Spruce vs. Maple--sonic differences

[Thundersteel]

Greetings, all! I need your expert advice, please!

I'm looking to get a Newport, and I'm trying to decide which top to get--either spruce, maple, or even limba.

I've read that the spruce sounds more "airy," but the maple and limba have that "eye candy" going on.

I've heard that spruce tops are more susceptible to feedback, so I'm leaning more towards the maple.

However, I already own a Studio Custom and an Artist Custom. So, if I do get the Newport with the maple top, wouldn't it sound very similar to my Artist?

I mainly play hard rock, so I always use some sort of distortion. Would it really matter, then, what the top is made of?

I'm also trying to decide between P90s, Phat Cats, and Seth Lovers. My Artist already has the Seth Lovers, so maybe I could get a Seth-equipped Newport and install Phat Cats.

The closest Hamer dealer is about 3 hours away, so I've never had a chance to play one yet.

Thoughts? Opinions?

[edgar_allan_poe]

I mainly play hard rock, so I always use some sort of distortion. Would it really matter, then, what the top is made of?

Absolutely. Go maple. Spruce is awesome but if you use all of that gain the maple will keep things tight enough. I had a spruce newport and loved it, but it did get really loose in the ass when I put too much gain on the amp. JMHO

[JohnnyB]

I'm looking to get a Newport, and I'm trying to decide which top to get--either spruce, maple, or even limba. I've read that the spruce sounds more "airy," but the maple and limba have that "eye candy" going on.

Maple eye candy, yes, but limba with its yellow-green tint? Hardly. A jazz burst on spruce is mighty attractive; it just doesn't have the figuring of a quilt or flame maple. Still prettier than limba (which has other virtues).

I've heard that spruce tops are more susceptible to feedback, so I'm leaning more towards the maple.

I've played laminate maple top semihollows that were ridiculously prone to feedback (e.g., a Mosrite 335 copy). It's as much an implementation thing as design. It's also technique. Ted Nugent has played at near unimaginable volumes with a Gibson Byrdland, a solid spruce archtop hollowbody. The Newport spruce is pretty thick, so in-room SPLs don't get it vibrating madly.

I mainly play hard rock, so I always use some sort of distortion. Would it really matter, then, what the top is made of?

One guy's hard rock is another guy's classic rock, or metal, or shred, or ... Can you be more specific--the type of "hard rock", your amp, your settings, your volume level, the venue(s) where you play? The standard spruce top Phat Cat Newport does all kinds of classic rock very well. Anything from spanky-clean surf and country to blues to overdriven rock. Before he went all 25.5" scale, HFC-er HardHeartedBill got very tasty distorted and OD tones from a Phat Cat Newport in live performance situations.

As for whether it makes a difference when you add distortion, it depends on how you hear and what you listen for. My Newport and Anniversary have some of the sweetest, airiest clean tones I've heard on electric guitars. When run through distortion that sweetness comes through. The highly distorted sounds retain a unique musicality you don't hear with garden variety guitars with indifferent tonewoods. I used to dime a Maxon OD-808 (the pedal behind the Ibanez TS-808) into a fully gained-up Mesa, and it sounded great--better than the same settings with the typical high distortion guitar (e.g., basswood, boltneck, EMGs or ceramic pickups).

Basically, the spruce top Phat Cat Newport is very dynamic. It has strong frequency extension at both ends of the spectrum. It can be very nuanced in expressivity. It can also do a GREAT classic rock OD sound with snarl and grit.

When you switch to a maple top you get a midrange boost (inherent resonant peak of maple), some rolloff of frequency extremes, less airy overtones, and compression.

I'm also trying to decide between P90s, Phat Cats, and Seth Lovers. My Artist already has the Seth Lovers, so maybe I could get a Seth-equipped Newport and install Phat Cats.

When you swap out Phat Cats for humbuckers you get more bass and drop down the midrange compared to a Phat Cat or P-90.

[doody]

I had a 93FM and spruce topped duotone. The maple special was a great guitar but the Duotone is still with me. The FM was alot brighter than my Duotone. My duotone is alot warmer/darker but not too dark if that makes any sence and it will play anything from Chugga chugga right on down.

[belgian]

I'm looking to get a Newport, and I'm trying to decide which top to get--either spruce, maple, or even limba. I've read that the spruce sounds more "airy," but the maple and limba have that "eye candy" going on.

