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funkyjazzjunky
Senior Member
Username: funkyjazzjunky

Post Number: 663
Registered: 5-2007
Posted on Monday, January 03, 2011 - 1:21 pm:   Edit Post

It seems some tone woods are getting harder to secure. I notices that Bocate no longer shows as a standard wood on the new 'Woods' web page. I miss Goncola Alves, Tulipwood, Koa, Wenge and other great looking woods
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 7137
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Monday, January 03, 2011 - 2:54 pm:   Edit Post

Goncola Alves isn't a wood used here that I know of. Wengé doesn't work well with our finish (that mineral deposit can look like a crystal or a piece of dirt). Tulipwood has always been difficult to procure in wide widths (if we only made 3" wide guitars!), and of course Koa by definition is scarce, but we still can source excellent material, and have a nice collection here.

Bocate is funny - the price has escalated to the point that it can't be offered as a standard wood any longer. It is harder to source nice looking material in wide widths. Of course I can get wide veneer all day long!

There are many new woods we're offering. I'm loving the Flame Redwood and Burl Redwood additions. Jarrah Burl has only been offered for a few years now. True, there are very limited quantities available of Chocolate Quilted Maple and Pale Moon Ebony.

We keep trying different things, there's more than 100,000 species of wood to explore and enjoy.
bigredbass
Senior Member
Username: bigredbass

Post Number: 1585
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 04, 2011 - 8:01 am:   Edit Post

Wenge doesn't work well with a lot of other builders: I can't tell you how many Ibanez and Warwick axes I've seen where the wood finish looks cloudy; I remember one Ibanez Japanese-built SoundGear (their top of the line, not from production elsewhere in the Far East) that actually looked as if it had soap flakes suspended in a few out of the way spots.

J o e y
terryc
Senior Member
Username: terryc

Post Number: 1466
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Tuesday, January 04, 2011 - 8:11 am:   Edit Post

Once played a Warwick..felt like a rough plank.
tubeperson
Intermediate Member
Username: tubeperson

Post Number: 136
Registered: 5-2005
Posted on Tuesday, January 04, 2011 - 8:39 am:   Edit Post

Mica, Mike Tobias used Goncalo Alves when he owned Tobias in California. I have a 6 string bass made with that wood. I find this topic quite fascinating, and continue to learn about the instruments and their components. They really can make a difference in sound and feel (and weight). Each manufacturer has to make design decisions regarding the components of their products. Still, I love that Coco Bolo!!! And quilted sends me to a new place!!!
jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 2828
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 4:36 am:   Edit Post

Terry... SNAP!!!
mario_farufyno
Senior Member
Username: mario_farufyno

Post Number: 581
Registered: 9-2008
Posted on Thursday, January 06, 2011 - 3:29 am:   Edit Post

This is a south american tree also known in Brazil as Aroeira Preta (Black or Dark Aroeira). Sometimes they sell their cousins "Astronium graveolens" and "Astronium lecointei" as Gonçalo Alves (that special "C" sounds as an "S", not as a "K"), but the real thing would be the "Astronium fraxinifolium".

(Message edited by mario farufyno on January 06, 2011)
gleech
New
Username: gleech

Post Number: 3
Registered: 1-2011
Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - 1:26 pm:   Edit Post

Where has Osage orange gone? I've seen old references to using it. An extremely hard wood sometimes used for fence posts. Grows like weeds in the Midwest US fence rows so not particularly rare. Hedge apples, anyone?
funkyjazzjunky
Senior Member
Username: funkyjazzjunky

Post Number: 667
Registered: 5-2007
Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 5:35 am:   Edit Post

Osage Orange has an oil that causes de-lamination over time
hydrargyrum
Senior Member
Username: hydrargyrum

Post Number: 908
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 8:13 am:   Edit Post

I was under the impression that Coco Bolo was pretty darn oily too. An internet search shows that it is still being used by some builders.

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