Official Luthiers Forum!

When producing 10's of thousands of guitar tops, one see's so many attributes and characteristics from our old growth rainforest.
I have seen this type of issue before.
One growth line, in these tops, it looks like the line was produced 150-200 yrs ago.., I think it's associated with an unseasonably dry yr, Though there was nobody keeping weather records in SE alaska in those days. In times past, and this material also, I have taken a board to see if it will break on this line by putting my thumbs on the line and pulling the edges. It never breaks were one would think it would.
In this case the sort will go into our light quilt/curl sort depending on how VG cut the boards are. Because every other grading attribute is GREAT, I have decided to drop these into our 2A Lt qlt/crl sorts.
Curious what professional luthiers think about this. Check out the video here https://youtu.be/YzTM4Ht8OIk

Because of that - one - grain line some would grade that as an "A" grade top, which is why there are some great "A" grade tops out there.
It is the small and inconsequential defects that land many tops which are strongly graded on cosmetics into a lower "paint grade" sort.
As a cabinet maker I would run that piece through the table saw at the grain line, eliminate it, and make a 4 piece top, if cosmetics were a big concern. As a luthier I might bury it under paint - black face or burst.
But I'm not a professional, and don't have the pressure to sell anything, so I might just use it "as is".
In the not too distant future when most of the old growth has been turned into two by fours people will begin to appreciate the little remaining and accept some less than perfect pieces as they do now with red spruce and Brazilian rosewood.
As Mitchell once sang "You don't know what you got till it's gone".

I don't see a problem - I see a feature.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Unfortunately we are at the mercy of buyers who have been educated by magazines and YouTube as to what 'good' is.

I myself would have no problem with that for my entry level brand, but I rarely get a call for Sitka.

What is the density?

Brett, I have no problem with the structural aspect, but I could never use it on a guitar. Most people do not look at it as a "feature".Too much work goes into a guitar to have the over educated public pass it up because they think there is an issue. I use wood like that for backstrips and other small parts inside the instrument. Luckily I don't see them in the numbers you probably do. I have similar issues with some of the koa I've used and sold for the last, 40 years. Drop dead wood that I can't sell or use because of 1 grain line. Heartbreaking! Take care.-Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

Torres would have loved having wood of that quality. He often wound up making making 4 and 5 piece non book matched sound boards because he selected the best quality wood rather than the best looking wood for his guitars.
Although it might be more difficult to process - if you cut the billets double length initially, those you found to have the dark grain line could be processed for harp guitars and long narrow instruments such as dulcimers. Finding soundboards long enough for those instruments is more difficult so some cosmetic flaws might be accepted. Another niche market that uses multipiece tops that would allow the grain line to be cut out is folk harps (the grain runs cross wise to the length of the soundbox).
The guitar making industry has oversold people on cosmetically flawless materials and judging guitars by their looks rather than their sound.

I've had clients that would not accept that. Me personally I accept anything that beautiful mother nature provides. If the wood is bright and lively and stable I use it. If anything it makes it unique. But the truth is people always buy with their eyes first, even the ones who claim they don't, do. And the Internet has poisoned the minds of many in this regard.

The dendrochronologists would probably be able to tell you about that year. Not sure how you would get hold of one though!

Dave

Dendrochronologists may something different, but the foresters I have consulted have said it was probably caused by a spruce budworm attack. There are two such lines in some of my old growth WV red spruce, but they don't seem to catch your eye like in those Sitka tops.

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John

Buyers are a curious bunch. On one hand they'll accept wild grain and figure in backs and sides, and on the other they want flawless even grained tops.

Brent

^^^^ You just said a mouthful. ^^^^

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

So true.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

That is the funniest thing to isn't it.

Thank you for your input folks!

That is most reasonable, considering the relative importance of the top versus the back in sound production.

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John

It also makes sense structurally; wild grain weakens the top and can make bridge gluing and removal problematic. OTOH, the 'one grain line' problem here is not in that league.

I would buy it!!!
Mike

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Mike Collins