I12) Guitar Luthier Tonewood ADIRONDACK RED SPRUCE TOP SOUNDBOARD Set

Condition: New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable). Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag. See the seller's listing for full details.See all condition definitions- opens in a new window or tab... Read moreabout the condition
;MPN: Does Not Apply
;Brand: Unbranded
;UPC: Does not apply

I12) Guitar Luthier Tonewood ADIRONDACK RED SPRUCE TOP SOUNDBOARD Set

Measurements
This soundboard is long and wide enough for a Dreadnaught guitar or smaller, it is 3.3mm thick

We are happy to combine postage

Payment due within 14 days


Below is some information taken from the Tonewood Data Source that you may want to check out.
*Adirondack (Red) Spruce  N. America  Picea Rubens   H=3.7, M=3.5, B=4.5, S=3.7, O=3.5, T=4.5
Also known as Eastern red or Appalachian spruce, Adirondack defined guitars of the pre-WWII era. Its availability is beginning to increase slightly, as another generation of trees matures, although they’re still considerably smaller than their old growth forebears. Current supplies of Adirondack tend to lack a certain aesthetic purity of look (they tend to be wider-grained and more irregular in color and grain patterns). Tonally, Adirondack is even more dynamic than Sitka spruce, with a higher ceiling for volume. The payoff is the ability to drive an Adirondack top hard and hear it get louder and louder without losing clarity; it’s hard to overplay it.  It has lots of headroom to strum the guitar aggressively without distorting. It also has a high Overtone content. For strumming and flatpicking you can't beat Red Spruce. Another sonic nuance that Bob Taylor loves about Adirondack is “an undeniable sweetness in every note, especially in the mids.” It has strong fundamentals, along with overtones.

Adirondack Spruce was popularized by Martin on many of their “prewar” guitars and remains a revered tonewood by players and collectors alike.  Its use was all but discontinued due to over-harvesting of the resource but has recently been reintroduced, both thanks to 50 years of regeneration and to the legendary status that this traditional tonewood has attained. The small size of most logs and a shortage of wood conforming to market preference for even color and regularity of grain conspire to keep the price of red spruce extremely high.

Exceptionally good Adirondack Spruce soundboards are hard to get and come at high prices. However, they do build very fine instruments. Cosmetically, Adirondack soundboards tend to have wider grain spacing than Sitka or Englemann, and their color occasionally has striping that goes from creamy to light tan.

Creamy white in color, it is called both Appalachian and Adirondack spruce. Similar to Sitka, it responds well to either a light or firm touch, but has higher resonance. Interesting grain color variations make this another visually desirable top.

Red spruce is relatively heavy, has a high velocity of sound, and has the highest stiffness across and along the grain of all the top woods. Like Sitka, it has strong fundamentals, but it also exhibits a more complex overtone content. Tops made out of red spruce have the highest volume ceiling of any species, yet they also have a rich fullness of tone that retains clarity at all dynamic levels. In short, red spruce may very well be the Holy Grail of top woods for the steel-string guitar. If players and builders were able to overcome phobias about unevenness of color, grain irregularity, minor knots, and four-piece tops, many more great-sounding guitars could be produced while the supply of potentially usable red spruce is still available.






Bearclaw      Bearclaw, like the curl in curly maple, is a rippling of the longitudinal fibers, which divides the surface of the wood into shimmering patterns, often seen in more expensive Sitka Spruce.

Bee's Wing   A small-scale, very tight, mottle figure is sometimes referred to as "bee's wing" figure due to the similarity with what the wing of a bee looks like. East Indian Satinwood is extremely well known for having this figure, and it also occurs occasionally in Narra, Mahogany and Eucalyptus. So when is a figure "block mottle" and when is it "bee's wing" ... well, pretty much whenever a particular dealer decides that's what they want to call it.

Bird's Eye   A few woods, most notably Maple but also Anigre and a few others, can exist with large numbers of small round "defects" that do indeed resemble the eyes of birds. The density of the eyes ranges from sparse to dense; this is not a good figure to buy sight unseen. A good, truly dense, bird's eye maple board can make a spectacular addition to a project.

