Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

[rivera213]

Hey guys,

I've never played or, to my knowledge, even seen a Korina guitar. So, as i'm sure many on here would've played at least 1 Korina guitar, i want to know what the tonal qualities of the wood are.

I've gathered some info on the wood from various sources on the net which say Korina is- similar to mahogany (in that it is a mids-heavy wood), although the low end is tighter than mahogany (thus not requiring as tight a bridge pickup as you would need for mahogany), it isn't as warm as mahogany & the sustain isn't as good/long as mahogany.

None of that info is 1st hand so don't shoot the messenger if any/all of it is wrong.

I've heard it's dear because it's rarer than mahogany, i'm not sure if this is true.

Any help will be appreciated.

- Steve

 

[jerryjg]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Warmoth has some info. Check their website. Its a warm guitar.Very similar to mahogany in the , but it isnt as mid heavey as Basswood. Its a very very beautiful and wonderful sounding tonewood IMO>

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

It's much closer to mahogany than most folks woudl admit however it is a little brighter and is a little tighter on the bottom to my ears...kind of like mahogany crossed with ash but not a 50/50 mix say a 85/15 mix...

 

[pzaxtl]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Hey guys,

I've never played or, to my knowledge, even seen a Korina guitar. So, as i'm sure many on here would've played at least 1 Korina guitar, i want to know what the tonal qualities of the wood are.

I've gathered some info on the wood from various sources on the net which say Korina is- similar to mahogany (in that it is a mids-heavy wood), although the low end is tighter than mahogany (thus not requiring as tight a bridge pickup as you would need for mahogany), it isn't as warm as mahogany & the sustain isn't as good/long as mahogany.

None of that info is 1st hand so don't shoot the messenger if any/all of it is wrong.

I've heard it's dear because it's rarer than mahogany, i'm not sure if this is true.

Any help will be appreciated.

- Steve

Mostly correct. However, Korina (more properly called Limba) is not rare at all and is being managed sustainably. Of the two species, Mahogany is becoming rare, in fact Honduras Mahogany is currently listed by CITES as having the potential for extinction in the next 15 years. Whew! I just happen to have enough Honduras Mahogany to make 5 more guitar bodies.

 

[pixelpusher]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

It's much closer to mahogany than most folks woudl admit however it is a little brighter and is a little tighter on the bottom to my ears...kind of like mahogany crossed with ash but not a 50/50 mix say a 85/15 mix...

That is the best explanation I have heard for what I hear in Korina. I have a Warmoth korina super strat I finished/assembled/set up and that description is right on the money.

 

[SonofaMitch]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

I have a Black Korina Tele and I must say it's very similar to Mahogany, very beautiful to look at, and just as beautiful to hear

 

[BTMN]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

'96 Hamer Standard Korina 59N/JBB great articulations with nice sing and loud unplugged.

'97 Hamer Standard Honduran Mahogany 59N/C5B full chords, reall nice sustain and warmth.

'05 Hamer 3/4 size body and neck 23.5 scale PGN/Duncan DistortionB WOW!!! Neck has Woman tone and the bridge gets that great RAWK tone.

Warmoth Korina body and neck 59N/59B Yummy brightness and really cool vintage LP tones too.

Dean Czech Korina Goodness blended with a nice pair of Duncan Antiquities. Great vintage tones is the only description I can say fits this Beauty.

Dean '96 USA Caddy SH5N/SH14B WOW! WOW! WOW!!!

'04 Dean USA Pro Z Mahogany 59N/JBB EVERYTHING an all Mahogany guitar should be warm, toneful, and tasty.

BTW, I love Korina! :scratchch :approve: :cool2:

 

[theodie]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Does the korina finish make the Limba sound any different?

I agree with the tone TGWIF said about it.

 

[rivera213]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Thanks for the info guys. I really want to try the PRS Korina McCarty since i've played a couple regular (Mahogany) McCarty's.

BTMN, you're just showing off! Lol. Your '96 Hamer Korina Standard looks sexy. Gold hardward sets it off nicely!

