Why do they use spruce to make guitars?

Why do they use spruce to make guitars?

Spruce. This evergreen, found in northern temperate regions of the globe, is literally top choice: the ideal wood for the soundboard, or top, of an acoustic guitar. Its look — light in color, even in grain — is appealing though somewhat plain; what sets it apart is its beautiful tonal properties.

Is spruce good for guitar body?

Janka Hardness: With a rating of 510 for Sitka Spruce, this is typically the softest wood you’ll find on a guitar. A good piece of Spruce is loud when you knock on it and in doing so produces more body than you’d expect from something so light. If you drop it, it bonks instead of plinks.

What spruce are used for guitars?

Sitka Spruce
Besides Martins, Sitka Spruce is used on many guitars in the industry. A sitka spruce top can be seen on the J50 for example, second from right on the picture above. Engelmann spruce, which also grows in western North America, is a common alternative to Sitka.

Which is better spruce or mahogany?

Mahogany’s stronger than spruce. Side/back woods are usually more dense than the topwood. However, Mahogany is light enough and strong enough to be used as a topwood.

Is Engelmann spruce better than Sitka?

Engelmann spruce, which also grows in western North America, is a common alternative to Sitka. Because it is in lesser supply than Sitka, Engelmann often costs more. It’s a lighter and less stiff variety than Sitka, and it has stronger overtones and weaker fundamentals. It is the king of spruces.

Which wood guitar is best?

Spruce: Spruce is the most common top wood. Spruce is light but strong and comes in a number of varieties with the most common variety for guitar tops being Sitka Spuce. It is characterized by it’s light colour and often looks great contrasted against darker colored back and sides tonewoods.

What is the best wood for a guitar body?

The Best Body & Neck Woods for Electric Guitar

• Mahogany. A popular wood used for both the construction of acoustic and electric guitars is mahogany.
• Maple. Maple is another popular tonewood, used for the body, neck, and fingerboards of an electric guitar.
• Ash.
• Basswood.
• Alder.

Is Spruce a good tone wood?

Spruce. Spruce is the most popular wood used for guitar tops, and recognisable by its pale colour and (usually) understated figuring. The reason for its popularity is because it has a tone that makes it a very good ‘all-rounder’. Spruce is a common species of wood, adding to its guitar material credentials.

Do mahogany guitars sound better with age?

In electric guitars, mahogany bodies offer a gnarly growl and legendary sustain. Good quality mahogany ages very well and sounds better as it matures – it’s part of the reason those mid-’50s Les Pauls go for so much today!

Why is Sitka spruce so good for guitars?

The most commonly used wood for guitar tops, Sitka generates a broad dynamic range and accommodates numerous playing styles, from aggressive strumming to fingerpicking. As a guitar soundboard, or top, Sitka spruce is the tonewood standard of the modern era. It’s used on 85-90 percent of the guitars that Taylor makes.

Is Engelmann spruce good?

Common Uses: Construction lumber, sheathing, railroad ties, wood pulp, and papermaking; also used occasionally in place of Sitka Spruce on guitars and other musical instrument soundboards. Comments: Engelmann Spruce is slightly lighter and weaker than Sitka Spruce, but still has a good stiffness-to-weight ratio.

Does a guitar sound better with age?

Older guitars often sound better than newer ones as they dry out over time which causes them to become harder leading to a more resonant tone with better sustain. The increase in age affects the tone more in acoustic guitars than electric ones.

What sort of wood is used for making guitars?

What Sort Of Wood Is Used For Making Guitars? Spruce. Spruce and pine wood are popular materials for making guitars for a number of reasons. Basswood. Basswood, also known as Tilia, is most popular in the USA for guitar making as the trees are plentiful. Maple. Maple is a very attractive wood. Cedar. Well-known guitar types such as Flamenco guitars often use cedar in their instruments. Rosewood.

What is the wood spruce used to make?

What kinds of wood is a violin made of? Maple. Maple is a hardwood that has been commonly used for musical instruments and wooden products. Spruce. Spruce is a softwood that is great for making musical soundboards. Ebony. Black and Dense, Ebony is a hardwood with greatly fine texture. Boxwood. Boxwood has many varieties. Willow. Willow is also best for the internal blocks and lining. Rosewood.

Where to buy spruce wood?

On the West Coast and in the western states, you can buy Sitka spruce at lumberyards. Elsewhere, you have to special-order it, even in thin-cut sound-board stock from specialty suppliers. A top-grade soundboard will cost from $35 to $50. But the price of construction grade Sitka spruce approaches that of pine.

What is a spruce top guitar?

Spruce Top Guitars . Usually the term “spruce top” means that the top of the guitar is constructed of laminated plies of wood. Often, only the top layer is spruce, with less costly woods making up the layers underneath.