Pitch pine soundboard

[pedro 23]

Hi everyone. Does anyone know of a builder/maker using pitch pine for their soundboards?

[Bill Snyder]

Pedro, the first mandolin I ever built has a southern yellow pine soundboard. Pitch pine apparently is also syp. The one I built is a flattop and it is 8 years old and has held up fine. I can say that it sounds very much like a mandolin.
Some of the Aussie builders use King Billy Pine. I don't know if it would be more akin to yellow pine or white. Perhaps one of them will chime in.

[pedro 23]

Thanks for that, but is yellow or King billy pine the same as pitch pine. I have a production German Mandolin,probably Misuma from Saxony(as it was) which possibly has a pitch pine soundboard. It's a very loud roundback(1950's) but with a new bridge can sound mellow as well as bright.

[Rob Grant]

King Billy is a conifer, but it is not a pine (Pinus). The genus/species of Tasmania's indigenous King Billy Pine is Athrotaxis selaginoides. The tree is relatively slow growing which results in tight, closely spaced growth lines. K.B. is a light pink in colour when freshly cut. King Billy's working qualities are similar to North American Western Red Cedar, but it generally produces a slightly stiffer plate then Western Red. K.B. can usually be graduated thinner then Western Red Cedar, but slightly thicker then the traditional North American or European Spruces. The tone of a K.B. top is somthing to kill for.<g>

Below is a recently completed F style Octave mandolin with a King Billy Pine top. The finish is French polish...

[Bill Snyder]

Pitch pine is an old name for some of the species of yellow pine.

[peter.coombe]

I can only echo Rob's comments about King Billy Pine. Looks and works similar to Western Red Cedar (but has a nice aromatic smell) , but sounds different, and the tone is certainly something to kill for. There is nothing I have come across that can rival the sound of a well executed King Billy Pine topped mandolin. I have just finished a new one that has blown away some of my best sounding Spruce topped mandolins. It also works exceptionally well in violins. Unfortunately, due to over exploitation, it is now illegal to cut down a living tree with the result that that suitable wood is now very difficult to get.

Here is one of mine.
http://petercoombe.com/Recently_completed.html

Peter

[Paul Hostetter]

If this is the pitch pine you're referring to, finding pieces big enough might be difficult. Any wood is a candidate if it meets the criteria of the maker. I've seen mandolins with tops of various pines and they sounded great and have held up well, thanks to the skill and discernment of the maker. But I know of no one who's actively using this particular wood.

[sunburst]

We have pitch pine (Pinus rigida) around here, and I've never seen one that wasn't "scrubby" in appearance. I suppose it is possible to find 'tonewood' in a pitch pine tree, but it is surely less likely than many other species.

[j. condino]

I had a fellow come by the shop a couple of years ago with a board of southern yellow pine that he talked about making into an archtop guitar. I looked at it, did a bit of thumping, talked a while with him about his design, and then proceeded to do everything I could to try to talk him out of using it, even to the point of offering his some red spruce billets for free. He was pretty adamant and refused any new ideas or free wood and took off. About a year later he showed up with a finished guitar in hand. Everything about the guitar, including the wood, seemed counterintuitive, but it sounded and played great.....

j.
www.condino.com

coming next month:
www.blueridgeschooloflutherie.com

[Paul Hostetter]

We judge by results.

Hey, James - I've tried to contact you recently in a variety of ways—phone, email, PM—none seem to work. Would you please email me? Tx.

[Rob Grant]

Actually, the King Billy top on that octave I posted above was made from a nice billet I got from Peter Coombe many years ago. At present it's a rare and difficult timber to obtain. I doubt that Peter would part with any now!<g> I've had the boards sitting on the shelf for quite a few years waiting for that special build. My wife's F4 (below in the hands of local Cairns "muso" Peter Ella) is from another billet purchased from Peter C. at the same time. Both instruments have a beautiful tone that is unique to this rare native Australian timber.

[Lefty Luthier]

I built this mandolin for my sister about 20 years ago from a piece of Texas longleaf pine that came from a tree that was more than 60 inchs diameter at the base. A friend who supplies me with excellent black walnut recognized the unique character is this particular quartersawn billet and gave it to me before cutting the rest of the log into lumber. I just put it on the shelf and forgot about it until my sister visited and gave it a tap, "This is the one", she shouted. With a bit of trepidation, I built a soundboard and gave it a test, BOY was it great. This little fellow has now been played in more than 50 recordings of religious music.