Adirondack or Sitka spruce on vintage D'Angelicos?

[bratistofeles]

Hi,
Do any members of the forum know if John D'Angelico used Adirondack or Sitka spruce for his carved tops? I have seen conflicting information online and I was wondering if somebody here could provide insight into the question. Thanks!
Picture of my 1938 Style A for attention.

[deacon Mark]

He managed to build a lot of guitars for an individual maker. He would have used different tops depending on what he could get I seriously doubt is was only Sitka. My 2 have Sitka from all I can tell but it hard to know with absolute certainty. The 37 New Yorker I am sure is Sitka but my 49 has some real cross graining the suggest it might be Adirondak. However on the 49 the grain is quite tight and does not get much wider at the edges which suggest it could be Sitka. Looking at the top underneath with mirror and no finish in the way suggest it could be Sitka. They sound very different so that does not help. Also, could be John used cedar top or a species of this as I had a 1953 Excel that had a very reddish tinge to the top. Bill Barker thought it was a version of cedar.

[deacon Mark]

I did some research with the chatbot and it had a whole different answer. Go figure?
Based on all you can tell what type of Spruce did John D'angelico use on his guitars












ChatGPT said:

Great question — and it gets to the heart of what makes John D’Angelico's guitars (especially the New Yorkers) so special.
? What Type of Spruce Did John D’Angelico Use?

? Primarily: Adirondack Spruce (Picea rubens)

• Used most commonly on D’Angelico guitars built before and into the late 1940s.
  
• It was the premier soundboard wood in American lutherie before WWII.
  
• Adirondack is known for:
  
  
  • High stiffness-to-weight ratio
    
  • Strong dynamic range and projection
    
  • Clear, punchy tone with a "headroom ceiling" ideal for archtop guitars

---

?? Historical Timeline of Spruce Use

Time Period	Likely Spruce Used	Notes
1930s – Early 1940s	? Adirondack Spruce	Almost certainly used, especially since D’Angelico had access to high-quality, pre-war tonewoods.
Mid to Late 1940s	? Mostly Adirondack, but some Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) may have started appearing	Adirondack supplies dwindled after WWII, and Sitka became more available from the Pacific Northwest. However, D’Angelico may have had stockpiled Adirondack.
1950s	Mix of Adirondack and Sitka Spruce	By this time, Sitka was commonly used across the industry. D’Angelico’s tonewood choices still depended on what he had and possibly customer specs.

---

? Important Points

• D’Angelico hand-selected all tonewoods and often reserved the best pieces for his New Yorker model.
  
• Since he built only ~1,164 guitars in total, many tops were made from seasoned, top-tier Adirondack.
  
• Unlike mass manufacturers, he didn’t switch immediately to Sitka when it became standard industry-wide.
  
• D’Aquisto (his apprentice and successor) once said John had wood "stacked to the ceiling" — indicating he had a good private stock.

---

? How Can You Tell on a Specific Guitar?

If you’re trying to ID the spruce species on a vintage D’Angelico:

• Adirondack Spruce usually has wider grain spacing, with a slightly more irregular pattern.
  
• Sitka Spruce is often tighter and more uniform, with a more silvery sheen.
  
• A qualified luthier or vintage expert can often tell by grain, color, and stiffness.

---

? Summary:

John D’Angelico primarily used Adirondack Spruce on his guitars, especially in the 1930s and 1940s. Some later guitars may include Sitka, but Adirondack was the signature top wood during his most celebrated years.
If you have or are evaluating a specific D’Angelico guitar, I’d be glad to help look at photos or other identifiers to narrow it down.

[sgcim]

Like the Deacon said, he used whatever wood he could get. According to Roger Borys, as told to him by Jimmy D'Aquisto, John would go out on wood hunting expeditions, and he'd use wood from wherever he could find it; abandoned houses, lumber yards, etc...
Building guitars was different in those days; it was a part of the community of merchants in NYC. John would get the materials used to build his guitars from fellow immigrant merchants that had what he was looking for. My Father's best friend, Duke, was a jeweler (as well as a great guitarist) and he'd do the inlays on different models of D'A's as well as the art deco headstock designs on the New Yorker.
That's why they say that no two D'Angelicos were ever the same. I don't know what type of wood my 1935 "Snakehead" model was built from. All I know is that it sounds great, and that's enough for me.

[Archie]

From what I heard, Adirondack spruce from the Adirondack mountains, was primarily used by American makers until they started to run out. They then switched to Sitka. This would have been sometime after the 40’s/50’s.

The notion that Adirondack is wider in grain is born out through modern comparisons so Sitka, which still has old growth stock in abundance, where newer growth Adirondack is being harvested that has the wider ring pattern.
It is likely that the ‘original’ Adirondack would have similar appearances to Sitka.
Therefore trying to make definitive observations by comparing D’Angelico tops, might be misleading.

[Cavalier]

From what I heard, Adirondack spruce from the Adirondack mountains, was primarily used by American makers until they started to run out. They then switched to Sitka. This would have been sometime after the 40’s/50’s.

The notion that Adirondack is wider in grain is born out through modern comparisons so Sitka, which still has old growth stock in abundance, where newer growth Adirondack is being harvested that has the wider ring pattern.
It is likely that the ‘original’ Adirondack would have similar appearances to Sitka.
Therefore trying to make definitive observations by comparing D’Angelico tops, might be misleading.

Yes, they are on the 2nd growth stock now which has the wider grain. Old growth is tighter. I have a guitar with the newer stock and it still sounds great. Warmer than Sitka? Probably depends on the stick.