Can You Hear the Difference? | Cedar vs Spruce | Classical Guitars by Douglass Scott

[@albertjackson1198]

Cedar for me! Dark, rich, chocolate sound! Great playing!!

[@evantaucher]

Thanks Albert!!

[@jeffhildreth9244]

I have a considerable amount of western red cedar. Much of it "chocolate" colored. I find not difference in tone, tension, flex etc.

[@jenniferbabineaux6734]

I'm two years into the four year wait list for a Douglass Scott guitar, and this was a fantastically helpful video. I prefer the cedar - I like the warm, singing quality. It definitely has a bit more mellow tone to my ears than the spruce. Both are absolutely beautiful sounding (as is your playing!)

[@HotZTrain]

Go find a Jose Oribe...four year waiting list. What a crock.

[@AlGuitarist]

It’s always more insightful to have a comparison of the two guitars made by one luthier with nearly identical construction and material other than the tops rather than comparing two random guitars of spruce and cedar. I think oftentimes the stereotypes of spruce and cedar are accurate although so much depends on the construction itself. Personally, I would love to own both types of similar construction, as they offer different things. Thank you for these great comparison videos!

[@chupie]

Well I just will always go for cedar. If I could have both I sure would. I will say the spruce had a really big color range! But spruce always has a brighter crisper sound to me. With a smitch less sustain. Now between these two I thought this spruce was capable of a lot of rich sound too but it has more focused sound. I would describe it as being up front. For sure if I played predominantly say baroque I’d have a spruce for sure. I think it lends itself to early music. While cedar is just more suffused and internal. Warm and blooming. Lending itself to classical romantic Spanish sounds. Really love both guitars. That is probably my favorite spruce I have yet heard.

[@matthewhealy18]

Definitely Cedar, and very beautiful playing!

[@philippemariotti8948]

Wonderful video! I really like Douglas Scott guitars, knowing and loving his spruce guitars I was wondering how the cedar version was like? Thanks for doing this one Evan! Well, both have their own fantastic personality. Also, I noticed some short notes on the cedar one while the spruce has a nice sustain. The cedar is a little warmer and darker, but would need a little boost on the trebles, and the spruce is silky and singing on the trebles but on some parts but sounds a little ( very little) skinny on some parts. But overall I think they are very close, maybe the newest made cedar are better. In this case, I would go to the spruce which in my opinion very musical and has a very good balance. Thanks again Evan for sharing this, and beautiful playing as always!!! ❤

[@bergethomasian2431]

Wow Evan I know that was some work! It is appreciated. I love this kind of thing. I play mainly acoustic arch tops for jazz, still acoustic. Cedar is warmer/sweeter, a little more singing and maybe sustain. Spruce has more of a piano quality, more separation between voices, more jump on a percussive punch. Next is I think the difference between guitars not the top. In the upper reg the cedar hangs (has volume presence), sustains a little longer. When I find a guitar that doesn't dimmish in volume (I have an amazing arch top almost gets louder) as you move past the 12 fret you have a winner. I think the cedar has some of that going on. Both amazing guitars played by and amazing player. I will watch more of your stuff. Berge

[@antoniomattana6706]

A gifted interpreter. Thanks for the comparison!

[@lufelipino1]

Cesar 100%!!! Love the warmer sound, especially when playing Sevilla! Just a beautiful warm sounds that fills the heart!

[@stephenoliver2923]

I love them both for different reasons. Great video, Evan!

[@rudimatt2143]

I didn't look at comments. Spruce sounds bigger, looser if you will; cedar sounds more muted. I know little about comparing guitars but fascinating video

[@bernardlasalle6053]

I think the Tarrega Prelude 11 is an excellent selection for this type of comparison because it allows the listener to hear many musical nuances that other pieces obscure due to complex melodies and faster rhythms. I wont say one top wood is better than the other but they are clearly different, which was the whole point of the video. I would be very interested in hearing you compare similar tops (spruce or cedar) but with different tone woods (rosewood vs maple). I have my own subjective preference but will not reveal it at this time. Excellent video, thank you!

[@wadedixon6595]

The cedar did have some lovely mellow notes and bell like tones, but the spruce overall had better separation of the notes and had a full bodied maturity to its sound. The final analysis is the spruce in this case is by far a more superior concert instrument.

[@zbroyc11]

I normally prefer spruce by a fair margin. But here the cedar is really moving me, speaking to me more. lovely playing and interpretations.

[@typhanieleng2709]

Thanks for the video. It helps a lot for both choosing guitars and "training ears to be more sensitive to different timbre". Of course, there's no better or worse for these two guitars. Also, in my opinion, two cedar guitars from different lutheirs can vary a lot! My overall personal choice would be the spruce guitar for chamber music and the cedar one for solo guitar performance. I really love how 'traditional' and 'authentic' this cedar guitar offers. It holds the continuity of the tones among all 6 strings. Meanwhile, the spruce guitar brings more diversity and clarity. It sounds modern and young.

[@timosullivan292]

Wonderfully demonstrated and beautifully played thanks very much and for me the spruce had a more distinctive treble , lively sound to the cedar top but both obviously beautiful instruments in there own right , really I would still be hard pressed to choose between the two .The cedar has a lovely warm yet clear sound, if I was pushed it would be the spruce many thanks again you play extremely well and wish I had your ability good luck in the future. Tim.

[@vivekjoseph2082]

Both sound great!

[@chadibison]

Great work, Evan!

[@evantaucher]

Thank you, Chad!

[@alexmeleshenko4834]

Nice video---bet this took a lot of time---hey both guitars sound great in their own way---be happy to have either one.

