What no one will tell you about acoustic guitar soundboards!

Your shop is absolutely stunning. They layout, the windows, all of it. Kudos!

To me, the toorrefied and bridge wood sound like they have more potential for an amazing tone, specially for a SJ200 kind of guitar.

then why do the worlds best sounding guitars (old Martins) come from a world where the builders didn't shake and over analyze their every piece of wood? All this wood talk gets a little old after a while, many of these over hyped guitars and woods can't compare to many guitars that were built by skilled builders who worked in an old factory. The builders didn't care about the story of the wood. Red spruce with wide grain and light builds are still hard to beat. You mention snake oil, a lot of what you sell and describe does sound a bit like snake oil.

I have purchased a Martin guitar that ships tomorrow; I get to choose from two; your spectacular video is reassuring to me! Bravo and thank you so much

I watch your show quite a bit really interesting I build violins and cellos myself. If you get a chance try old standard wood company. Is some of the best wood I have ever used

Hey ! You are a guitar scientist man ! Thank GOD for guys like you. Thanks for sharing. You gave me such a profound understanding of guitars and wood. Next time I am going to spend lots of time listening to different guitars. Love from Mumbai, India.

There's the story that the lumber that Stradivari used to make instruments came from North Africa and that when it was on the wharf in Italy waiting to be picked up, farm animals (sheep, pigs, cows, etc.) that were also waiting on the wharf, urinated on the lumber he had ordered.
Of course, Stradivari dried, milled, cut, and otherwise converted the lumber for use in making his violins, etc., but the wood now had some of the solid residue of the animals’ urine in it, and in some way helped to create the sound of his instruments.
Whether any part of this has any validity or not, no one knows. In any event, I like the idea that such a thing might have helped to make such a brilliant luthier make such wonderful instruments.

Your talking about overbuilding guitars prioritizing stability over efficiency. Every added mass counteracts the ability of the machine to flex and thus resonate. I get lost when woodworkers use magical language to describe their intuition based on years of experience. I believe most look at the top desired flexibility as being a physical touch and listening response rather than, "i just know when its ready or it speaks to me" which isnt what you said exactly but i,ve heard it said many times. Ive seen some builders use a more accurate/scientific approach. I forget the name but using a weight to show elastisity or movement under pressure. Overall very clear. One question though, how does one tell over time when the desired top is where it's most efficient. And how could we judge it to be so after the guitar is all together. How can we pinpoint it being the top that needs a change.

Just found this video, excellent. However, I believe Dana Bourgeois has had some success with tone tapping. No, I don't own one.🙂

Very instructive video. Thank you!!

It’s so wild how thin the soundboard is. I’ve always thought it was so much thicker.

I want make silent guitar which wood i use for body Guitar can you tell me please..

Actually, y'know, that "tap tune" that you demonstrated COULD be measurable AND repeatable.
It's a matter of building a device that taps it with repeatable and quantifiable energy, then measures the sounds produced, and displays a spectrum showing the frequencies produced with the energy of each.
That actually sounds like a fun project, and i might be interested in developing such a thing!
Would you be interested in testing and potentially using it if it works?
That could end up being more useful than your method...!
If so, please contact me! I'll get right on it....
I'd do it just for the fun of it. (And the potential usefulness of it.)
I may do it even if you're not interested, I'm sure i could sell the idea....

Well done, thank you.

Congratulations your channel has earned a place in my junk files with its arrogant click bait title.
Well, I had no right to be surprised as I should have known better than to watch anything that claims to provide the secrets that everybody else hides from me. The dirty bastards. And all those thousands of luthiers happily providing similar information and writing books on it and discussing it in open forums. It's all deception, the scumbags.
But lucky me, you are the dude that provides the HIDDEN secrets that NO ONE will tell me. You should get a day job with Q of Anon fame. Then you could how the dirty Gubmint a thing or two as well as sticking it to the luthiers and guitar salespeople.
Why should anyone have faith in your instruments when you can't be straight on the titles without appealing to click baiting.

Interesting about factory builds running pre selected thicknesses for mass top quantities. This is what I believe the result of that is. Out of 10 Martins, Taylor’s, or Gibsons, you play at the store 2 will sound open and 8 will not. It’s the law of averages!!!

very insightful... thank you !!

ada kah anda anak murid nya crimson guitar

Sorry, I am totally opposed to 'scalloping' braces....It makes for a lively guitar when new, but more prone to 'bellying', then bridge lifting with age..It is all a fashionable (?) con.. Build for reliability & strength.. A good well built guitar will always improve in tone over the years, with regular playing.

