Spanish Cedar VS Mahogany

[WezV]

No I dont think so these guys are talking Cedra Rosa (cedrela) right?? Well here in guadalajara we have an excellent selection. Is that what I should look for wood experts(Wez-Eric??

yes cedrela (spanish cedar) is fine.  i didnt realise you were actually in mexico when you started this thread!

for you its easy - your local wood place will have the right stuff


For us in the UK asking for cedar will give us a very different wood!

The confusion arrises in guitar talk because acoustics often use western red cedar (and a few other true cedars) for the top as an alternative to spruce.  And with more electrics being built with spanish cedar the average punter may just assume 'cedar' is a good wood to build guitars with.  It is, but you need to make sure you have the right cedar for the right job!

[mikey5]

Yea that guy Juha  actually where the inspiration from this post comes from. I like to get as many opinions as possible. He just wrote this right now. Tell me what you all think I have heard the Cedrela Odorata before. Can anyone confirm that its the same thing as Cedra rosa?? The pain is the name differences I mean I could be looking for something with a totally different name. Anyway Hope I can get it all cleared up. But you all have spiked my interest

Master Juha speaking:
Hi again. I've studied the Spanish Cedar issue quite a lot... there are various stories of what exactly is that wood. Well, it's difficult to know precisely, but as far as I know, Spanish Cedar (Cedrela Odorata) is not a true cedar and definitely not from Spain. It comes from South America, is nowadays listed on CITES, and is becoming more and more difficult to get - at least for us in Europe. I don't know if Cedro Rosa is the same thing, haven't heard that name before. The challenging part is, that I know the Spanish Cedar I buy originates from several locations in South America, and even though it's all sold to me as Spanish Cedar, the quality varies very much, like there would be 2 or 3 different species in the lot sometimes... So, it takes a LOT of time and skills to learn to know what exactly is the best one for one's use. And for that I can't unfortunately give you instructions other than you need to go for it and see for yourself.

[mikey5]

Oh ok thanks yea I will look around I know cedra rosa is very common

Oh yea check this out. YESS I am so pleased thanks to all.

Cedrela odorata (Spanish cedar, Mexican cedar,) Thats from Wikipedia

[ericsabbath]

O cedro-cheiroso (Cedrela odorata), também conhecido pelos nomes vulgares de acaju, cedro-fêmea, cedro-rosa, cedro-espanhol, cedro-vermelho e cedro-mogno é uma árvore da família das meliáceas, com uma ampla distribuição natural, ocorrendo do México a Argentina. No Brasil ocorre na Floresta Atlântica, na Amazônia e mesmo na Caatinga.

[mikey5]

Thanks brother. Your the greatest

[ericsabbath]

O cedro-cheiroso (Cedrela odorata), também conhecido pelos nomes vulgares de acaju, cedro-fêmea, cedro-rosa, cedro-espanhol, cedro-vermelho e cedro-mogno é uma árvore da família das meliáceas, com uma ampla distribuição natural, ocorrendo do México a Argentina. No Brasil ocorre na Floresta Atlântica, na Amazônia e mesmo na Caatinga.

the "smelly" cedar (cedrela odorata), also know as acaju, female cedar, cedro rosa (pink/rose cedar), spanish cedar, red cedar and mahogany cedar is a tree of the meliacea family, with a wide natural distribution from Mexico to Argentina. in Brazil, it occurs in the Atlantic Forest, Amazon and even in the Caatinga (Brazil's northeast semi-arid regions)

[mikey5]

Right on. I wasnt trying to be cheeky in my last comment thats why I changed it sorry. Where in Brazil do you live? One last issue I have is what top wood I should combine it with. If this cedar odorata is already so bright than maple might push that a little too far I dont know what do you all think?
MIke

[ericsabbath]

Right on. I wasnt trying to be cheeky in my last comment thats why I changed it sorry. Where in Brazil do you live? One last issue I have is what top wood I should combine it with. If this cedar odorata is already so bright than maple might push that a little too far I dont know what do you all think?
MIke

lol no problem
I'm in Bahia
land of the "brazilian rosewood" (know here as jacarandá-da-bahia, but also found in a few other states)

a common choice for tops in custom made guitars here is imbuya (brazilian walnut)
it has a nice chocolate brown natural color and may have some really beautiful grain patterns, like flame, quilt, or just stained
it's a heavy, dark and smooth sounding wood

I had this les paul, with a simple non-stained piece of imbuya top:


but I guess it's easier to find figured pieces than a plain brown one

[WezV]

a common choice for tops in custom made guitars here is imbuya (brazilian walnut)
it has a nice chocolate brown natural color and may have some really beautiful grain patterns, like flame, quilt, or just stained
it's a heavy, dark and smooth sounding wood

imbuya is great stuff - i used it on a few of my early guitars and really liked the look.... more than that i really liked the smell.  beautifully spicy smelling stuff

a really nice top choice actually, especially with the spanish cedar

[AndyR]

I don't often post in these wood threads.... but those Les Pauls look really sexy Eric...

Guess I might be an "imbuya" kinda guy.

Does the finished guitar still smell spicey? :lol: (guess not if there's a layer of finish on it...)

[WezV]

unfortunately not, well at least not under oil or lacquer - it would if you left it raw

I had loads in the back of a car for an hour or two once, tehe smell lasted a week and was much better than any little paper tree air freshner

[mikey5]

I wonder if that imbuya wood is hard to find down here. I will look around. Thanks guys this is the ultimate wood thread. I think I will use the cedra rosa which is availiable here for starters. Its cheap so I dont have to start with pine. I guess I was looking at the exotic woods site and paying 70 usd for a body blank did not sound like a good deal considering that my first attempts at the guitar will not be stellar if sure. Anyway Another question. I have read a bit on drying out the wood. I could probably get them to do the kiln thing around here and jointed even but should I still let it sit somewhere under a light for a couple months. In vices

[mikey5]

Oh yea is there a web page where imbuya is sold? Oh by the way Wez and Eric I am curious are you guys full time guitar builders? or just as a hobby? I am obviously getting into it but I only have maybe 10 hours a week I could dedicate to it.

[WezV]

i still have a full time job in a school and do it mainly evenings, weekends and school holidays

but i have been modding for about 13 years now, building for about 8 and am fast approaching my 40th complete guitar build


clearly no longer a hobby, but the other job keeps the bills payed

[mikey5]

Haha well I am sure with that much experience under your bet you could market it some way. Like put up a web site and sell guitars or completed necks or bodies for guitar projects. That guy Juha sells a ton of guitars a year for a high price. Im sure people would buy custom stuff from England (thats where your from right?)