Acoustic Guitar Construction

Stew Mac has supposed "AAA" Torrified sound boards for $58 -- anybody going to to bite?

I might. I mentioned I think a few years ago that I corresponded with Peter Tulacek, a luthier in Czechoslovakia' apparently he and a number of others over there swear by the stuff and since their classical guitars are played by some of the pros, I suppose that is at least some circumstantial evidence that there might be something to it. Plus I dig the way the wood looks after torrification.

I just ordered a set just to see what all the fuss is about, should be here next week. I'll let the forum know what I think of the top.

I have 2 red spruce tops that are torrified and one is commissioned for a dred build. They are more expensive than the sitka. I have heard several with the torrified top and the sound difference is clear. While the regular tops sound good the torrified top just has that extra "umph" to it. I will be using torrified top braces as well.

I have a red spruce top that I am going to use on a steel string this summer. When I did my tap testing of the plates, I found it was slightly stiffer than an average red spruce plate but about 10% less dense than average. So basically both of these numbers are in the range for a red spruce top. I do not know what this wood was like before it was cooked to compare. My guess is that there was not much difference in stiffness but a noticeable difference in density.