Tonewood

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. Generally tonewood is used in the context of woods used in stringed instruments.

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. Sitka (or Alaskan) spruce, Adirondack (or Red) spruce, Engelmann spruce and Picea abies (variously known as Norwegian, German, Alpine or European spruce) are particularly valued.

• Cedars, particularly Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata, not a true cedar), have since the 1950s been used in the tops of classical guitars and to a less degree in acoustic guitars. Like the spruces, cedar has a high stiffness-to-weight ratio.

• Other softwoods, such as redwood, pine, and fir, have been used less frequently.

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. Mahogany may be used for the solid bodies of electric guitars, such as the Gibson Les Paul.

• Rosewoods are often used in the back and/or sides of guitars and mandolins. The most sought-after variety, Brazilian Rosewood, Dalbergia nigra, has become scarce and expensive due to over-exploitation.

• Maple is traditionally used for the backs and sides of the violin family, as well as archtop guitars and also bassoons and sometimes for other woodwind instruments. Many drums are made from maple, as are the necks of electric guitars.

• Koa is often used for most parts of ukuleles.

• Ebony is often used for fretboards, fingerboards, tailpieces, and so forth, but rarely as a true tonewood.

• Basswood (also known as lime or linden) is often used in solid body guitars and woodwind instruments. Visually bland, it tends to be combined with veneers or heavy finishes.

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.)

Sources

Most tonewoods are obtained from sustainable sources through specialist dealers. Musical instrument makers, however, often prefer the best grades of timber. Although spruce, for example, is a very common wood, they can find themselves paying significant sums for large pieces with even grain that represent a very small proportion of total production. Some tonewoods are particularly difficult to obtain on the open market, in which case small-scale instrument makers might turn to reclamation, for instance from furniture, or from accidentally felled trees in conservation areas where logging is not generally permitted. Mass market instrument manufacturers have started using Asian and African woods as inexpensive alternatives to traditional tonewoods.

Preparation

The use of wood in musical instruments varies greatly among the different types of instruments. In many cases, the wood is preferred to be quartersawn because of the added stiffness of that orientation. In some specialized cases, vertical grain orientation is preferred to quartersawn. In many applications, the "runout" of the grain is important, especially if the wood is to be bent. Some soft woods, like spruce, may be split rather than sawn into boards so that the board surface follows the grain as much as possible, thus limiting the runout.

For most applications, wood needs to be dried before use, either in air or kilns. Some luthiers prefer further seasoning for several years. Reclaimed wood can have centuries of seasoning already.

External links

• Tonewood preparation and grading
• Guitarbench's database of tonewood species
• Rivolta's list of tonewood species
• Violin tonewood page at Eastman Strings
• Woods used in Gaskell guitars (2010)
• Alan Arnold Tonewood guide
• The Heretics Guide to Tonewoods