Dogwood Guitars

  • Home
  • About
  • Guitars
    • Dogwood Models
    • Guitar Galleries
    • Ordering your Dogwood Guitar
    • FAQ’s
  • Services
  • Lutherie Classes
  • Pictorials
    • Repairs
    • How to Correctly String a Guitar
    • Building A Monarch
    • Making a Spalted Maple Rosette
    • Pearl and Abalone Inlay
  • Articles
    • Technical
    • Viewpoint
  • Testimonials
  • YouTube
  • Contact
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.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Luthier Services & Labor Estimates for 2021

Dogwood Guitars is a full-service setup and repair shop. We are equipped to handle all of your acoustic and electric guitar adjustment and repair needs. The prices listed below are labor estimates and do not include parts such as new strings, bone … [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...]

Customer Testimonials: European Maple Eminence

"Several years ago when I found out that Greg was starting to make hand made guitars, I knew that I wanted one. Did I need one? No, but that didn't mean I wanted it any less! This past January my wife out of the blue said I should contact Greg and … [Read More...]

Voicing and Tap Tuning of Acoustic Guitars

Voicing and tuning are important elements of great tone. A great guitar has great tone, great playability, and great appearance, in that order. Fancy wood, a high gloss finish, and lots of Abalone inlay are visually beautiful but have … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonials: Monarch 12 String

"Greg Maxwell's 12-string Monarch guitar is the product of an artist. I played the guitar among a small of group of rock-climbing paramedics during my interim stay in Richmond, Kentucky, before returning to Kailua, Hawaii, and the comments about the … [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...]

Visit us on YouTube…

Follow Dogwood Guitars

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

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...]

More Technical Articles

Viewpoint Articles

The Three Elements of a Great Guitar

Guitar players and collectors have so many choices available to them. New, used, factory brands, custom hand built...how do you narrow down the choices to the best option for you? In my opinion, any guitar should be measured by three … [Read More...]

More Viewpoint Articles

Copyright © 2025 Dogwood Guitars