Following on from the recent thread on different species used for soundboard wood, I was wondering whether any makers in the British Isles (i.e. UK and Irish Republic) have any experience of using home-grown softwoods for soundboards. Although there is spruce (Norway, Sitka and others), fir and pine grown for timber in the British Isles, it seems to be received wisdom that lutherie-grade softwood (with the exception of Yew, which is only technically a softwood) simply doesn't grow here, owing to high rainfall, mild winters and the resulting fast growth rate.
Does anyone have experience to the contrary?
I've recently been offered some local (Welsh) douglas fir. It hasn't actually been felled yet, but it will be interesting to see what sort of timber it yields. For those that don't know, Wales is known for being one of the wetter parts of the UK.
Bookmarks