Chatoyance     Showing a band of bright reflected light, iridescence.

Compression    An area where the annular lines change from evenly spaced to significantly farther apart. Compression may occur as a result of a series of warmer than normal winters where the tree has a longer growing season.  
   
Curly   Contortions in grain direction sometimes reflect light differently as one moves down the grain and this creates an appearance of undulating waves known as curly grain. It is frequently described as looking like a wheat field in a mild wind, and can be so strong an effect that your eyes will swear that a flat piece of wood has a wavy surface. Many species develop this figure, Maple being a very common example. . An extreme form of curly figure is called "fiddleback". The amount of curl in a wood sold as "curly" can range from almost none to truely spectacular.

Fiddleback   Curly figure in wood (and fiddleback is just a variation of curly) is caused by contortions in grain direction such that light is reflected differently at different portions of the grain, creating an appearance of undulating waves, also called a "washboard" effect because it looks like an old corrugated-steel washboard. "Fiddleback" figure is a form of curly figure where the curls are very tight and fairly uniform, generally running perpendicular to the grain and across the entire width of a board. The name comes from the fact that such wood became popular to use on the backs of violins (fiddles), and nowadays guitars, because the figure is frequently very lively and attractive and such wood generally has good resonance properties. Logs for fiddleback veneers are quartersawn to produce very straight grain with curls running perpendicular to the grain and uninterrupted from edge to edge of the sheet. Many species develop this figure, but the most common ones are Maple, Makore, Anigre, and "English Sycamore" (which is actually a form of maple). Some of the prettiest versions occur in Claro Walnut, Myrtle, and Moa.

Figure     The pattern produced in a wood surface by annual growth rings, rays, knots, and deviations from regular grain. Fiddleback, Curly, Bee's Wing, Bird's Eye are all examples.

Grain       Grain is often used in reference to annual growth rings, as in "fine" or "coarse" grain; it is also used to indicate the direction of fibers, as in straight, spiral and curly grain. The direction of the grain, as well as the amount of figuring in the wood, can affect the way it is sanded and sawed. Grain is also described as either being "open" or "closed", referring to the relative size of the pores, that affects the way a wood accepts stain and finish.

Heartwood    Heartwood is the older, harder central portion of a tree. It usually contains deposits of various materials that frequently give it a darker color than sapwood. It is denser, less permeable and more durable than the surrounding sapwood.

Medullary Rays    Medullary rays extend radially from the core of the tree toward the bark. They vary in height from a few cells in some species, to four or more inches in the oaks; they’re responsible for the flake effect common to the quartersawn lumber in certain species.

Plainsawing     Plainsawing is the most common and least expensive method of sawing; most wood flooring is cut this way. Plainsawn lumber is obtained by making the first saw cut on a tangent to the circumference of the log and remaining cuts parallel to the first. This method is the most economical, because it provides the widest boards and results in the least waste.  (Since most of the lumber produced by plainsawing is flat- grained, with some vertical-grained wood included, plainsawn lumber will tend to contain more variation within and among boards than quartersawn lumber, in which nearly all of the wood is vertical-grained. Also, since flat-grained wood is less dimensionally stable than vertical-grained, plainsawn lumber will tend to expand and contract more across the width of the boards than quartersawn lumber.)
   Other physical differences to consider when choosing plainsawn lumber rather than quarter-sawn:
• Figure patterns resulting from the annual rings and some other types of figures are usually brought out more conspicuously by plainsawing.
• Shakes and pitch pockets, when present, extend through fewer boards.

