What musical instruments are made from pine needles? Wood for bowed instruments

20.06.2019

With guitars, the wood for an electric guitar, especially for making its body, is noticeably different. And there is an explanation for this, because. different breeds vary significantly in their sound and physical characteristics. We will talk about this in detail today in this article.

General information

How stable will they be? specifications musical instrument, whether the neck will “lead”, and most importantly, whether the guitar will sound good, largely depends on the right choice the material from which it is made. This is the first and, probably, one of the most important tasks that quite often have to be solved when choosing a new guitar.

Question #1 when choosing your future instrument: “What wood is the guitar body and neck made of?” It is very important to pay attention to this point, because very often many people underestimate the influence of wood on the sound of an electric guitar. There is an opinion among inexperienced musicians that the main thing in a guitar is the electronics. But there is still some grain of truth in this: the sound from the string is transmitted to the pickups, and they, in turn, already pick up the vibrations.

In fact, it turns out that almost all parts of the guitar influence these vibrations, where each part of the instrument resonates differently; it can filter some frequencies and, on the contrary, amplify others. It is also important to know that wood type and sustain are directly related to each other. For example, if wood doesn’t sound, then neither good pickups, nor gadgets, nor even expensive amps or amps will help. To find your guitar sound, you first need to understand and know the characteristics of different types of wood.

Wood production

To date great amount wood is harvested for woodworking. And among the large amount of wood, not every stick, so to speak, is suitable for the production of a musical instrument. The most the best option are blanks obtained by natural drying. But, despite the fact that such a wood processing process requires quite a long time than artificial drying, only through natural drying can the structure of the fibers and pores of the wood be preserved, and the resonant and frequency characteristics of the material used already depend on them.

It is also necessary to take into account the profile of the cut, the curvature and direction of the fibers, the presence (ideally, absence) of knots and other nuances. So, this is why any workpiece is always very carefully selected, and dried wood is ultimately kept in warehouses for at least one year. It is also important to know that very fast drying has a negative effect on the wood fibers.

The neck of a guitar is most often made of maple, and the fretboard can be made of the same maple, but in most cases it is made of rosewood or ebony. With the soundboard things are different because different companies use different woods when making guitars. This is due to the fact that different types of wood give their own sound, and on the other hand, there is a financial aspect that is determined by the price of wood in different countries that supply it.

Different types of wood have their own distinct sound and also differ in weight and density. Don't think that all guitars made from the same wood will sound the same. Here we are talking only about general concepts in terms of sound.

What wood is the best for a guitar?

It’s up to you to decide which wood the guitar will be better or worse from. Below are the characteristics of the most common types of wood used for guitars that can be purchased at a music store today. There is a lot to be said about the influence of wood type on the sound of a guitar. The main thing you should know is that hard wood gives a bright attack, and soft wood makes the guitar sound dull. This also has to do with the wood from which the soundboard, neck and fingerboard are made. By weight, the whole tree can be divided into three categories:

Lung. Such trees include the following species: agathis, swamp ash, linden, alder, white corina, poplar. These species are characterized by a sound with predominant high frequencies. This wood is ideal for solo guitarists.
Average. Rosewood, poplar, koa, and alder fall into this category. They are characterized by a sound with highlighted mid frequencies, perfect for both rhythm guitar and solo.
Heavy. These woods include walnut, mahogany, wenge, bubingo and padauk. These varieties are well suited for powerful rhythm parts, but there are slight problems when playing at the fifteenth fret and below, and the sound on the first and second strings is too harsh.

Decide on a style

The type of wood from which the guitar is made should be chosen taking into account the fact which style of music you prefer. If you want to play light music, for example blues, then the best option would be ash or alder. For lovers of heavy styles and metal, mahogany is an ideal and justified option. If you dream of becoming a solo guitarist, then your choice is poplar and American linden. Rosewood, maple and walnut soundboards sound pretty mediocre. It is also important to understand that every musician has his own idea of good sound.

Wood for electric guitar

Alder

The most common and very popular type of wood for the production and manufacture of electric guitars and bass guitars. Basically everything famous manufacturers(Jackson, Fender, Washburn, Ibanez and many others) currently have alder guitars in their line. Perhaps the exception to this list will be the conservatives from Gibson.

Due to its excellent resonant characteristics over almost the entire frequency range (slightly more pronounced in the highs), alder is in great demand in the manufacture of electric guitars, in particular in the production of bodies. The tree is light, yellowish-brown in color with faint annual rings. It is highly valued by musicians for its good sound. Alder resonates well and has a balanced timbre across the entire frequency range.

Ash

Ash is also a traditional wood for guitars. We are familiar with its sonorous and transparent sound thanks to Fender guitars. This tree is very musical. Incredibly, different parts of the tree from the same trunk can sound completely different, and therefore it is not possible to find guitars made from ash that have the same sound.

There are several types used:

Swamp ash. A fairly lightweight, durable material with large pores that is perfect for solid body guitars.
White ash. Unlike the swamp, it is slightly heavier and a little “squeezed” in acoustic characteristics, but at the same time it has good decorative features due to the desired contrast of different layers of wood. Ash is mainly used in the production of guitar tops and bodies.

