Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

[rivera213]

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.

It must be a case of greedy companies cashing in on the hearsay of Limba.

I can understand Hamer USA being expensive when you couple their excellent craftsmanship with using oly the select limba as TGWIF says below, but i'm worried/curious about the companies the sub-standard limba is being sold to.

No doubt it'll be a knocked down price (to buy in) but then their profit levels will be immense.

I'm sure PRS aren't 1 of those companies, but it's interesting to know which companies are buying the wood Hamer rejects.

Do you know of any?

 

[rivera213]

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.

Woah, thanks for the heads up. I would've bought a "Korina" guitar think it's actually the same wod aka Limba had you not pointed out that it isn't!!!

 

[rivera213]

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.

So if it's from the same tree, i'm assuming the tonal qualities are exactly the same so people prefer white limba purely for the aesthetics over any superior tonal qualities of black limba, is that correct?

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Warm similar to mahogany, but a little brighter and with more snap and zing to it. Very spanky. Cool toneowood.

I'd say korina is to mahogany as swamp ash is to alder.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

I built a superstrat out of White Limba. It has a very beautiful tone, kinda like a clearer, more articulate, airy mahogany.

It isn't endangered. It's expensive because no one is really importing it or using it for anything but musical instruments, so that creates less of a commercial demand, and high price to import it.

 

[pzaxtl]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

So if it's from the same tree, i'm assuming the tonal qualities are exactly the same so people prefer white limba purely for the aesthetics over any superior tonal qualities of black limba, is that correct?

Yes, the tone will be exactly the same. And yes, people generally choose white over black for aesthetics, plus, it's a easier to achieve a uniform color when finishing white limba. I personally think (I have no data to support this, however -- it's just an opinion) there would be more limba -- black and white -- on the market but it is not being harvested in the greater quantities that could be supported. I think the reason for this is simple economics. Both bubinga and limba are African woods, but a slab of waterfall or pomelle bubinga will go for 8-10k while a similar sized slab of limba will go for much less. Stands to reason the loggers will go for the higher value wood.

 

[pzaxtl]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

I built a superstrat out of White Limba. It has a very beautiful tone, kinda like a clearer, more articulate, airy mahogany.

It isn't endangered. It's expensive because no one is really importing it or using it for anything but musical instruments, so that creates less of a commercial demand, and high price to import it.

Plus it comes from Africa while mahogany comes from Central America. It costs WAY less money to ship from Central America than it does from Africa.

 

[BTMN]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

What did you buy?

Are you saving for a Soltero and have you heard about the UK Dean Owners Meeting in August? Go to http://www.deanguitars.com/forum and look for the Blue bulleted thread in the General Guitar section IIRC.

http://www.deanguitars.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=23

 

[eggman]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Howdy,

I too was interested in the tonal properties of Limba when I decided to make a semi-hollow Tele out of it. I ordered a 3-piece body from Warmouth and a Maple neck from USACG. The neck fit perfect, btw.
OK, the guitar sounded awful. No sustain. I've heard cheap acoustics from offshore with better sustain! Hmmph..
Called Tommy at USACG and since his business was slow (Spring '03) he suggested a solid Mahogany Tele body. He let me have a stunning two piece flamed Mahogany body for no extra charge! Finished her with Tung Oil. Gorgeous flame.
I put in DiMarzio Twang Kings, a '52 RI Fender Tele bridge along with compensated Brass saddles from Stew-Mac. I've now got a killer Tele for Buck Owens applications and she does equally well for Exiles on Main Street duties.
The Tone? Less snappy than my Alder body Tele. Darker, but still good for clean. Overdriven it sounds fairly close to Keefs tone on "Get yer Ya-Ya's Out". Think "Midnight Rambler". This guitar just begs to be plugged into my old Vibro Champ and turned way up. She's also equally at home played clean through my red knob Twin. Sorry for the novel. I'll bet Korina is great; i just had a bad experience.

Eggman

PS: My Mahogany beauty is a heavy girl: 9 lbs.

 

[TinMan]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Limba is indeed brighter than mahogany thus why it usually doesn't have a maple top while mahogany does. Mahogany kind of needs it to prevent it from getting a little flabby sounding in the lower range.

I find that Limba also does this weird vowel sound in its mids that mahogany doesn't do. In some ways, its a bit of what some say the Full Shred does.

I'm a big fan of Limba in solid bodies.

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

I find that Limba also does this weird vowel sound in its mids that mahogany doesn't do.

I agree, in as good way. Best sounding guitar I ever owned was a Hamer korina Vector, which is a copy of the 58 Flying V - Awesome tone.

 

[BTMN]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Funny you should mention one of those. Got this one in September. Cost me a dollar. True story. Search for it, Life IS Good!

Great thread. Limba Gooooood!!!

 

[Seraphial]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Warm similar to mahogany, but a little brighter and with more snap and zing to it. Very spanky. Cool toneowood.

I'd say korina is to mahogany as swamp ash is to alder.

So if I can hijack slightly, I hear similar descriptions to Koa in relation to mahogany. Does that mean Limba and Koa is in the same ballpark?

Also, do people think Limba by itself is better than a limba/maple combo?

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

(also a slight hijack)well, according to ed roman, who can talk up a used carman's storm, limba(korina), which costs more than mahogany, is like an ultimate version of mahogany, and walnut, which is pretty expensive too, is like super-maple, having all the qualities of maple, but with better lows and brighter. so imagine a les paul made of limba with a walnut top, it'd just be a really bright les paul...and there's easier/cheaper ways to do that.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

IMO, here's where Limba lies. It is a mahogany. IMO, it has the tone of the old mahogany- the dried, aged honduran mahogany that was used in the 50's Les Paul- which tended to be a little brighter than modern Les Pauls. So Korina gives you the tone of an old vintage Les Paul/mahogany instrument.

I found this out by putting a '59b in the neck of my Korina superstrat. The neck pickup sounded more like old Les Paul recordings, this Peter Green, Clapton, than my Les Paul did.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Korina (Limba) tonal qualities?

Funny you should mention one of those. Got this one in September. Cost me a dollar. True story. Search for it, Life IS Good!

Great thread. Limba Gooooood!!!

How would you like to double your money real quick? :naughty: