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Anybody had issues with a Spanish cedar neck on a steel string?

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

[QUOTE=burbank]Anybody had issues with a Spanish cedar neck on a steel string?[/QUOTE]

I used spanish cedar on this one.   So far, so good......   

I recently heard that Martin has been using cedro for a couple of years. Anybody know for sure?

I have built a tavel guitar using a spanish cedar neck in 1998. 
For the first couple of years I could not play it in winter since a
backbow was present in the drier season.  It appears ok now...



I would do it again, but would use a double-action truss rod.  In
fact, since this guitar, I stopped making my own rods and buy hot rods.



Hope this helps...



Marc

Indeed Robbie, Martin has been using cedar for quite a while now and it continues to cause dyed-in-the-wool Martin fans no small amount of consternation. Not because of any deficiency in the material, I love the stuff......but because now rather than "genuine Mahogany" in the model descriptions it now reads "selected hardwoods".

Most of these folks aren't aware that Martin used Spanish cedar for necks  all during the 19th and early twentieth century. I've worked  with Martin necks in both woods and considering their truss rodded construction , I think the flap is unwarranted.

If I recall correctly, the lower and middle-priced Martins got the Spanish cedar necks first, then as time went on, the change crept gradually up into the higher priced ones. I thought Martin might have gone to mahogany around the time they switched to steel strings, as I'd heard that the Spanish cedar was less stiff than mahogany, but it appears that might not be true, or at least not an issue.

Thanks for the info!

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

...and David, that's a real beauty!

_________________
now known around here as Pat Foster
_________________
http://www.patfosterguitars.com

The down sides to cedro are that it is a bit less stiff than mahogany and it doesn't work quite as nicely. The up sides are that it is very light weight, it smells wonderful, and it looks nice.

And it's true that real "vintage" Martins had cedro necks.

Just throw some graphite in there with a double acting truss rod, and it's just fine...and very traditional.

[QUOTE=Rick Turner] The up sides are that it is very light weight, it smells wonderful, and it looks nice.

[/QUOTE]

Just don't lick it

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

I have been using Cedro Rosa, the Brazilian version of Spanish cedar for years and love the stuff. I use it for necks on my classical guitars and some steel string guitars as well as for all back braces, side braces and even kerfing. In my opinion it is easier to carve than mahogany. Makes your guitars smell real nice too.

[QUOTE=Dave White] [QUOTE=Rick Turner] The up sides are that it is very light weight, it smells wonderful, and it looks nice.



[/QUOTE]



Just don't lick it [/QUOTE]

  That was the worst part of working with the stuff.  The oil gets on your fingers and it takes a lot of washing to get the nasty tasting stuff off.  No KFC after working with that wood!

I'll tell you this much. The smell of the cedar lining in my low-end Martin was the "venom" that infected me once "bitten"! And the obsession continues!!!

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DES - Shepherd, MI