Some of Woody goes great to Maybelle Carter-style thumb-picked "walking bass" guitar, played loosely and not densely. I like a mandolin in there somewhere too.

Depends, though, on the song. "This Land is Your Land" and his anthemic stuff in general "Pastures of Plenty" comes to mind) cries out for guitar bass runs. But stuff like "Ranger's Command" and "Hound Dog" go absolutely great on lonesome three-finger-picked banjo with lots of empty spaces.

Don't forget Woody played fiddle too, shakily, but well enough for "Cowboy Waltz" and a few other things. (Besides guitar, he also played banjo, though not well, and, yes, mandolin. And harmonica.)

The one thing I would say is, Woody's songs can't take too thick a background. To get that lonesome Okie sound, I'd say whatever you pick, make sure it has plenty of empty spaces,as above, and don't pile on the instruments. Not that an oldtimey group might not work (after all, as Jack Guthrie--and Arlo--found, "Oklahoma Hills" works with country backing), but I think ensemble accompaniment doesn't get at the real feeling of Woody's song lines. Solo is good, even solo mandolin. "Lonesome" is the keyword.

Except for "Car Car" and the Songs to Grow On, which is a whole nother kettle of fish.