Agathis
- Thread starter Pecan
- Start date
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
Re: Agathis
From what I understand it is an asian conifer and it is supposed to sound like mahogany? A lot of asian guitar makers are using it.
http://www.agathis.info/guitars.php
Snowdog
From what I understand it is an asian conifer and it is supposed to sound like mahogany? A lot of asian guitar makers are using it.
http://www.agathis.info/guitars.php
Snowdog
Last edited:
Sludgenutz
New member
Re: Agathis
When I hear the phrases "Asian" and "Mahagony" too close together, I think "Luan Mahagony", which is not related to mahagony at all.
"Luan" looks similar to Mahogany, but only in its finished state. It is far softer and far more porous. It has acted as good substitute for the furniture industry for decades, but makes a loose and crappy guitar wood.
When I hear the phrases "Asian" and "Mahagony" too close together, I think "Luan Mahagony", which is not related to mahagony at all.
"Luan" looks similar to Mahogany, but only in its finished state. It is far softer and far more porous. It has acted as good substitute for the furniture industry for decades, but makes a loose and crappy guitar wood.
cvansickle
New member
Re: Agathis
I've got a Squier Bullet Special, made of this wood. It's my basement beater. It's pretty good for high gain playing, but in a clean amp it sounds like ass.
I've got a Squier Bullet Special, made of this wood. It's my basement beater. It's pretty good for high gain playing, but in a clean amp it sounds like ass.
Re: Agathis
pretty much it is very very cheap wood...bodies are made usually from several pieces and covered with lots of paint and poly. in fact, you may hear more of the poly in the tone than the wood. this isn't to say it sounds bad, it is a great cheap alternative to more expensive woods, and a huge reason why guitars made of it can be cheap.
I am all for using any type of wood out there...with all the woods available, guitarists keep using maple, mahogany, rosewood, ash, and alder.
pretty much it is very very cheap wood...bodies are made usually from several pieces and covered with lots of paint and poly. in fact, you may hear more of the poly in the tone than the wood. this isn't to say it sounds bad, it is a great cheap alternative to more expensive woods, and a huge reason why guitars made of it can be cheap.
I am all for using any type of wood out there...with all the woods available, guitarists keep using maple, mahogany, rosewood, ash, and alder.
Jeroen
New member
Re: Agathis
Luckily my Squier is still an alder-bodied Chinese one. Nowadays the Affinity . Strangely, in 1998 the Affinity had an alder body, and the more expensive Standard had an agathis body, even though alder is considered a 'better tonewood', and of course more 'historically correct' for a Strat. One would expect they'd reversed it, as the Standard also had the better pickups of the two (warm Alnico 5 instead of overly bright and sterile Ceramics).
Luckily my Squier is still an alder-bodied Chinese one. Nowadays the Affinity . Strangely, in 1998 the Affinity had an alder body, and the more expensive Standard had an agathis body, even though alder is considered a 'better tonewood', and of course more 'historically correct' for a Strat. One would expect they'd reversed it, as the Standard also had the better pickups of the two (warm Alnico 5 instead of overly bright and sterile Ceramics).
St_Genesius
New member
Re: Agathis
I'm not sure I'd ever see Agathis as a selling point, but I've played enough servicable agathis-bodied guitars to buy one if I found a model that interested me. I hadn't heard of it being a species of pine; I had always heard it compared most directly to alder.
I'm not sure I'd ever see Agathis as a selling point, but I've played enough servicable agathis-bodied guitars to buy one if I found a model that interested me. I hadn't heard of it being a species of pine; I had always heard it compared most directly to alder.
Fresh_Start
New member
Re: Agathis
My daughter's Squier is made of agathis. The wood is so soft that I was able to turn a drill bit by hand to enlarge the hole between the jack cavity and the control cavity.
I'm convinced that the OK tone has more to do with the 1/8" shell of clear plastic around the wood than the wood itself.
Chip
My daughter's Squier is made of agathis. The wood is so soft that I was able to turn a drill bit by hand to enlarge the hole between the jack cavity and the control cavity.
