Sitka, Adirondack, Engleman
 

Any thoughts on the difference are appreciated.

Are you bored tonight or what?

Todd

For classical Engelmann

For steel string either one, just not Engelmann

Haha! Yep, I was just thinking it's hard to keep up with all your new threads man ! :lol:

Curious why not Engleman.
Am thinking of buying a 714ce sunburst that has Emgleman.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Haha. My adi takes a while to wake up. Also, you can't drive it too hard. So clear and sweet. Sitka, on my OM, is the perfect top. Not the same headroom or volume as ADi, but so sweet, chimey, and articulate. You need both according to experts

Engelmann can make amazing steel string guitars. For my build style, it works wonderfully with Mahogany, Walnut, and Ebony back/sides.

...while there are generalizations to be made most luthiers will admit that its the specific piece of wood that has the most impact on tone....that and the design and build qualities....i've owned multiple examples of all three types of top woods as well as German and Carpathian....while i can accept the generalizations i'd be hard pressed to place the examples i've owned firmly into their respective categories...just too many nuances....

I put my trust into a luthier telling him that I wanted a versatile guitar but that I played mostly fingerstyle and bare handed strumming. I told him that my last very suitable guitar was a cedar/mahogany guitar. He built me an Adirondack topped mini jumbo that hit the mark. I am glad I put my trust in him. His name is Michael Millard.

Typically Engelmann won't have the dynamic range-specifically headroom-of sitka or Adi. But I've played a number of Engelmann-topped guitars with very good headroom...an Eastman and several Goodalls come to mind. It all depends on the particular set of wood used and the construction of the guitar. I once played a Froggy Bottom with an Adi top with little headroom. It was very lightly braced.

Taylors tend to be built quite robustly, so that Engelmann-topped guitar has a reasonable chance of having good dynamic range.

You should also consider your playing style. Are you heavy handed, lighter touch? If the latter I would think Engelmann a fine choice.

I go for - 'It's in the build'.

I have a suspicion recent threads are the cause :hmm:

the ‘headroom’ ‘over driving the top’ aspects were discussed here and particularly Alan Carruth’s input.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...39#post4001239

and here for top woods in general -
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=344994

I strum the hell out of my Engelmann topped Martin dread. Tons of dynamic range. Pretty much as loud as I want it to be. It was initially tight and less powerful when it was brand new, but it has blossomed in a big way after 6 months.

It all just depends on the builder and the guitar itself.

It really depends on the builder, the bracing, and probably some other factors. Very generally speaking, I have a light touch so I can get better sound from an Engelmann topped guitar than one with Adirondack, which in many cases needs to be driven to maximize its tone. But, in the hands of a good builder, woods can do unexpected things and they can maximize all that the wood has to offer.

Best,
Jayne

ONe of my favorite steel string guitars has an Engleman top. Sitka is great too, very brash and metallic. Don't have any Adi ones.

While all of this is true, I still think that Sitka always displays the characteristics of Sitka, Adirondack always displays the characteristics of Adirondack, and Englemann always displays the characteristics of Englemann. The lines may get blurred quite a bit due to stiffness, voicing, etc., but I have always been able to decipher tonal similarities for each individual type. Personally, I really don't care what type of wood the top of my guitars are made of, as long as they do the job I require. I've owned nearly all of the spruce types but I presently only own German, Adirondack and Sitka. All three are working well for what I need them to do, albeit they all fill separate niches for me. Sitka is definitely the most straight forward and fundamental sounding of the three.

Bill