Re: Rosewood or Mahogany Back and Sides?
On Larger body guitars such as Dreadnaught guitars Mahogony has better balance from string to string. Mahogony will not be as boomy as Rosewood in this size. I have a D18, and I love it. I also have a Santa Cruz Tony Rice model, which is essentially a D28 with an oversized soundhole. They are both excellent guitars. I prefer the Santa Cruz, but it has nothing to do with the wood. I use the D18 for open G and some open D work. The Santa Cruz I use more for standard tuned stuff, and droppped D. The Mahogony has a nice warm even tone when I drop the tuning. I also prefer Mahogony in a smaller body size. I would recommend you look at a OMV 18 as well. This is a less expensive model and for some players they feel it is a more versatile guitar. Large body guitars are more difficult for fingerpicking. They are better suited for strumming and flatpicking, you got to hit them pretty hard to get the sound out of a big box. A small body guitar takes less effort to get it to project. It really has a lot to do with the style of music, and your particular playing style. They are all really good guitars.
