JAVS Fall 2022

From the Workshop

Wood Species Used in Viola Making by Stephanie Voss

Over the centuries—as instrument making went through its evolution into modern times—many different varieties of wood specious were used. In the early days of instrument making, access to tone wood was rather opportunistic and locally sourced. Many instruments in museums show that makers used a variety of woods that some may now call nontraditional. In today’s world, the standard wood for back, sides, and scroll is a hardwood from the maple family (Acer), while the wood for the top is usually a soft wood from the spruce family (Picea). The choice of these woods is for acoustical reasons: The top must allow for more vibrating; therefore, it is necessary to choose a softer wood with more flexibility paired with an inert strength along the grain lines to support the arch. In the spruce family, are many fine choices. Tops and Sides The Italian makers used to buy their wood from the Italian Southern Alpine region now called South Tyrol. There are some differences in the overall density and suitability for

instrument making within the species of Picea abies (also known as Alpine Spruce). Trees growing in the mountain areas in higher elevation grow more slowly –this means that the growth rings are finer. There is also a clear divide between the summer and winter growth. Looking at example 1, you can see the dark lines are winter growth, which are much more compact and concentrated; the lighter lines are summer growth, which lighter and much wider. Other spruce varieties nowadays used are Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmanni) mostly from Colorado or Sitka (or Alaskan Spruce) (Picea sitchensis), and a variety of Chinese spruce now used for instrument making as well. Another wood I have encountered on old instruments is White Cedar, probably because it was already in use by many Luthiers making guitars as well. The top wood is traditionally split out of a piece of tree trunk in a radial cut, shown in Example 2a. This allows the grain (year) to stand vertically in the top piece as seen in Example 2b.

Example 1: Summer and Winter Growth Lines.

Example 2a: Radial cut wood.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 38, No. 2, Fall 2022

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