Mike's Oud Forums

wood for soundboards

majnuunNavid - 3-4-2014 at 10:53 AM

Can any oud builders or enthusiasts tell me some advantages and disadvantages of using

spruce vs
cedar vs
mahogany vs
koa

for oud soundbaords?

I was watching a video of abu ala's cedar soundboard oud, and I thought the sound was really my taste. Any thoughts?

Jody Stecher - 3-4-2014 at 11:59 AM

A search of this website on the topic of soundboard wood will expose you to every opinion you could want to consider. And some facts as well. enter the words "cedar" , "spruce" "soundboard" in various combos. A "vs" or a "versus" will produce more results.

Koa or Mahogany would be eccentric. That's my eccentric opinion.

Cedar when new sounds like it will sound in 20 years. Spruce tone develops over time. Spruce tone is different from Cedar tone. New Spruce tone is still Spruce Tone. This is consensus opinion.