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I see a lot of reference to sitka/englemann/lutz/german/carp spruce these days, but I am just curious if anyone uses white spruce for tops?  I have a local supplier who cuts them himself, so I bought 5 sets for future builds since I like the idea of using trees from my "backyard", but I am curious why I don't see it around much.  Any thoughts? 

Laurie

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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

White spruce makes a fine topwood. It sometimes hybridizes with Red
spruce as they grow in the same regions often. White spruce is, however,
more akin to englemann in my opinion. Never the less it makes a good
wood providing it is cut and processed properly.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Yes, White Spruce makes great tops. I used on a guitar couple years ago and seems quite stiff, like Sitka, but much lighter in color, and very fine growth rings (almost too fine to count in places) also very nice rays. I used on a Bluegrasser and it projects quite nicely. Didn't hurt to have a very nice Madagascar Rosewood Back and sides attached.

The white spruce I got was from a yard tree; wide growth rings, and fairly dense. It still worked well.

I've been testing all the tops I get in for a few years now, and I find that basically the long-grain stiffness scales with the density: all the 'usual suspects' fall on the same line. Cross grain stiffness varies wildly, as you might expect. So, if it's a spruce, not too dense, and not too floppy across the grain, I'd say use it.

I use white spruce braces often.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

"It sometimes hybridizes with Red
spruce as they grow in the same regions often."

There are a lot of "Red Spruce" and "Engelmann Spruce" guitars out
there that are actually White Spruce....

Those trees are nearly impossible to ID in the logyard....

I have found what Alan is saying to be very true. You really have to test the stiffness, and trust your findings. White Spruce hybridizes with other species(Sitka,Engleman,Red and so forth). Look at where it is growing, what trees are also growing in its range, and how it grew(these can all give you clues as to what you may get). I have found weak Sitka, and extremely stiff Sitka(Alan's comment on density would certainly have been spot on in those cases)in the long grain stiffness. I have found Port Orford Cedar that was average density, average longrain stiffness, but crossgrain stiffness exceeded fairly stiff Lutzzi or Sitka(to a notable degree, actually very close to the same stiffness cross grain as long). These things really vary from piece to piece. One other quirky thing about that POC, was that it had extremely wide growth rings, definitely not old growth(kinda goes against common grading for desirable qualities). If the set feels good that is what counts. The visual grading and species are fine to consider, but all theory aside it is the strength and density that count most.

Being able to select the right set for the guitar(width, length, strings, playing style) in terms of long grain and cross grain seems to be the real trick. I think it is pretty easy to get used to making sense of the properties of the soundboard(just keep flexing or testing and taking notes). A whole lot of paying attention to what the guys who have decades of experience building different designs, then drawing on that to point you in the right general direction. Seems like a good approach to me.

Peace,Rich

Well, I use white spruce almost exclusively, cut right here in Cass County, northern Minnesota. There is nothing else here for it to hybridize with, so I have the pure stuff. Not all that much different from red spruce in stiffnes, but a bit less dense. Very difficult to find decent trees, all my wood has come from 8 trees. Some is close even grain and some varies. But it all sounds good.

Yes, once it no longer has needles or cones, you cannot tell it from anything except sitka. Who knows how many of those fine vintage guitars actually have a white spruce top. And who knows how many of those expensive red spruce tops out there are actually white spruce. The up side to that question is that it really does not matter.

Grant

"The up side to that question is that it really does not matter. "

Well, it matters on the bottom line....

Try selling a White Spruce top on e&%y, and see what it brings.
Then sell it's brother as "Red Spruce"....

Big difference....

There's your incentive for tonewood dealers to "mistakenly" ID spruce in
the logyard....

I used to ID spruce logs without foilage in New England logyards by
looking for pitch on the outside of the tree.

Red Spruce pitch becomes chewing gum in your mouth (it was marketed
as such back in the day), and good
chewing gum at that...

If you pop White Spruce pitch in your mouth, it will ruin your day...   

Well, it may matter on E-Bay, but that is only because folks "know" only what they have been told. But it don't matter on the guitar, and that is what means something to me.