Abstract: Soundboard material (10) is secured in a tensioning frame (12) and stretched or tensioned. The soundboard material (10) is allowed to stabilize at a predetermined tension. A tension retainer (26) is glued to soundboard material (10). This assembly is then adhered to a stringed musical instrument body.Because of the effect of tensioning on the soundboard material and the materials used for the soundboard construction, the impedance of the pretensioned soundboard is nearly identical to that of the strings. The means for retaining soundboard tension also serves to isolate the pretensioned soundboard from the rest of the instrument. Thus the transfer of energies from the strings to the pretensioned soundbcard is maximized. There are numerous beneficial results of the process on the overall performance of the musical instrument.