Tonewood Information
Tonewood generally refers to any wood which may be used in the construction of a musical instrument. Many acoustic properties are often assigned to specific wood species; however the description of these properties is itself a large subject and beyond the scope of this article. The is frequently used in the context of stringed instruments.
Contents |
Commonly Used Tonewoods
While it is true that any wood may be used by a luthier to build an instrument there are many woods which are used in many different instrument families.
Softwoods
- Spruces are often used in the tops of instruments from the violin, mandolin, and guitar families, as well as other types of instruments. Spruce is particularly suited for this use because of its high stiffness to weight ratio.
- Cedars are traditionally used in the tops and necks of classical guitars and to a lesser degree acoustic guitars in general. Like the spruces, cedar has a high stiffness to weight ratio.
Hardwoods
- Mahogany may be used in the tops of some guitars as well as the back, sides, and necks of instruments of the mandolin and guitar families.
- Rosewoods are often used in the back and/or sides of guitars and mandolins.
- Maple is traditionally used for the backs and sides of the violin family as well as archtop guitars.
- Koa is often used for most parts of ukuleles.
Selection of Tonewoods
In addition to perceived differences in acoustic properties a luthier may select wood to be used as a tonewood because of:
- Availability.
- Stability.
- Cosmetic properties such as the color or grain of the wood.
- Tradition.
- Size. Some instruments require large pieces of suitable wood.
References
External links
- Tonewood preparation and grading
- Guitarbench's database of tonewood species
- Rivolta's list of tonewood species
- Violin tonewood page at Eastman Strings
- Macassar ebony conservation status
- Woods used in Gaskell guitars (2010)
- http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y7204E/y7204e05.htm
- http://www.cites.org/eng/news/press/2003/031111_mahogany.shtml
- http://www.cites.org/eng/news/press/2010/20100314_timber.shtml
- http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/dfsc/pdf/Seedleaflets/Swietenia%20mahagoni_int.pdf
Categories: Lutes | Guitars | Wood
|