[@javierelizondoh]

I think the spruce produces a brighter sound. More in the basses than in the trebles, but. In both. The cedar has darker basses and perhaps a sweeter trebles. My impression is that clearness is better obtained in the one with the spruce, but it is not clear.

[@livindadrm]

Great selection of pieces, beautifully played. Both instruments have great tone and balance. The spruce top is very bright, but did have a nice mellow tone in the tasto region. Overall, I am a cedar-lover...sweeter, more mellow tone, with more than enough treble brightness. Cheers 🎶

[@evantaucher]

Thanks so much!!

[@louiscyfer6944]

the cedar sounds more plasticky, the spruce is clearer and more alive.

[@alexcorll90]

Not as different as I thought necessarily. But I like the Cedar's blooming warm midtones. The spruce has better projection, slightly, and more defined bass which can be nice.

[@AndreasLindae]

That is very interesting. The cedar guitar sounds a bit better on this recording, but in my experience a recording is no criterion at all. I see this in all my own recordings or the recordings on Siccas, for example, which - I believe - say nothing about the guitar. What matters is the room and how it sounds in a concert hall. The mics don't actually pick up the sound as it really is. In my experience, spruce "carries" much more in a larger room than cedar. But maybe that's just my experience. Anyway, a thousand thanks for your great videos! And happy holidays and a happy new year. Andreas from Munich in Germany.

[@philltadman]

Thanks for the video, spruce for me😊

[@ntnskrds]

It' has been proven time and again .... I'm definitely a spruce guy ! 🙂

[@evantaucher]

Woohoo! It sounds so beautiful and clear!

[@tomcamarda4941]

To me the maker means more than the materials. My main guitar is a 1973 Manouk Papazian with an Alpine spruce top. It is not only warm, it is forgiving of nail condition. My orher guitar a cedar spruce lattice by Richard Prenkert is unforgiving and overly bright. Unforgiving in that my nails must be just so. My attack just so. It's a difficult to manage guitar, for me anyway. But Prenkert had building influences from John Gilbert who built bright guitars himself regardless of materials. That said though it's not really possible for me to say anying definitive from a recording with regard to subtle timbral differences, I was struck by the clarity and note balance of both guitars and I couldn't state a preference for either without hearing them live or playing them myself. From the recording I did like both. So Scott seems to make strong sounding instruments with good note to note balance with surprisingly strong notes above the 12th fret. I'm intrigued. Very nice playing by the way.

[@dragosilie9240]

On the video, I think I liked the Spruce more. It has nice sparkles, and seems to separate better. But in real life? I guess I’ll have to try both🤷‍♂️

[@aggabus]

My 40 year old Martin sunburst rosewood I bought from br Marin 32 year ago. I got a long time did not consider If she was a cedar. By the finish cannot tell The warmer less bright sound next to a Spruce bright bluegrassy Martin . Big diff. But the sound of mine is different is custom is tailored desired. The rose wood smell has gone about 4 year ago. I never did smell cedar But probably they must mix.

[@jeffhildreth9244]

Martin is smart enough to not use cedar on a steel string guitar.

[@ClassicalGuitarMusings]

I like spruce

[@evantaucher]

Awesome!

[@bulentkamali]

Hi Evan, how much Cocobolo or Indian Rosewood make difference to the sound? One should prefer Cocobolo for what reasons, can you tell?

[@jeffhildreth9244]

Bragging rights for a more expensive wood. OLD east Indian , yes, new east Indian is a crap shoot. Coco Bolo.... very tough wood. Very difficult to glue. The dust is toxic.

[@slowswimmer9169]

Cedar for small rooms and jazz. 😊

[@veraflaig717]

While I like the power of Cedar, I prefer the sweetness of a Spruce top guitar, especially after it has aged 10 years or more with consistent playing.

[@zlateandonoski9356]

Spruce i like

[@awiwii110]

Spruce!!!

[@guidofeliz8384]

What is the basic difference between cedar and spruce guitars?

[@jeffhildreth9244]

Red cedar is cheap. It does not age well. Sound excellent new.

[@suew7299]

I love both. Spruce always sounds more piano like to me.

[@evantaucher]

Thats true! I feel that way too. I think it's because of the note separation (clarity)

[@guidofeliz8384]

My friend told me to purchase a solid top guitar. What does that mean?

[@jeffhildreth9244]

Some cheap guitars are made with layered wood on the top. Plywood. Laminated.

[@louiscyfer6944]

wrong strings. you had the pic of the coated strings up, not the ej45.

[@ritupabankotoky]

very beautiful video . I did not feel any difference. need to listen again on a good headphone.

[@jeffhildreth9244]

Cedar (western red also called Canadian) is brittle, put punky, and prone to cracks. Instant satisfaction and later decay. Segovia did not like cedar. He was annually gifted guitars by Ramirez and said that they cedar topped guitars do not age well. This is evidenced by photos showing the bracing has distorted the cedar tops. Cedar's main advantage was 1/3 the cost of European spruce. Note that catalyzed finishes followed the use of cedar; all cost cutting maneuvers. There is a vast difference between a pre cedar, pre catalyzed guitasr form Ramirez. Ramirez is not the only maker to introduce Red Cedar. I do not own cedar topped guitars. I live in the Western Red Cedar country. I have a considerable amount of cedar guitar tops. I do not use them. Just my opinions.

[@peacetree5000]

Cedars more rounded,but less punch.

[@paulysguitarjournal]

Cedar, it’s always cedar. Never question the cedar.

[@jeffhildreth9244]

The durability of Cedar is a serious issue.

[@johnmcgurran2084]

It’s a draw. No preference.