Pomelle   Pomelle is a type of wood figure that resembles a puddle surface during a light rain: a dense pattern of small rings enveloping one another. Some say this has a "suede" or "furry" look. It's usually found in extremely large trees of African species like sapele, bubinga and makore. Some domestic species with a sparser, larger figure are referred to as "blistered". The term is not used totally reliably and you may encounter some confusion among the terms "blistered", "pomelle", and "quilted" from different vendors

Quartersawn     A method of cutting sections of wood perpendicular to the growth rings of a piece of lumber. Another term for quarter sawn is quartered.  Quarter-sawn wood may exhibit greater figure and has less pores to absorb moisture, which makes it more dimensionally stable. It also is a less efficient use of wood, more wastage. Much quarter-sawn wood is obtained by culling the vertical-grained wood that naturally results from plainsawing. For reasons other than cost, most people prefer quartersawn wood, although some people favor the greater variety in figuring produced in plainsawing. Other physical factors to keep in mind when choosing quartersawn lumber over plainsawn:
• It twists and cups less.
• It surface-checks and splits less during seasoning and in use.
• Raised grain produced by separation in the annual growth rings does not appear as pronounced.
• It wears more evenly.
• Figuring due to pronounced rays, interlocked and wavy grain are brought out more conspicuously.
• Sapwood appears only at the edges, and is limited to the width of the sapwood in the log.                           

Quilted   Quilted figure somewhat resembles a larger and exaggerated version of pommele or blister figure but has bulges that are elongated and closely crowded. Quilted grain looks three-dimensional when seen at its billowy best. Most commonly found in maple, it also occurs in mahogany, moabi, myrtle, and sapele, and less often in other species.

Riftsawn    Riftsawing is similar to quartersawing, with many of the same advantages and limitations. It accentuates the vertical grain and minimizes the flake effect common in quartersawn oak. The angle of the cut is changed slightly so that fewer saw cuts are parallel to the medullary rays, which are responsible for the flake effect.   Riftsawing creates more waste than quartersawing, making it generally more expensive.

Runout    Wood that is split with a wedge divides along the weakest part of the wood. When wood is cut by a blade, the wood fibers are torn along the path of the blade. Runout usually occurs in wood cut by a saw blade.  Wood that is split with a wedge will be stronger than that cut by a saw blade and is preferable for tonewood.  The reason is that in split wood, the wood fibers run all the way through the piece. In wood cut by a saw blade, the wood fibers are cut short by the blade and do not run all the way through the piece of wood.  Runout can be detected when planing a piece of wood. Planing against the grain will pull the blade into the wood causing gouges. Visual inspection of the edge of a piece can also show runout where the grain of the wood is not parallel to the edge.                   

Sapwood   Sapwood is the softer, younger outer portion of a tree that lies between the cambium (formative layer just under the bark) and the heartwood. It is more permeable, less durable, and usually lighter in color than the heartwood.

Spalted    Wood which has, as a result of fungal decay, blackish irregular lines which produce a decorative design. The wood may or may not be functionaliy affected by this.

Tap Tone    The sound ones gets when tapping on a board, a quick and easy measurement related to the wood’s inherent musicality.

Tonewood   Wood with the qualities and attributes required for use in musical instruments.   

Velocity of Sound    The speed at which  a material transmits energy. The higher the velocity of sound, the more lively the instrument.   




Selecting Wood for Musical Instruments   
                                                       
1) Tonewood Attributes                                       
    * Free of structural defects                                           
    * Very strong and stable; glues, bends, & finishes satisfactorally                                                   
    * Lightweight (if possible)                                                  
    * Carries sound well and in a pleasing manner.                                                                                                           
2) Selection Guidelines                               
    * No knots, worm holes, fungus, rot, cracks, or pitch pockets                           
    * Quarter sawn, straight grain, minimal runout                                   
    * Stiff, both along and across the grain                                   
    * Properly dried or seasoned                                           
    * Has a ringing sound (tone) when tapped
                                                           
3) Evaluation Methods                                               
    * Visual Inspection                                               
    * Physical measurements                                               
    * Sound response   
                                                       