Fta

When it comes to purchasing a Fender Stratocaster, I have no issues purchasing from Sweetwater or Musician’s Friend. I can usually set up whatever I get to my liking and make it a good guitar. Not so with Acoustic Guitars. A Martin D28 is probably the “gold standard” for me but before I pluck down $3,000 or more for one, I want to put my hands on it, play it, and compare it to as many others of the same model as I can to find the one that really “speaks” to me! I’ll pretty much do this with any acoustic guitar I purchase at any price point.

Bookmatching is like magic! Truly a wonderful thing.

Thank you. What a fantastic video.

kenapa neck gitar untuk bagian pemutar senar selalu disambung. padahal dapat langsung cetak.tanpa sambungan.

mengapa badan gitar selalu disambung. tidak langsung satu lembar kayu utuh dari pohon besar.jadi tidak ada sambungan

Love watching your videos learn lot by watching them I didnt know all that informative on top wood on acoustic that help me lot I need know yours thoughts on Chinese Martin copy

Just subscribed

Thanks, nicely done, informative.

Just so interesting. I am so glad that I stumbled on your website. I am subscribed and plan on spending hours in your company. Thanks so much.

Really enjoyed this video, thanks for doing it. I'd love to place a custom order with you in the next couple of years.

Fascinating! Thank you

I'm a new subscriber and just wanted to say how interesting this video is. Watch another Luthier that tap voices only. Good to hear your information on that. Thanks for the videos.

A true Craftsman and artist !

What a tony rice style guitar price from your shop ? An waiting period

The thoughts on the salvaged Sitka that used to be a bridge kinda assumes that the winters are dry. But unless one knows where from Alaska that bridge was, that assumption might not be true. Sure, the humidity isn’t going to be like Florida. But keep in mind, many of the Alaskan areas with more humans (thus more bridges) are actually temperate rainforests.

So much of building great acoustic guitars is sourcing and selecting great wood.

My word that ancient spruce

Lovely content! Own a Cedar dreadnought, and an alpine spruce parlor. Happy with both, very different beasts. Horses for courses

Dude I'd love a blue guitar from a bridge. Cool story and look.

Excellent! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and advice in a clearly understandable way. Very generous of you to do so. Very appreciated by us on our journey enjoying guitars- both playing and building.

So fascinating and I have seen the Santa Cruz guitar using that wood. There is a certain magic in nature and wood in particular that even dead an d decaying things can be beautiful. The magic that comes from being trapped in a bog or sunk or even in a burned railway tunnel is so fascinating to me and it becomes clear why some of it is very valuable. Solomon’s temple was constructed with Ceder of Lebanon to mention just one

wait... I'm struggling to work out which one's Paul and George, but Ringo & John are the exact likeness

Oh Wow! Very interesting

There are lots of videos that cover the building process of a guitar, but you provide in-depth knowledge and insight that goes deeper than the "how to" that I don't get from other channels. I've learned quite a bit from your videos - thanks and keep it up!

Thank you for this video. A very thorough go through on the topic. I wish more consumers had just a fraction of this knowledge so they could make educated decisions when buying an instrument instead of focusing on this or that brand or sitka, adirondack bla, bla bla.
Very good! 👍👍

😅 learned so much from this video. If you reach in and sand the rough spots of the braces of a factory made acoustic guitar, is there any chance the sound would improve? Thanks.

So interesting! Thanks for taking the time to share some of your knowledge. One of my favorite parts of playing my guitar is the little waft of sawdust I smell when it resonates. Now you have me thinking....I wonder what a CYPRESS top would smell like. : ) I love the smell of cypress trees but I didn't know there were guitars with cypress tops. Oh boy. Anyway, a lot more to think about than the smell, and I like that you give such attention to the history of each piece of wood and how that affects it.

Hello from Spain!. I want to buy acoustic guitar, and i'd love your opinion about the best guitar price-quality around 1000/1200€.
Taylor 214ce k; sigma 000R, orangewood ava mahogany live & other similar. Construction, sounds, quality materials, etc. THANKS

Wonderful sir, the way you explain, it makes us feel more about the wood...more than what its basic function is being a guitar top. Keep making more videos to guide us more.thanks

Thanks!