The designation tonewood, in the guitar making trade, is used to describe wood with acoustic qualities. The expression mainly refers to the wood that is used for the top plate of the guitar. The thinking for this is that the resulting tone from a guitar is produced principally by the character and caliber of wood used in the guitar top plate.
The Back Plate and Sides Are Secondary Tone Generators: The main aim of the back plate and sides of the acoustic instrument is the support and amplification of the tone and volume that the guitar top exhibits. I don't really want to understate the importance of the back and side wood choice, but this theory was proven by celebrated luthier Antonio De Torres.
He constructed a guitar from a back and sides of paper mache, along with his experimental top, and top bracing methods, demonstrating the importance of the guitar top. It is witnessed that this guitar had fantastic sound and volume qualities and proved without a doubt the importance that the tonewood and top bracing exhibit.
Since the principal vehicle for sound production for any acoustic instrument is the top, the top tonewood plays a very significant role of importance. Other factors that ultimately shape the acoustic properties of a fine instrument include the volume of air in the body, the shape of the body, the moisture content in the woods and the ultimate mass of the wood.
Additional Factors That Affect Tone: The type and color of tone and volume of the guitar top tonewood is governed primarily by the wood species used, and the character of that wood. As mentioned above, the moisture content in tonewood greatly affects its tone production quality. When selecting tonewood for a guitar, consider the moisture content of the wood, since moisture has an adverse affect on the ultimate tone output. Look for tonewood with a moisture content of approximately 6% for acoustic instruments.
If the tonewood in appropriately dried in heat and humidity controlled wood storage facilities, the proper moisture content is often attained. Kiln drying is often used as a method of achieving desirable moisture content. Typical lumber yard wood normally will not meet your moisture content target and has to be acclimated in the controlled environment of your shop for a minimum of several months, to a couple of years.
Be Sure to Continue to Age Your Wood After Purchase: Even if the tonewood was kiln dried, the wood will continue to age and dry even more over time. This is especially true if you stack it in the approved manner in the climate controlled atmosphere of your shop. You will often see tonewood advertised as being aged a minimum of 2 years, and up to, and exceeding 10 years.
You would be well advised to stock up on tonewood if you have aspirations of building several guitars as this is a very respectable investment. If you store it properly, you can draw from this stock of aged tonewood for many years. I obtained quality tonewood 30 years ago and I'm still drawing from that quality 'aged' stock.
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