 

[rivera213]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Mostly correct. However, Korina (more properly called Limba) is not rare at all and is being managed sustainably. Of the two species, Mahogany is becoming rare, in fact Honduras Mahogany is currently listed by CITES as having the potential for extinction in the next 15 years. Whew! I just happen to have enough Honduras Mahogany to make 5 more guitar bodies.

Oh, so why are Korina bodied guitars so rare if the wood is readily available (Or are there many korina made guitars in the US)?

I must say i didn't think Honduran Mahogany was all that rare, but obviously it is. I wish i had money for a custom guitar. Lol.

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

I've heard from a good friend who runs a guitar company and who made the guitar pictured below that white limba is extremely rare nowadays and that's why it's so expensive.

 

[pzaxtl]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

I've heard from a good friend who runs a guitar company and who made the guitar pictured below that white limba is extremely rare nowadays and that's why it's so expensive.

Hmm, maybe, but I checked the CITES listing and it was not listed as threatened or endangered.

In fact, You can buy all you want here:
http://www.westpennhardwoods.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=880&substring=limba

Or here:
http://www.gilmerwood.com/Gilmerwood Stock.htm

Nonetheless, Limba is expensive, but then again, so are the other exotics used in guitar building.
The reality is that all species, even domestics, are facing incredible pressures as supplies drop and demand increases.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Thats right Evan...white Limba is MUCH harder to find than Blacklimbe (and ANY kind of Mahogany) and IMO sounds better! However it is getting very costly. There is a lot 0of stuff being made and sold today like it's limba but it's not...look carefully...if the description says limba you're likely alright however it costs if the description says korina it's more than likely a korina finish over some other kind of wood...bleached mahogany, ash, or mystery wood, but becasue it's sold as korina most people (not knowing that limba is the wood and korina is the finish put on the wood) assume they are getting limba wood.

 

[pzaxtl]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Thats right Evan...white Limba is MUCH harder to find than Blacklimbe (and ANY kind of Mahogany) and IMO sounds better! However it is getting very costly. There is a lot 0of stuff being made and sold today like it's limba but it's not...look carefully...if the description says limba you're likely alright however it costs if the description says korina it's more than likely a korina finish over some other kind of wood...bleached mahogany, ash, or mystery wood, but becasue it's sold as korina most people (not knowing that limba is the wood and korina is the finish put on the wood) assume they are getting limba wood.

Black Limba and White Limba are the same species and come from the same tree (Terminalia superba). Here's a brief description of Limba, it's origin, it's trade status, it's differentiation between the black variety and the white, etc.:

Environmental Profile
This species is reported to be relatively secure, with little or no threat to its population within its natural growth range (Source - World Conservation Monitoring Center - 1992 ).

Distribution
The species is reported to be widely distributed from Guinea to Angola and Zaire. It grows in the rain and savannah forests, and is reported to be a good plantation species in West Africa.

Product Sources
Supplies are reported to be plentiful and the material is available in the form of veneers and lumber. Price is reported to be in the moderate range. The following species in the database has been suggested as a substitute for Ilomba for some end uses: Ako (Antiaris africana A. welwitschii ), African pterygota (Pterygota bequaerti P. macrocarpa ), Brown terminalia (Terminalia brassii )

Tree Data
The tree is reported to attain heights of 150 feet (46 m) at maturity, with trunk diameters of 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 m) above broad plank-like buttresses. The tree develops boles that are often straight, well-developed and clear of branches to about 90 feet (27 m).

Sapwood Color


Heartwood Color
Limba on the commercial market is reported to be either of two colors: uniformly cream, pale yellow or grayish brown sometimes with nearly black, irregular streaks which give the wood an attractive appearance. Sapwood and heartwood are not clearly differentiated.?

The source link is:
http://www.onlinewoods.com/onlinewoods/species.php?woodtype=20

This species is NOT listed by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) which means it is not threatened, nor endangered. It may be difficult to source, but that could be due to a number of factors such as political instability in it's growing region, trade embargos, or even greater harvesting of other species such as Bubinga, but it is not rare in the sense of being threatened due to over-harvesting.

 

[pzaxtl]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Oh, so why are Korina bodied guitars so rare if the wood is readily available (Or are there many korina made guitars in the US)?