Linden (Basswood)

This wood is slightly similar in properties to alder, but it may have a slightly dull sound due to the looser and softer wood, which is easily pressed when pressed hard, so hard varnishes are used to protect it. The sustain of a basswood guitar will be smooth throughout, the highs and lows will be softened. Thanks to this, the main tone is better highlighted and the middle part of the spectrum is clearly expressed. For performing metal and rock, a guitar with an American basswood soundboard is most suitable.

Until recently, it was believed that basswood was only suitable for inexpensive student electric guitars, but soon the Japanese company Ibanez in tandem with famous guitarist Joe Satriani dispelled this common myth, thereby showing the whole world how such a guitar with good electronics can sound in the hands of a professional. And therefore, linden is used only in the manufacture of cases.

Bubinga

This tree is characterized by a red-brown color and is mainly found in Africa. Due to its bright and warm sound, although a little rough, it is often used in the production of musical instruments. Bubinga is used to make necks and soundboards for bass guitars because the wood is heavy, and bodies for electric guitars.

Koa

This is a rare type of wood that grows in the Hawaiian Islands. This wood is similar in color and sound to mahogany. Low frequencies sound weak but clear, high frequencies are softened, and mid frequencies are most pronounced. The dynamic range is quite narrow, i.e. somewhat compressed.

Korina or Limba

The habitat of this type of tree is the tropics of West Africa. This wood has a great color, is easy to work and polishes well. There are two types:

Black limba. It has an olive color with black veins and is classified as medium in severity.
White limba. This wood is characterized by a greenish-yellow color. Refers more to varieties of heavy wood.

Apart from the color of the pattern, there are no big differences between them. Korina is more dynamic than mahogany, but still similar in sound, and has the brightest sound in the midrange. The most famous example of the use of this wood is guitars produced by Gibson, especially their famous Gibson Flying V model. This wood is most often used for making necks and bodies.

Lacewood

This tree, growing in Australia, has a rather interesting wood texture that resembles snake skin, where lighter areas are surrounded by stripes of reddish-brown color. Due to this texture, it is often used as veneer (wood sheet less than 3 mm thick). The sound of a guitar made from such wood will be dense in the low frequencies, brightest in the upper range and complex in the midrange.

Mahogany

A characteristic feature of mahogany is a beautiful pattern with a pronounced longitudinal grain, deeply saturated colors, from red-brown to dark beige. Heavier than alder, but lighter than maple. Regarding the acoustic properties, we can say that such wood has the most pronounced lower mids, which gives the sound of the guitar a “meaty” density.

Mahogany is most often used with various tops, well emphasizing the high frequency range of the guitar, and are used in the manufacture of bodies and necks of electric guitars. Guitars made from a single piece of this wood are perfect for rock music, thanks to good attack and sustain and a warm timbre. The highs are softer, there is a slight emphasis on the mids, and the lows are pronounced. In guitar making, the main types of wood commonly used are:

African Mahogany (Kaya) – a generalized name for related subspecies of redwood that grow in Africa. Their characteristics differ insignificantly, mainly in density. "Khaya" is a commercial name that is mainly applied to woody varieties, but heavier ones are usually called "mahogany". Acoustic parameters are similar to Honduran mahogany.
Honduran mahogany – The breed is very charismatic and most American guitars are made from it. In our area, mahogany is quite rare, because today this species is listed in the Red Book and is quite expensive for transportation. A similar tree is the no less valuable Cuban mahogany, which does not come to the United States for obvious reasons.

Maple

European and American (hard maple) maple is used in the production of guitars. American maple, unlike European maple, has a denser structure and specific gravity, and is also more rigid and fragile. You can even say that maple, as wood for guitar production, in most cases is valued not for its acoustic properties, but for its decorative and mechanical properties. Remarkable elasticity and hardness allows maple to occupy a leading place as the main raw material in the manufacture of electric guitar necks, but a large number of textured patterns makes this tree indispensable in the production of decorative tops.

Among other things, the maple top allows you to significantly enrich the sound of the main material of the guitar soundboard with the high-frequency component. And it would be unfair to say that its use is limited to this - for example, the well-known Rickenbacker guitars, almost entirely made of maple. But the area of application of maple is fingerboards, the manufacture of the necks themselves, as well as the tops and bodies of electric guitars.

Padouk

This wood is most often used for finishing or decorating the soundboard rather than for its manufacture. It has a violet-red color, less often – orange, which darkens over time. The wood has an oily feel to the touch, and its sound is bright and clear.

Poplar

This type of wood is considered the most common in the manufacture of budget guitars, because it is best suited for universal guitars and is quite cheap. The sound of a guitar made from such wood will be clear with predominant mid frequencies.

Redwood

This wood is characterized as hard and dense with a fibrous grain and a brownish-pink hue. It is used for lamination as a top or veneer. Mahogany has a warm timbre, resonates well, has a velvety sound with a pronounced middle, deep bottom and muffled top.

