H-575: "Mahogany" vs. Standard

[Halowords]

For those of you who've had or played the H-575 Mahogany with the Mahogany back & sides and the Spruce top, what are the differences tonally between that and the Maple top/side/backed version, and how extreme are they?

 

I must be getting older or something, but I just find myself liking smoother, mellower sounding guitars/music, so the 575 Mahogany strikes my interest. Plus, I think the Spruce top with an OSB finish looks beautiful. Minor consideration, but they look classy and understated and it's still something.

 

Also, do they still make the Mahogany version w/ Spruce top regularly (or just as a custom order), or do they show up with any regularity?

[Steiner]

To me the spruce top and mahogany sides/back are more acoustic and therefore preferable. The spruce guitar seems to breathe more like an acoustic than solidbody. It also can have some nads when desired. There are obviously many variables that contribute (thickness of the top, bracing, pickups) but I tend to go to the spruce top more for some reason. They are both fine examples of hollowbodies and I wouldn't be disappointed if I could only have one or the other. What type of artist are you after? Rock, blues, jazz or two or all? Skull-crushing loud or soft. high gain or clean?... There is no one better than the other, only subtle differences. The mahogany is not as common as the maple and has a strong uptick in price. I've only seen 3 or 4 offered for sale in the past few years. If you get to Detroit, contact me, I'll let you decide.

[Halowords]

What type of artist are you after? Rock, blues, jazz or two or all? Skull-crushing loud or soft. high gain or clean?...

 

I have an H-150CM right now and am planning on getting a semi-hollow in the near future, so this would be primarily an acoustic & clean sort of guitar. I might putz around with some moderate rock with mildly overdriven stuff, but just in my basement. It is just that I would like a nice, woodsy-sounding guitar that has a pleasant sounding acoustic tone, can be airy and bright but a more rounded feel to it. I don't need a sharp treble attack. So something that can be warm and jazzy, folksy, clean, nice acoustic/unplugged tone (to the extent that if I order this custom down the road I think I'd like to go solid-top w/ floating pickup and no pickup holes, preferably P90's if those exist in a floating design, but that's just dreaming aloud) and putzing around in overdrive being very secondary and just-for-fun if ever (and if it totally sucks at those, I have other options.

 

And if I ever hit Motor City-ish, I'd love to check yours out. Thanks for the offer!

[Steiner]

I just put in some "quality time" with the girls - 1 amp, clean and unchanged between guitars. I have two mahogany 575s and a maple one. The irony is the 575 mahogany with the maple neck has a different vibe from the other two (maple and mahogany body) with mahogany necks. There is a very subtle difference between the two with mahogany necks though I cannot state which is better .

 

The mahogany with a mahogany neck seems most acoustic when unplugged. I should say that my favorite acoustic has the same wood compliment. All 3 have glorious sound and appear to (pseudo) fit your bill. The best way to tell is to plan a road trip with your amp. See you next weekend?

 

Big Bob just procured a 575 mahogany, acoustic. I am really anxious to try that one!

[Guest mgoetting]

I may have a similar guitar, depending on what "have" means.

 

My broken Eagle was/is spruce with mahogany. It sounds different and warmer than maple.

 

Traditional jazz boxes needed to cut through an orchestra and did so by being bright. Maple necks, backs, and sides helped. So did maple necks, ebony boards and spruce tops.

 

Now we have amps.

 

I found the combination of spruce and mahogany to give very nice tones without the sometimes overbearing brightness of other axes.

 

The FedEx killed the guitar or at least tried to. I'm waiting to find out her fate.

[Guest HRB853370]

I may have a similar guitar, depending on what "have" means.

 

My broken Eagle was/is spruce with mahogany. It sounds different and warmer than maple.

 

Traditional jazz boxes needed to cut through an orchestra and did so by being bright. Maple necks, backs, and sides helped. So did maple necks, ebony boards and spruce tops.

 

Now we have amps.

 

I found the combination of spruce and mahogany to give very nice tones without the sometimes overbearing brightness of other axes.

 

The FedEx killed the guitar or at least tried to. I'm waiting to find out her fate.

 

Hey Mark, isn't against the law (felony) to injure an Eagle? You might have a good case at hand.

[Halowords]

Big Bob just procured a 575 mahogany, acoustic. I am really anxious to try that one!

 

That would make two of us.

 

Thanks for the write-up though. Yeah, I can dig that it would be pretty subtle, the design has to sort of dictate a lot of what would make a big acoustic sound the way it does. But I do like what I envision a Mahogany & Spruce sounding like; bright & airy with a full, warm roundness to the sound. But eventually I DO want a nice open and woody acoustic guitar where the pickups are just in case I want to play it through an amp, not a near-necessity to play it (granted, I play my H-150 unplugged when the situation requires and all, but it's not quite the same). It's a case where I'd probably be happy with either, but I definitely think I'd really enjoy a 575 Mahogany w/ a Spruce top quite a bit.