Exotic Guitar Tone Woods

Birch

Laminated Birch consists of 1/32" layers of Birch wood which is bonded with epoxy under high pressure into a composite material. This material is remarkably tough and strong for its weight. It is denser than Birch, but not excessively heavy. It is extremely stiff, and it's composite nature tends to even out its frequency response, alleviating "dead spots" inherent in single-piece necks. It is dark gray and in color, with alternating dark and light layers.

Weight: 47
Grain: generally straight but sometimes found as wavy or curly grain.
Figure: the sapwood is a cream colored tan. The heartwood is a light brown. Slight streaks of a darker color show from grain pattern.
Texture: medium and uniform, slightly on the brittle side.
Properties: an easy wood to work, with hand and power tools. Cuts clean and finishes to a smooth surface. The wood is very tough and flexible, once bent it will hold its shape.
Use: prime use is for framing, hull timbering and bent hull members such as deck clamps.

Blackwood; African (Grenadillo)

This is the most common wood for the orchestral woodwinds. The tonal quality is bright and stays clear and direct over the flute's full range. 

Black with a marble like figure of dark purple and charcoal gray. 

Boxwood

Boxwood has been used for centuries for making woodwind instruments. It has a bright, sweet quality that can also be made rich and colorful by the player. 

Weight: 70
Grain: straight
Figure: an even straw yellow color.
Texture: ultra fine and uniform.
Properties: dense and hard. Finishes to a polished surface. Excellent machining properties. The wood will hold a clean sharp edge. Working with hand or carving tools is slow going due to the hardness of the wood.
Use: for all aspects of model work from fine tuned pieces to timbering. A little stiff, but with some care, the wood makes nice looking planking. 

Bubinga
 

This African import is a very heavy Rosewood, but some customers like it for solid body guitars.  Actually it's not a Rosewood because it's not in the Dalbergia Family, Some people try to pass it off as Rosewood.

Most of the material that begot the perception of quality in the rose wood family is now long gone old growth trees, so perhaps it's time to reevaluate our preferences. By the way, the publics desire for rose woods has also motivated manufactures to fib from time to time. Pau Ferro is not a rose wood, but is easily passed off as one. Bubinga is passed off as Chinese Rose wood even though it is not of the rose wood genus. 

A very stiff strong wood with a rusty brown color. Bright midrange and bass tones. 

From Africa; Gabon, Cameroon, Zaire, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Liberia and Nigeria.
Color is medium red-brown, with lighter red to purple veins. The grain is typically straight. Fine pores are diffused throughout the wood, which often contain a reddish gum. Texture is usually medium, and surface is highly lustrous. Excellent polishing qualities.
Common uses included boat building, fine furniture, tool handles, figured veneer, flooring, and handles.
Specific Gravity is .88 (very dense). Turns well.  Salmon pink with streaks of brown.
 

Cedar; Alaskan (Cedar; Yellow)

Weight: 31
Grain: is always straight
Figure: is an even sulfur color with no distinctive pattern
Texture: fine and uniform
Properties: for a soft wood, Yellow Cedar is quite heavy with a density about the same as Cherry. A very stable wood and it holds it shape with no shrinkage. This wood is exceptionally easy to work, turns well on a lathe, finishes smooth and carves well. Easy to glue. A durable wood resistant to decay.
Use: masting and spars, deck and hull planking, hull timbering and carvings. A good wood where a hand cutting joinery is used. 

Cedar; Aromatic
 

Guitar tops of Red Cedar are the Best Buy today. Material is very fine with good prices in the market. 

From the United States and Canada.
The color is light reddish brown, purplish or rose-red, usually with streaks of lighter colored sapwood. Grain is fine and even and texture is usually fine and takes a high polish. Has a characteristic mild pencil-cedar odor and taste.
Common uses include chests, interior trim, novelties, pencils, posts, wardrobes, woodenware, fine furniture, foundation posts, moldings and wainscoting.
Specific Gravity is .47 (medium density). Responds well to turning, but some crumbling is reported. 

