Here is some of the material we use
for the top plate of our guitars...

...all top material is hand selected for it's acoustic properties by holding the plate in a certain location and tapping it with the other hand in another special location. The resulting "tap tone" gives us an indication of what the end product will sound like.

All tops are quarter-sawn, that is viewed from the end, you would see the grains running vertically. There are many other considerations as well, such as aesthetics...

...one of the most important elements of the guitar, it deserves this much attention.

Western Red Cedar   (Thuja plicata)

One of our personal favorites, Cedar produces a clear, bright sound soon after it is first strung up and continues to improve with age (there's still some "magic" in instrument building).

With big fat bass tones, mids with a lot of punch and well defined trebles, Cedar has it all.

Color ranges from light tan to dark brown. We like the tops with some "character" in the grain and color, but also have material that has a more consistent look. Softer than Spruce, Cedar requires a little extra care but is well worth the trouble.

When remarking on the projection of one our Cedar models, a well known San Francisco Bay Area musician said "...it sounds like a piano..."
more pics

Sitka Spruce  (Picea sitchensis)

The mainstay in guitar building, Spruce is the preeminent  top material. Long used in airplanes, Spruce is stronger than steel for its weight. It produces a beautiful tone  that improves with age.

One of the toughest top materials, Sitka Spruce can be thinned, shaped and braced to make some of the finest sounding guitars.

Ranging in color from nearly white, to pink, to light brown, Sitka Spruce makes some of the best looking top plates.
more pics

Sitka Spruce Bearclaw Figure

Spruce "with an attitude." We love "out of the ordinary" woods. So, we spend a lot of time picking endlessly (and driving everyone crazy) through stacks of wood.

Wood = art. This statement is never more true than with figured Spruce. With the same tonal qualities as regular spruce, Bearclaw figure may not be for everyone, but it adds a special touch to guitar tops.

more pics

Redwood  (Sequoia sempervirons)

When "tap tone" was first demonstrated to Rick and he tried tapping Redwood, his first question was "...why would you want to use anything else?"  Redwood truly rings like a bell.

This material can produce the most sharp and well defined tones when properly thicknessed and braced. With its beautiful red/brown color, it is also very striking.

Redwood is quite soft and extra care must be used. Rick still has the one he made over 22 years ago, and considering it age, use and the fact that it went through a house fire in 1988, it looks and sounds great (pictured).
more info and pics here

Sinker Redwood  (Sequoia sempervirons)

Pre-ban salvaged old growth
(unique product currently only available through Micheletti guitars)

This material could be thinned more like spruce since it is more dense than regular redwood This redwood tree was one that probably grew on a ridge top and was subjected to high winds and generally took the brunt of bad weather without the advantage of the extra water the trees get further down the canyon.

Along came the wood cutters in the 1800’s (the wreck of the ship “Frolic” off of the Mendocino coast brought some “enterprising” people up from San Francisco and beyond) who cut it down and attempted to float it down stream to the mill. It, of course, sank to the bottom of the river and stayed there for who knows how many decades until another enterprising young man salvaged it. Along came a luthier looking for the “perfect” soundboard material and bought some, brought it home and milled it up into guitar tops.
more pics here

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