Blog | Maderas Barber

How We Grade Soundboards at Maderas Barber

Learn how we have graded soundboards at Maderas Barber for more than 60 years. Discover what we look for when selecting a soundboard for classical or acoustic guitars: growth rings, quarter-sawn cut, stiffness, drying process, medullary rays, and the differences between species such as European Spruce, Engelmann, Sitka, Adirondack, and Western Red Cedar. A practical and technical article designed to help you understand how every detail of the wood influences the final behavior of the instrument.

Gluing Guide for Building Your Guitar

Everything you need to know about adhesives in lutherie: types of glue, working times, clamping pressure, and the most common mistakes when gluing.

Wood Figures: Beyond Aesthetics

Flame, quilt, burl and spalt each have a specific origin, their own working characteristics, and a defined place within the instrument. Understanding what each figure is and how it behaves is what allows you to choose it with purpose.

Practical guide to drying and storing tonal wood

Learn how to properly dry and store your lutherie wood. Essential tools, drying methods, common mistakes and a species reference table. Free guide by Maderas Barber.

7 Tips for Buying Wood for Musical Instruments Online

Learn how to pick tonewood for musical instruments online with confidence and a pro mindset. Practical tips on cuts, grades, tonewood, and sustainability for luthiers.

Qué significa que una madera esté bien secada (y por qué importa de verdad)

Brankowood: a sustainable alternative to ebony

Modern luthery faces a new challenge: maintaining excellence without relying on increasingly scarce tropical species. The answer comes from innovation, with a proposal that combines sustainability, stability, and respect for tradition: Brankowood.

Acoustic guitar top sizes: complete guide for luthiers

Learn about the standard sizes of acoustic guitars such as dreadnought, jumbo or parlor, the most used woods and musical references that marked an era in folk, pop and fingerstyle.

Stepping into Toni Mínguez’s workhop: where woodworking turns into pure art

Discover the art of olive wood turning with Toni Mínguez, and explore the finest wood species and current trends featured in the “Turning & Carving” section at Maderas Barber.

Learn how to wind your own P-90 pickup: step-by-step tutorial

Complete tutorial with Ricardo Lira to build a P-90 pickup from scratch: history, winding technique, materials needed and kits available at Maderas Barber.