Chocolate Cedar is the same timber as the normal Western
Red Cedar, it is just a darker colour. The timber featured
here is particularly beautiful and is very suitable for guitars,
both acoustically and aesthitically. I have a very good supply
of this timber and it is very popular at the moment. I do
not notice any difference in sound to the normal paler coloured
cedar, but this Chocolate Cedar is simply just stunning to
look at. These pictures are of the back, sides and top of
the beautiful Chocolate Cedar and Indian Rosewood guitar.
The people who choose these chocolate cedar instruments have
never been disappointed in either the look or the sound of
the instruments. Combine the Cedar with a dark back and sides
and the black Gilbert tuners with black rollers and you have
a very distinctive guitar. Click on any of these images for
a larger view of this beautiful timber.
Chocolate Cedar has become my most popular timber since I
started using it about 18 months ago. It is a very attractive
and a very successful tone wood. This particular guitar is
the Hauser design with the standard back. While the colour
of the instrument is overall dark and brooding, the instrument
itself is bright and lively, with clear singing trebles and
crisp basses. Chocolate cedar sounds pretty much the same
as the pale variety, it just has a different look and this
gives the guitar a whole new character. Timber of this quality
is hard to find today. If you are after a guitar that is
just that little bit special, this Chocolate Cedar may very
well be what you are looking for.
The Cedar tops I am using at the moment are many years old and come from a tree that was felled over 70 years ago. It has a very fine grain with good medullary content, which is often not as prominent on Cedar as they are on Spruce. This guitar has a beautiful French Polished finish to add to its overall beauty. I can make guitars with a lacquered back and sides for those who do not wish to care for the more delicate french polish.
The std cases for my concert guitar is a Hiscox Lite flight
case. These are very good light weight English cases. I do
offer other cases as options. Please do not hesitate to ask
about the new Fibreglass and carbon fibre cases that are
currently being developed by a local company with my direction.
The sound of this guitar is bright and clear with great sustain and volume. The balance is excellent as is the playability. This really is an excellent instrument and would suit the most fastidious of performers.
This particular guitar has been sold some time ago but to replace it I am making a Chocolate Cedar and Brazilian Rosewood instrument. The timber I am using is simply stunning. It will be ready for delivery in March 2005. I will post pictures and amend this page as soon as the guitar is available and I can take some photos. Please contact me if you have any interest in acquiring this new guitar. The scale is 650mm, the body style is Hauser and the price is US$5000.00.
