Soundboards
Color: Consistent and even color is desirable in our higher grades. As we move down the grading scale there may be color streaks along one edge of the top and maybe even some alternating bands of color with can produce an interesting and attractive visual affect.
Size: We have two standard sizes, one for (C) classical guitars and one for (w) Western or steel-strings.
CLASSIC:
21" x 7 3/4" x 3/16" / 53.3cm x 19.7cm x 4.7mm
WESTERN:
22" x 8 1/2" x 3/16" / 55.9cm x 21.6cm x 4.7mm
The above sizes are minimum specifications for each half of a two piece book matched set. We only sell book matched sets, and all prices include both halves. If you need a larger dimension, please inquire. All prices are for both pieces of a book matched set.
With old-growth forests disappearing the, wood of the highest quality is getting harder to find. Despite this we take care to obtain the best materials available. This is especially true of our top woods. We offer German, Sitka, Engelmann, and Adirondack spruces and Western Red cedar and redwood.
There are a myriad of factors that determine the final tone of an instrument but the top is where most of a luthier’s effort is focused. Many people point to Torres’ experiment of building a guitar with a paper mach back and sides to show how important the soundboard is in tone production. We have hundreds (if not thousands) of soundboards of varying grades in our warehouses with most of our stock being in the AA and AAA range.
A word on grading: With only one in a hundred (or more) tops receiving a Master grade, they are very rarely in stock. We consider our AAA grade stock as our best and we always have good stocks. AAA’s are chosen for stiffness across the top, straight grain, quarter sawn, even color and good annular ring spacing. Some of the factors moving a top into AA are slightly wider ring spacing, mild color variation, or lack of silk or medullary rays. These AA tops are great tops and are easily the best bargain in each of our top species. In A grade there may be a bit of run out, lack of stiffness across the grain, or some visible cosmetic flaw.
A few quick definitions to help us describe the qualities found in our soundboards:
Grain: Some people refer to the annular rings as the Grain. Straight grain in this case refers to the lines of the annular rings being straight and parallel to each other. Fine grain is when the annual rings are close together or are seen as fine lines. Course grain is farther apart or the lines are wider and more visible.
Figure: You will hear words like curly, quilted, bear claw, and fiddle back and these are kinds of Figure. Figure is genetic, is only found in a small percentage of trees, and is highly prized by furniture makers and luthiers alike. Of these, only bear claw is found in softwoods. Hard to describe verbally, bear claw looks a bit like it sounds, like a bear used the tree to sharpen its claws and left small waves in the grain which may or may not be symmetrical on both sides of the top.
Stiffness: The soundboard serves two purposes on a guitar, one as a stable anchor for the strings, and the other as the vibrating unit with which to move air i.e. produce sound. It is this dual purpose that makes stiffness such an important quality. Too much stiffness and it will dampen the tone – too little and the top will distort. Stiffness or lack thereof is something we do grade for and is one of the first things that will get a top downgraded along with major cosmetic flaws. We feel that the stiffer the top, the better (as it comes to you from us), so the top can be made thinner to reduce weight (another tone killer).
