Mahogany vs. Spanish Cedar

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Hey guys! I'm weighing the pros and cons of some type of mahogany or Spanich Cedar in a LP. What do you think would work better? What I have so far is that mahogany has more bottom end, and Spanish Cedar has less bottom end but a fuler midrange. I'm open to suggestions, like Spanish Cedar body/Mahogany neck, Mahongany body/Spanish Cedar neck, etc. I just want what sounds the best!

[WezV]

for a traditional les paul - mahogany.   Just because spanish cedar wont give you the tone you expect from a les paul.  i wouldnt expect it to sound bad - just less like a les paul

but cedrela ( i struggle with the name spanish cedar - since it is neither spanish or a cedar) is a pretty decent wood for guitars - it can be quite light and resonant and has good acoustic properties.   it is less stiff which should be considered when using it for a neck - either laminating it or adding reinforcement

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Do you think they would sound well together, like a Spanish cedar neck and mahogany body?

[ericsabbath]

spanish cedar (also known as cedro rosa or mahogany cedar) is used by a lot of brands and luthiers here in brazil as a mahogany cheap alternative

quality really varies a lot... some cheap brands like Tagima use quite bad sounding cedar
back in the 70's and up to early 90's, Giannini made some funky Fender and Gibson versions with really good cedro rosa cuts
they also had a Fender licensed line (Fender Southern Cross series) of strats and jazz basses that sounded better (in my opinion) than the real deals that were made of alder, and they still sell for really cheap

I've seen good luthiers that make les paul copies with both brazilian mahogany (same as honduras) and "spanish" cedar, sometimes with mahogany neck and cedar body as a lighter weight substitute

I don't have much personal experience with cedar guitars (I had a span cedar body Fender Jazz Bass), but I have the impression that it sounds even middier than mahogany, which can be too much for some body types, like SGs

I've read some guys on specialized les paul forums that swear they had 50's les pauls analyzed and found different wood species, from 'honduras' (usually south american) mahogany, african khaya mahogany, african sapele mahogany to south american 'spanish' cedar

[gordiji]

Is 'spanish cedar' really Thuja (plicata) or a species of the same genus?I know Thuja is often known as western red cedar which is strange as it isn't a cedar at all.
While we're at it, is 'Basswood' actually Lime or a Tilia species ?

[WezV]

spanish cedar  is cedrela - from mahognay family
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedrela

like all woods - loads on names for it (as eric said, cedro rosa or mahogany cedar) but it is not related to western red cedar


Basswood is the north american name for  tilia - lime is its european name.  not to be confused with the citrus tree.  if you buy lime from america you get the fruit wood, lime purchased from the uk is tilia.  Basswood purchased from eithwer should be tilia - but occasionally poplar and obeche sneak in as alternative "basswoods" in the UK.

[gordiji]

thanx wez

[Zaned]

A finnish small company called Ruokangas http://www.ruokangas.com/ searched for the tone of an OLD Les Paul when the first model of theirs (the Duke) was created. Curiously, it's a double cut; now they have also a single cut model  :)

However, he didn't find what he was looking for in the current mahogany, but did in spanish cedar. He has documented the reasons. It's a regularly used wood by them, you won't find much mahogany in their guitars (if any).

A little basis for their usage of that wood: http://www.ruokangas.com/?p=3458

Their guitars are second to none.

-Zaned

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Ah, it's that kind of article that does make me lean toward SC. It's just a really tough choice!

[Philly Q]

^

I've always liked the look of Ruokangas guitars, but never had the opportunity to try one.

[ericsabbath]

spanish cedar  is cedrela - from mahognay family
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedrela

like all woods - loads on names for it (as eric said, cedro rosa or mahogany cedar) but it is not related to western red cedar

cedrela odorata, being more specific
it has dozens of names here in brazil, lot of other names around the rest of latin america