Metropoulos Forum

What are some fun woods?

Other day I happened to walk through the "Exotic" section at the local lumber place, and started wondering what kind of fun I could have.

Anyone tried anything like Bloodwood? Or Black Limba? What about Redheart? Figured Makore? They even had a 2 x 16 x 24 slab of something called Jatoba, which the knowledgeable-seeming woman at the counter said was like Cherry but from Africa. All of it void-free, single slab.

Everything big enough for a guitar body was under $70, as well.

It's one of those things where you think, "Well, why not...?"

But if I do it, I won't be doing it for a few weeks, so I figured I have time to get peoples' thoughts. Any input would be appreciated.

Check out this forum, it's all there.
http://reranch.com/reranch/viewforum.php?f=1

The African Cherry sounds like it might be really cool, go for it! This summer I cut up a couple of Pistachio stumps into nice slabs, just waiting for them to dry and hopefully not split. Here is a strat I made out of one piece of mango, the grain is all over the place with flame and "starry night' type swirls here and there, the rich natural color is gorgeous:

That looks very nice.

I guess alot depends on how particular one is to the actual tone of a guitar. What looks good grain/color wise, might not sound good. I havent tried 'super' exotic type woods, but I do know alot about the 'staple' guitar tone woods (alder, mhogany,ash,basswood, poplar, maple, rosewood,etc). I say go for the type that catches your fancy. Go for it and post your results .

Tone Slinger wrote:That looks very nice.

I guess alot depends on how particular one is to the actual tone of a guitar. What looks good grain/color wise, might not sound good. .

Here is how that mango strat sounds (starting at 1:05), different but not too bad, I think I like it.
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=5537697" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That mango wood looks incredible.

Wow That Mango is mind boggling!

Black Limba is Korina... just darker in color. I'm not sure if the tone is different.

Check out Warmoth's website, they've got good descriptions.

I agree, the Mango strat looks amazing.

I wasn't very clear. I was asking more about what different woods sounded like than how they looked, ha.

As far as looks go, the African Cherry had a really chaotic but subdued grain... as though someone took bottom of the maple that grew near a swamp, let it soak in blood, and then smoked it like a bit of BBQ pork. Really quite strange, but I bet would look good with a good clear coat.

But...I'm more interested in how things sound, comparatively. I've never played a Cherry guitar, and I can read about how it's "dark and meaty" all day long, but what's it sound like compared to an ash guitar? Or a mahogany guitar? All pickups, wire, tone caps, etc. being relative.

The reranch forum's got a ton of information. I need to spend less time using the internet to make money and more time as a source of information. Thanks for that link.

And goddamn, that Mango strat is brilliant. How's it sound?

Great playing there Strat78 ! I must admit to not really likeing Holdsworth too much, but I can definatly appreciate the technique required to play the stuff. . The Mango strat sounded maybe a little bright ? How do you identify its tone ?

Strat78, do you happen to have a clip not through a POD?

Thanks for that link.

You're welcome.