The soundboard manufacturer who searches out, evaluates and selects tonewood quality logs from the largest possible potential log supply will produce both the highest quality soundboards available and will be able to offer consistent quality at every grade and price level. The success of Timbre Tonewood is in part due to the company’s ability to maintain a high level of consistent quality. A company can achieve this record only if it produces large volumes of soundboards from the best selection of tonewood logs possible. Timbre Tonewood log buyers have developed long standing tonewood purchasing relationships with large and small log suppliers in virtually every tonewood producing region in Western Canada. This enables the company to offer the highest level of assurance that supply of soundboards will be available when required and quality will be consistent.

The sawing centers used by Timbre Tonewood to manufacture soundboards have been custom built so that each billet can easily be aligned in the sawing process to yield “quarter grain” or “vertical grain” boards. (see mill tour) Cutting soundboards “on the quarter” is essential to capture the “radial” structure of the wood. This radial structure radiates out from the center of the tree like the spokes of a wheel. A true soundboard is cut so spokes or medulary rays of the wood pass through the board from one edge to the other parallel to the surface. "All top plates that we sell on this website are dead on quarter @ (90°) and very stiff, no matter what grade has been designated". Billets being cut into soundboards must be constantly repositioned so the saw runs parallel to the "spokes". A soundboard that has been cut on the quarter so as to capture the radial structure, will exhibit a glimmering effect on the surface. This effect is referred to as "silking" or "medulary rays". A board that is cut on quarter is stiff across the board. This quality is highly valued by luthiers.

Sitka Spruce, Picea Sitchensis

The vast majority of guitars produced in North America are constructed with Sitka Spruce soundboards. Sitka Spruce has become the preferred species due to its stiffness. Sitka exhibits the highest strength to density ratio of any commercial species. This characteristic captured in soundboards yields superb tonal quality sought after by large and small builders.

The Sitka Spruce tree itself is one of the largest species in Canada. Tonewood logs sourced by Timbre Tonewood often exceed two meters in diameter. The large size of the Sitka means that more soundboards will exhibit true or near true edge grain quality. The inherent stiffness of the Sitka makes it an ideal choice for a western steel string guitar that requires a stiff, tough soundboard yet is a responsive size. Sitka Spruce can be sourced with virtually any grain spacing from 40 grains per inch to 8 grains per inch.

The color of Sitka ranges from white to creamy to very light brown. Virtually all Sitka Spruce has a 2-3 inch layer of pinkish wood immediately inside the sapwood. This feature accounts for the common pink shaded wood in the center of many guitars. Pink bands of color are also common in Sitka. Soundboards with color are restricted to the lower grades. (refer to detailed description of grades) It should be noted that some regions of Western Canada produce a very white Sitka Spruce in which discoloring is rare. Timbre Tonewood has targeted this whiter Sitka Spruce in response to customers desiring a brighter, purer white soundboard similar to Engelmann Spruce and European Spruce.

This Sitka Spruce has been introduced to European Luthiers building high quality guitars. These Luthiers have traditionally used European Spruce. The response from these builders has been remarkable. Several well known Luthiers have reported attaining very high tonal quality with Sitka Spruce soundboards and are continuing to use Sitka Spruce for their hard built classical guitars.

Engelmann Spruce, Picea engelmannii

The popularity of Engelmann Spruce has surged in the last eight years to the point where it has begun to rival Sitka Spruce. The popularity of Engelmann Spruce, to great extent, is due to the efforts of Timbre Tonewoods log buyers to establish a log buying network throughout Western Canada’s Engelmann producing region.

In the early days of the company many guitar soundboard customers found it very difficult to source quality Engelmann Spruce on a consistent basis. It was considered fairly exotic and rare to find a good soundboard. Today buying networks have been established to capture the size and quality of the logs suitable for tonewood. It still is not easy. The average Engelmann Spruce log is too small for a guitar top. We literally choose one tonewood log in 10,000 Engelmann logs. Currently approximately 40% of the company’s spruce tonewood production is Engelmann Spruce. Engelmann Spruce is graded by the same rules as Sitka Spruce. Sitka and Engelmann Spruce are priced the same for each corresponding grade.

As a tonewood, Engelmann Spruce is generally slightly softer and less dense than Sitka. The stiffness and density of Engelmann varies from region to region. Our tonewood log buyers know well the specific areas, which produce dense, stiff tight grain tonewood logs. The highest quality Engelmann logs grow on the mid Alpine Slopes in areas called “wet belts”. Engelmann, as a species, grows only in the interior region of Western Canada on the Eastern side of the coastal mountain range. Sitka is strictly a coastal species.

The largest interest in Engelmann Spruce was originally shown by Asian guitar manufacturers. The Asian appreciation for white tight even grain wood quickly caught on to the value of Engelmann Spruce. Today Asia is by far the largest consumer of Engelmann Spruce soundboards. Ironically, North American builders have not been drawn into using Engelmann in quantities preferring Sitka where their Asian competitors tend to prefer Engelmann.

As a tonewood, Engelmann has gained a reputation as a balanced tonewood, perhaps not as strident as Sitka. It has gained wide acceptance in Europe as a superb classical soundboard, replacing European Spruce.

In appearance Engelmann Spruce is similar to German Spruce. It tends to be a purer white than Sitka and tends to have more even grain spacing than German Spruce. Well quartered, fine grained Engelmann Spruce can exhibit a truly remarkable luster if the medulary rays are revealed in a high quality soundboard. Pink color is common in low grade Engelmann.

Western Red Cedar, Thuja Plicata

As a tonewood, Western Red Cedar was “discovered” relatively recently. Over the last 30 years Red Cedar has gained tremendous popularity. Initially it was taken up by Spanish builders building classical guitars. In recent years small builders and major builders alike have expanded production of Western steel string guitars using Red Cedar soundboards. Well quartered Red Cedar offers exceptional tonal quality. Although the wood is less dense and softer than Sitka or Engelmann Spruce it produces a crisp balance of sound.

It is quite common to find fine even grain Western Red Cedar. The difficulty with Red Cedar is finding billets with uniform color. Red Cedar as lumber is valued for the beautiful hues of color it exhibits. Consistency of color is rare. Commonly about 3% of prime large old growth logs meet the color requirement, and then only sections of these logs yield tonewood. Timbre Tonewood has specialized in the selection of Red Cedar tonewood for over 17 years. Currently about 50% of our soundboard production (including split billets) is Western Red Cedar.