Because of its strength and toughness, it is ideal for hard driving bluegrass flatpicking as well as for achieving exceptionally pure tones in classical guitars. Other varieties of Spruce are German , Engelmann and Adirondack . Typically these alternative varieties are available only on the finest, custom guitars. As noted they are often in short supply and sometimes expensive. German spruce has been the traditional wood for guitar tops, but German spruce of good quality is in very short supply.
German spruce produces a bright sound, especially in the treble.
Englemann spruce is softer and is often a good choice for small body guitars used for fingerstyle playing. Since Engelmann spruce is more plentiful in supply than German spruce and has all the traits desirable in a good German top and is more economical, it is often used by makers instead of German spruce. Adirondack spruce is considered a finer variety of spruce than Sitka, producing a stronger, more refined sound, but it is in very short supply in premium or even acceptable grades. In other words, a good piece of Sitka spruce may be a better choice than an inferior piece of Adirondack Another popular choice for guitar tops is cedar . Cedar is softer and not as strong nor as elastic as spruce, but it is almost twice as stable with changes in moisture content.