From time to time over the years, our customers have requested that we carry Port Orford Cedar. We had never found a good supplier for this soundboard material until recently.
Similar in appearance and scent to Alaskan Yellow Cedar, Port Orford Cedar is stiffer, lighter and thus more suitable for soundboards.
Indeed, it is highly sought after for the bold, robust, responsive tone that it imparts on an instrument. It is very even textured, with a slight golden-white color and tight, even grain. A great advantage to the builder is that this wood is more immune to splitting than absolutely any other soundboard wood.
The largest growing member of the Cypress family (like Alaskan Yellow Cedar it is not a true cedar) it has the characteristic peppery smell of Cypress. It is an excellent choice for both classical and steel stringed instruments. Luthiers Greg Byers, James Goodall and Les Stansell have
all had great results building with Port Orford Cedar. Though we
can not guarantee steady stock levels for this difficult to find wood, we should be receiving a trickle of soundboards on and off into the foreseeable future. If we do not have any tops in stock, please place a backorder and we will fill your order as soon as we can.
