At Pacific Rim Tonewoods, our work has always been guided by a deep respect for both the craftsmanship and the science of guitar making. While luthiers have long relied on intuition and experience to select tonewoods, we’ve been asking a different question: What if we could measure the sonic qualities inherent in the soundboard, consistently and repeatably?
In collaboration with researchers and through years of dedicated study, we’ve been working to quantify the acoustic properties of the Lutz and Sitka spruce we mill for our sonically-graded soundboards. Acoustic science shows that a guitar’s tone is shaped by several key physical properties—most notably stiffness, density, and damping. These data points help us better understand the tonewood and support the luthiers who rely on it.
Fretboard Journal recently featured our efforts in an in-depth article exploring how we’re bridging the gap between tradition and technology in tonewood selection. It’s a fascinating look at the intersection of craft and science in the pursuit of measuring and capturing the sonic qualities of wood.
