Top Wood and Tone Wood Question

[William2]

Do you think certain types of music are more conducive to certain types of woods? I've worked out a set of Celtic pieces for guitar. I find this music sounds best to me on a Sitka and mahogany instrument. I usually play these on my Martin DSS-17 which has these woods. The other day I played them on my Eastman E-10DL which has an Adirondack top and Mahogany tone woods. It sounded OK but it lacked the woody sound of the Martin and also the clarity. The pieces sounded OK on the Larrivee's which are Sitka and Rosewood, but I still like this music best on Sitka / mahogany best. I think I like my classical and jazz standards best on the Larrivee's. I should add that the Martin is my lightest weight instrument. I think Martin was replicating the Waterloo type of instrument.  I wonder if this build type yields that extra clear sound where the Eastman with its heavier build, Adirondack top, and piano like quality make it less effective for Celtic music at least to my ear. Are there certain wood combinations that work best for you or certain types of music?

[StringPicker6]

I think it just comes down to what wood suits your ear the best, and it justifies having more than one acoustic. Different spices to make the music taste best for you, in other words. 

[B0WIE]

 The wood adds overtones (or not). If I speak in an accent, or speak in a high or low pitch, the overtones in my voice remain mostly in the same places. We can mimic Waylon Jennings and maybe get kinda close, but the overtones in our voices still make us sound like us, and him like him. That's how the woods work. They don't determine what you can or can't play. Joni Mitchell weaved delicate sonic tapestries on the same model guitar that guys like Billy Martin used as hard-driving bluegrass machines.

 It's really up to the builder as these woods don't inherently lend themselves to any certain musical styling. HOWEVER... builders tend to follow certain paths, as do players. So, we can make some stereotypes, even though they aren't rules by any means.
 
 Example; people tend to build a dread with spruce and either rosewood or mahogany in the same general way Martin did. And, people will pick the guitars the same way musicians before them did. So, we get the stereotype of "rosewood for warmth, mahogany for clarity". But, it's really down to the builder. Taylors tend to be on the brighter side. Martin on the bassier side. Larrivees are known for balance and articulation. Then, there's boutique shops and lutheirs who can make two guitars with the same woods and have them sound completely different if the customer desires, just based on small changes in weights and bracing.

 I try to look at what the builder does first, and then what they do with certain woods, and try to get the instrument that gets me closest to the tone I have in mind. I no longer fall into the trap most do of thinking I need a specific wood combo because that creates a certain type of music. You create the music, the builder makes the tool, and builders aren't all using these woods in the same way.

[StringPicker6]

Well said and summarized. And the Waylon and Joni references were spot on. I also happen to think that they are musical gods.

[William2]

Excellent analysis. This gives me something to think about.