Yellow poplar has almost identical strength/hardness figures and is much more available to me, so hopefully makes a great sounding instrument. Also considering Eastern Red Cedar, but the grain of quarter sawn yellow poplar is so straight and looks similar to Western Red Cedar; another popular ...
Among maple, birch, poplar and ash, sweet birch has the highest specific gravity at 0.65, with a Janka measurement of 1,470. Blue ash has the highest Janka rating at 2,030, with a specific gravity of 0.58. Sugar maple, black maple, sweet birch, yellow birch and white ash are all str...