As many know, Sitka spruce has one of the highest stiffness to weight ratios of any wood on the planet. One that I know is usually higher is Port Orford cedar (actually not a cedar but a true cypress). As such, for centuries Sitka's primary use in instrument making has been for soundboards: guitars top, violin tops, piano soundboards, etc. One area where I'd not seen it used and wondered why not was for a solid body guitar. Fender made the prototypes for the Telecaster out of Ponderosa pine, and spruce is in the same family, so when I obtained an 8/4 board of Sitka that was 15" wide and 7' long, I set out to try it. The result - all of the frequency response of lightweight alder, none of the scooped out midrange response of swamp ash, and the delightful snap and response that the spruces generally are known for.
Here are a couple of pics of said guitar:
B 009.jpgB 018.jpg
The natural color of the Sitka lent itself to painting a vintage 2-tone sunburst in nitro lacquer quite nicely.
Cheers,
Jack Briggs
Briggs Guitars