Cedar; Spanish

Spanish Cedar is the Cedrela species from the Family Meliaceae (same family as Honduran Mahogany). Cedrela occurs from Mexico to Argentina and is found in all countries except Chile. Heartwood pinkish- to reddish brown when freshly cut, becoming red or dark reddish brown, sometimes with a purplish tinge. Grain usually straight, sometimes interlocked; texture rather fine and uniform to coarse and uneven; luster medium to high and golden; distinctive cedary odor. Specific gravity variable ranging from 0.30 to 0.60, averaging about 0.40; Easy to air-season or kiln-dry, slight warp with little or no checking. Movement in service rated as small. Spanish Cedar is easy to work with hand and machine tools and has good gluing properties; stains and finishes well.
Spanish Cedar is favored for millwork, cabinets, fine furniture, cigar wrappers, and cigar boxes. It is especially popular in boat building, because of its resistance to rotting. It is used in musical instruments for nylon string classical and flamenco guitars, because while similar in appearance, strength and workability to Mahogany, it is considerably lighter. We use it for that reason on our light weight instruments, weighing about a pound less than a similar Mahogany bodied instrument. 
 

Chechen/Chechin?

[Chechen:] Used for tops and fingerboards by Modulus; harvested in Mexico.  

[Chechin:] Marble like figure of shades of reds and maroons. 

Cherry
 

Weight: 35
Grain: straight, also found as curly.
Figure: color is a light red to pink which darkens with age.
Texture: is close, firm and uniform.
Properties: the wood is very stable in use with little to no warpage or movement. Capable of a smooth surface. Works easily with hand and power tools, carves nicely with a clean sharp edge.
Use: a good wood for hull framing and timbering. Suitable for small fittings and hull planking. 

Cherry; Figured

 
Goncalvo

Orange Cocobolo is a beautifully colored hardwood, much like ebony, but with a lot of orange, gold, and tones of brown in it. Goncalvo is much the same but more rich browns mixed together.  
 

Goncalva Alves
 

Very dense smooth texture with a waxy fast feel - no finish required. Color is tan with darker chocolate stripes (used by Smith & Wesson for pistol grips). Articulate clean warm tone. [As neck material.] 

From Central and Latin America; Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Guyana and Peru.
Color is initially reddish-brown, golden-orange or brown-beige to red, usually richly mottled with dark brown streaks and spots, becoming brown, red, dark reddish brown with nearly black stripes after prolonged exposure. Grain is irregular, straight to roey or interlocked. Irregular dark longitudinal bands produce an attractive figure. Texture is fine to medium. Can be polished and finished very easily. No grain filling is required and a clear finish has been suggested to enhance the beauty of the wood.
Common uses include billiard-cue butts, brush backs & handles, figured veneer, fine furniture, shafts/handles, sporting goods and tool handles.
Specific Gravity is .95 (very dense). Turns easily with sharp tools if straight grain. Figured pieces require care when turning.

Light and dark brown marble figure. 
 

Kingwood
 

There are roughly a dozen species of true rose woods in the world. (Yes, they smell like roses when cut with a saw.) A partial list would include Tulip wood, King wood, Cocobolo, East Indian Rose wood, and Brazilian Rose wood. With the exception of the latter, these are oily to the point of being dead in the tone department. So what is the point in coveting these materials when there are sonic superiors available? The problem is that in the public mind, rose wood is cool, so it has long been over harvested. Because of this Brazilian Rose wood has been banned from importation to the United States for over twenty five years. 

From Brazil.
Color is light golden brown to violet, with irregular black to brown streaks. The grain is irregular, and a mottled figure similar to that of Rosewood is sometimes present. The texture is typically fine, and the wood can be polished and finished very easily.
Common uses included bows, cabinetmaking, carvings, construction, fine furniture, railroad ties, decorative veneer and wainscoting.
Specific Gravity is .79 (very dense). Turns easily with sharp tools if straight grain. Figured pieces require care when turning.
 

