Spruce

The timber of the Picea genus, the traditional soundboard wood for steel-string and classical guitars.

A soundboard needs stiffness along the grain so it does not fold under string tension, combined with low mass across the grain so it can be set moving, and spruce provides that combination better than almost any alternative. It starts relatively tight and stiff and is generally the wood expected to open up most as an instrument is played. Makers tap and flex each piece before deciding how thin to leave a plate.

Example: a stiff, straight-grained spruce top on a large body gives the clarity and headroom needed for hard flatpicking.

typical use: Acoustic soundboards, and occasionally bracing.

Spruce

See also