You can't go wrong with an Adirondack spruce top.
Adirondack Spruce or Red Spruce (Picea Rubens) is a wood that grows near the northern Atlantic coast of America. From Nova Scotia to North Carolina, it gets its name from the mountain range where it commonly grows. They are majestic trees, some of them centuries old.
The adirondack spruce has achieved mythical status among makers as the wood used in most "pre-war" instruments. These guitars, especially those of the Martin and Gibson brands, have defined the ideal guitar sound for decades to come. This combination of sonic qualities and association with legendary instruments is what makes Adirondack spruce one of the most sought-after woods for acoustic tops. Think of the instruments of people like Neil Young, David Crosby, Tony Rice... Adirondack is present in all of them.
Torrefaction is a thermochemical process that reduces the moisture content of wood, in addition to eliminating other impurities. This process can reduce the mass of wood by 20-30%, resulting in a denser product.
Applied to instrument tops, it produces stiffer but also lighter pieces. On top of that, it gives the wood a spectacular golden hue, more reminiscent of vintage instruments. Everything is an advantage with roasting.
Adirondack spruce is somewhat different from other spruces in that its growth rings are more widely spaced and more pronounced than in other spruce species. Therefore, it is normal to find tops with more widely spaced rings than in similar categories of other spruces. In spite of this, the classification is based on the same criteria and takes into account factors such as the hardness of the top, the presence or absence of defects such as knots, resin deposits, etc.
Therefore, in AA grade tops, we will find tops with spaced growth rings. Small defects (knots, color changes, resin) will be outside the contour of the finished top. The grain direction may show some deviation. Cut at 90º or with little variation and uniform color.
Finally, don't forget that in addition to Adirondack spruce at Maderas Barber you can find a wide selection of other woods for the top of your instrument.
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