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Materials
materials
The materials used in the construction of a Froggy Bottom instrument are of the finest quality obtainable. With the exception of the mahogany neck stock, all our materials are air-dried. Upon receiving your order, we take the greatest care in selecting the materials for each instrument, insuring that your guitar will sound exactly as you hope.
The following woods are the most frequently requested tonewoods. We typically use one of the spruces for soundboards, although we have made guitars with mahogany or koa tops. We do not build guitars with cedar tops for reasons of durability/longevity. Please inquire about use of other materials.
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Adirondack or Red Spruce
Well over 90% of our guitars are built with Adirondack Spruce tops. Red spruce has virtually all of the best qualities of the other species. It offers a strong fundamental, lush complex overtones, and a unique sp ...
German Spruce
Similar to Engelmann, though generally harder, German spruce is richly complex in tonal color. It has long been considered among the finest tone woods available.
Engelmann Spruce
A white spruce growing along the spine of the Rocky Mountains, Engelmann Spruce is creamy white in color and softer than Sitka. It lends overtones to a guitar, creating a voice of great warmth and tonal complexity.
Sitka Spruce
Sitka is the stiffest spruce and the strongest for its weight. It emphasizes the fundamental of a note more than its overtones, making a guitar which is clear and loud, with excellent sustain.
Maple
With its golden color and dramatic figure, Maple is unmistakable. Maple guitars tend to be woody and warm, with a bit less brightness than guitars made of Rosewood. All maple ...
Koa
Honey to a very dark brick red, Koa can be highly figured or flamed much like maple. It varies in density a great deal, with darker wood usually being harder, lending a brighter to ...
Walnut
We prefer Bastogne Walnut for its greater hardness and wide range of beautiful color and figure. Bastogne is a significantly lighter wood than Rosewood, and produces an extremely r ...
Madagascar Rosewood
Remarkably similar to Brazilian Rosewood in appearance, workability and tonal quality. It is most readily distinguishable from Brazilian by its fragrance.
Brazilian Rosewood
Though now quite rare and expensive, especially in fine quality, this is traditionally the choice for the finest guitars. It offers clarity, warmth and balance to the voice and unm ...
East Indian Rosewood
Ranging from medium brown to a dark purple in color, this wood is very consistent in its density, and gives brightness and clarity to a guitar.
Mahogany
Light in weight, stable, mahogany gives a tone of warmth to a guitar. It is naturally a pale orange to almost brick red in color. See gallery images for variations of Mahogany, inc ...