That my friend just may be the million dollar question. I know Warmoth routinely carries quite a few Limba (Korina) bodies on their site.

 

[ericmeyer4]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

That my friend just may be the million dollar question. I know Warmoth routinely carries quite a few Limba (Korina) bodies on their site.

My guess it would be because it is very hazardous to your health to work with. The dust is poisonous if you breath it in.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Black Limba and White Limba are the same species and come from the same tree (Terminalia superba). Here's a brief description of Limba, it's origin, it's trade status, it's differentiation between the black variety and the white, etc.:

Environmental Profile
This species is reported to be relatively secure, with little or no threat to its population within its natural growth range (Source - World Conservation Monitoring Center - 1992 ).

Distribution
The species is reported to be widely distributed from Guinea to Angola and Zaire. It grows in the rain and savannah forests, and is reported to be a good plantation species in West Africa.

Product Sources
Supplies are reported to be plentiful and the material is available in the form of veneers and lumber. Price is reported to be in the moderate range. The following species in the database has been suggested as a substitute for Ilomba for some end uses: Ako (Antiaris africana A. welwitschii ), African pterygota (Pterygota bequaerti P. macrocarpa ), Brown terminalia (Terminalia brassii )

Tree Data
The tree is reported to attain heights of 150 feet (46 m) at maturity, with trunk diameters of 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 m) above broad plank-like buttresses. The tree develops boles that are often straight, well-developed and clear of branches to about 90 feet (27 m).

Sapwood Color


Heartwood Color
Limba on the commercial market is reported to be either of two colors: uniformly cream, pale yellow or grayish brown sometimes with nearly black, irregular streaks which give the wood an attractive appearance. Sapwood and heartwood are not clearly differentiated.?

The source link is:
http://www.onlinewoods.com/onlinewoods/species.php?woodtype=20

This species is NOT listed by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) which means it is not threatened, nor endangered. It may be difficult to source, but that could be due to a number of factors such as political instability in it's growing region, trade embargos, or even greater harvesting of other species such as Bubinga, but it is not rare in the sense of being threatened due to over-harvesting.

I think what TGWIF was getting that is, that even though black Limba and white Limba come from the same tree, there is more often than not more black streaking in the logs than just straight "white" Limba.

If the owner of Hamer guitars says white limba is getting hard to acquire in instrument grade billets, I'd tend to believe him over some other website. Even the listings on Gilmer and Cook Woods has gotten few and far between on Limba. Just because a tree isn't on the endangered list, doesn't mean the wood harvested is of musical instrument quality. And FWIW, I wouldn't buy anything more than hardware from Warmoth.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

You guys believe whatever you want about whatever wood you want and if you want to buy limba bodies from Warmoth go for it I will simply say this...

Jol at Hamer has said in several imterviews that Hamer only gets to use a very small % of the limba they buy because the rest of it is not fit for guitars...when asked what they do with the rest he stated that it was sold to other guitar builders!!! That tells me that somebody is buying and using a LOT of limba that is not good enough for guitars and they are using it anyway.

I don't care is Limba made it to any kind of list or is listed at endangered the simple fact is that it is getting harder and harder to come by...truth is it has always been hard to come by!

 

[BTMN]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

...BTMN, you're just showing off! Lol. Your '96 Hamer Korina Standard looks sexy. Gold hardward sets it off nicely!

:dunno: :dunno: :dunno:

:23:

:biglaugh:

I thought I was just giving you a lil info. That is my newest Hamer and I have wanted one like ever since I discovered the Explorer shape.

BTW, I LOVE Korina/Limba/Mahogany guitars.

Jol doesn't like the streaking in Limba. The White Limba is the prettiest of the Limba sisters but her darker sister wails too. Jol didn't used to like Spalted wood either but I see Hamer putting out some REALLY great looking Spalted wood guitars. See Willcutt's Hamer Earthern Maple top guitars. WOW!!!!!

 

[rivera213]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Ha ha, keep posting your Hamers all you want. It's the closest i'll be getting to 1 for a long time. Lol.