pairing of Mahogany/Sapele in the 300 Series, which was just too sonically 'one-dimensional' to my ears, if that makes any sense...

Spot-on description, Tim. I also agree that the 322 would be my preference in that it is the most distinctive sounding of the wood combinations listed.