Choosing a sound-board

[snobbycandycane]

Glad the info was helpful! Tap tone can indeed be a factor in the tonal qualities of a guitar. It's interesting to see Dana Bourgeois emphasizing it in his selection process. If the boards with a real ring stood out to you, it's possible they could contribute to a livelier sound post-build. Worth considering if you're aiming for a specific tonal character in your project.

[NeilG495]

Thank you. I experienced it with my last two builds, both indentical bracing and both European spruce. One soundboard had a noticeably better tap tone, when it was in its rough sawn state and it’s that guitar that now has the better sustain - just wondered if it was a coincidence or if anyone else had experienced the same.

[Carl Dickinson]

Which one has the greater sustain? I see the one on the left has a larger bridge and thicker binding treatment (looks nice though).

[NeilG495]

It’s the guitar with the different shaped bridge that has the better sustain but I have a third that beats them all by quite a margin. It’s quite a plain design but is from the same mould and has the same 1/4” scalloped bracing pattern as the others with all braces being split from the same spruce billet I’ve had in storage over 30 years. The main difference that stood out to me, when building it, was the tap tone of the soundboard which had a bell like quality even in its rough sawn state. It could of course be a total coincidence, which is why I was asking if anyone else had a similar experience with the tap tone of a rough sawn board. In this photo it’s the guitar on the right with the best sustain, it felt way more alive as soon as the strings went on.