On Sunday 10 April, my friend Marco Todeschini of Antica Ukuleleria and I drove up to the Paneveggio Forest to stock up on resonance Norway spruce for our ukuleles. This is widely regarded as the finest spruce in the world for the soundboards of plucked, bowed and keyboard instruments.
Inside the xylotheque you find the first selection of the best spruce, split into eighths of a log and neatly stacked. This is the resonance spruce.
Choosing the logs is trickier than you might think. From the outside alone, you try to read which piece will yield the most high-quality sets. Straight, fairly tight grain is a sign of stability and excellent transmission of vibration; knots, resin pockets and cross cracks are what you want to avoid. Fine lengthwise grooves on the outer surface hint at curl, which emerges once the wood is brought to its final finish and adds real visual appeal to the instrument.
One fascinating find was the "Travignolo Spruce". This is a further selection of resonance spruce that spends about five months submerged in the winter current of the Travignolo stream. The process flushes the sap out of the wood, effectively speeding up its seasoning, leaving it lighter and quicker to vibrate. These pieces are smaller, but more than large enough for ukulele soundboards.
Above all it was an eye-opening experience that deepened my appreciation of Italy's immense natural heritage — capable of yielding a product that is unique in the world while treating the environment with the utmost respect. Hats off to the Autonomous Province of Trento, and in particular to Giuliano Zugliani, Chief Inspector of the Forestry Corps.
The photographs are the property of Marco Todeschini