There are many other types of mahogany that are also good for making guitars, merbau, sapeli, cosipo and others. These rocks have a fairly high density, but the pores are smaller than those of Honduran mahogany or kaya, and they make heavy tools.

Rosewood

Rosewood is one of the species of tropical trees, and the heaviest at that, and therefore is used mainly for fretboards, but less often for making the soundboard of an electric guitar. There are several varieties of this wood, the main ones being Brazilian, Indian and African rosewood, which differ from each other mainly only in color. The wood is dark brown in color with beautiful reddish or dark purple veining. The surface texture is oily, thanks to which rosewood has the warmest sound among all trees. Rich sound, high frequencies are muffled, and there is good resonance throughout the spectrum.

Walnut

The wood is dense and heavy. The sound of walnut can be characterized as follows: a warm timbre, the top and mid frequencies are most pronounced, but the emphasis is mainly on the middle, and the upper ones are muted compared to the mids.

Wenge

There is another type of hardwood that has a beautiful color . Wenge is excellent for making fingerboards. According to its characteristics, it has very high resistance to bending and impact, and also has a rough texture. This is a very resistant wood. It has a bright sound, a fairly long sustain, an expressive upper and rich midrange. Guitars made from wenge are well suited for playing any style of music.

Zebrawood

In another way, this tree is also called “zebrawood”, which grows only in Cameroon and Gabon. This wood received its name due to its color, where stripes from dark brown to sand color alternate with each other. Zebrawood is quite heavy wood and is most often used for laminating decks. The sound of this wood is similar to maple.

Ziricote

A dense and heavy type of wood of a dark brown hue, sometimes even black, with a texture similar to a cobweb. Used only for laminating the guitar body, not for making it. It has good resonance across the entire frequency spectrum, but the upper frequencies are slightly muffled, which is why ziricote is classified as a warm-sounding wood.

Every professional guitarist has at least two, or even more, guitars in his arsenal. If funds allow, then you can buy yourself at least a couple of good guitars. For example, one for hard overload, another for overdrive, and maybe one more good guitar for playing with clean sound. Over time, when you have enough experience, you will most likely find your own tree that you like.

This will help you decide on a company, because each of them has assigned certain types of wood used today for the production of serial models. Not a single respected and well-known company makes guitars from oak, hornbeam, elm or willow, because these species have a high density and short note length. Of course, not all existing varieties were described here, but the main thing is that you are now familiar with the “traditional” wood species.

So, when choosing a good instrument for yourself, you will already know which electric guitar wood will suit you best based on certain characteristics. Here the choice is yours, because you cannot say that some wood will be better and some will be worse, because each wood is unique in its own way. Any musician has his own tastes and ideas about good sound, not to mention the fact that each person has his own individual hearing. What one likes, another doesn't like.

One of the most important stages When making bowed instruments, the choice of wood is important. The final result will depend on how well the master selects the material.

Before moving on to detailed analysis, we list the types of wood that are used in the manufacture of tools:

Spruce (rarely pine or fir) - used to create the top deck;
Maple (sometimes poplar, pear, birch, etc.) - for the neck, back, as well as sides and stand.
Spruce, mahogany, linden, willow, alder - these tree species are used for the internal parts of the violin, for example, cleats and hoops.
Ebony, rosewood, tamarind, boxwood - used to create pegs, headrests, etc.

Before the wood reaches the craftsman, it goes through a harvesting process. Nowadays this issue is not so relevant, and you can purchase a ready-made tree that has gone through all the necessary stages of preparation. From the point of view of conveyor production, this would be possible and correct, but any self-respecting master should know the basics of wood harvesting and its methods.

There are several methods for harvesting wood, but I would like to focus on the two most interesting.

Classic method

We will divide this preparation method into several stages so that it is clear what and when to do:

Tree selection. For tool blanks, good, straight trunks are often chosen, without visible damage, with a minimum number of knots and a sufficient age of the tree.
Felling. When the trunks for harvesting are selected, they are chopped. This must be done strictly at the beginning of winter, when the sap leaves the tree. This greatly facilitates the process of drying wood and avoids damage to the wood by insects and other organisms.
Drying in logs. After the trees are cut down stored in logs for 2-3 months so that the tree is still dry and the bark separates from it naturally, without damaging the trunk. The logs are stacked and stored under a canopy so that moisture from the environment does not enter the wood.
Cleaning the bark. The tree is cleared of bark that has peeled off from the trunk over time. They do this in order to avoid troubles. After all, moisture collects between the bark and the trunk, which can negatively affect the quality of the wood.
Drying trunks. For some time, the logs should dry out from the moisture that was under the bark.
Sawing. After the tree has dried sufficiently, the logs are cut into pieces and stacked under a canopy.

IMPORTANT! It is worth paying attention to the fact that the boards are not stacked all tightly and there must be free space between them to ensure the necessary ventilation and prevent rot, as well as to ensure the necessary conditions for drying the material.

The tree should remain in this condition for about a year.

