Engelman and Red Spruce for Bluegrass ?

[yankees1]

From reading all the opinions on top wood choice for a Bluegrass mandolin , it is clear that a red spruce top is the favorite ! But, how many of you Bluegrass players out there play or prefer an Engelman top mandolin ? Just curious !

[G. Fisher]

The Dudenbostel Chris Thile played for many years had an Engelman top.

[bigskygirl]

Hi yankees1, I have an englemann top on my Northfield F5M. I’m not certain my ear is so finely tuned when I hear a lone mandolin but I do prefer the softer sound when A-B’d with other woods like spruce and maple.

[Mark Wilson]

Just curious

are you deciding for the build order you mentioned earlier?

[Stephen Cagle]

Audey built my F5 with an Engelman top and I have played so, so many Ratliff's over the years and mine is by far the woodiest I've ever heard. I've probably owned 5 Ratliff's and a slew of other mandolins to boot. Adirondack seems to be a little louder wood vs Engelman a more woody tone.

[yankees1]

are you deciding for the build order you mentioned earlier?

No, I have decided on an Engelman since I have a red spruce Ellis ( actually two a F5 and A5). I was just curious ! I play some Bluegrass but not much, more old time !

[sgarrity]

I'd say there's probably more bluegrass being played on Sitka spruce than anything else.

[yankees1]

That's interesting, I never knew that, it seems all the talk is on red spruce !

[G. Fisher]

I think Shaun may be correct. I know my favorite Gibson mandolins are the late 20's ferns and they are Sitka according to a conversation I had with Charlie Derrington.

[sgarrity]

Red spruce didn't become such a "thing" until maybe the last 15-20 years. Gibson didn't use it in normal production from some time in the late 1920s until Charlie Derrington created the Master Model in 1999. Maybe a few of the Monroe models had a red spruce top. With more emphasis put on replicating the "Loar Tone" people thought red spruce was the key ingredient.
Ronnie McCoury's Gilchrist has a "Euro Spruce" top FWIW.

[Glassweb]

When all is said and done my gut feeling about mandolin materials is this... "it ain't the wood, it's the architect"...

[Mace]

That said, I believe Givens used Engelman.

[Phil Goodson]

I have 2 very nice mandolins by two different makers. One has a red spruce top; one has an Engelmann top. To me, both mandolins sound great, ... but different.

By all the descriptions of woodiness, loudness, focused sound, etc., etc., etc., regarding what are the usual characteristics of various types of spruce that I have read about on this forum, I would definitely guess INCORRECTLY about which mandolin had which top.

IMHO, the builder makes much more difference than the type of spruce used.

[Bill Cameron]

Hi yankees1, I have an englemann top on my Northfield F5M. I’m not certain my ear is so finely tuned when I hear a lone mandolin but I do prefer the softer sound when A-B’d with other woods like spruce and maple.

Just to clarify, since everyone is just referring to "engelmann", it is in fact a spruce, native to the western mountain ranges. It is the first choice wood for most violin tops.

I'm sure the different sub-species of spruce have differing sound characteristics but I think there is much more effect from the shaping, bracing and finishing of the tops.