Evaluating Tonewoods                                               
No one evaluation method is sufficient to choose the best tonewood specimen, especially not a scientific one.    Of the three categories of tonewood selection techniques, two depend on experience and personal preferences.    Measurement methods will help to narrow the selection to those pieces which meet the physical structural requirements for a musical instrument.  The following methods are important for all the woods which make an instrument, however the most important part is the top. Let's talk about #3.                                                          
Visual Inspection                                                   
The common grading scale for tonewoods is A, AA, AAA, and AAAA or master grade.   This grading scale is used by most retail sellers of tonewoods and is very subjective. There is no industry standard for these grades. Although many of the visual attributes of a piece of tonewood are indicators of structural strength and good tap tone.                                                                           
Grade A is clear of knots, swirls, and holes and has fairly straight grain. It may have uneven color, streaks, and wide apart/uneven grain lines, also called compression. It will probably not be perfectly quarter sawn...                                                                                    
Grade AA is somewhere between A and AAA grade.  That's real specific, isn't it?
Grade AAA has even overall color, even and close grain lines, perfectly quarter sawn along the whole width of the board, with minimal runout. Grain lines will probably be closer than 12 lines per inch. Cross-grain figure, also called silking or bearclaw will be present.                                                                                                
Grade AAAA or Master Grade has no color variation and very pronounced cross-grain figuring in addition to being perfectly quartered with minimal runout and close and even grain lines.                                                           
Physical Measurements                                               
Stiffness, both along the grain and across the grain, is the main indicator that a builder uses to determine the dimensions of the soundboard and other parts of a musical instrument. Traditionally, this has been an art taught by master to apprentice. A luthier had to learn the "feel" of the wood and plane and scrape the wood to the correct thickness and to make the bracing to the correct size for the finished instrument. There are now more precise ways than "feel" to measure the strength of tonewood. Precise measurement of tonewood strength can be helpful in deciding the correct thickness and the correct amount of bracing - but not without the knowledge of experienced instrument makers.  A general range of thickness of guitar tops is between 0.130" - 0.095". The stiffer a board, the thinner it can be and still be structurally adequate. The same thing applies to bracing. The stiffer the brace wood, the smaller the braces can be and still provide the needed structural support. A general range of brace size is not more than 5/16" wide and not more than 3/4" tall. The thinner soundboard and smaller bracing allows less mass. Less mass in a soundboard translates to a more responsive and louder instrument. It also increases the risk of damage or self-destruction. 
                                                                                   
Note:    Measurement can be defined as quantifying something using a standard. Whatever standard is used, it needs to be used consistently throughout the process.
                                                   
The stiffness of a wood beam is measured by how far the beam deflects when a certain amount of pressure is applied to it, or how much pressure must be applied to make the beam deflect a certain distance. A formula has been derived that measures the stiffness.                                                   
E = P*l^3/4w*t^3*d                                                  
P = the amount of pressure applied                                          
l = the length between supports                                          
w = the width of the wood sample                                         
t = the thickness of the wood sample                                          
d = the distance the sample deflected when pressure was applied   

            MOE (Modulus of Elasticity) Values of some Tonewoods Species                                                    
                                 MOE(x10^6 in/lb^2)  Weight(lb/ft^3)   Top thickness?                                               
            Redwood                   1.34                        28                    
            Western Red Cedar    1.11                        23                    .130"           
            Yellow Cedar             1.42                        31                                
            Englemann Spruce     1.3                          23                                
            White Spruce             1.43                        28                                
            Red Spruce                1.61                        28                    110"                       
            Sitka Spruce              1.57                        28                               
            Indian Rosewood       1.78                         53                                
            African Mahogany      1.31                         32                                
            Ebony                        1.43                        45                                
            Honduras Mahogany   1.42                         30                                
            Brazilean rosewood    1.88                        47                                
            Bigleaf Maple             1.45                        34                                
            Black Walnut              1.68                        38                                                    
NOTES:   Top Thickness" is a possible safe minimum value.  Both red and white spruce are sometimes called Adirondack, but note the difference in MOE.        
                                                                  
Sound Response
    This evaluation method is the most subjective and variable. Some luthiers will tune a top to some note like F sharp, others will just listen for a musical sound on the top after it had been joined. Still others will sprinkle glitter or sawdust onto a braced top and vibrate it with a transducer or speaker, see the patterns this makes, and then make adjustments. There is some value to sound response evaluation as a possible last step validation of the other two methods, or as a way to select tonewood for a certain final sound. There are other things that affect tonality in a finished instrument more than tap tone: things like the volume of the body, the size and shape of the sound hole(s), the scale length, location of the bridge,and the size and composition of the strings to name a few. Even the species of wood selected for a top probably has more of an effect on the final sound of an instrument than tap tone. In the end, tap tone methods are at least as variable as musical styles or individual personalities.  Regardless, they are fun.         