    
Koa
 

It comes from Hawaii. The good Curly Koa is very hard to get. 

This very beautiful wood comes exclusively from Hawaii and has been in short supply. Weight varies somewhat from medium to heavy, a good wood for basses. Koa has a warm sound similar to mahogany, but with a little more brightness. Like walnut, this wood may be oiled, but generally will look its best sprayed clear. Koa is sometimes available in flame figure. [As body material.] 

Dark tan to brown with reds and purples. Same weights as mahogany but more beautiful. Warm and solid tone. Sometimes available with flame figure. [As neck material.] 

From Hawaii, it is rare within its natural habitat.
Color varies from tree to tree, ranging from pale yellow or golden brown to deep chocolate, but more commonly reddish brown with light and dark bands in the growth rings and various attractive patterns, such as fiddleback and rainbow. The wavy and curly grain is moderate to severely interlocked. The texture is moderately coarse, and the surface is quite lustrous and takes a high polish.
Popular for the manufacture of musical instruments because of its high resonant properties, other common uses include canoes, decorative veneer, gun stocks, joinery, excelsior, lifeboats, and rifle stock.
Specific Gravity is .67 (dense). Requires sharp tools. 

Medium brown wood which looks like Teak. 

Korina (Limba; White)

True name is White Limba, from Africa. Used in Gibson's Original  Explorers and [Flying] V's. A light weight wood similar to mahogany. Black Limba is usually lighter weight with more interesting grain and darker color. [As body material.]

 
Lacewood
 

It is a nice wood for Laminate Bodies, with good figure.   Not particularly good sounding.

From Australia: This can be had as a book-matched top, or solid body. The size of the spots range from very small to very large, creating a very striking, reptilian appearance. [As body material.] 

From Australia
Color is pink to reddish brown, and is highly figured with a distinct small lacelike pattern. The wood is lustrous and has good polishing properties.
Uses include cabinetmaking, fixtures, moldings, parquet flooring, baskets, casks, drum sticks, fine furniture, organ pipes, pianos, sounding boards, xylophones.
Specific Gravity is .53 (medium density). Turns easily, but crumbling caused by the figure is often reported. Care is required to achieve a smooth surface.  

Mahogany is a porous, but strong wood which is easy to machine and finish. It has a spiraling and interlocking grain pattern which makes it a very stable wood. Honduran Mahogany is the favorite choice of instrument builders, but is very hard to find. African and Spanish mahoganies are often used as a replacement for Honduran Mahogany.  

Light to moderately heavy wood with smooth attack and rich singing sustain [when used as body material]. When it's very heavy, the wood losses the warm round attributes. The Quicksilver is a classic example of a mahogany body capped with a maple top.  At least on the lower cost models.

Mahogany; Curly
 

From Africa
Color is yellow to reddish-brown. Grain is interlocked with a stripe or roey figure. Texture is typically medium to coarse, with a natural luster The timber is reported to polish to yield and excellent finish. African mahogany is reported to take stains well.
Uses include boat building, cabinetmaking, decorative veneer, furniture.
Specific Gravity is .44 (medium density). Requires sharp tools. 

Mahogany; Honduran

Fender uses the Honduran variety on their set-neck series [as body material]; provides a moderate to heavy weight (body weight at least 5 lb.) with a warm, full sound and good sustain; used in conjunction with a maple top to add brightness.