Maple eye candy, yes, but limba with its yellow-green tint? Hardly. A jazz burst on spruce is mighty attractive; it just doesn't have the figuring of a quilt or flame maple. Still prettier than limba (which has other virtues).

I consider my Limba Newport (Korina for Hamer) as my most beautiful and probably best sounding guitar.

[gorch]

The PhatCats not just by their name are really hot wound P90 pickups. The spruce top of a Newport is twice as thick compared to an acoustic guitar. I would not see any reason not to play hard rock with it.

Seymour Duncan got some sound samples. PhatCats are at the bottom end of the list. So, scroll down the page.

[burningyen]

FWIW my spruce-top Newport did feedback with loud high gain.

[GaryT]

I've owned both Newports. For what its worth I prefer the Maple-Body Newport BE a whole lot more than the Mahogany/Spruce. I love mine and its been my favorite electric for some time now.

Seths or Phat-Cats or whatever pick-up is a whole other story. If I was gonna go all Maple then I would go with the Seths. The brighter the guitar the better they sound. If I was going with Korina or Spruce/Mahogany I would go with the Phat-Cats or P-90 Lollars.

I never cared for the Seths till I played them in the Newport Pro BE. I wouldn't change them in my Newport, they are perfect for this guitar. I've owned and played them in a Artist Custom and a Spruce Top Newport Pro and I didn't feel that way about them in either guitar. But thats my opinion. Others like the Seths in eveything. I don't care for the neck Seth in the Artist Custom[sounded a little muddy their], and I didn't like that set at all with a Spuce Top. With the Maple body the SETH bridge sounds too die for and the neck I could definatly work with.

I have a couple years playing under my belt. This is one of the best sounding electrics I've ever heard ..PERIOD.

BTW the Korina Newports like the one above with the Tortise-Shell binding? They are nothing at sneeze at either and a very pretty Axe. Depends what your trying to hear? I have a Korina Artist with P-90s and they are to die for electrics also. Of course the Newport in that design would be a more more open airey Tone but similiar.

Are you thinking about Custom building a Hamer?

[edgar_allan_poe]

I would not see any reason not to play hard rock with it.

It isn't the pickups that are the problem with the Newport. It is the hollow body. I had 2 Newports. One with Seths and one with Phatcats. The one with the Phatcats squealed like a pig at high stage volume and high gain. The Seths were only *slightly* better.

It isn't the guitars fault, that isn't what they were designed to do.

The maple top helps with feedback and keeps the ass end from going flabby.

[veatch]

The maple top helps with feedback and keeps the ass end from going flabby.

I really need one, then. I get mostly negative feedback on my flabby ass.

Sorry - couldn't resist...

[sonic1974]

I consider my Limba Newport (Korina for Hamer) as my most beautiful and probably best sounding guitar.

What an awesome looking guitar!!!!

[gorch]

This is a spruce top for comparison.

[cmatthes]

I did an A/B comparison between a maple topped Monaco and a spruce topped one.

In that situation, I definitely preferred the Spruce for lower gain clean stuff, and it handled great up to that "breakup" point. The cleans are really nice and round/full, and there is a softer attack - can't really describe it better than that, but it is like the guitar absorbs a note slightly before bouncing it out into the world.

My maple-topped Monaco seems to do the higher gain stuff better - cleans are more Strat-like on that guitar, if that makes any sense. Very defined and more crisp, sharp and clear. Feedback is very controllable, even at high volumes and higher gain.

I haven't done a comparison between the two Newports, but will definitely get a PhatCat/Spruce/Bigsby version one of these days. I borrowed Stonge's 7-8 years ago (has it really been THAT long?!?!), and that guitar absolutely NAILED that classic late '60s/early '70s Pete Townshend sound. One of those "always in my head, not so much always out of my amp" kind of things...

[Thundersteel]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. The spruce sounds awesome, but for the type of music I play, I'm leaning more towards the maple.

One of these days....!

[azatplayer]

Dam you all and your Newports!

All this Newport talk lately is driving me mad!

I must have one!!!!

Played a spruce top the other day, and it sounded great, very versatile.

Also played Sams quilty beauty, man what a guitar, the phatcats are awesome!

I would think you could do anything on these things pretty well.

I seriously gotta get one soon..