We often get requests for tops with bearclaw figure, mostly from steel string builders. We have asked several key soundboard suppliers to look for the best bearclaw tops they can find, and we expect to have decent supplies of bearclaw spruce into the future. There may be times when we run out, but if you choose to backorder, the wait should not be more than a few months (in the past, the wait was much longer).
Bearclaw is unusual in that the figure is very random. The pattern does not typically run deep into the billet, so it is common that the figure on one half of a top is not mirrored in the other (bookmatched) half. There are two basic kinds of bearclaw. The most common looks as if the wood were scratched, with long, squiggling ”claw marks”. The marks often run perpendicular to the grain. The second type shows shorter ”striations”, where the ”claw marks” run in the general direction of the grain, are thinner and more numerous than the first type resulting in a fantastic shimmer.
Because each occurrence of bearclaw is unique, it can add to the individuality of the instrument. Many feel that this figure adds a small measure of added stiffness, so the guitar may have the potential for a stronger sound.
All of these tops are quartersawn and stiff. They are graded out into three grades - High Figure, AAA and AA. The AAA grade will exhibit stronger bearclaw figure. The AA grade will show more grain or color variation than the AAA grade, or it may be a clear top with less figuring than is expected in the higher grade. Both are excellent top woods but, as would be expected, the AAA grade has a slight visual/cosmetic edge. Our high figure spruce tops are the best available, with intense bearclaw figure throughout the top.
