Spruce is spruce....
| Official Luthiers Forum! http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/ |
|
| Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=44548 |
Page 1 of 1 |
| Author: | Colin North [ Wed Nov 12, 2014 11:46 am ] |
| Post subject: | Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Anyone used Caucasian Spruce (Picea Orientalis) for a classical soundboard? Impressions? |
|
| Author: | Alan Carruth [ Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Spruce is spruce....
|
|
| Author: | Mike Collins [ Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:41 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
I have never used it-only because I never had a chance too. But I judge my tops by weight/stiffness/cut(Not much to NO runout) And if it's seasoned enough to use. It's experience & gut feeling for me every time I pick a top for a guitar. Mike ![[:Y:]](./images/smilies/smiley20.gif "Thumbs Up")
|
|
| Author: | ernie [ Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:07 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
I have quite a bit of C. spruce. Most of my stock is from the romanian carpathian mts. .It has a wide grain pattern. I/ve noticed that it seems to respond very much like englemann spruce which is soft ,too and has a tighter grain .I get mine CS from john preston |
|
| Author: | Colin S [ Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
ernie wrote: I have quite a bit of C. spruce. Most of my stock is from the romanian carpathian mts. .It has a wide grain pattern. I/ve noticed that it seems to respond very much like englemann spruce which is soft ,too and has a tighter grain .I get mine CS from john preston Ernie the stuff John Preston has is Carpathian Spruce not Caucasian Spruce. Carpathian is just ordinary European Spruce from the Carpathian mountains, P. abies. It is not the same species as Caucasian Spruce which is P.orientalis which is the one Colin is asking about. Colin, yes I have built about a dozen classicals using Caucasian Spruce, I like it very much. In fact it has been used for classical guitars since the 19th century, it is thought that a fair number of the 19th century Spanish instruments were built using it as it commonly came in to Spain from the Levant with shipments of cloth and spices from that area. The Spanish builders just lumped it in with other Spruce and didn't distinguish it from P.abies. In fact I have just sent off three Caucasian topped classical guitars to my dealer in Spain, and one over to the USA. These two are examples of my guitars using it.   Colin |
|
| Author: | mqbernardo [ Wed Nov 12, 2014 6:02 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
that´s a wonderful guitar... Colin (North) i have a set and was going to say i could measure its density and speed of sound, but from Colin (Symmonds) example i take it should be just fine. |
|
| Author: | Colin North [ Thu Nov 13, 2014 4:39 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Colin S, thanks for the info, and the great pics - very interesting to get the historical aspect. I've heard it's used in ouds (unsurprisingly) and lutes. Miguel, thanks. I have a set myself, taps well, density a bit heavy at 0.50 (!) Tight grained (30+/in). Seems stiffer across grain than most spruces I've handled. |
|
| Author: | Joe Sallis [ Thu Nov 13, 2014 4:57 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Colin, are you buying it directly from Turkey or from as dealer in the UK? |
|
| Author: | mqbernardo [ Thu Nov 13, 2014 7:17 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Colin North wrote: Miguel, thanks. I have a set myself, taps well, density a bit heavy at 0.50 (!) Tight grained (30+/in). Seems stiffer across grain than most spruces I've handled. that´s rather heavy  .... just measured mine, FWIW: density .41 and the speed of sound is 5260 m/s
|
|
| Author: | ernie [ Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:00 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Thanks for pointing out my error, yes I have carpathian not caucasian.! .I/ve never used it ,Seems like a good choice.Nice work colin s. |
|
| Author: | Colin North [ Thu Nov 13, 2014 11:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Joe Sallis wrote: Colin, are you buying it directly from Turkey or from as dealer in the UK? Direct from Turkey, Octopus tonewoods. (Prices on website include postage) Yes, seems heavy at 0.50 SG - It's just been in a pile of tops in a corner for ages, I'll be stickering it on the bench and checking the weight over a couple of days to see if it looses moisture. |
|
| Author: | ernie [ Thu Nov 13, 2014 2:20 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Colin is that second CL gtr pecky maple ??. Reason I ask is I have some very similiar wood in colour and pecky figure but it/s a local willow which I was cutting today . Thanks. Ps I noticed marcus on delcamp made the same error.If the caucasian spruce comes from a southern med climate.Guessing that is what some use for their bouzoukis , baglamas etc. I watched a number of videos by turkish makers and was wondering what kind of spruce they used ? they also hollow carve mulberry wood for their backs very interesting .As it (mulberry)grows here . |
|
| Author: | Colin S [ Thu Nov 13, 2014 2:45 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
ernie wrote: Colin is that second CL gtr pecky maple ??. Reason I ask is I have some very similiar wood in colour and pecky figure but it/s a local willow which I was cutting today . Thanks. Ps I noticed marcus on delcamp made the same error.If the caucasian spruce comes from a southern med climate.Guessing that is what some use for their bouzoukis , baglamas etc. I watched a number of videos by turkish makers and was wondering what kind of spruce they used ? they also hollow carve mulberry wood for their backs very interesting .As it (mulberry)grows here . Ernie the guitar is Maple, I suppose you could call it Birdseye maple, though I think it was originally described by Bob Cefalu as Teardrop Maple due to it's unique figure. I bought it from Bob way back in the early days of the OLF for some ridiculously low price. I've never seen maple like it since.  Caucasian spruce as it's name implies does come from the eastern Mediterranean area up into turkey and some of the Eastern republics. I get mine from Turkey, I get about ten sets at a time and the guy, Muzaffa, picks them out according to my specs and puts then aside for me. Colin |
|
| Author: | ernie [ Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Colin that back is gorgeous . I just luv it !, and it seems vy much like the pecky willow I got from my local sawmill. I/ve got muzaffa on my facebook list of friends ,Will have to break down and get some cypress, and C. spruce from him.Thanks for posting the pics , cheers ernie. |
|
| Author: | Joe Sallis [ Fri Nov 14, 2014 3:36 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Caucasian spruce for classical soundboard? |
Colin, I've seen that website before and been interested. I was wondering, is there any reason why you would choose caucasian spruce over any other species of spruce? If you're buying 10 sets at a time you must like the stuff. |
|
| Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC - 5 hours |
| Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |
|