Swietenia macrophylla, from the Family Meliaceae it grows from Southern Mexico southward to Colombia, Venezuela, and parts of the upper Amazon and its tributaries in Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. Plantations have been established within its natural range and elsewhere. Honduran Mahogany is reddish, pinkish, salmon colored, or yellowish when fresh; deepening with age to deep rich red or brown. Texture rather fine to coarse; grain straight to roey, wavy, or curly, often with an attractive figure. Basic specific gravity 0.40 to 0.68 averaging around 0.60. The wood can be air-seasoned and kiln-dried easily without appreciable warping or checking. Movement after manufacture is rated as small. Very easy to work with hand and machine tools, Easy to finish and takes an excellent polish.
Long used in fine furniture and cabinet making, interior trim, paneling, fancy veneers, boat building, pattern making, turnery, and carving. Often called the queen of woods because of its working properties. It is the most common timber used in acoustic guitars for their sides, backs, and necks. Medium weight and resonant, we use this timber for out body wings.  

Nice and lightweight, this wood is good for bodies, laminates and necks. 

We use Honduran Mahogany, the wood LPs are made of. This is a fine wood with good musical properties, the tone is warm and full with good sustain. Weight-wise, mahogany is mid to heavy with a Strat body averaging 5 lbs. or more. The grain is easy to fill although not particularly good looking for clear finishes.

Maple
 

Mesquite
 

Mesquite is a member of the Legume family, Prosopis Glandulosa, and produces bean pods yearly. It grows only in four southwestern states in the U.S. and in Mexico. Mesquite is a heavy wood (Specific Gravity > .8) with a unique quality. All woods shrink to some degree with changes in their moisture content. Most woods will shrink more across the grain than along the grain. This can lead to warpage if the forces are not equal or the grain of the piece is not consistent. Mesquite shrinks equally in all directions, meaning it is extremely stable and warp resistant.

Pau Ferro
 

  (Morado, Rosewood; Bolivian)

South American Hardwood, combines rosewoods warm tone with Ebony's smooth feel. 

Also known as Bolivian Rosewood or Morado. It is heavy, brownish-orange wood with dark black stripes.

Most of the material that begot the perception of quality in the rose wood family is now long gone old growth trees, so perhaps it's time to reevaluate our preferences. By the way, the publics desire for rose woods has also motivated manufactures to fib from time to time. Pau Ferro is not a rose wood, but is easily passed off as one. Bubinga is passed off as Chinese Rose wood even though it is not of the rose wood genus

Primarily available as fingerboards. Medium brown color, very smooth fine grain, warmer tone than ebony.

Maple neck with Pau Ferro fingerboard:] Quarter sawn Pau Ferro has the good properties of ebony but seems to be more reliable and stable. Pau Ferro is a tight grained hard wood with excellent clarity on the "chunk" tones when using gain, especially when teamed up with an alder body. In overdrive mode it has a fatter low end and more pronounced sparkle when compared to maple. It adds excellent definition to the notes especially when using overdriven tones. Strong in the lower mids and bass, scooped mids.

From Africa; Congo, Ivory Coast, Zaire, Gabon, Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guine, and Nigeria.
The heartwood is pink, yellow, or dark brown in color and is often striped with red-brown bands. The grain is usually wavy or interlocked. The wood is rather coarse-textured. Polishing characteristics are rated as good.
Common uses include carvings, musical instruments, decorative veneer, fine furniture, and sounding boards.
Specific Gravity is .82 (very dense). Responds well to turning.

 
Poplar
 

Rosewood; Bolivian (Pau Ferro, Morado)

[no further information available yet]

Rosewood; Bois de Rose
(Rosewood; Madagascar)

When you do order a Rosewood neck from Ed Roman, We always use this instead of the cheap East Indian Rosewood that costs pennies per fingerboard.  It is a little more expensive than East Indian, but a lot more rare;  Even though it costs a little more it's only a fraction of what Ebony costs. It grows only in Madagascar. 

Rich color, red brown with interesting patterns to sometimes almost black. Madagascar seems to have a wide frequency response brilliant highs and punchy lows. A tight grained rosewood similar to Brazilian Rosewood. Good with darker sounding body woods and humbucker settings. Strong upper midrange and presence. 
 

