Let's talk tonewoods

[youngthrasher9]

When Gibson was at their prime, what of species of Mahogany did they use?
Was it Honduran, sapelle, or African? Please talk amongst yourselves.

[Funkfingers]

Old catalogues tend not to specify any exact source or species.

[indie folk guy]

why should it matter every piece of wood was created different regardless of species.

Pick the guitar that sounds, looks, and feels right for you.....lumping guitars into generic stereotypes will not find you tonal nirvana

take it from one that builds guitars

[Varg]

Is this a troll thread?

[youngthrasher9]

Old catalogues tend not to specify any exact source or species.

I figured. I was seeing if there was anyone with insider info or something.

why should it matter every piece of wood was created different regardless of species.
Pick the guitar that sounds, looks, and feels right for you.....lumping guitars into generic stereotypes will not find you tonal nirvana
take it from one that builds guitars

There are some general differences between the species. One species often times has a definite characteristic which another may not. Of course, there will always be freak pieces of wood that are far from generalization.

Is this a troll thread?

Nope. Just hunting around for some good information.

For the record: I am not guitar-hunting.

[Jessie's ghost]

why should it matter every piece of wood was created different regardless of species.

Pick the guitar that sounds, looks, and feels right for you.....lumping guitars into generic stereotypes will not find you tonal nirvana

take it from one that builds guitars

It's not that simple. Everything has to reduce down to specs and nuggets of information that you can research on the Internet. I mean, how can you tell what sounds good to you unless you already know what should sound good?

[JeffB]

old growth Honduras Mahogany.

If you've never owned guitars built with it and/or spent alot of time with guitars built with it, you wont understand the difference between other species that are mildly related, or given the mahogany name, and are not the same species, or woods that are new and cured artificially.

Call it snobbery or whatever, but its true...there are significant differences.

[MetalManiac]

why should it matter every piece of wood was created different regardless of species.

Pick the guitar that sounds, looks, and feels right for you.....lumping guitars into generic stereotypes will not find you tonal nirvana

Thats only true from species to species, like say, if you want a Maple instead of a Alder guitar.
Within species, African Mahogany is nothing more than a B grade subsitiute for Old Growth Honduran that Gibson used in the Golden Age of guitars, which said Honduran is banned for import now cause its an endangered tree species due to overcutting.

New Mahogany has to be weight releievd, cause it is so heavy and generally of mediocre qulaity and tone. Honduran Mahogany is accepted by Luthiers to be one of the best if not *the tonewood for a large solid body instrument like a Les Paul.

No, I'm not saying it *should matter, only that it does matter.

By the way, IF I had deep pockets, I'd snatch THIS up and have a guitar built for me - another premium tonewood thats rare and protected/endangered ( KOA);

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Koa-wood-gui...84897314146694

[youngthrasher9]

Thats only true from species to species, like say, if you want a Maple instead of a Alder guitar.
Within species, African Mahogany is nothing more than a B grade subsitiute for Old Growth Honduran that Gibson used in the Golden Age of guitars, which said Honduran is banned for import now cause its an endangered tree species due to overcutting.

New Mahogany has to be weight releievd, cause it is so heavy and generally of mediocre qulaity and tone. Honduran Mahogany is accepted by Luthiers to be one of the best if not *the tonewood for a large solid body instrument like a Les Paul.

No, I'm not saying it *should matter, only that it does matter.

By the way, IF I had deep pockets, I'd snatch THIS up and have a guitar built for me - another premium tonewood thats rare and protected/endangered ( KOA);

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Koa-wood-gui...84897314146694

That is a FINE piece of Koa right there.

[dr. ad]

that is indeed a nice-looking piece of wood.

OP, if you want to get a better idea of woods and eras, what i would recommend is to try and find an experienced builder/carpenter/cabinetmaker with an interest in music and the guitar; guys like this can give you info you wouldn't believe.

wish i could help, but i'm closer to your level of knowledge about this than that of the weathered old rock dogs.

[ItsaBass]

Honduran mahogany was used for all sorts of stuff, not just guitars. It was logged without much restraint for centuries. Now, a huge percentage of the old trees in their native locations are gone. What you see most of the time now is farm grown trees from non-native locations (such as Asia), cut too early and aged too quickly before being used.

Confusing things more, "mahogany" is a family of woods, not specifically the American genus. Hence the importance of the distinction between "mahogany," "Honduras mahogany," "African mahogany," or whatever else. Gibson dropped the "Honduras" from their spec. listings in recent years. They just call it "mahogany" on most guitars, as do many other low and mid level guitar makers. My guess is that Gibson changed mahogany sources, so they can no longer call their mahogany Honduran.

That said, tons of logging had been done before Gibson built their classic solid bodies, so it isn't like they were using prime wood. It's also not necessarily true that "better quality lumber" equals "better tonal quality." Being good wood for furniture does not necessarily make something a "musical" wood. Each piece of wood is different. Play many antique guitars, and you'll hear that they are inconsistent...and many of them are not that great sounding. Same with factory-made guitars today. They vary a lot one to the next. It all comes down to individual planks IMO.

The way I see it, the best way to ensure a good sounding hunk of wood is to go to a hardwoods shop and tap on the boards. You'll find variation, even on different boards that may have come from the same tree, and even in different spots on the same board. You or I probably cannot hear it like a professional luthier, but we can easily tell which individual boards are more "musical" than others...weed out the "duds." That's likely something Gibson did not even do when they were making their classic electrics in the '50's and '60's. Maybe; I don't know.