Many people consider Adirondack Spruce to be one of the finest options for steel string soundboards. It has a powerful, clear tone which makes it a popular choice for bluegrass players and strummers but is equally at home with lighter fingerpickers. It has strong, punchy mids and is open and even from bass to treble. Adirondack Spruce is warm white in color and generally has wider grain lines than other types of spruce, which creates a visually striking and recognizable appearance.

Easily the most common steel string tone wood, Sitka Spruce is a great “all around” soundboard choice. It has a responsive attack and can stand up to heavy strumming as well as fingerpicking, although a lighter touch can sometimes sound a little thin. It has strong mids and treble as well as a resonant low end without sounding overly boomy. Sitka generally has straight, tight grain and from time to time be found with visually striking “bearclaw” figure in it. Color ranges from pale white and pink to light yellow and gold.

Cedar is a traditional choice for classical and flamenco guitars. Its dark, lush tone shares many similarities with Redwood but tends to be a little less bass driven and has slightly more attack. It has a warm tone that features an open mid-range and a clear, bright treble. Cedar is well suited to players with a lighter touch. It is a much softer and lighter wood than Spruce and is ideal for smaller sized guitars. Colors range from light brown and red to honey.

Yellow Cedar has a clear and articulate tone with great sustain. It sits somewhere between Red Cedar and Spruce tonally and is a good choice for fingerpickers and flatpickers alike. Although it sounds great when strummed, it may not have as much volume as some of the Spruces. It has a very even texture and tight, close grain that creates a clean visual look. Colors range from light yellow to warm white.

Mahogany is a mid-range forward tonewood that lends itself to a warm, punchy traditional feel. It sounds excellent paired with mahogany back and sides, and ages beautifully. It has an organic, “woody” tone that feels comfortable when played in most styles, from heavy strumming to lighter fingerpicking. It oftentimes takes a little more time to open up as a soundboard, but it continually sounds richer as it ages. Colors range from red to yellow often with beautiful straight grain, although highly figured pieces can be found.

Redwood is a low to mid volume tone wood that offers a rich bass and warm mids. It is ideal for fingerpicking and light to mid strumming which allows its many subtleties and overtones to shine through. It can be highly figured and visually stunning at times, yet generally has tight, straight grain. It’s a strong, yet lightweight tonewood and usually works well with small to mid-sized guitars. Colors range from deep red to chocolate brown.

Engelmann is a popular alternative to Sitka Spruce and tends to offer slightly more complexity when played lightly. It typically has slightly less headroom and is well suited for players who play on the softer side yet desire an open, clear tone. It features a rich mid-range and has a somewhat more mature tone than Sitka. It has uniform growth rings and a clean, pale white appearance.

In many ways similar to Mahogany, Sapele offers a warm, rich, natural tone but tends to have a little bit more treble. It has a strong mid and a bright, woody high end that pairs nicely with a Sapele back and sides. Like Mahogany, Sapele can be played in many styles and sounds great both strumming and picking. Its color is a deep reddish brown and oftentimes can have tremendous figure.

Torrefaction is a process of baking wood in a high temperature, oxygen-free kiln which quickly ages wood in a controlled setting. A newly torrefied guitar top has many of the same tonal and visual attributes as a well-aged, vintage instrument. While it tends to make the wood slightly more brittle, it offers the unique advantage of stabilizing the wood and making it less prone to movement and cracking due to changes in environment. Torrefaction can be done on many parts of the guitar including the top, interior bracing, neck, back and sides.

Mahogany is one of the most popular options for acoustic back and sides. It has a warm, natural tone that pushes the mid range, and works well for almost all playing styles. It feels balanced when paired with just about any top wood and is one of the rare tonewoods that can be matched fully as a top, back and sides. It ages nicely, both tonally and visually. It has simple, yet beautiful, red to gold coloring and straight grain, although some highly figured pieces can be found.

Indian Rosewood is a classic acoustic guitar tone wood. It is quick and responsive, highly resonant and is ideal for fingerpicking and strumming alike. Though not as mellow as some woods, it has a brilliant and complex tone that projects plenty of bass, yet complements both the mid and high end comfortably. Visually it can have colorful streaks of chocolate brown, purple and black.

Walnut has a balanced and easy tone that lends itself to almost any soundboard wood pairing although it particularly thrives when paired with Redwood and Cedar. It is both warm and bright and falls between Mahogany and Rosewood in both tonality and resonance. Walnut tends to be a rich dark brown and often has beautiful figure ranging from black to grey and sometimes touching on yellow and purple.

