Songmans Collings Guitar Wood

[poki]

I'll leave it for SongMan to fill in the details of the wood.  Very nice wood at that.

[SongMan]

OK, so i was given a choice to pick the back for my Collings D3. Which do you guys like and why? :)  

[poki]

The problem i have with having choices is not being able to make up my mind.  That said i like all three since they all have nice grain...but somehow i prefer #1 since the grain is bold and figured and i think would make for a really nice bookmatched set with the flair at the bottom.  the other two are more "conventional" straight grained with #2 having the bolder pattern but it's not as tight grained as #3 which may not matter to you...i would suspect if it were my choice i would pick #1...did i mention have have difficulty making up my mind?  anyway, i think it's really cool of collings that they let you pick the wood for your own guitar.  i'm sure the finished guitar is going to be a beauty which ever you choose.
poki B)  

[AdamOn6thStreet]

Numero Uno here, as well.  Like Poki said...the big stripe on the right will make for a cool bookmatch when it is opened up.  2 is nice and color full, but the grain is not tight enough for me.  3 would probably be my second choice.  It is the plainest of the three...but still has character and wouldnt be austere.

[SongMan]

I have one of them on the way. Having said, what do you think of GOld tuner versus nickel?

[drmlabs]

Go with #1 - that will look fantastic on your guitar.
Dan

[HangFire]

I think #1 is the grooviest, with the bell bottom look that all the kids are digging... babe. (In my best Sammy Davis Jr.) B)

[Zach]

I vote #1 also (although you said one of them is on the way, which one?).  For tuners I would go nickel Waverlies.

[SongMan]

I did order a nickel tuners with it. HOwever, this perticular guitar comes with GOld as standard tuner. I only saved 50 dollars for the tuner down grade.  

[ricks]

SongMan,
You may not like my suggestions here, but;
I say go with #3 on the back wood.  I have found that more times than not, a nice tight, straight grain like #3 will produce a better sounding guitar.  It may not be better looking, but are you gonna play it or look at it?
As for the nickel tuners, you done good.  On a D3, you want the more traditional look.
Good luck with your choices.

[Rick]

1st post. Go with # one. I own a D-3. Very similar back. Look's good, sounds great.
Enjoy:

Rick

[philster]

SongMan,
You may not like my suggestions here, but;
I say go with #3 on the back wood.  I have found that more times than not, a nice tight, straight grain like #3 will produce a better sounding guitar.  It may not be better looking, but are you gonna play it or look at it?
As for the nickel tuners, you done good.  On a D3, you want the more traditional look.
Good luck with your choices.

I'm with ricks on the back choice.  It's funny, if you look at old literature, back when "bearclaw" was a defect not a feature they always spoke of the fact that figured rosewood, and rosewood with lots of greens and purples were best left to furniture veneers, and tight straight grain was the way to go.  Nowadays folks are bragging on those attributes  :huh: Oh, they also said that while the tight straight grain was the best sounding wood, it was also the most prone to cracking, but that the cracks were a breeze to fix due to the staight tight grain  :blink: So, I forget, was I saying straight tight grain was good or bad?

Of course than being said visually #1 is awesome.  I like it for the thick black lines next to the wedge, not because of the wedge.  The way I look it at when I'm picking a guitar is that as long as the wood is good, it'll play better than the person playing it... Me...  :( And those slabs are all absolutely amazing!  Songman, you're a fortunate Human  

[guitaradoptions]

I feel that a great guitar is like a great meal. Presentation is a big part of what makes it! :)  

[Randy_R]

The reason that I've heard that Stradvarius violins have such great sound is because of the dense, close grained wood that was used.

I am of the opinion that a "bearclaw" is a marketing dream come true, you can call defective wood, wood that has character, and charge extra for it!

[SongMan]

THanks to all your replies and opinons, I came to conclude my choice. My initial choice was Set#1 FOr it's interesting patterns and it's popularity amongst all who have looked and opinionated. Havings said, I called the dealer and requested last minute change. I knew Collings were either going to start on my guitar this week or next week. so i was not sure if change was possible. I probably would have been happy with set #1 as well.

THough, more people liked set#1(including the dealer) by far. I had good advice from people who liked #3. They actually explained the reason behind their choice, and it made sense to me. Having said, I'm sure most who picked #1 did so with possiblity of equal tone with all the sets. I thank you all for that too

I do understand that back wood only produces 10% +/- 5% in overall tone. And no one, I mean no one knows how guitar will sound until it's built. I think many luthiers  like tight grain being better and other luthiers think it does not matter (thinks IR is IR). If thats the case, I think I would bet on #3 for better tone. THough it looks least attractive, No one so far said tight grain does not sound good as wider. IN contrary, few said, more times tigher produce better tone. Yeah, #3 might not look as nice, but Chances are it might sound better than others(better probability)

I thank you all very much. feel free to reply with any other comments. I would love to hear from you. :D

[poki]

I think you made to best choice all things considered since you are going for the best oportunity at getting a guitar with the finest tonal character.  i ddin't know that a guitars back wood grain pattern had any influence on the overall tone.  in any case just looking at #3's grain i can tell it's going to be a real beauty once finish is applied...i sure would like to see pics of the finished guitar.
poki B)  

[SongMan]

THanks for the encouragement Poki! I think many people claim the grain on the backwood does not matter. HOwever, there are some who claim that they do matter. looking at both opinons, why not go with #3. It's win win situation. :D