ADIRONDACK versus SITKA SPRUCE

Both of these timbers make great soundboards on flat top acoustic guitars. They have had popularity at different times in history heres the story so far.

Adirondack or Red Spruce was very popular piror to WWII. It is found on a lot vintage acoustic guitars. The high weight to strength ratio made it useful in the construction of aeroplane wings during the war. The ratio is what makes it so prized amongst guitar Luthiers. After the war most of the good trees were gone, and what is still available, has cosmetic flaws. If you can put up with this it still makes great sounding guitars especially if you want a new guitar with that vintage sound.

This scarcity led to the use of Sitka Spruce as the number one guitar top of the big guitar Luthiers. It is found on most guitars. If you step into some guitar shops like I have and ask to play an Adirondack you will often be greeted with a puzzled look from the shop assistant. The easiest way to get you hands on one is to play a vintage instrument or have a custom guitar built.

SITKA SPRUCE

Source: Western North America

Colours: Pinkish white to Light Brown, silky, even grain

Tonal: Good balance, clarity and resonation, bright, crisp

Suitable: Steel Strings sound boards, hard flat picking

ADIRONDACK (RED) SPRUCE

Source: North America

Colours: Irregular grain, creamy white, little silking

Compares: Engelmann

Tonal: Strong, clear. Brilliance of Sitka/warmth of Engelmann

Suitable: Flat picking,

Andrew Ellis is gaining recognition for his world class guitars. Andrew has made guitars for many full time professional musicians. He has been asked to export to Europe, America and Canada. All instruments are made from the finest materials and a high standard of workmanship.

www.ellisguitars.com

---

Arranging for New Age Piano

A while back, I wrote an article that compared flower arranging to music arranging. While this may seem a world apart, it really isn't.In flower arranging, the goal is to create a pleasing... Read More

How to Play Piano Using a Few Chords

How many chords do you need to create a piece of music? Would you believe that it doesn't really matter and that whole pieces of music have been created using just one chord?... Read More

Art of the Recording Engineer: From Michael Jackson to Mutant Radio, Matt Forger Speaks Out

Interviewed by Scott G (The G-Man)G-Man: When people think of Matt Forger, they usually think of your work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Glen Ballard, and Bruce Swedien, yet... Read More

Establishing Your Mix

Now that you've spent hours and days and weeks and months recording your musical masterpieces (and you've also read my article "Tips for a Great Recording Session"), you have arrived at my favorite... Read More

Flaming Guitars! Minarik Fuels The Excitement of a New Generation of Musicians

From the Telecaster to the Flying V to the Iceman to the Warlock, some guitar designs are forever branded on our consciousness, and now there's a new one: the Minarik Inferno X-treme. The... Read More

Dance Musics Most Popular and Enduring Theme: The Declaration of Independence

It all started with Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" in 1979, perhaps the biggest fluke in popular music history. To follow up her hit "Never Can Say Goodbye", Gloria's label issued a song... Read More

Thomas Jefferson and the Chinese Gong

While Richard Nixon's diplomatic visit to China may have created a minor thaw in Sino-US relations, he was not the first President to try to get in sync with the Chinese. Thomas Jefferson... Read More

Right-Hand Techniques for New Age Piano

Recently, I had a student ask me to offer some techniques for using the right hand. Usually, it's the left hand that causes the most difficulty but I had to think about it... Read More

Piano Lessons - Group or Private?

Piano lessons are a great activity for children. They encourage creative thinking, develop math and reading skills, and improve students' overall educational progress, as well as building a fun life-long skill. As a... Read More

The Revolution of Electric Guitars

Sometime during the 1930's electric guitars were introduced onto the music scene, which began a revolution in sound and technology that continues to this day. After Rock and Roll was born in the... Read More

Learn to Play the Piano

Rocket Piano is a very professionally done piano lesson package. It includes a number of ebooks, audio tracks, and video tracks to support the instructional material. In addition, there's a ton of extras,... Read More

Micing a Kick Drum

This months tip deals with micing kick drums.You wouldn't believe how many people ask me about micing their kick drums. It leads me to believe people really don't know how to.-ON SOAPBOX-It became... Read More

12 Reasons You Should Learn to Play the Piano

All right, folks, here you go: My 12 reasons why you should start learning how to play the piano. Immediately. As in today. This very minute.Okay, fine, finish this article first, THEN get... Read More

How to Use the Entire Piano Keyboard

There are 88 keys on the piano keyboard. Most pianists use about 1/3 of this number most of the time. Why?Well, if you're playing sheet music, the answer lies in how the composer... Read More

The Ostinato - What It is and How to Use It

Ostinato means "repeating pattern" and is used frequently in all types of music. For New Age piano players, it provides a great way to lay down the background of the piece while the... Read More

Sheet Music ? Violin and Other String Instruments

The violin is a bowed stringed instrument and is the highest pitched member of the violin family. It sits along side its cousins ? the other members of the violin family - the... Read More

Performance and Gigs

"For optimum amp tone onstage, plug your amp into your own AC outlet.." - Eric Johnson DOING GIGS In my opinion, there are two kinds of performers: 1 - Concert performers -- who... Read More

Be An Organized Church Pianist

Playing in front of a congregation each Sunday is no easy feat. Make sure you are well prepared before giving your best for God and before others.1) Practice the piano and more preferably... Read More

Setting Up In-House Retail Sales

Now, that you are familiar and likely connected with online music sales sites, such as CD Baby, or combination online/offline retail sites, such as The Orchard, you are probably comfortable in having your... Read More

A Brief History of Fender Guitars

Perhaps no other guitar maker has touched the hearts of so many players and collectors as Fender. By producing excellent guitars at reasonable prices, Fender has been the instrument of choice for many... Read More

Jazz: What In The Heck Is It?

All of us know what jazz is when we hear it, but trying to define it is a different matter. With so many variant styles, coming up with an accurate definition of jazz... Read More

Les Paul Vintage Gibson Guitars

Les Paul vintage Gibson guitars were first produced in 1952. These guitars were the first solid body electric that Gibson had made. The 1952 version of the Les Paul vintage guitar has a... Read More

Music Industry Insider: Tess Taylor of NARIP and LAMN

Members of LAMN (founded in 1988) and NARIP (founded in 1998), are able to more quickly gain the insight, knowledge, and contact information they need for career development and career enhancement.The success of... Read More

3 Quick & Easy Steps To Playing Music by Ear

Playing by ear is the ability to play a piece of music (or, eventually, learn an instrument) by simply listening to it repeatedly. The majority of self-taught musicians began their education this way;... Read More

How To Make Money On A Music Website Through Pay-Per-Click?

Interested in making money while you're asleep, or making money while you're not even on the computer? Well here is a way that you can do that, clicks!! Once you have gone through... Read More

Health and Beauty Tips for Your Brass: Keep It Shiny!

Did you know that the health and beauty of your brass instruments require extra special attention? It's true-their wellbeing and happiness depend upon it. While we're not talking about putting your tuba on... Read More

Painting with Sound

Whenever I go to a Borders bookstore here in San Diego, I make it a point to look at the art instruction books. I'm not a visual artist, but I've always enjoyed the... Read More

If Seals Can Sing, Why Cant You?

It sounds like a side show, doesn't it? It does to me. But it's true; researchers have discovered that some varieties of seals really do sing. Indeed, male leopard seals have been heard... Read More

How to Become a Filthy Rich Record Label Mogul

Let me guess, you love music and would do anything to be able to enter into the fabulous life of the music business? Better yet, you would love to become the next record... Read More