What are your preferences?
Solid or kerfed linings?
Light, flexible wood (like basswood) or hardwood to match the sides/back?
How thick, thin, wide, narrow do you make your linings?
And what does it depend on? The bindings?
I'm such a noob... but for me it's Spanish cedar without a doubt. It bends like butter, it's light weight, it smells good and it's pretty and... and.. and... I need to invest in a boatload of it before it's too late. On my sopranos I've decided to only go solid, which means they'll all get a simple binding without the purfling. I keep them the same size as the sides.. around .060 and just a hair wider than the binding, depending on the wood I'm using. I also like poplar, it's also very easy to bend and fairly light. For concerts and tenors which I've yet to do, I doubt I'll ever do one without purfling so I'm thinking either triangle kerfed Spanish cedar or doubling up on solid linings in a step pattern that I've got in my head, with rounded corners of course.
The thing is... and especially for the soprano, I want all the free area in the top that I can get, without encroaching too much with the lining.
That's my two cents... but again... I'm such a noob.
