Thanks a lot. That really is a fascinating overview of all the
possibilities. There is so much to know about these things.
Regards
Monica
----- Original Message -----
From: [1]Azalais
To: [2]Monica Hall
Sent: Saturday, May 25, 2013 7:50 PM
Subject: Re: [VIHUELA] Baroque guitar soundboards
What luthiers have always looked for in tonewood is fine, stable grain
pattern and especially prized "bearclaw" cross graining
(hazelficte) (to resist splitting when shaved thin), high strength to
weight ratio, (making it strong and flexible when thin) and dimensional
stability under varying humidity conditions, and resistance to insects
and decay. If the wood meets these criteria and has especially good
resonance when tapped or struck, it is usually set aside for curing as
"tonewood".
Spruce was and still is probably the most common tonewood:
([3]Picea abies (variously known as Norwegian, German, Alpine,
Italian or European spruce)
The "cypress" currently used for Flamenco guitar soundboards is the
variety: (cupressus macrocarpa), so it may well have been used for
those dreaded street strummers' instruments??
There is also variety of wood from the Pacific NW that is referred to
as "cypress" that was highly valued by ship builders AND instrument
makers (legend has it that they fought over the best trees) The
Spanish were there as early as 1543, and if they needed to make
repairs, it's not beyond possibility that the ships' carpenters might
have discovered excellent local lumber.
[4]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_nootkatensis It is/was
(mistakenly) referred to as "cypress", (it is now classed as
a Chamaecyparis), but is not to be confused with the types of cypress
found in Europe (cupressus macrocarpa). The climate of the Pacific
Northwest is cool and damp which makes for excellent lumber.
To satisfy my own curiosity, I built an experimental baroque guitar
with a sample from a Nootka tree that was struck by lightening 150
years ago and left standing till it was harvested in the 1990s. Though
it smelled like potatoes while working with it, it was a joy to work
with. It bends beautifully, can be thinned down to very delicate
thicknesses, and has a very clean, clear tone. I've never seen
references to it used for 17th instruments, but I'm sure some homesick
sailor may have tried!
Thulja plicata (western red cedar, but not really a cedar) may also
have been tried, (it is used often for classical guitars) but being
less dense than spruce, it tends to fatigue and decompose relatively
quickly, so there are fewer really old (two hundred year +) examples of
instruments made with it. Some of the Cadiz school luthiers may have
tried it?? (They tried tropical woods like mahogany too if I remember
correctly).
I'm an architect by training, an a dilettante luthier, but wood has
always fascinated me! (I've restored my share of wooden sailboats and
early plucked instruments too.)
If you ever need trivia about early period materials and methods, let
me know!
Azalais
On Sat, May 25, 2013 at 12:09 PM, Monica Hall
<[5]mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> wrote:
This may be a silly question but what type of wood is usually
used for
the soundboards of original 17th century baroque guitars?
I am just looking through the RCM catalogue and it just says
"front
fine-grained" of "fine to medium grained".
Are soundboards ever made of cypress wood?
As ever
Monica
--
To get on or off this list see list information at
[6]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--
References
1. mailto:azal...@gmail.com
2. mailto:mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picea_abies
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_nootkatensis
5. mailto:mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk
6. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
