Alpine Spruce Top (5)

Description

The selection of  SPRUCE  WOOD for stringed instruments starts right in the forests of the Fiemme Valley, where the search is for logs in areas and at altitudes especially suitable to grow the best quality spruce for tonewood.

The choice is carried out among trees cut in late autumn. Extreme caution and awareness is involved in selection and cutting because of deforestation. Skilled men have been committed for several years to follow this method to the best of their abilities in order to ensure and assure that the best quality is made available for customer’s musical instruments.

The logs, after spending the winter months on the timber yards nearby the forests, are transported to a small sawmill, where they are quarter cut .

The sawn quarters are then carried to the factory, where they are sawn in perfect radial sections. After rejecting the defective parts, the wood is put on the timber yards for the natural seasoning. The pieces reserved to become tops undergo a long natural seasoning, normally between 4 and 5 years. The wood is then checked piece by piece, processed, selected and branded, according to its quality grade and seasoning year.

The planks cut at the sawmill are seasoned in the timber yards for 8 months before being carefully selected by skilled workers, and delivered to the factory.

After processing the raw planks, the seasoning is completed in a highly advanced dry kiln, where the small planks are heat treated at low temperatures for long periods of time in order not to damage the precious wood.

In the following processing steps the planks are visually inspected one by one by skilled craftsmen and cleaned from knots, flaws and all other defects. The same experience and skills are also required to “compose” the soundboards (matching the grain, colour and quality of the planks) in order to meet the customers’ precise technical and aesthetical requirements.