Your personal preference in spruce??

What type of Spruce do you like?

  • Sitka

    Votes: 20 36.4%

  • Englemann

    Votes: 4 7.3%

  • Adirondack

    Votes: 10 18.2%

  • European

    Votes: 5 9.1%

  • I don't like Spruce for Ukuleles

    Votes: 16 29.1%
  • Total voters
    55
Dan Uke

Dan Uke

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I personally like spruce tops and when I look online, I always see people stating why they like certain types but it's always guitar forums. Hard to find out enough of why luthiers like Sitka vs. Englemann vs. Adirondack vs. others for ukuleles. I am not asking what is best but what do you like to work with and why. Also, I'm curious to know if you can really hear much difference in diff't types of spruce since the uke is small in size. Thank you
 
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I'm a fan of spruce tops, too. In the mandolin community, Adirondack spruce is almost fetishized. As a player, I really can't tell the difference in a ukulele from one type to the next.
 
I like sitka because I seem to be able to get nicer sets. I also find Alaska to be a magical place and have spent quite a bit of time there.
 
I don't like spruce tops myself - but if I was to choose I go for Sitka. Clear Sitka, please - I really dislike the looks of bearclaw and I certainly don't see it enhancing sound.
 
I don't use spruce, simply because it doesn't grow locally, therefore I have no opinion one way or another. So I clicked 'don't like' but really I mean 'don't know'!!
 
I like all spruces for tops, but if I was forced to only pick one, then it would be Adirondack. The color, the stiffness, and the tone are all much different than the other species.
 
Allen said:
I like all spruces for tops, but if I was forced to only pick one, then it would be Adirondack. The color, the stiffness, and the tone are all much different than the other species.
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I second that!
if i ever get a uke with a Spruce top it would be Adirondack..waiting to try out Gyosh's Adi toped CR..
 
hawaii 50 said:
I second that!
if i ever get a uke with a Spruce top it would be Adirondack..waiting to try out Gyosh's Adi toped CR..
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I picked the adi because it sounded the best to me when tapping all the various spruce tops that were on hand. The particular top I picked "rang out" loud and clear compared to the others and believe it or not, it had substantial sustain for a flat piece of wood.

I didn't participate in your poll because I'm in no way a "luthier or builder" with any experience or credibility.

Edited to note* I passed over some really nice tops and went with what sounded best to me. I didn't know the types of tops I was looking at, but the adi is the one I chose above the others based on what I could hear.
 
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Fact is, 95% of people could not pick out European from Sitka or any other spruce by sound alone. Too many variables. Most of the time they could not pick out any spruce from one another by looks either. Unless you work with the stuff and know how to get what you want from it, its all romance.

I can't vote for one spruce. I don't like Englemann much except for violins, all the others are good and fun to work with.
 
BlackBearUkes said:
Fact is, 95% of people could not pick out European from Sitka or any other spruce by sound alone. Too many variables. Most of the time they could not pick out any spruce from one another by looks either. Unless you work with the stuff and know how to get what you want from it, its all romance.

I can't vote for one spruce. I don't like Englemann much except for violins, all the others are good and fun to work with.
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I hear you..i am a Koa kind of guy..but i love my Compass Rose koa tenor and Rick Turner likes Adirondack so if i were to try a spruce top i kind of trust Rick..

i don't build ukes i am your customer..
 
BlackBearUkes said:
Fact is, 95% of people could not pick out European from Sitka or any other spruce by sound alone. Too many variables. Most of the time they could not pick out any spruce from one another by looks either. Unless you work with the stuff and know how to get what you want from it, its all romance.

I can't vote for one spruce. I don't like Englemann much except for violins, all the others are good and fun to work with.
Click to expand...

Probably more like 99% and I'm one of the 99%.
 
I'm really a novice at this, but for me it will be Alaskan spruce, mostly white spruce (picea glauca) rather than sitka because thats what grows here in the interior of Alaska. I'd really like to try some black spruce (picea mariana) some day,it's pretty dense with tight growth rings but the trees are very small, I'm looking for a good one.

At this stage in my building, I'm still learning and making mistakes, so cheap available local wood makes a lot of sense, and I like the variety and colors I'm seeing. Wavy grain and color makes it feel 'real' to me.

Its more that I live here and these are the spruce around me, and that I have personaly planted well over a half million spruce trees in Alaska and continue to do so. (I have a reforestation buisness)
 
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I had to go with Engelmann, especially for arch top ukuleles. My Engelmann spruce arch tops have clearly been superior to my Sitka ones. In my experience the Engelmann spruce is slightly less dense and not quite as strong or stiff as Sitka, and thus works very well with nylon strings.

Brad
 
I simply livvvvvvv Bear Claw Sitka Spruce not necessarily for the sound, just the looks. Especially when you get a nice book-match. I haven't tried Adirondack yet but will have to try it.
 
Adirondack isn't a species, its a place where spruce was/is harvested. Martin ordered spruce from the region. The cutters took all the trees that qualified, whether red, black, or white spruce. By far, most were red spruce. If Martin couldn't tell them apart, probably no one else could, either. I voted for Sitka because its the prettiest spruce, unless you need that barren white look of Engelmann or red (which I also like sometimes). The prettiest of all to me is Italian alpine bear claw. I like wood with a lot of visual action.
 
I like Adirondack red spruce because it seems to sell better, and I can charge more for using it. I have no idea why, but as Rich mentioned there seems to be some fetish for it. Almost as if it was rare.
 
I like Sitka. Just because in my young and formative years as a new guitar player. The manufacturers would advertize sitka spruce tops on the guitars I lusted after. Guess the advertizing worked and I still have a preference toward sitka.
I honestly can't tell the difference in tone between any good spruce type....and I'm suspicious when people tell me they can hear a difference
 
Hey, deduct one I DON'T LIKE SPRUCE VOTE because I'm not a builder and just blundered into the china shop not paying any attention and voted like a consumer.

....(sorry)....
 
pdxuke said:
Hey, deduct one I DON'T LIKE SPRUCE VOTE because I'm not a builder and just blundered into the china shop not paying any attention and voted like a consumer.

....(sorry)....
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Don't worry, you can have my vote. It seems kinda silly to me. Why can't I like all the spruces, or more than one? It reminds me of the K________ vs. K_______ threads in uke talk. As if they're in a fight to the death and only one can win. Why can't both be nice? Or blokes who only date blondes, or Asian women. What about all the hot brunettes and latinos? I guess I just like to share my love around........:cool:
 
liam_fnq said:
Don't worry, you can have my vote. It seems kinda silly to me. Why can't I like all the spruces, or more than one? It reminds me of the K________ vs. K_______ threads in uke talk. As if they're in a fight to the death and only one can win. Why can't both be nice? Or blokes who only date blondes, or Asian women. What about all the hot brunettes and latinos? I guess I just like to share my love around........:cool:
Click to expand...

I wish I knew how to unlock the poll and let you pick as many as you want since love doesn't discriminate!! :p
 
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