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GJ cedar tops and "New School"?

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  • Jim KaznoskyJim Kaznosky Prodigy Bumgarner Derecho;AJL XO
    Posts: 1,238
    bohemewarbler wrote:
    I didn't realize that cedar tops had become popular among the "new school" GJ players. In the U.S, it seems all GJ guitars being sold have spruce tops.

    Craig produces excellent guitars with cedar tops in DC. I've played one at DiJ and was prompted to commission one from him, that is by luck, arriving today. http://shoppingcart.djangobooks.com/Item/bumgarner-2012
  • Lango-DjangoLango-Django Niagara-On-The-Lake, ONModerator
    Posts: 1,875
    Wow! congratulations, Jim, that looks like one sweet guitar! And it is totally wonderful that you are supporting a fellow member of the djangobooks.com fraternity.

    How interesting that Craig has chosen Castellucia as his inspiration, I love my 2013 Castellucia F-hole which I just bought this summer. This guitar doesn't have a cedar top, but my Michael Dunn 2008 custom made guitar does, and now that I have made some adjustments to its bridge, I'm falling in love with it all over again.

    I hope you'll post some clips of yourself playing your new guitar soon so we can all hear the new Bumgarner sound...

    Will
    Paul Cezanne: "I could paint for a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing."

    Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."

    Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
  • JazzaferriJazzaferri Victoria B.C.Moderator Dunn Ultrafox, DuPont MDC20 Gretsch Chet Atkins CG
    Posts: 3,707
    Michael Dunn made the top on my Centennial Ulatrafox from Pencil Cedar :shock: :mrgreen: which is actually African Juniper. Really lovely close grained piece of wood.

    Haven't had a chance to compare it to other Ufoxes, but Michael did say it had the best tap tone of any he'd done.
    The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
  • Jim KaznoskyJim Kaznosky Prodigy Bumgarner Derecho;AJL XO
    Posts: 1,238
    To clarify, the Bumgarner I commissioned is not the one Michael was selling here. I was using that as an example of a description of the cedar top, complete with one of Michael's excellent videos. Mine (which also has a cedar top) was completed a few weeks ago and arrived yesterday. The point was that there are luthiers working with Cedar in the US and are being sold by Michael.

    I'll give Craig's guitar his due in a post dedicated to that, rather than to take away from the topic at hand.
  • fraterfrater Prodigy
    Posts: 763
    I own this fantastic sounding Di Mauro Boogie Woogie and the top looks really like cedar (it also smells like it!). It should be a late 40s model... if so, Antoine Di Mauro was years ahead of his time!
  • bohemewarblerbohemewarbler St. Louis, MO✭✭✭✭ Jordan Wencek No.26, Altamira M01D-12 fret
    Posts: 243
    And it's a beauty! (And for a 1940s guitar in excellent shape from appearances.)
  • fraterfrater Prodigy
    Posts: 763
    Yes it's in great shape, no cracks and original hardware practically new. Tone and volume in these guitars are mind-blowing! Plus, I was very lucky with this one: I paid it less than a Gitane D 500 (I've got an old one, n. 504, a very nice guitar but you really can't compare the two!)
  • MandobartMandobart ✭✭ Mandolin, Octave Mandolin, Mandocello, Fiddles
    Posts: 100
    Western Redcedar is a great tonewood; been used in classical guitars for years. I have a western red mandolin and octave mandolin. Very sweet sound, lots of sustain. Grain is always very straight and tight. The only problem is it softer then spruce and thus dents easilly.
  • Micky DunneMicky Dunne Liverpool UK✭✭✭✭ Olivier Marin, JWC Modele Orchestre, AJL La Flasque
    Posts: 156
    Thought I would try out the new format. Here is my new Marin guitar with a cedar top that I will collect from Paris in January. Excitement doesn't even come into it!
    Fast and bulbous

    www.manouchetones.com
  • Al WatskyAl Watsky New JerseyVirtuoso
    edited December 2013 Posts: 440
    I own several guitars with cedar tops.
    Cedar has a characteristic tone.
    It most often has a low frequency , a sort of sub sonic vibe.
    So you have this top end frission , low mids and lows.
    A fast transient response and volume.
    Often cedar guitars are instantly broken in, which is an advantage, but thats balanced by the knowledge that they will often fatigue past the point of vigor after about 25 years.
    Its a known fact, but only if they are heavily played.
    Thats especially true of flamenco guitars.
    Anyway spruce guitars will take longer to break in but will generally have a longer useful life. Spruce guitars have less tendency to crack because of shrinkage and humidity related problems.
    Cedar is often more difficult to repair if broken by impact.
    It will shatter. Spruce cracks, cedar will shatter.
    The Cedar Favino I own is a 78. Its been very heavily played, I estimate its been refretted at least 4 times.
    Its still kickin' , hard. I'll bet it will be doing fine for another 50 years or so.
    The tops on GJ guitars are (speaking generally) thicker than classical tops.
    Cedar is a good choice for a guitar that needs to be built and played immediately , the break in time is measured in weeks rather than years. So thats good right ? :-? random emoticon
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