Tonewoods - Soundboard Grading

All soundboards are graded borrowing from the grading methods used by German tonewood dealers for alpine spruce. They use the numbers 1 - 8 with grade 8 being the best grade attainable and grade 1 being horrid. Timberline only offer grades 5 to 8, all of which will make fine instruments.

Grade 8 - Perfection

Very rare in alpine spruce, rare in sitka spruce and cedar. Slow even growth with very fine annual rings and straight grain. Even colour, no flames although bearclaw figure is allowed, stiff with a high pitched tap tone. Best quartering and as far as possible free of run-out (short grain).

Grade 7 - Near perfection

Slow growth with very fine annual rings allowing some graduated widening of grain towards the outside edge. Very limited acceptance of colour variation, otherwise same as grade 8.

Grade 6 - Superior

Slow to medium-slow growth, more unevenness of grain tolerated, some darker coloured bands of growth may be present as might the occasional light flame. Still very presentable for professional work.

Grade 5 - Average

Slow to medium growth rate, unevenness and darker bands more common, other niggles more common, less good quartering and run-out may be present. Worth the price because presentable tops are still easily found.

Grading for back and sides sets and other items

We grade using a combination of 'A' and the asterisk (*) symbol explained as follows:-

• AAA - is quarter sawn wood
• AA - is quartered at the inside edge (where the back is joined), gradually falling off to slab sawn as it reaches the opposite edge
• A - is entirely slab sawn
• * - one or more asterisks can be applied to any grade to apply to timber which is aesthetically more pleasing by virtue of colour, intensity of figure or fineness of grain.

Tradition might prefer that all back and sides wood were quarter cut but it is not absolutely vital for timbers that are by nature very stable. This means we can access some of the rosewood species that come in smaller logs that cannot give the widths when quarter cut. And that we can include birds eye maple, which does not show any figure unless it is slab sawn.

Contact Robert Smith, Timberline proprietor, with any queries.