Many makers and sellers have no scruples. They know the general public likes and wants mahogany, and so that's what they call it - even if it was made of bamboo plys. Put an opaque finish on it, and collect your funds from the stupid Americans.
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Wood and Guitar Buying
Collapse
X
-
Originally posted by ICTGoober View PostMany makers and sellers have no scruples. They know the general public likes and wants mahogany, and so that's what they call it - even if it was made of bamboo plys. Put an opaque finish on it, and collect your funds from the stupid Americans.
Dishonesty is par for the course with stuff from Aliexpress . . . but I haven't seem any of that with 'regular' guitar brands - Fender, Squier, Gibson, Epiphone, Ibanez, Jackson, Schechter, etc.
The term 'mahogany' is very general, and covers a wide variety of species of wood, but calling bamboo mahogany is a new one on me and very dishonest.Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!
Originally posted by Douglas AdamsThis planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
- Likes 1
Comment
-
I think he is generalizing. Many of the Asian countries' "mahogany" is Luan, which is not mahogany at all. It shares "properties" of it, like grain and possibly density, but it's as close a relation to real mahogany as Dark Helmet is Lonestar's father.Last edited by ErikH; 04-26-2021, 10:21 AM.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Clint 55 View Post
They do :PJoin me in the fight against muscular atrophy!
Originally posted by Douglas AdamsThis planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
- Likes 1
Comment
-
I go by the correct taxonomic Latin nomenclature.... If it's not Swietenia mahogoni - it's not mahogany. PERIOD. You can have stuff that's close in workability, appearance, texture, and tone response - but it's not mahogany.
As ErikH points out, lauan is often sold as Phillippine Mahogany. It's cheap, weak grained - almost punky in some instances - makes good plywood or cheap furniture. It can be any one of the Shorea family of woods from Southeast Asia.
The real problem starts with the wood wholesalers. You know many ironwoods there are? Nearly every nation has a heavy, hard wood called ironwood by the locals, but only woods with the Latin Sideroxylon are true ironwoods.
Then there are tradenames.... Korina was trademarked by Gibson because they thought it sounded better than white limba (Terminalia Superba). Spanish Cedar is neither Spanish, nor cedar - it's Cedrela Oderata. It looks like mahogany and even works like mahogany, but the resin smells like cedar when cut or sanded.
You want the real skinny on woods? Use this: The Wood Database (wood-database.com)
Oh, yeah - Guild's Asian line of solidbody guitars - Madiera and DeArmond are sometimes made of laminated bamboo, but sold as mahogany. I would not have known had I not purchased a DeArmond Jetstar (copy of a Guild Thunderbird) that was severely abused. When I stripped the finish - I was surprised by the stripes of bamboo. It will probably make a decent guitar someday.
Last edited by ICTGoober; 04-30-2021, 09:37 AM.aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever
Comment
-
Sometimes you buy for tradition or heritage. Ibanez = basswood, Fender = ash/alder, Gibson = mahogany.
Sometimes you buy for curiosity or thrift or weight. Agathis, basswood again, swamp ash.
Sometimes you buy new and heritage woods aren't as available anymore. Pau ferro.
Other times, you buy for looks or sound or to fill a void in your soul and so wood plays less of a role.
Tonewood is a rabbit hole though, and not one that makes or breaks a good sound. It's only one factor out of your signal chain - wood, neck joint, hardware, strings, plectrum, fingers, cables, pedals, preamp, power amp, speaker, room, ears.Originally posted by crusty philtrumAnyone who *sings* at me through their teeth deserves to have a bus drive through their face
Comment
-
-
It's only one factor out of your signal chain - wood, neck joint, hardware, strings, plectrum, fingers, cables, pedals, preamp, power amp, speaker, room, ears.
aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever
- Likes 1
Comment
-
The key for me is really knowing what a particular guitar excels at naturally and where it may struggle. You will never fully overcome those areas no matter what you do. You can alter, improve, shift them somewhat, etc. but if a guitar is naturally very dark you will never make it very bright by swapping pickups. Each guitar has its area of residence sonically and you can push or pull in a direction but will never change the natural direction.The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.
- Likes 1
Comment
-
I bought my Epiphone Wildkat Koa lmt.ed. -
with the Koa top, instead of the regular maple.
I insist, that I hear a GREAT difference in tone- also the Koa top is sligtly softer, so it allows for a gentle vibrato/shimmer effect, when waving the guitar gently back and forth.
It looks beautiful too.
I'm mostly fond of all-maple guitars, like the 1966 Yamaha SA-5 I owned (#374). But mahogany also sounds OK to my ears; though it is actually my least favourite tonewood .
It works very well with the P90's- not getting too bright/edgy.
-ErlendIf somethings important- send a PM. I might be offline for long periods. Rock on!!!
Comment
-
For electric guitars, not as much (as long as it's not a boat anchor) - more interested in neck profile, pu config, bridge setup, and so on.
Acoustics, different story.
Originally posted by ICTGoober View PostOh, yeah - Guild's Asian line of solidbody guitars - Madiera and DeArmond are sometimes made of laminated bamboo, but sold as mahogany. I would not have known had I not purchased a DeArmond Jetstar (copy of a Guild Thunderbird) that was severely abused. When I stripped the finish - I was surprised by the stripes of bamboo. It will probably make a decent guitar someday.
https://imgur.com/bXrBSOH
Some luthiers offer bamboo back and sides on their instruments, like Bastien Burlot and Evan Kingma. It's pretty neat looking stuff with a bit of stain.Originally posted by dominusYour rant would sound better with an A8 magnet, it'll beef it up some without sacrificing some of the whine.
- Likes 1
Comment
-
For an acoustic guitar, I am much more interested in playability and the sound when plugged in, as that is what most people will hear (including me). A great guitar with a so-so pickup system will get passed over by something untraditional that sounds amazing through a PA system.Administrator of the SDUGF
Comment
-
Comment