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Well they're one wood that is easy to find in Taiwan... anyone used this for tops? It seems like a softwood and as far as I know cypress is used as ship wood or something back in the day... even the NIV bible translated "gopher wood" as cypress.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Sup Tai,
I've also wondered about cypress. We have a creek here in Southern Illinois called "Cypress Creek" where I go during duck seaon and there are hundreds of dead standing cypress trees. I think they are called bald cypress here, but not sure. I've never heard anyone call it gopher wood except reading it in the bible.

I think cypress is used mostly in building flamenco guitars.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

There are two, Chamaecyparis formosensis and Chamaecyparis taiwanensis, in Taiwan. Both have similiar grain/color and strong scent to me. I have found a 3-feet-dianmeterround table top beside the street, which is made of either of them. I'll have it resawn someday and it should yield several b&s sets. Its stiffness/density ratio is obviously lower than spruce and cedar so I don't think it is very suitable for that purpose.