Indoor storage. After the wood has been in the stacks for about a year, it needs to be brought indoors for further drying. According to many sources, wood should be stored at a certain humidity and temperature, the values of which should not change. In fact, the main condition is normal humidity of 15-30% and temperature of 15-20 degrees Celsius.

IMPORTANT! Temperature and humidity may be slightly higher or lower than these indicators, but the main condition is the ABSENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY CHANGES.

The tree should remain in this condition for at least 3-4 years, but in fact, the longer, the better.

“Fresh dead wood” method

This method was described by Evgeny Frantsevich Vitachek in the book “Essays on the history of making bowed instruments.” The so-called “deadwood”, a tree that has dried up on the root, was considered the best material for the manufacture of musical instruments among the craftsmen of the Stradivarius era, and purchased such wood in whole trunks from local warehouses.

Newer craftsmen considered it unusable. But all disputes surrounding this issue were resolved by A.A. Ushakov - architect, violin maker and researcher. He studied resonant wood and in Italian documents from different eras found a method for correctly harvesting “dead wood,” which we will consider below:

"Ringing" a tree. At the beginning of winter, the selected trees were cleared of the bark around the trunk at the root and left until spring.

Spring log house When spring came, the tree gave new shoots and leaves, which drew all the juices from the trunk and after that it dried up. Such a tree was cut down and the wood was already quite dry.

It should also be clarified that this method was used by architects and furniture makers, but Ushakov suggests that this technology was also used by violin makers as the most effective.

ADVICE:

Problem: When storing wood, violin makers and repairmen for their own needs are faced with the problem of the wood drying out, as a result of which it cracks, starting from the edges.

Solution: This problem can be solved quite simply and without much expense. You need to melt the wax and lower the edges of the tree into it on the side where the tubes that conduct the juices come out. In this case, the wax covers them, and the moisture evaporates more slowly and only from the surface of the wood. This prevents cracking of the harvested wood.

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Why are guitars made of wood? Which wood is the best for a guitar? What is the value of humidity and temperature regime wood storage? So, everything you wanted to know about wood for making guitars, but were afraid to ask

The influence of wood on the sound of a guitar is sometimes underestimated. However, this is extremely important point, let's look at this in more detail.
What happens when we pull the string? That's right, it starts to vibrate, and vibration creates sound. The degree of tension determines the pitch of the sound. The material of the string and its thickness affect the timbre of the sound, i.e. on its color. Many string manufacturers boast of their new developments, which give the guitar a special, unique sound. And all this, of course, has the right to life, but...
If anyone has played an UNconnected electric guitar, then they will understand what we are about to talk about. Let's imagine that in front of us is not a guitar, but simply stretched string. If we pull it, we will hear a pathetic squeak. The sound is formed and immediately evaporates. We will not hear any beauty of sound, strength, or velvety quality.
Now let's pluck a string on an acoustic guitar. Now that's sound! Where does it come from? The sound generated by the string is driven into the round (resonator) hole of the guitar body. There it resonates against the walls of the case and comes back out with multiple amplification. The resonating tree here performs the following functions:

Sound amplification
Giving the sound a certain timbre (color)
Increasing sustain (duration of sound)

Why a tree? The fact is that wood gives string instruments the most beautiful sound, this has been tested over thousands of years of experiments. With the development of technology, new materials have appeared, from which guitars are sometimes made, for example, carbon fiber. On the Internet you can even find a video of a guitar made from a balloon :)) In the race to reduce the cost of production, many brands have begun to make budget guitars from wood plywood/laminate/veneer, and many of them sound quite decent. But still there is nothing better than a guitar from array tree.
Wood has unique characteristics in terms of sound processing. It is dense, but not as dense as stone. It is flexible and light, but not fragile. Wood has many deep pores that are not found in plastic, which gives the guitar a special velvety sound.

What wood are guitars made from?

A very large number of types of wood are used in guitar making, including rare exotic species. However, most guitars are made from a limited number of woods that have been developed through trial and error. These breeds have the best sound characteristics. Moreover, different varieties are suitable for different types of guitars. Important It also has a combination of different varieties with each other, because a guitar consists of different elements and each of them is made from a different type of wood. Let's consider what types of wood are used to make guitars in our time.

Acoustic guitars

Wood for acoustic guitars. The top of the guitar body has the greatest influence on the sound. The top of acoustic (including classical) guitars is most often made from spruce. Spruce has a bright, ringing and clear sound. Most instruments are made from Sitka spruce. More expensive instruments are made from Engelmann spruce; this species has a slightly softer sound. In expensive guitars you can find a top made of red spruce (Adirondack spruce). This is a very rare breed that has a sound similar to Sitka spruce, but at the same time deeper.
The second type that is often used to make the top of acoustic guitars is cedar. Compared to spruce, cedar has a softer, enveloping sound, but at the same time less sonorous. It’s stupid to ask which wood is better for a guitar, spruce or cedar - there’s no arguing about tastes, they’re just different. It is also worth noting that the sound of cedar is unchanged, and a good solid spruce improves its sound over time, just like wine.

