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You are here: Home / Dogwood Acoustic Guitars / Exceptional Tonewoods

Exceptional Tonewoods

Cocobolo horizontalFine wood is the heart of every Dogwood guitar. Greg has been collecting rare and highly figured wood for over three decades, and he is always on the lookout for the best sets of both top and back/side wood for his custom guitars. Exotic wood of the traditional guitar making species is getting much more difficult to obtain, so the process of searching out and obtaining the rare and elusive is a never ending task. This passion for exceptional wood is part of the reason that Greg builds custom guitars.

IMG_1626Perhaps the most difficult part of this search is obtaining Spruce for guitar tops that meet stringent requirements. This entails far more than simply buying so-called master grade top wood. This designation may mean several things, including grains per inch, lack of runnout, amount of quarter to the end grain, and overall appearance. These qualities may be good places to start, but they do not guarantee that the top will have the material properties that make a great top: Low density and high modulus (stiffness). By carefully testing for top sets having these material properties along with the aesthetic considerations mentioned above, Greg is able to build the voice and tone into your guitar that will make it a standout in your collection.

Although tone is always the primary consideration at Dogwood, the elegance and beauty of the finished instrument is never compromised. Many kinds of exotic and domestic tonewoods are available for use, and you may select from the various back and side sets Greg has on hand. Or, you can discuss your ideas with Greg and he will work hard to obtain something special and unique for you.

side_back cropThe necks for all of the standard Dogwood models are made from laminated five-piece Mahogany blanks using Maple stringers. Laminated necks are not only stronger and more resistant to warping than solid necks, they are also more visually appealing. You may also order a custom laminated neck with your own choice of wood for the stringers and center strip.

As many are aware, obtaining solid black Ebony from Madagascar is now almost a thing of the past. Neck and bridge blanks are now generally made from other more readily available Ebony species that have lighter colored streaks. Factories are dying their fretboards and bridges black as standard operating procedure to compensate for the shortage of good black Ebony. Greg is always working to obtain the best blanks for his Ebony Fretboards and bridges.

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Building a Monarch: Top and Back

The building of any guitar begins with selecting the woods to be used. A bookmatched set of Spruce or Cedar is selected for the top, and a back and side set is chosen for the body. Standard woods for the latter are Rosewood, Mahogany, or Maple. Many … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonial: Dogwood Monarch

"I loved my handcrafted Yamaha LX5 until I played my brother's Larrivee. So I bought a Larrivee. The Dogwood acoustic makes my Larrivee sound like my old Yamaha. The Dogwood is superior to my Larrivee D-03R in every way - tone, action - even looks. I … [Read More...]

Epiphone Sheraton Tuneup

Epiphone Sheraton Tuneup and Setup One of my good customers brought me this Sheraton for some upgrades, including new pickups and a bone nut. During my initial evaluation I discovered many loose fret ends and a high tongue, which were causing … [Read More...]

Blog: 1932 Martin Repair

Its not often that a luthier has the opportunity to work on a pre-war Martin. This 1932 0-18 parlor guitar needs a crack repair and a neck reset. Great care must be taken when working on such an old and fragile guitar. Get out the hot hide glue. … [Read More...]

The Kingston Jumbo

I've always been particularly drawn to jumbo-size acoustics. I learned to play guitar in the early 1970's when John Denver was at the height of his career, and the sound he got from his jumbo Guild 6 and 12 string guitars made an impression on me … [Read More...]

Blog: Spalted Maple Rosette

I love spalted wood, especially spalted Maple. My affection toward this unique combination of color and pattern goes back to the 1980's, when I became introduced to the work of James Krenov. In 1983 a friend and I discovered a huge spalted Maple … [Read More...]

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Technical Articles

Humidity, Temperature, and Your Guitar

Maintaining your wooden instruments at an appropriate level of humidity year round is vital to their health and well-being. It is surprising how many owners of expensive instruments are unaware of this. I suppose that the primary reason is a lack … [Read More...]

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Viewpoint Articles

Exploring Common Guitar Myths

I am going to divide this article into two sections: Myths and misunderstandings about playability and care; and myths about tone. We will take these two topics in order. Playability and Care So, your guitar is a little hard to play, the … [Read More...]

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