A traditional tone wood for violins, cellos and many other stringed instruments, Maple is a beautiful pale white wood that ranges from ivory to light yellow in color and often-times has unparalleled figure. It has a bright and somewhat flat tone with a quick decay that does not lend itself to all environments yet blossoms in many. It is a natural choice in certain amplified settings, as its short note decay is more resistant to feedback than many other tone woods and works well as the back and sides of large body acoustic guitars for similar reasons.

Black Limba, sometimes referred to as Korina, is an African hardwood that produces a rich, warm tone similar to Mahogany. It tends to have slightly more clarity than Mahogany and is slightly more balanced from bass to treble. It has good note separation with a somewhat energetic sound. Typically it’s a pale yellow in color with striking black and grey streaks and at times can be found with deep orange figuring throughout it.

Canarywood has a bright, bell-like tone to it, reminiscent of Rosewood. It has great sustain and clarity, with plenty of volume to go along with it. It has a somewhat metallic tone with plenty of treble zing, although it’s not lacking in mids or bass. Visually it has a warm yellow coloration and can have a wild array of red, orange, brown, grey and sometimes purple stripes throughout it which darken up through the years.

Similar to Canarywood, Wenge has a bright, bell-like tone that rivals that of any Rosewood. It has warm, and even mids and lows that provide a very level, open sound as well as a clarity and liveliness that is ideal for flat picking and fingerpicking. It has plenty of volume that works well with just about any soundboard pairing and playing style. Visually it is a dark, chocolate brown to black with golden brown grain lines.

Sometimes called Bolivian Rosewood, Pau Ferro shares many similarities, yet is not actually in the Rosewood family. Tonally it sits between Indian Rosewood and Walnut. It has a fast, clean response that captures the lows, mids, and highs evenly and a natural, percussive attack with excellent clarity. Visually it has a nice, chocolate brown appearance that can be found at times with stripes of black, grey, red, and honey.

Bubinga has a very rich, full sound with plenty of bright highs and warm mids. It has very natural, dark overtones with a bright sparkle throughout it. Tonally it shares a lot of similarities with Rosewood and is a fantastic wood for back and sides. It can be incredibly striking visually with red, pink and sometimes purple coloration throughout it and oftentimes can be found with very high figuring.

Padauk has a strong, punchy tone, along the same lines as a Rosewood. It features a rich, deep bass with strong overtones and even mids. It has relatively short sustain which lends itself to strumming and fingerpicking. It pairs nicely with a Cedar or Redwood top, but can also sound great with Spruce depending on tonal preference. It has a bright red to orange color that darkens in the direction of a warm, cinnamon brown over time.

Myrtle has some tonal similarities to Maple, although it tends to be a little more rounded and not quite as sharp. It is clear and bright, with good projection and sustain. It features a warm mid range, a crisp, woody bass and an open treble that translates well to both picking and strumming. Visually it is pale white to yellow, with grey, brown and sometimes green coloration throughout it and can be highly figured at times.

Sapele is quite similar to Mahogany in almost every way, but it tends to have a little bit more of a treble zing to it. As a back and sides it can be paired effectively with a Sapele top or with any other top wood. It has a warm, natural tone and ages well. Visually it’s slightly darker than Mahogany and has a nice reddish brown color to it. It typically has relatively straight grain, but highly figured wood can be found as well.

Koa offers a crisp, clear tone and can be paired nicely with many other tonewoods or alone as a Koa top, back and sides . It projects well and tends to be bright and full. It is comfortable when played both loud and soft and opens-up as it ages. It is often highly figured and ranges from a warm honey to a chocolate brown in color.

Cherry features a nice, open mid range that falls somewhere between Mahogany and Maple. It’s warm and bright, with a somewhat reflective response. It has a clean and articulate tone that sounds nicely balanced with almost all playing styles. Visually, Cherry has a uniform and somewhat understated look, although some figured pieces can be found. It has a light reddish brown hue to it that darkens with age.

Ebony has great sustain, a quick, bright attack and percussive, woody overtones.

Pau Ferro has a rich, warm, even tone with medium decay and light overtones.

Similar to Pau Ferro, Indian Rosewood features a warm, clean tone with light overtones and moderate decay.

Padauk is bright and punchy, with a quick attack, short sustain and medium overtones.

Cocobolo has a very musical, crisp, bell-like chime to it, with a bright, fast attack.

Maple offers medium sustain, a quick tonal response and tight, bright overtones.

Bubinga has a warm, open tone with medium overtones and a clear, strong sustain.

Wenge has a very resonant, clear tone with a quick response and good sustain.