Where does Redwood fit in? I wish Herb was here, he even knows the Latin names.
Clearly, Cedar is the softest and warmest among the standard top woods and I think
we can safely say that Adirondack is the stiffest, with the greatest potential for wide
dynamic range. As previously stated, it depends on the individual top. My experience
is that Old Growth Redwood responds much like Engelmann and can approach Sitka
in its characteristics, again depending on the individual top. For BTO purposes, I would
regard Redwood in a middle position between Cedar and the stiffer spruces for tonal
dynamics.
As for Sinker Redwood, my hands, ears and subjective perception is that it is just a
notch higher on the range toward stiff. I'm not sure there is any agreement on that,
but it seems so to me. Maybe it's the mineral deposits in the grain that simply make
me feel that way.
Of course, the various top woods seem to respond differently with the various back
and side woods, and also with different bracing patterns and woods. For example,
I think Redwood paired with EI Rosewood responds noticeably different with forward
shifted Standard II Sitka bracing than with CV Adirondack braces. But I think the
relative stiffness and responsiveness continues to follow the same relative relationship
to each other in their different applications.
st