Considerations for the Build
Style                                  Dreadnaught, Jumbo, Concert, OM, OOO, Parlour.....
Cutaway                             none, Venetian, Florentine.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Top Wood                          type of spruce, cedar or redwood....
Top wood finish                  glossy nitro, lacquer, poly, varnish, French polish...
binding at top edges           wood, black, white... 
rosette                               inlaid with wood, herringbone, spalted wood,; abalone or pearl...
pickguard                           clear, black, tortoise shell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Body Wood                        that's why you are looking here  -  any upcharge?
Body wood figure               see pictures from luthier
Body wood finish               glossy nitro, lacquer, poly, varnish, French polish
back  center stripe            none, contrasting wood, same as bindings....
body binding                      wood, black, white
purfling                             ditto
strap buttons                     yes, no
lining & side braces            up to the luthier?   
back braces                       up to the luthier?
brace under bridge            up to the luthier?
brace pattern, style           up to the luthier?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Neck Wood                         mahogany, or ?  Single piece,  multi-piece neck. Type of finish. Any upcharge?
Neck structure                    D, V, assymetrical...
Neck finish                         ultra smooth, glossy,
Headstock                          vintage style, slotted, luthier's design...
Headstock overlay              same as back and sides...black, other wood....  
inlay on head                      custom, luthier logo
back overlay on headstock   often absent 
trussrod cover                     hidden, accessed through headstock
headstock binding               abalone, black/white, body binding, none
tuners                                 Schaller, Gotoh, Grover.....
volute                                 sometimes absent
heel bottom cover               binding wood, body wood, none...
heel shape                           jazz style, flat, sharp,/ curved....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
scale                                    many available
nut width                             many available
Nut and saddle                      ivory, fossiliized bone, man-made....
bridge                                   ditto
fretboard                              ebony, rosewood......
fretboard binding                  sometimes absent, black, same wood as body bindiing....   
fingerboard radiused?            yes (usually)
fret type                               profile, metal chosen
inlay on fretboard                 none, dots, diamonds, clouds, custom, fancy
neck width   
# frets clear of body             12-14
action                                   depends upon your playing style, usually low as low as feasible
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Case                                      soft, Canadian, custom....  Included with the sale or extra?
Electronics                            none, pickup kind, location of controls
Warranty                               for whose life?
Price                                     total, installments made when?
Delivery                                included with the sale?  Date?
Special Requests                    double top, 12 string, baritone, fan frets, sound port, Manzer wedge....




Janka Hardness Scale
     The Janka hardness test is a measurement of the force necessary to embed a .444-inch steel ball to half its diameter into a vertically sawn piece of  wood. It is an industry standard for gauging the ability of various species to tolerate denting and normal wear, as well as being a good indication of the effort required to either nail or saw the particular wood. The higher the number, the harder the wood. Woods used as tone woods are in bold. There are a couple of woods for which I found more  than one figure.

Wood Variety         Sorted by Hardness
Lignum Vitae                     4390
Ipe (Lapacho)                    3680
African Blackwood            3500
Macassar Ebony                 3220
Brazilian Rosewood          3000
Bloodwood                        2900
Osage-Orange                    2500
Jatoba                               2350   
Screwbean Mesquite         2335
Persimmon                        2300
Santos Mahogany               2200
Dogwood                            2150
Ohia                                   2090
Purple Heart                     2090
Bubinga                             1980 (2000+?)
Jarrah                               1910, 2082
Hop Hornbeam                   1860
Purpleheart                      1860
Pecan                                1820
Shagbark Hickory               1820
Hornbeam                         1780
Morado                             1780
Ziracote                           1750
Apple                                1730
Paduak                             1725
Rengas                             1720
Almond                             1700
Black Locust &a Reviews (0)