German Spruce is a common term for spruce coming from Europe,
but it is not really accurate. Guitar grade Spruce has not come out of Germany
for many years now, with the best material coming from the former Yugoslavia
region.. When you order ‘German Spruce’ from LMI, you can expect the excellent,
slightly golden-colored tonewood that has been the staple of the bowed instrument
world, and a favorite among high-end steel string and classical guitar builders,
for years now. We carry the finest European Spruce available.
(Please note that it is not uncommon with this species to find some small, isolated bits of bearclaw figure in all grades except Master grade. If it is essential that your soundboard be free of this, please let us know when you place your order.)
We are now carrying two other Spruces from Europe which differ a bit from
what is commonly known as German/European:
The first is ‘Alpine/Italian Spruce’. Alpine/Italian Spruce is the exact same species of wood as our ’German’
Spruce, but it comes from a different region and so has slightly different attributes. It is just slightly warmer in color and the winter grain, when visible, is a bit pinker. Tonally, it is said be more focused with a slightly stronger fundamental than regular German Spruce. For this reason it has a loyal group of devotees. This wood differs just slightly from what is known as ’Italian Spruce’, which is found in a lower elevation of the alps. We do not carry this wood as the supply and quality is erratic. We have a good number of higher grade tops with very tight grain and even color.
(Please note that it is not uncommon with this species to find some small, isolated bits of bearclaw figure in all grades except Master grade. If it is essential that your soundboard be free of this, please let us know when you place your order.)
Second is our “Carpathian/Ukrainian Spruce” . From the Caucasus and Carpathian mountains that surround
the Black sea, this wood has a very creamy, white appearance but with slightly
wider grain than the other European Spruces. We were the first
supplier to offer this wood in the United States and it is now in use by
several well known steel string guitar builders. These tops are quite
stiff and offer a slightly brighter, glassier tap tone than the other
European Spruces. Many have compared it to Adirondack Spruce and some
even call it ‘Carpathian Red Spruce’. It is slightly less expensive than
the other European Spruces and there should be no problem procuring good
quantities of this excellent wood for the foreseeable future.
Famed Canadian luthier Marc Beneteau reports:
”I knew when I bought the Carpathian that it had good potential. Nice stiffness, not too heavy and an excellent tap tone. This was confirmed on the finished guitar with wonderful resonance yet sensitivity to a light touch. An excellent topwood choice!I will definitely be using it again in the future.”
