It is the soundboard that gives voice to the vibrating strings. From string to bridge to soundboard, a simple enough sequence, yet what infinite subtleties must be achieved to create rich vibrant tone!
The bridges are made from layers of hard rock maple, capped with precious boxwood to enhance tonal brilliance. The coppered steel bridge pins are positioned by hand to assure absolute precision. Eastern white spruce for the soundboard must be absolutely clear, with no windshakes, no knots and a minimum of eight annual growth rings to an inch. Glued to the bottom of each soundboard is a series of tapered spruce ribs. They strengthen the soundboard and help to preserve the soundboard's curvature or crown. They also help the soundboard to support the tremendous down pressure on the strings and unify the soundboard into a single resonating unit by faithfully transmitting each string vibration over its entire surface.
