I am having great pleasure in building a new uke for myself with the wonderful birch from Finland. Once again I am using my old cedar for the soundboard and I wanted to count the annual growth rings across the lower bout. Using a magnifying glass I counted 345 annual rings. it took the Cedar tree 345 Years to grow the width of the bout. that is about as fine a chunk of cedar as you will see. I estimate the tree was 1,600 years old when felled.
Choosing your wood. Karen and Jamie ordered a Tenor and enjoyed going through my large pile of book matched rosewood backs selecting their favorite. After about an hour they finally had chosen their back sides and a Bear claw Sitka Spruce soundboard.