What wood will absolutely not work as a soundboard?

[RyRod]

If, when, where, who, and how I get my next custom I want something different than cedar/spruce/koa.

I'm thinking dark and slightly figured....

Gracias Amigos!

 

[The Big Kahuna]

Natalie Wood.

 

[The Village Woodworker]

One darker timber that is a lovely tonewood is Tasmanian blackwood.
You might also consider black heart sassafrass
Here is a link:

http://tasmaniantonewoods.com/tonewood-data

 

[Timbuck]

Cork won't work very well

 

[RichM]

Cork won't work very well

But I've just finished! Guess I'll need to chuck it...

 

[Barbablanca]

Balsa might be a bit soft for the neck Olive might present knotty problems for the soundboard

Scrap hard woods are often cheap and make superb instruments. They often have a style all of their own. Old furniture and even old packing cases or trunks can provide suitable wood for small instruments. I made my hammered dulcimer from a hardwood frame and used plywood panelling for the sound board. I was told that this was a great idea since a good hardwood produces far too many harmonics for a hammered dulcimer. Inspired? No I was just too broke, at the time, to go for decent wood

 

[Liam Ryan]

Good to see you've your priorities right for uke design. Personally I'd rather consider getting the uke sounding like I want rather than looking a certain way. Any and all of the tried and true uke top woods (and there are plenty- plenty more than any other stringed instruments) can be used to make very nice, if different, sounding instuments.

PS I really wanted to give a stupid answer but couldn't think of anything funny enough (top marks to Ken).

 

[RyRod]

It appears that I made my question too open ended.....

Natalie Wood.

Cork won't work very well

I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit though.

One darker timber that is a lovely tonewood is Tasmanian blackwood.
You might also consider black heart sassafrass
Here is a link:

http://tasmaniantonewoods.com/tonewood-data

Thanks for a decent answer.

Good to see you've your priorities right for uke design. Personally I'd rather consider getting the uke sounding like I want rather than looking a certain way. Any and all of the tried and true uke top woods (and there are plenty- plenty more than any other stringed instruments) can be used to make very nice, if different, sounding instuments.

PS I really wanted to give a stupid answer but couldn't think of anything funny enough (top marks to Ken).

First, thanks for not giving a stupid answer.

Honestly, I'm not worried about the sound. The guy I have in mind has made me one spectacular sounding instrument already and I'm sure he could make something from Home Depot sing.

Thanks for the input.

 

[PhilUSAFRet]

you'll get some cool ideas here.....some stuff you couldn't even dream of if you hadn't seen it.

http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store/?gclid=CPT0tdf1jbACFQiynQodyxCkoQ

 

[Rick Turner]

Might it not make more sense to ask what woods DO work as soundboards that have a certain range of aesthetic factors you like? Color, relative dark to light balance, amount of figure, whether you'd accept stain or paint or sunburst...that kind of stuff.

 

[pakhan]

Burl.

But if you like dark and slightly figured, redwood can be great.

 

[Ken W]

I love cherry. This is some perfectly quartersawn cherry that has much more figure than shows up in this picture. It darkens beautifully over time and has a nice rich tone. It's also easy to find in my neck of the woods.

 

[Rick Turner]

The trouble with burled wood is that there is very little structural integrity.

But I second the motion on cherry...it's beautiful stuff.

 

[ukulele-melee]

My first build used Australian Sheoak for the entire body. Beautiful wood and sounds good too.

 

[oudin]

Only Koa will work. Anything else is a recipe for disaster

 

[Rick Turner]

Believe it or not, there was a time when answers were not quite so snarky here...

Humorous, yes, but snarky, no...

 

[SailingUke]

The Mya-Moe site has great samples and Char, Gordon & Aaron make some great instruments.

 

[SailingUke]

Believe it or not, there was a time when answers were not quite so snarky here...

Humorous, yes, but snarky, no...

Sometimes I believe it is the question causing the snarky answers.

 

[weerpool]

ebony ..or a concrete hollow block

 

[Nixon]

Can't imagine fossilized wood would work too well.