| Author | Message | ||
| funkyjazzjunky
Senior Member Username: funkyjazzjunky Post Number: 663 Registered: 5-2007 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Once played a Warwick..felt like a rough plank. | ||
| tubeperson
Intermediate Member Username: tubeperson Post Number: 136 Registered: 5-2005 |
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 |
Terry... SNAP!!! | ||
| mario_farufyno
Senior Member Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 581 Registered: 9-2008 |
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 |
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 |
Osage Orange has an oil that causes de-lamination over time | ||
| hydrargyrum
Senior Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 908 Registered: 3-2004 |
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. |
