Engleman Spruce (top wood) from northern British Columbia, Canada:
...A highly respected spruce for instrument making is Engleman spruce. The best wood is old growth, two or three hundred years in the growing, wood which grew at high altitude in a climate with severe winter conditions (high winds and storms) These growing conditions assure that the spruce will be strong, and the growth rings even and closely spaced.
(See http://www.valemount.com/mountainvoice/ for more information)
...I heard about Mountain Voice Soundwoods from an article in Strad Magazine where an interviewed violin maker said that he attributed part of his success to the good tone properties of the spruce he purchased there. One of the choices they offer is wood that was from trees that were standing dead for some years before they were cut down.
...In other words, these trees lived a full life (300 years by my growth ring count on one tree), died a natural death and stood waiting for the woodsman to harvest. It is thought that this 'aging in place' of the wood (from 10 to 15 years on some logs) helps the acoustical properties when used for musical instruments.
...This spruce wood is available for immediate use at your request.
...I marked out the tree rings on this sample. As you can see, this tree started to grow in 1685 and was cut in 1997. Each pencil line represents 10 years of growth. On the right, when the tree was first starting out, the growth rings are wide but toward the left end they are very close together. This wood is both light and strong and conducts sound very quickly. This means that the wood on one side of the completed violin (one piece top) will have wood 300 years old, while on the other side it will be about 20 years old!
...These pieces are large enough for a one piece top plate, (even if I angle the grain for better sound transmission).
Here is the spruce wood is stored to age further until needed. Most of this wood is large enough for one piece tops.
Woodcutters, Gordon and Ann Carson of Mountain Voice Soundwoods, showing you where this wood grew up.
...uuuum... just smell that fresh air!
