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My first build will be a 000 14 from John. I was thinking of a cedar top and mahogany back and sides. What are your thoughts. what other combinations should I be considering?

I assume this is a scratch build versus a kit build? Just curious since I haven't seen a kit from John that includes that wood combination. My first build will be a kit from John, a Martin 000 kit.

Ed

Might consider mahogany and spruce for a first project as spruce will be a lot easier to work with. I like cedar tops but while working they are so easy to split and dent.

cedar is hard to work with. We can help you with what you want .

Whether you are a flatpicker or fingerpicker will dictate choices to an extent.
Each wood species has a sonic signature. You want to match your playing
style to the appropriate tonewoods. Explanations as to which woods you can
choose cannot be covered in one thread on a Forum. I suggest when you decide
on species to purchase lower grade or student grade for your first build. You'll
make mistakes. We all do. So it's best to make those rookie mistakes on a
less expensive set of woods. Also, NEVER allow anyone but yourself to make
the choices. The Internet is a fertile resource which can help you make an
educated decision. Do some research. There are many combos of top/back/side
woods and it's best you glean some facts before opening up the wallet.

Or you can get some Brazilian RW, some Italian Spruce and have at it.

Thanks for all the good advice. Most of my playing will be fingerpicking. Also looking for a smaller guitar for comfort reasons. I was also considering all mahogany. When I worked in a small music store I played a small bodied guilt that was all mahogany. I should've bought it when I had the chance.

If your build experience is anything like mine is turning out to be, the first guitar (or, I suspect, the nth guitar where n is arbitrarily large) won't turn out quite as you had hoped and you'll want to build another. So feel free to choose what you want to try. You can always correct any less-than-perfect choice in the next guitar. <grin>

small guitars don't have to sound small. It is all in the bracing. Mohagany is a great choice , good to work with and great in a 00 12 fret size. perfect for couch pickin

john , can the same be said for a ooo 14 fret ?
I was also considering a slightly deeper body.

many build these as a deep body.