The back and sides also play an important role in shaping the sound, and they are usually made from the same type of wood.
Most often the back deck is made from mahogany. This is a very common breed, giving the guitar sound smoothness, softness, balance and clarity. Every note is heard perfectly, especially at high frequencies. Mahogany will appeal to fans of soloing and busting, as well as generalists.
More expensive rear deck breed - rosewood. This is a very beautiful variety - dark brown wood with light coffee veins. Rosewood also sounds great - a deep, viscous sound. Rosewood transforms the sound of low frequencies. This breed will appeal to lovers of deep, rich sound, as well as rhythm players.
Sometimes you can find other types of wood in the backs: maple, walnut, koa, bubinga, etc. All of them will be closer to mahogany or rosewood in one way or another.

The remaining elements of the guitar (neck, pickguard, saddle) have virtually no effect on the sound, because take minimal part in resonating. Some guitarists say that the neck affects the sustain (the duration of the sound), and the fretboard affects the "attack". I have not personally verified how true this is. The neck of acoustic guitars is most often made of mahogany, less often - of maple. The fretboard in 90% of cases is made of rosewood (softer); in expensive professional instruments, ebony is found, which has greater clarity and better attack. But again, the influence of these elements on the overall sound is negligible.

Electric guitars

At one time there was a long debate about whether the material of an electric guitar affects the output sound? The arguments against were quite logical: the electric guitar does not have a resonating box, the guitar resonates little, and the sound is almost immediately picked up by the pickups. Not so long ago, even a new subtype appeared - silent guitar, it does not have a body. However, there are numerous experiments that have shown that wood still affects the sound character of an electric guitar, and quite noticeably.

The body of the guitar affects the sound the most. Compared to acoustic guitars, you can see a greater variety of wood types in electric guitars. Here are the most common:

Alder (Alder). This is the most common type of wood used to make the body of electric guitars. Affordable wood that sounds balanced and smooth across all frequency ranges. This is a universal tree that is used in all genres.
Linden (Basswood). The situation is approximately the same as with alder; they even have a similar wood structure. A tree that is homogeneous in structure, smooth and balanced in sound, does not color the sound much. The mids stand out, the lows and highs are softened. In general, a universal breed, and also very light. Linden is a soft species, so it must be protected by a good layer of varnish.
Redwood (Mahogany). This tree is adored by fans of heavy styles of music, as well as rich, dense sound. The timbre is warm, the frequencies have a clear emphasis on the lower mids, and pronounced bass. High frequencies are soft. In order to give the tops greater definition, the top (top) of the body is sometimes made from a thin layer of maple or its analogues. Mahogany is a heavy wood species.
Agathis. The so-called budget mahogany, although agathis has nothing to do with mahogany, is a separate variety belonging to the pine family. It’s just that in terms of sound and color, agathis is closest to mahogany, hence the confusion. The sound of agathis is close to mahogany, but not as complex, more flat. This is an inexpensive and light wood that is quite easy to process. Used in the production of budget guitars.
Swamp ash. A lightweight variety of ash with large pores and open grain, it grows in swamps in the southern United States. Thanks to its atypical structure, wood resonates well, has a wide dynamic range and good acoustics. Melodiousness, warmth, excellent bass, clear “bell” highs - all this is swamp ash.
Northern ash (ash). Compared to its swamp relative, this is a heavier and denser breed. Very ringing sound, long sustain. However, there is also a decent disadvantage - high weight. Nowadays it is used infrequently due to the wide distribution of alder and linden.
Less popular and exotic breeds: walnut, Hawaiian koa, Australian lacewood, korina, paduk, etc...

Compared to choosing an acoustic guitar, when choosing an electric guitar, you need to pay more attention to the neck. Here the guitar wood has a more noticeable effect on the sound. The two most common types of fretboards are mahogany and maple. Mahogany has a warmer, viscous sound, but maple is thicker and clearer. Maple is chosen by fans of the “glassy” Fender sound, as well as lovers of virtuoso solos, where the audibility and “embossment” of each note is important. With the fretboard the situation is approximately the same as in acoustic guitars(read above). True, here we add another option with a maple fretboard, for those who like special purity and “crystalline” sound.

Which wood is best for a guitar?

Cannot select best tree for guitar, this is the wrong question. First, decide on the genre - what kind of music do you like best? Then the playing style - are you a fan of rhythm parts or solo passages? If you choose an electric guitar, then the situation is something like this. Fans of heavy music are advised to pay attention to mahogany and agathis; these species will sound better in heavy styles. If you love heavy music but also want to be a virtuoso shredder, look for a combination of mahogany and maple top, or a mahogany body paired with a maple neck. Fans of pure sound and clear crystal passages are advised to pay attention to instruments made of swamp ash and maple. Well, if you haven’t decided yet or want to play everything, choose a guitar made of alder or linden.

