1st/AA Classical Cypress Set

Botanical name: Cupressus sempervirens

Origin: Mediterranean region

Other names: Mediterranean Cypress, Italian Cypress, Ciprés

Average density: 33lbs/ft3 - 535kg/m3

Uses: Flamenco guitar back and sides

The heartwood is a pale yellowish or reddish brown and the narrow sapwood is paler and usually clearly demarcated from the heartwood.

Its grain is usually straight, though small knots are sometimes present, creating a more irregular grain pattern. Fine, uniform texture with a good natural luster. Easy to work with hand and machine tools. Glues, stains, finishes well and it has a distinct, pleasant and fragrant scent. Mediterranean Cypress is a long-lived tree with a lifespan over 1,000 years; one specimen in Iran is estimated to be roughly 4,000 years old. The combination of Cypress back and sides with a thinner top, makes flamenco guitars lighter than classical guitars, which produces the bright and percussive sound quality favored by the flamenco players.

Cypress is mentioned in several Biblical passages and some scholars believe that it is the "gopher-wood" out of which Noah was instructed to build the ark.