Conventional wisdom suggests quarter-sawn spruce for soundboard panels. Quarter-sawn will mean different things to different folks, ranging anywhere from 45 to 90 degrees to the plane of the panel. What is the recommended range of tolerance (how much deviation from perpendicular is acceptable)? Even in high quality instruments I see up to about 45 degrees (most is better, but I do see this much deviation). And perhaps more importantly, WHY? What difference does it make? Why might it make a difference? Is it because the panel will lay better? Because it looks better? Is it just so one manufacturer can claim "ours is better than theirs"? Because sound can "reflect" through some angles better than others - maybe a 45 degree grain angle refracts all the sound into outer space? What is the current wisdom? What are the current thoughts? What is the current hearsay? What is the current misinformation? What are the current rumors? Thanks. Terry Farrell
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