The consumer properties and quality indicators of musical instruments are largely determined by their design, what materials they are made from and what technological processes used in their manufacture. All materials used for the manufacture of musical instruments are divided into basic and auxiliary. The main materials are those from which the main components of the tools are made. These are wood of various species, metals, leather, plastics, adhesives, varnishes, paints, etc. The most widely used wood in the manufacture of musical instruments is both deciduous wood (beech, birch, alder, hornbeam, maple, pear, walnut, linden) and coniferous wood (spruce, pine, cedar, fir, larch). Auxiliary materials are not used for the product itself, but only during the manufacturing process of the tool. These are grinding materials, solvents, varnish and paint thinners, etc. The high technological and acoustic properties of plucked, bowed and keyboard instruments are due to the fact that all their main components are made of wood. Wood is easier to process than metals. It is highly durable, easy to glue, and has a beautiful texture. However, wood also has negative properties. This is drying, swelling, warping, cracking with changes in temperature and relative humidity. Wood is not resistant enough to various microorganisms and insects. In addition, it is highly flammable. However, there are still no substitutes that have the same high acoustic properties as wood, and are more valuable in other properties. In particular, wood has the ability to resonate with the vibrations of the first oscillatory system - the sound source (vibrator), although in terms of other properties other materials may be more valuable than wood. Technological, acoustic and decorative features of the structure of wood of various species are taken into account in the process of designing and manufacturing musical instruments. The method of sawing wood is of no small importance. The cut can be radial, which is formed when sawing the trunk along the longitudinal axis along the radius or diameter, tangential - when sawing along the longitudinal axis at a certain distance from the center, end - the wood is sawed across the longitudinal axis. When making musical instruments, the properties of wood such as texture and moisture content are taken into account. The texture depends on the combination of visible elements of the wood structure: annual layers, fibers, vessels, location and type of knots, undeveloped buds, etc. The wood of maple, walnut, Karelian birch, mahogany, etc. has a beautiful texture. However, these types of wood do not have high acoustic properties; they are used for lining and decorating various parts and components of the instrument. The moisture content of wood intended for making musical instruments must be within 82%. To achieve the required performance, wet wood is dried. The main indicator of the acoustic properties of wood is the so-called acoustic constant, which indirectly also expresses the resonant properties. It is determined by the formula:

where E is the dynamic modulus of elasticity, kgf/cm;

Wood density, g/cm.

When studying the properties of wood of various species, the average values of the acoustic constant were established: for spruce - 1250, fir - 1240, Siberian cedar - 1180, maple - 720, birch - 745, beech - 600, oak - 620. Therefore, wood from spruce, fir, cedar the soundboards of musical instruments are manufactured - the main components that contribute to resonance and, consequently, an increase in the volume of the sound source. Other types of wood do not have the necessary acoustic properties. The acoustic constant of metals is in the range of 100-300, plastics 240-450, due to which they cannot be used as resonant materials. In addition to spruce, fir and cedar, beech, birch, hornbeam, oak, maple, alder, linden, pear, walnut, pine, larch and some rare wood species are used in the production of musical instruments. Thus, solid parts are made from beech: bodies of plucked instruments, some parts of accordions, button accordions, accordions, drum rims. Birch is used to make guitar bodies, balalaikas, and many parts of pianos and grand pianos. Hornbeam is used in the production of parts for pianos and grand pianos, which require special strength. In the production of plucked and bowed instruments, hornbeam replaces ebony. Fixed bars are made from oak, on which the hammers of the percussion mechanism of pianos and grand pianos rest. Sycamore (white maple) wood is the only and irreplaceable material for the manufacture of the best varieties of all bowed and some types of plucked instruments. The lower decks of these instruments and the side walls of the body, called the shells, are made from sycamore.

Alder is used to make some parts of bowed and plucked instruments, accordions, button accordions, and accordions. Alder is used to make the upper and lower parts of the frame (case), the body cover of pianos and grand pianos. Linden is used to make parts for string bodies and reed instruments, which do not require special strength. In the production of musical instruments, the pear replaces ebony: it is used to make pegs for tensioning strings. String stands with keys painted black. Walnut wood is used for the manufacture of bodies of plucked and bowed instruments, and for lining the bodies of many other instruments. It is also used for the production of decorative gaskets between the body parts of plucked and bowed instruments - mustaches and veins. In addition to domestic types of wood, types of wood that are exported from abroad are used to make musical instruments: red, lemon, black, pink, ebony, rosewood. Wood is used for the manufacture of musical instruments in the form of lumber, peeled veneer - thin sheets, glued and planed plywood.