  
Rosewood; Brazilian
 

There are roughly a dozen species of true rose woods in the world. (Yes, they smell like roses when cut with a saw.) A partial list would include Tulip wood, King wood, Cocobolo, East Indian Rose wood, and Brazilian Rose wood. With the exception of the latter, these are oily to the point of being dead in the tone department. So what is the point in coveting these materials when there are sonic superiors available? The problem is that in the public mind, rose wood is cool, so it has long been over harvested. Because of this Brazilian Rose wood has been banned from importation to the United States for over twenty five years. 

"Beautiful" wood. There are a wide range of colors and grain. [As body material:] Book-matched tops only. Very limited supply. We also have some necks with Brazilian rosewood fingerboards. 

We always have Brazilian Rosewood Available for fingerboards . Very oily multicolored wood,  This wood will not take the smooth finish that the Macassar Ebony we offer.

From Brazil.
Varies in color from shades of brown to red or violet, and is irregularly streaked with black. The grain is typically straight, occasionally wavy. Texture is medium to coarse and of medium luster.
Common uses include cabinetmaking, fine furniture, marquetry, pianos, tool handles, drum sticks, organ pipes, sounding boards, umbrella handles, wainscoting, and xylophones.
Specific Gravity is .85 (very dense).

Dark red, violet and black streaks. 

Rosewood; East Indian 

It is preferred for musical instruments because it costs very little and somehow it has gained a wide acceptance. Be careful of the  Indonesian Plantation Rosewood, which happens to be the same species, but with different color and much wider grain. The grain will be uncomfortable on your fingers and you will commonly find it on your basic Wal Mart guitars.

There are roughly a dozen species of true rose woods in the world. (Yes, they smell like roses when cut with a saw.) A partial list would include Tulip wood, King wood, Cocobolo, East Indian Rose wood, and Brazilian Rose wood. With the exception of the latter, these are oily to the point of being dead in the tone department. So what is the point in coveting these materials when there are sonic superiors available? The problem is that in the public mind, rose wood is cool, so it has long been over harvested. Because of this Brazilian Rose wood has been banned from importation to the United States for over twenty five years.   

Rosewood; Honduran
 

Spruce; Sitka

It used to be very easily available, at reasonable prices. This is not the case anymore. )

Weight: 32
Grain: straight.
Figure: is a creamy white with a pink tint. The grain pattern appears as narrow lines.
Texture: the wood is soft with a moderately fine to medium texture.
Properties: a tough strong wood, stable in use. When cut, the surface tends to be a bit fuzzy, but careful sanding will bring the surface to a smooth finish. The wood works well with both hand and power tools, sands easily.
Use: use for masting and spars. The wood can also be used for heavy timbering, bulkheads, structural members and framing. 

   
Tulipwood
 

 This picture is an exceptionally nice piece of tulipwood, Don't expect it too always look like this

There are roughly a dozen species of true rose woods in the world. (Yes, they smell like roses when cut with a saw.) A partial list would include Tulip wood, King wood, Cocobolo, East Indian Rose wood, and Brazilian Rose wood. With the exception of the latter, these are oily to the point of being dead in the tone department. So what is the point in coveting these materials when there are sonic superiors available? The problem is that in the public mind, rose wood is cool, so it has long been over harvested. Because of this Brazilian Rose wood has been banned from importation to the United States for over twenty five years. 

Tulipwood has shades of red, pink, and yellow in it and is hard like ebony.  

From Central and Latin America; Brazil, Colombia, Guyana and Venezuela.
Straw colored background with irregular streaks of shades of yellow rose, pink and violet. Grain is straight to roey, texture is fine, and wood is highly lustrous with excellent polishing qualities.
Common uses included brush handles, cabinetmaking, flooring, furniture, inlay work, marquetry, and veneer.
Specific Gravity is .96 (very dense). Requires sharp tools.  

Very light cream color with bright thin streaks of pink or sometimes with a few colored streaks. 

Wenge

A black hard wood with chocolate brown stripes. Very hard, coarser textured wood with open grain. Good midrange tone with warm lows.  Recommended for Bass Guitars