Tonewood comparison: English vs. traditional (with demos)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video, we dive into a tonal comparison between two Turnstone acoustic guitars which are the same in every way except the tone wood used in them. One is made entirely out of English wood, featuring local timbers like Yew, Cherry, and Sycamore. The other guitar is constructed from traditional timbers including European spruce, mahogany, and rosewood, known for their classic sound profiles.
We'll play the same song (a simple fingerstyle piece written by Rosie in DADGAD) on both guitars, letting you hear the distinct tonal characteristics of each. Whether you're a guitarist curious about alternative woods or simply a tone enthusiast, this comparison will shed light on how different woods can shape the voice of an acoustic guitar.
Let us know in the comments which guitar you think has the edge! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of our future guitar comparisons and reviews!
*Guitar specs*
Model: TM
Scale length: 635mm (25")
Fret to body join: 12th fret
Strings: Elixir (Phosphor Bronze Lights)
Guitar 1: (All-English wood build - a client commission)
Soundboard - Yew
Back and sides - Cherry
Neck - Sycamore
Guitar 2: (Traditional Timber Build - available now at The Fellowship of Acoustics - see link below)
Soundboard - Mastergrade German Spruce
Back and sides - Reserve old stock Indian Rosewood
Neck - Mahogany
Check out this guitar at The Fellowship of Acoustics here:
www.tfoa.eu/en...
#AcousticGuitar #GuitarComparison #EnglishWood #TraditionalTimber #GuitarTone
The English yew guitar sounds magical, super articulate with a slightly compressed warm tone. Absolutely brilliant!
The English Yew soundboard is amazing looking - both sound excellent.
Yew wouldn’t believe how good that sounds.. wow . Actually that is surrealy just so much nicer! Clever clever you and your luthering.
The thing I Iove most about these comparisons, is that I find I dont have 'preference for one'... more that i would want both! :-) The magic of such well-crafted instruments IS that they are all unique and offer something different. I know most of us have a 'sound in our head' we believe to the 'best' for our style of play, but I suspect many of us miss out because we remain quite conservative the it comes to wood choices? (Because we can't have both!) ;-)
I love the clarity of the yew top one, bright but not harsh in any way at all.
I found the English wood really bright, almost harsh sounding to my ear. The rosewood and spruce has a much more rounded sound with fuller bass. I would be really interested to hear how both mature over time. It may be that the English wood mellows over time into a deeper richer sounds but maintaining greater clarity. Can you ask the owners to post a comparative piece in 10 years time as part of the condition of sale! 😊
Listening with headphones…
I preferred the traditional, richer and more three dimensional.
They both have their own characteristics for sure!
Straight away I prefer the guitar with the Yew top and Cherry back and sides. To my piano tuner's ears it sounds warmer, with great separation of notes - so very articulate. My only question is this:
Which bank should I rob in order to buy one of these..?
I actually might prefer the Yew/Cherry! Different voices for sure, but the compressed clarity of the English wood combo is very nice. It sounds like how I would want the German Spruce / EIR to end up sounding on a record after the boom is cleaned up and it's compressed, playing what you play here at least
Rosie , I hope mine sounds as good as your English Yew & Cherry TM!! Though I found it a little "bright" it is lovely.
I know mine is a TG, so I'm hoping it's a little less bright, is it the Yew that makes it brighter it is a little harder than Cedar I think.
Love everything I see on TH-cam of yours!!!!
Martin
@@MartinBarker-r3b Hi Martin! I’m glad you like the videos. Yes, this English guitar is a mix of pretty bright sounding woods - yew, cherry and sycamore - so it definitely results in a brighter sounding instrument. Your Cedar/Bog Oak TG will have quite a different tone with the cedar (and yes it it quite a bit softer than yew) and oak and also being a bigger body a bit more rounded character. This TM was designed to be quite punchy and articulate.
I prefer the all English wood guitar better the sound quality is richer and mellower at the same time. The highs are cleaner and sound wonderful. Maybe after a few years the tone of the one with the spruce top will mellow out some but currently it has higher tinny sounding high notes that to me seem a bit harsh.
Rosie nice sounding guitars! Well made. Great job. Have you ever tried Yew Back and sides? If so what would pair with it well?
@@newffee yes I have! In fact that’s what I did before I ever tried it as a soundboard. I have paired yew back and sides with an English cedar soundboard and also a couple of instruments with European spruce soundboards and they sounded really lovely!
@@TurnstoneGuitars That sounds awesome! I noticed you make primarily fingerstyle high end guitars but have you ever made Dreadnoughts like flat pickin style? I was thinking about going out in the forest to see if i could find a Yew windfall or some other alternative wood to harvest and try.
Nicely played, Rosie! For me, I liked the English one better, just lovely shimmer and clarity. I wonder if the other guitar might thrive with a more brooding, deeper sounding tune - or perhaps in a bigger body.
Hmm. A difficult comparison, even through good cans. The traditional was louder, and the confusion of volume, projection and tone is well known in psychoacoustics. I coiuldn't see any difference in mic placement or the way you were playing. No doubt in my mind that the English had a sweeter, less brash tone, but seemed, on this hearing, to be lacking treble. As I suggested, this could be entirely due to volume difference. Plus, they are both brand new. Don't suppose you'll be able to hold on to them for a year. I guess that so few yew top guitars are made that it's hard to predict how they will open out. I believe it is one of the hardest softwoods, so it might be a lot. In passing, yew is quite well known for being toxic in all parts. Is that a problem in making?
@@robertnewell5057 thanks for your thoughtful comment! I realised when doing this also just how much my playing can influence it too. Sometimes I hit my notes well, sometimes I don’t. Perhaps people take that into account but it can be hard to play something exactly the same. Mic placement was the same. I think they will both open out and yes Yew is quite a hard softwood. There is a toxic substance in Yew yes and I do have to be careful with it now (good extraction!) as I am a bit sensitised to it.