I'm convinced that the OK tone has more to do with the 1/8" shell of clear plastic around the wood than the wood itself.
Chip
Telesexual
New member
Re: Agathis
I think it sounds a lot like basewood. It is a wood found in the south pacific so squier uses them.
I think it sounds a lot like basewood. It is a wood found in the south pacific so squier uses them.
jalguitarman
Junior Member
Re: Agathis
I had an ibanez that was agathis. It is a cheaper wood. It soudns ok. Somewhere between mohogany and basswood. Not my favoered wood.
I had an ibanez that was agathis. It is a cheaper wood. It soudns ok. Somewhere between mohogany and basswood. Not my favoered wood.
Sludgenutz
New member
Re: Agathis
Luan (Philipine Mahogany), sounds like agathis by all accounts to me. My first guitar was made with luan plywood back in the late 1970's. My father used to work for Abitibi/Weyerhauser Corp., and he was able to bring home samples of real North American hardwood veneer faced paneling...and often the plys behind the top veneer was Luan.
Unfinished, luan is soft, weak and easily sawn. The only advantage it ever has was when it was sealed and finished, the grain structure and color looked similar to a low end South American mahogany. Also, from my recollection luan is amazingly knot-free, even in large sections.
Here is a good web search link to show you what I mean:
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/mahogany, philippine.htm
Luan (Philipine Mahogany), sounds like agathis by all accounts to me. My first guitar was made with luan plywood back in the late 1970's. My father used to work for Abitibi/Weyerhauser Corp., and he was able to bring home samples of real North American hardwood veneer faced paneling...and often the plys behind the top veneer was Luan.
Unfinished, luan is soft, weak and easily sawn. The only advantage it ever has was when it was sealed and finished, the grain structure and color looked similar to a low end South American mahogany. Also, from my recollection luan is amazingly knot-free, even in large sections.
Here is a good web search link to show you what I mean:
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/mahogany, philippine.htm
Telesexual
New member
Re: Agathis
It actually isnt that bad of a wood. You have to remember the squier affinity series has a thinner scale than the standard strat.
It actually isnt that bad of a wood. You have to remember the squier affinity series has a thinner scale than the standard strat.
jalguitarman
Junior Member
Re: Agathis
Yeah its ok. It sounds better than basswood IMHO. It seems to have more overtones than basswood.Telesexual said:
MikeS
Bengalsologist
Re: Agathis
Agathis is not Luan. Like any other pine, it is prone to knots. Every agathis body I’ve ever seen has been multiple piece construction. My Ibanez is made from agathis, and is a whopping 8 pieces in construction. It looks like the factory laminated 8 2x2 boards of the stuff together to make bodies.
The stuff is very light and works like basswood (very soft, easy to cut, and produces a very fine sanding dust). The face grain is not as open as mahogany but still takes a decent amount of finish (especially the end grain, which is by far more open then the end grain in mahogany).
Tonally I’d place the stuff between mahogany and basswood (think of the EQ of mahogany with the lifelessness of basswood). I stripped the old poly… err, plastic coating off my Ibanez when I rebuilt it and I believe this is the kind of wood that is best left with a hard finish (especially when we are talking about multiple piece construction). It seems less resonant now than when it had a thick plastic shell over it.
Agathis is not Luan. Like any other pine, it is prone to knots. Every agathis body I’ve ever seen has been multiple piece construction. My Ibanez is made from agathis, and is a whopping 8 pieces in construction. It looks like the factory laminated 8 2x2 boards of the stuff together to make bodies.
The stuff is very light and works like basswood (very soft, easy to cut, and produces a very fine sanding dust). The face grain is not as open as mahogany but still takes a decent amount of finish (especially the end grain, which is by far more open then the end grain in mahogany).
Tonally I’d place the stuff between mahogany and basswood (think of the EQ of mahogany with the lifelessness of basswood). I stripped the old poly… err, plastic coating off my Ibanez when I rebuilt it and I believe this is the kind of wood that is best left with a hard finish (especially when we are talking about multiple piece construction). It seems less resonant now than when it had a thick plastic shell over it.