Almost all types of musical instruments have parts and assemblies made of metals or their alloys, and for certain types of instruments, such as wind instruments, metals are the main material for production. Instruments such as wind trumpets, altos, tenors, baritones, saxophones, and horns are made entirely of metals. In the production of other types of tools in which wood is the main material, metals play a role minor role. Ferrous metals (steel, cast iron), non-ferrous (aluminum, copper), as well as their alloys are used. All fasteners are made from mild steel: bolts, screws, staples, hooks, locks, parts of tuning mechanics, etc. Special steel is used to make strings, vocal reeds of accordions, button accordions, and accordions. The frames of grand pianos and pianos, which must have increased strength, are made of cast iron of a special composition. Brass is used among non-ferrous metal alloys. Cupronickel, nickel silver and copper-tin solder. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; in the form of sheets of a certain length and width, it is used for the manufacture of many wind instruments: altos, tenors, baritones, basses, trumpets, horns, saxophones, etc. Brass wire is used for rings placed in the bells of wind instruments, frets of plucked instruments, etc. Cupronickel is an alloy of copper and nickel; used for the manufacture of rings and linings for bells. Nickel silver is an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel; it is used to make thinner, high-quality wind instruments, for example, flutes. Aluminum and its alloys are used mainly for the manufacture of voice bars and mechanical parts of reed musical instruments.

For the production of musical instruments, the following materials are used: satin, silk, chintz, calico, flannel, ivy, etc. Most of them are used for pasting furs, less often - for pasting cases; used as decorative material under the body covers of reed instruments. In the production of grand pianos and pianos, cloth and felt are widely used. Felt has different purposes: soft is used for gluing mufflers - parts of the mechanism that muffle the sound of strings, denser - for fingers and figures - parts of the hammer mechanism as a gasket, the most dense (well-rolled) felt, which has high mechanical properties and at the same time elasticity, - for tightening the hammers in the hammer mechanism. Cloth is used as a spacer between the rubbing surfaces of parts. Genuine leather in the form of salt (harmonious) husky is used for making valves in voice strips, used as a “collateral” covering the holes of the opposite silent reed, for pasting over the corners of the bellows of button accordions, accordions, and accordions. Deer suede is used in keyboard instruments for pasting those parts that come into contact with each other. Recently, plastics have been widely used for the manufacture of musical instruments. They replace certain types of wood in the manufacture of many parts: pegs, tailpieces, fingerboards, buttons. Buttons, keyboards, percussion keyboards and reed musical instruments. Plastic masses are used as facing material. In the production of musical instruments, airbrushing is used - applying a solution of dyes using a spray gun and paneling - covering the surface with an opaque film or paper that has the desired texture. The production of musical instruments requires varnishes, paints, adhesives and some other materials. Polyester varnishes and nitro varnishes are most often used for finishing instruments. To hide the structure of the wood, the surface of musical instruments is polished, for which polish is used. Glue is used to connect individual parts and assemblies, as well as to veneer the external parts of instruments with valuable species. The strength of the tools directly depends on the quality of the connections.

To the question of what wood did Stradivarius, Amati, Guarneri make their musical instruments - violins and cellos? given by the author Legal awareness the best answer is that the famous Italian masters Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri made their musical instruments - violins and cellos - from spruce. The tree was cut down and left standing for 3 years. At the same time, it gradually lost moisture, the wood became denser, acquired lightness, and musical instruments made from such wood received a special sound power.

Answer from cunning[guru]
Only PINE.

Answer from DDD[guru]
There are many schools and directions of violin making, but the most prominent are Italian, French and German. They all have their advantages and disadvantages and differ significantly from each other both in sound and manufacturing methods. The sound of instruments of the Italian school is recognized as the most timbre, flexible and controllable. That is, the musician can control the timbre characteristics of the instrument. The sound of German school instruments is bright and empty. French instruments sound somewhat glassy and hollow. Although in all schools there were instruments with “alien” characteristics. Three types of wood are used to make a violin: maple, spruce and ebony (black) wood. Depending on the properties of the wood, various tool parts are made from it. Since the top is almost entirely responsible for the sound of the bass strings, the combination of softness and elasticity of spruce is ideal for it. The back, head and sides are made from maple. The back mainly works for the upper register, and the density of the maple corresponds to these frequencies. The neck is made of ebony. Ebony, due to its high rigidity and strength (by the way, it sinks in water) has maximum resistance to wear from strings. Only iron wood can compete with it, but it is very heavy and has a green color. The combination of maple, spruce and ebony is used in almost all stringed wooden instruments: bowed instruments, guitar, balalaika, domra, lyre, zither, harp and others. Many Generations of craftsmen experimented with various materials for making violins (poplar, pear, cherry, acacia, cypress, walnut), but maple and spruce best meet the acoustic requirements. This is confirmed by all modern research. The best tree for making a violin is considered to be a tree grown in the mountains. It's a matter of climate. In the mountains, wood is exposed to sudden temperature changes and is not oversaturated with moisture. Thus, the summer layers become smaller than on the plain and, in general, the relative elasticity, i.e., sound conductivity, increases. According to established tradition, to make the back, craftsmen use wavy maple, which is distinguished by a beautiful wavy pattern. Famous historical fact hits to Italian masters wavy maple. In the 18th century, Türkiye supplied Italy with maple for oars on galleys. The oars were straight-grained maple. But since it is difficult to understand its structure without sawing a log, batches of wavy maple often came in, to the delight of violin makers. By the way, working with wavy maple is much more difficult than with regular maple. Of particular interest, controversy and legends is the method of “tuning” the instrument’s decks. The most complex and effective method used by the Italians. A. Stradivarius completely “honed” this method in the last 10 years of his life. It is known from physics that the thinner and softer the material, the lower the tone it emits, that is, it reaches maximum resonance at low frequencies. Conversely, the denser (harder) and thicker the material, the higher its resonant frequency. Thus, by changing the density and thickness of the material, you can achieve maximum resonance for the desired sound. The essence of setting up the instrument deck is quite simple. For every sound “taken” on a string, there should be a section on the soundboard that resonates with it as much as possible and harmoniously combines with the rest. The problem is that all sounds have several overtones, which must also have “their place” and also be harmoniously combined with the rest. In addition, the soundboard of the violin is under constant tension under the pressure of the strings (for example, the stand “presses” on the upper soundboard with a force of 30 kg). Soundboard tuning is one of the most difficult and important operations in violin making. The genius of Italian tuning is that, being the most complex (total), it takes into account any properties of the material. This is why direct copying of the thicknesses of unique tools does not give the desired results, since there are no absolutely identical pieces of wood.

