Tonal Qualities of Diff Spruce

[Em Tee]

What are the tonal qualities of the different types of spruces? (Italian, Sitka, Adirondack, Engelmann, etc. Is there an asian variant or equivalent?)

[yankees1]

There may be those who can tell the difference but I'm probably not one of them !

[multidon]

I have heard it said that Sitka generally has a middle of the road tone with clear fundamentals. And that Engelmann has a warmer, more mellow tone. And that Adirondack has a loud, in your face kind of tone. That said, I think the skill of the luthier in choosing the wood for the top makes all the difference. Stiffness, density, how it was cut, grain pattern, and of course how skillfully it is carved and graduated all makes a difference. Some say Adirondack takes the longest to “open up”. This proved to be true with my Bitterroot Custom, with the Adi top. It took a while. But I really don’t know if I could tell the difference in a blind test. I know I could tell the difference easily between my Bitterroot A (Sitka) and my Bitterroot Custom F (Adi) but there are other differences in play there. (two different bridge types, for instance).

There are a bunch of different species of “spruce”, Genus Picea. Not all are suitable for instrument building. A few are native to China. I am not sure if any are used for instruments. “German Spruce”, “Italian Spruce”, “European Spruce”,and “Alpine Spruce” are all trade names for the same tree. This is the wood famous for being used in fine European violins. If you have a good piece, I should think it would be similar to Adirondack, but that’s just speculation on my part.