3,951 Reply by Tenement Funster

(17 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Cedar VS Spruce is largely a matter of tone preference;

First off, whichever wood you select, a solid, pressure-tested top is highly recommended for best performance ... you'll be glad you spent the extra. A laminated top (and/or sides) will greatly reduce the tone, detail, and volume of the instrument. The glued layers of a laminated top increase its overall density, and it simply doesn't resonate as well.

I have two Cedar tops (LaPatrie "Concert", Norman ST40). Both have a soft, gentle tone, with lots of warmth but not as big on volume or low end. As someone has mentioned, Cedar lends itself well to finger-picking, which is why most classical guitars use it. My Larrivee D-03 on the other hand is a Sitka Spruce top, and has more volume with much more fullness of tone and low-end punch.

For durability, Cedar is indeed softer than Spruce so requires care, and because it's more porous it reacts quicker to humidity changes.

I sincerely hope some of this is useful.

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3,952 Reply by Tenement Funster

(31 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Gonna also endorse the Elixir NanoWeb LIGHT as does Zurf. They sell locally for $15 / set ($2.99 for singles) so it's much less than a daily "double double" at Tim Horton's :-)

The NanoWeb coating keeps them lively longer than an uncoated string, and I've also found Elixir's stay brighter in tone much longer than the D'Addario EXPs. One little twist I like is to replace the .012 (E) and .016 (B) with a .013 and .017 respectively. These are the top string gauges usually found in MEDIUMs, while the other 4 wound strings are the typical LIGHTs. This takes a bit out of the "spikey-ness" out of the top strings, while still maintaining the nice ring of the wound strings ... just a personal preference. I have this config on my older Norman ST40 and newer Larrivee D-03, and for what it's worth they just sound "right" somehow.

BTW: I'm new to the Chordie Forum, and have loved using the site's other resources for the past year or so ............. many thanks!

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3,953 Reply by Tenement Funster

(5 replies, posted in Acoustic)

A terrific online resource for this sort of thing this is www.fretnotguitarrepair.com . I restored a treasured 30-year-old Norman ST40 last year, and got several valuable tips on replacing the nut from this very knowledgable lady's site. String buzzing could be caused by several problems, depending on where the buzzing takes place. For example, if one has open string buzzing near the nut, then the string grooves are either too deep, or set up wrong for the strings being used (new nut / heavier strings). If the buzzing happens when fretting further up the neck, then the relief could be too little (truss rod adjustment), or certain frets could be worn (fret replacement).

Congrats on picking up the guitar ... way cheaper than a psychiatrist !

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