Soundboard

The top plate of an acoustic instrument, which the strings drive through the bridge and which converts that energy into the movement of air that we hear as sound.

Its wood, thickness and bracing decide almost everything about an acoustic guitar's voice: how strong the bass is, how quickly the instrument responds and how loudly it projects. Spruce and cedar are the traditional materials, chosen because they combine stiffness along the grain with low mass across it, which is exactly the combination a driven plate needs. The plate is thinner at the edges and braced underneath, so it can move as a whole without collapsing.

Example: a large, lightly braced spruce soundboard gives the loud, projecting tone a flatpicker needs to be heard over a band.

Soundboard

See also