Answer from Condorita[guru]
Stradivari loved spruce.
Amati - pear
Amati made violins from pear wood and protected them with his own varnish. A few words about varnish. The only thing that sounds best is that the violin is made and not varnished. The elongated soundboard of the violin along the direction of the grain of the wood from which it is made ensures that the sound wave is simultaneously separated from the entire contour of the soundboard. After all, sound waves travel faster along the fiber than across it. Deviations in the shape of the violin from the oval and the slot in the soundboard distort sound wave, coloring the sound with overtones. An unvarnished violin sounds great, but it doesn’t last long, since oxygen in the air oxidizes the wood fibers, turning them into dust. In addition, such a violin will pull moisture from the air like a sponge, which will have a detrimental effect on the sound.
Guarneri was Stradivari's successor

Answer from Neuropathologist[guru]
In their violins, these great masters used a complex combination of different types of wood: Balkan maple, spruce, ebony, poplar, willow and pear.

Answer from Polina Feigina[guru]
The legendary sound of the Cremonese master's violins is caused by the treatment of wood against bugs. Examining his violins, scientists again and again tried to understand how these instruments create a unique, so pure sound. Now another step has been taken towards revealing the secrets of the great violin works of the masters Stradivarius and Guarneri. A study published in the journal Nature by Professor Joseph Nagivari of Texas A&M University states that maple that was used famous masters 18th century, probably to preserve the wood, was subjected to chemical treatment, which influenced the warmth and power of sound of the legendary instruments. But could chemical treatment, designed to kill insect larvae and fungus, give violins the characteristic brightness and purity of sound, thanks to which musical instruments made in Cremona cannot be confused with anything else? To answer this question, Joseph Nagivari analyzed wood samples taken from the inside of five instruments using infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. The five instruments included a 1717 Stradivarius violin, a 1731 Stradivarius cello, and a 1741 Guarneri del Gesù violin. year, as well as a violin by the Parisian masters Hahn and Bernardel of the 40s of the 19th century and a viola by the London master Henry Jay, made in 1769. The mysterious Stradivari Antonio Stradivari was born around 1644, and died in December 1737 in the Italian city of Cremona. His violins, along with those made by Giuseppe Guarneri, are considered the best in the world. They are valued so highly that many of them have their own name. Last year, at Christie's auction, his Hammer violin (made in 1707) was sold for $3.54 million. During his life, Stradivarius made more than a thousand violins, of which barely 700 have survived to this day. Many Stradivarius violins were made based on the model instruments, which are often sold to the ignorant at the price of the originals. Traces of chemical treatment were found in the instruments from Cremona, while the instruments of the Parisian and London masters apparently were not subjected to such treatment. The researchers suggest that these differences in technology are related to traditional local methods of preserving wood, which ultimately influenced the mechanical and acoustic properties of the instruments. According to scientists, the wood was treated with chemicals before the instrument was made. If the chemical component of this process is unraveled, it will help improve modern violin production technology, so that cheap violins, according to Professor Nagivari, will sound “like a million dollars.” In addition, restoration specialists will be able to provide ancient instruments better preservation.Professor Nagivari has been trying to recreate the sound of ancient violins from Cremona for several decades. During this time, he visited Italy several times, read mountains of historical documents, studied the internal structure of violins and conducted experiments himself. A Hungarian by nationality, Professor Nagivari became interested in violins 50 years ago, while studying in Switzerland, when he had the opportunity to take music lessons, using an instrument that previously belonged to his idol, Albert Einstein. Professor Nagivari practiced every day, but then was forced to give up his studies to devote himself to science. After studying for a year at Cambridge, he took a teaching post at a Texas college. “It was very boring there,” he says, “so I started a hobby.” Professor Nagivari spent several decades trying to figure out why Cremonese instruments, made by a semi-literate young man in the 17th century, sound better than any other violins. To determine sound quality parameters, he subjected Stradivarius violins to numerous tests, analyzing the vibrations of the front and back panels and replacing these panels with others made in their image.