Re: One-piece spruce tops

The practical reality is that there are not enough big trees any more for
commercial quantities of good quality one piece tops and handling pieces of
wood that big would be an extra expense in most cases.

Also, the yield (percentage of good wood) for one piece tops would be much
lower, again increasing cost.  If we demanded one piece tops, they would now
be very expensive.  With two-piece, we can select only the best wood for
use.

>From a sound point of view, the two piece top has no disadvantages and may
even be slightly better sounding due to improved symmetry and wood quality.
The visual symmetry also looks good.  But there is no reason except looks
that you couldn't even use 4 piece tops.

I've even heard of makers using one half Spruce and one half Cedar to get
the sound they wanted.

Dave Hajicek

"Waxabi X" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> I have a mid-70's Takamine that has a solid top that is one piece. It
> is a modest instrument (f-340s). I was wondering why you see two-piece
> tops on even very, very high-end guitars and in reality what the
> difference in performance between a split and one-piece top is. Any
> insights?