Wood

A very common wood for the top (sound board) is spruce, and for the back and sides is rosewood. However, there are are others. Cedar is also popular for the top but gives a different sound. My main (folk) acoustic has a spruce top but my classical has cedar. My 12-string has mahogany back and sides.

Here are some links you may find helpful..
http://www.classicalandflamencoguitars.com/Acoustic.htm http://www.cbguitars.com/woods.htm http://www.pantheonguitars.com/tonewoods.htm http://www.esomogyi.com/tonewoods.html http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musicia … oods1.html

Tone woods are an important factor in the guitars tone but the main factor is the bracing. It's style, weight, scalloping, etc.. will influence the sound of the guitar more than the woods themselves. I'd be hesitant to pick tone woods as a beginner builder. Even the prettiest spruce or cedar can tap test bad. For a first build, I'd recommend ordering a kit from Stewmac, luthiers merch., Martin, or any other reputable supplier. This way you at least know that the woods have been, plained to the proper thickness, tapped out and found acceptable. Once you feel comfortable with the building process you can start choosing your own materials and putting a little more $$ in it. Building from scratch is much more expensive due to the additional tools required.. -Pix

thank you for all your replies, i found the links very useful especially cbguitar.com. in answer to dfoskey's question about tone, i want a warm mellow tone. also been looking at kits on line so will prob take your advice (guitarpix) for the first guitar.