Help me pick the top for my new guitar

[playingdead]

Narrowed it down to three:

Quilted maple:



Spalted maple:



Redwood:

[sillydog2]

I like the quilted. The spalted is cool and even has a trippy look but would all that 'uneven grain' effect the resonance? And if you are getting a new axe can I have one of your old lefty's?

[playingdead]

He said this particular piece of spalted maple is really solid, it's not punky at all, he thinks it would make a killer top. It's flamed right through the spalt, although you can't see it in the photos.

I mocked it up really quickly with some pickups ... hmmm..



re: my lefties, how much cash you got laying around

[waldo041]

i like all three, so i see your dilemma!

although that redwood looks scary, kinda like freddy krueger's face!

but if i had to make a decision right now, i'd go with the spalted maple, that has so much going on in it! i see a face, a lady, a friggin awesome looking guitar!!!

peace,
waldo

[Emoto]

Wow. Really tough choice. Not the redwood.

That's all I got.

[Rusty the Scoob]

Damn, I was going to go with the Redwood just because you never see that and it looks cool. Is he out west? Like where Redwoods actually grow... that would steer me that way.

But that spalted does say: hello, how are you? if your face hasn't melted yet, it will soon.

[playingdead]

Waldo's Freddy Kreuger remark freaked me out. So much for the redwood.

I think I see jerry's beard in the spalt, though.

[hogan]

spalted

[al.hurst]

I was actully digging the redwood, but i think i see jerrys beard too!

[Rusty the Scoob]

I don't see Freddie K in the redwood. If anything I see the Tesseract from Madeline L'Engle.

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

For tone, quilted maple is a proven, safe bet. The redwood is gorgeous, but tonally, it's kind of light and may not reinforce the high overtone sustain you may want. Redwood is like a light and airy mahogany tone-wise. I like the wood, but for a top, a risky endeavor.

The crazy looking spalted maple would probably be good too, tonally. Over the long haul, I think the quilted will be the most aesthetically pleasing and relaxing to look at, but not all that unique like the freaky looking spalted maple.

Quilted Maple #1, safe bet for tone, gorgeous and deep to look at, does neat things with reflected light

Spalted Maple #2, probably a safe bet for tone, freaky and very trippy looking, that's a plus.

Redwood #3, pretty wood, not a smart risk tone-wise as a top. Better for the back, but not the top.

My opinions.

Brad

[jdsmodulus]

Quilted Maple for sure. It looks sweet.

[bcresci]

For me it would be a toss-up between Quilted and Spalted. Just depends on whether you'd get tired of looking at that pattern - looks like it might cause eye strain after prolonged exposure.

[playingdead]

Now I really am starting to see Garcia's face in that spalt. His eyes are right about where the bridge is, and his chin is below the tailpiece. Looks like he's holding his hands up to his cheeks.









Let's talk about the wood for the body ... I can do anything I want ... mahogany, purpleheart ... thoughts? I can chamber it, too, if I want.

[waldo041]

cocobola, slightly chambered for weight, no f hole.

peace,
waldo