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Just to be clear. I have no financial interest in Akustik Tonewoods.
This might be interesting to fellow luthiers. I was ordering some sets of cypress from Akustik and Mr. Tasatan who I take to be the owner informed me that they age their cypress 3 full years and their spruce 2.5 years before shipping it to customers. I consider this to be a real bonus for anyone wanting to begin building a guitar since you don't have to wait for the wood to cure before using it. Of course you should always give the wood a chance to acclimate for a few months.
I am very impressed with this vendor. I've been buying wood from them for a few years now and consider them to be first rate.
I wasnt to happy with the cypress I bought. It was called master grade and I would call it second grade (which is below master grade and second grade)
I told them my thoughts and they replyed back that next time i could send a sample and they would try to find something similar. This i will try.
The Carpathian spruce from them looks very interesting. The quality of the wood is top notch. Very straight, narrow grain, perfectly quatered and a beautifull silking. Maybe its a bit on the heavy side. we´ll see.
BTW, I´ve build a couple of flamencos with Sitka spruce and I liked it a lot. Strong tone, percussive and VERY beautifull.
I wasnt to happy with the cypress I bought. It was called master grade and I would call it second grade (which is below master grade and second grade)
The Carpathian spruce from them looks very interesting. The quality of the wood is top notch. Very straight, narrow grain, perfectly quatered and a beautifull silking. Maybe its a bit on the heavy side. we´ll see.
I have about 20 sets of their cypress split between 1a and 2a. It looks like they are grading it mostly by cosmetics although overall it is superior to wood I have received from any other vendor.
The Caucasian spruce tops I have vary quite a lot. I think when I order more tops I will try to describe what I like as best I can to Mr. Tasatan. I didn't realize it was already aged when I bought the first batch about 2-3 years ago so I just last week sanded the first top of it to thickness. It's a very nice top with pretty much zero runout and quite stiff. It strikes me as very high quality.
My girlfriend used to be a rug dealer. She said it's typical for Turks to put out goods without a price tag on them. She said in her business it was because everyone wheels and deals.
John, With respect of the spruce. How do you feel about its weight?
I bought 15 tops and they are completely the same quality. (which is like 1a sitka)
The one I just sanded to thickness seems just about right. Light and stiff with little if any runout. I brought it down to just over 2mm. It seems very stable. Of course I didn't realize these tops already had some age on them so I waited an additional 3 years before using it. Initially I bought some sets of cypress and a couple of Caucasian spruce tops (1a and 2a) just to check on the quality. The 2a is the one I just sanded out. It seems to have a little more cross grain stiffness and has a better tap tone than the 1a. Like most vendors Akustik seems to grade the tops on cosmetics rather than other more important (to me) characteristics. I'm comparing these tops to some Engelmann and a bunch of Carpathian spruce tops I have and I would say they are superior but I'm a better judge of cedar than spruce.
Sorry to disagree with you on Sitka spruce but in my opinion it is best suited to model airplanes, cheap piano soundboards and those things with steelstrings than resemble a guitar.
Yeah, your observations sound pretty much like my own. The carpathian spruce has very good characteristics and I will build with it soon. But it feels different than the German and swizz spruse I´m used to.
I never said Sitka was superior, but I didnt find it to be inferior either. It has a different feel and I think its more a matter of working it on its own premisses and finding its "sweet spot" I have a feeling that the carpathian will have to be worked that way as well
I've wondered about this company before and got their details about a couple of years ago. Looking at what you've written I thought I'd bite the bullet and give them a go. The bundle came in about two weeks - really prompt delivery. I'm impressed with the premium spruce soundboards and I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen. Lovely close grain especially on the seasoned one. I treated myself to one of the 5 year old pieces. Cypress - mmmm - not so sure. I bought a 3rd grade and a premium. The third grade has some wild grain which I dont mind and it will be a nice bit of wood to experiment with. The premium I was a bit dissapointed with. The sides are great but the back has either got some disease or it got wet at some stage. If I can put a picture up, maybe someone can give me a bit of advice on this. Maybe I've got it wrong. Apart from this, I thought they were really helpful, trusting and most things that you would expect from a good dealer. If anyone has any thoughts on the wood that "would" be good (yuk!) Cheers for now.
Its a bit difficult to see on a photo, but it looks like its got wet. If that cant be removed easily, its no way a premium grade piece of wood. Why dont you contact them, send the photo and ask what is happening.
I have bought quite a lot of both the spruce and cypress. Good company to deal with and fast. I havnt yet made a flamenco from the spruce but many from the cypress. I Made 2 classicals that worked very well. The sound was very clear and warm and developed really well getting better and better. Anyone made a flamenco yet? It needs to be thickness pretty thin as its quite stiff /heavy.
ORIGINAL: Flamingrae If I can put a picture up, maybe someone can give me a bit of advice on this. Maybe I've got it wrong. Apart from this, I thought they were really helpful, trusting and most things that you would expect from a good dealer.
I have a couple of sets I bought from a vendor in Spain with similar markings. I think its just the nature of some cypress. I wouldn't hesitate to use it, in fact I think it looks kind of nice on the finished guitar.
I will start building with the Spruce from Kaukasus very soon. Its now some 5 years old and should be ready. I have joined some pieces and taken it down to 3mm and I agree, its very stiff and relatively heavy. So it´ll have to be thin. It reminds me of some German spruce tops I had with a dark color and a very strong contrast. They also needed to be worked down to 2mm and sounded very well.
John, Thanks for this - I suppose the proof will be in the building. I'm unfamiliar with cypress so it's good to get another opinion.
Eliasson, Also thanks - I did the deed and sent them a photo. As yet they have not replied. I felt that I needed to say something which is difficult when there is distance involved and you are checking out a company for the first time.
Stephen and Eliasson, Interesting comments about the spruce. I'll probably go with the flow (or the thickness even) on this one. I'm due to do something soon so will keep you posted. You'll probably have edge on me regarding time, but when I have something to share, I'll be back.
Ok Anders, looking forward to seeing what happens with you, would be a pity if it isnt so great.. as I have rather a lot! I have high hopes tho for it.
I have a average Kaukasus top which I have thicknessed down to 2,2mm and which has its rosette made. There´s absolutely nothing that tells me that it shouldnt work. On the contrary. It compares very well to the German spruce tops which have cost me 2 or 3 times more. I will be using it after summer. I like to leave some soundboards which are final thicknessed hanging in the workshop for some month or more. The 4 hot month here really dries out a 2,2mm thick piece of spruce It´ll need to be thinner. 1 or 2 tenth of a milimeter and the wood has a slightly different feel in the fingers when touching it, but taptone and weight/stiffness is top quality. The looks are good with a nice silking. Close to no run out (It has this amount of runout that doesnt affect the soundquality and which can hardly be seen) The only visual rundown can be that its slightly pink or reddish. Some clients dont like that, but for orange guitars it actually gives a nice "play" in the color.
John, Thanks for this - I suppose the proof will be in the building. I'm unfamiliar with cypress so it's good to get another opinion.
Here is a picture of the back of a blanca we're just finishing. If you look closely you can see a similar marking to the back you were concerned about. I think it looks nice.
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