Tonewood Details: N-Q
Begun as a private project, I was asked to make this available to others. For my own use, attribution was not a particular concern - which of course I regret now. If you see something you said or a photo or yours is in there, please first allow me the opportunity to properly credit it - or to remove it if you object.
Much of what has been said is highly subjective. We can post your experiences as well. My own are limited enough that they are best kept to myself. Two pieces of wood may exhibit very different characteristics; this is part of what makes wood so fascinating. And two luthiers may have differing opinions, based upon the wood they use, their techniques in handling it, and the level of their expertise. The more information that is gathered, the easier it will be to draw conclusions which help us all.
I have adopted a rating scale from the Elly Guitar site in which their ratings are given a numerical form of from 1 to 5. These numerical renditions of Highs ("H"), Mids ("M"), Bass ("B"), Sustain ("S"), Overtones ("O"), and Tone ("T") can give you a sense of the kind of sound which may be expected from any given wood. Remember, there is a vast amount of overlap and difference between each wood, each builder, and how they handle the woods. Like most everywhere here, we discuss in very broad generalities. You may wish to visit Elly Guitars and see for yourself their more graphical way of presenting this kind of material.
A click on each underlined wood takes you to a Sub-Page where photos are arranged alphabetically by wood.
Much of what has been said is highly subjective. We can post your experiences as well. My own are limited enough that they are best kept to myself. Two pieces of wood may exhibit very different characteristics; this is part of what makes wood so fascinating. And two luthiers may have differing opinions, based upon the wood they use, their techniques in handling it, and the level of their expertise. The more information that is gathered, the easier it will be to draw conclusions which help us all.
I have adopted a rating scale from the Elly Guitar site in which their ratings are given a numerical form of from 1 to 5. These numerical renditions of Highs ("H"), Mids ("M"), Bass ("B"), Sustain ("S"), Overtones ("O"), and Tone ("T") can give you a sense of the kind of sound which may be expected from any given wood. Remember, there is a vast amount of overlap and difference between each wood, each builder, and how they handle the woods. Like most everywhere here, we discuss in very broad generalities. You may wish to visit Elly Guitars and see for yourself their more graphical way of presenting this kind of material.
A click on each underlined wood takes you to a Sub-Page where photos are arranged alphabetically by wood.
Narra Pterocarpus indicus, Amboyna, Angsana, New Guinean Rosewood
H=4, M=3.5, B=3.8, S=3/.6, O=3.5, T=2.2
If you are interested in purchasing narra, proceed with caution. Yellow narra (Pterocarpus indicus) is also known as narra, New Guinea rosewood, Burma rosewood, sena and angsana. Sometimes other species are mixed with it. Listed as "vulnerable".
Narra is a wood that comes from the Solomon Islands and elsewhere. It is the national tree of the Philippines, planted for shade and beauty and prized for furniture. Fungal susceptibility has cut the supply. Its color is similar to Koa -golden tan to cinnamon or reddish brown. Sets may have a dazzling bees-wing figure and interlocking grain. It seems to be a little harder than most Koa and should be a good choice for fingerstyle steel string guitars. Beautiful shades of gold to golden brown with a gorgeous curly figure. Heartwood consists of light yellow, golden brown, reddish brown to red, but darkens with age. The redder it is, the denser it is. Sapwood is a defined pale yellow or slightly white color. Grain is interlocked, sometimes wavy, with dark growth bands. Moderately fine to moderately coarse texture. Slight luster, with a fragrant rose-like scent. Easy to work using both hand and machine tools, but bends less well.
Narra is in the same family as Padauk and is sometimes marketed as Golden Padauk or Golden Rosewood. Narra is also called New Guinea Rosewood, but it is not a rosewood. It is easy to work and has a really nice tap tone and is an underused wood. If you have ever worked with Padauk, it is the same in terms of stiffness and it bends on a Fox style bender with no problem. It has an open pore similar to Walnut and not as big a pore as Koa. One thing that will knock you out is that when you sand or cut it, it is as sweet a smell as most rosewoods. No matter how nice pictures may look, it is much nicer in person. The overall color of the wood is gold tones but there can be streaks of pinks and reds in it as well. It catches the light as well as Koa, so no matter what, it will make a striking guitar. Narra is not imported as much as Padauk. In most of its habitat, it is not at risk. It is usually separated by distance from the Padauk as being in the same family, they will cross pollinate and Paduak is desirable as solid and dark as possible. Hybridized Pterocarpus (the family they are in) will range in color between very light looking more golden and less red to all Padauk which can be very deep red with some subspecies looking more golden brown in between. More builders are looking at alternative woods that are sustainably harvested such as Padauk and Narra. Some sets exhibit a burl figure creating a unique bookmatched pattern. The luxurious Amboyna burl grows on the Narra tree.
COLOR: heartwood ranges from a yellow-golden brown, to a blood-red and sometimes with reddish streaks. The more red there is in the wood, the heavier it is. The heartwood of Andaman padauk is similar to narra, ranging from a yellow-brown to a dark red. The sapwood is whitish or pale straw, clearly defined.
GRAIN: open, interlocked and sometimes wavy, which together with dark growth bands produce an attractive figure. Select logs have a "bee's-wing mottle" figure that is spectacular.
TEXTURE: moderately fine to moderately coarse and uneven due to the ring-porous structure. Somewhat lustrous.
PROPERTIES / WORKABILITY: Easy to work with both hand and machine tools; turns well, and takes a good finish. Can be glued without problems. Reportedly, it can be difficult to plane when it has interlocked grain.
STABILITY: Movement in service is rated as small.
BENDING: classified as a moderate steam-bending wood
ODOR: fragrant, spicy, odor which persists even when dry
SOURCES: The tree is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, New Guinea and Indonesia, and has spread throughout much of Southeast Asia including Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
Specific gravity is 0.52, 40-41lb/ft3
Nato (Nyatoh) (Palaquim spp.)
Often used for necks in the past and considered a good substitute for mahogany in this application, Nato has a less desirable reputation for backs and sides. It is stable, a bit hard to bend, and is rarely found quarter sawn. It can be highly figured.
Northern Silky Oak (Cardwellia sublimis) Lacewood H=3.6, M=3.5, B=4, S=3.8, O3, T=3
Light to medium brown with gray and light brown medullary rays throughout. There may be a snakeskin-like pattern. Straight grain and coarse texture, only moderately heavy, a bit bright, a bit warm, decent balance throughout.
Nikko Namili Cedar
I have almost no info on this cedar. It is a sacred wood to theJapanese and must not be cut - but may be salvaged from a fallen tree. I do not think they get very big. But they look neat. If you can tell me more, please do.
Norway Spruce Picea abies
Usually used for general construction or paper production, it is flexible, straight and lightweight, pale yellow in color. The heartwood will have tinges of brown and reddish-brown. Knots tend to be small and come in clusters. Other than that, it is easily worked & glues well. It is resinous and does not take stain well. It's sawdust can create respiratory problems and skin irritation.
Oak Quercus sp.
Oak is coarse and its large pores are hard to fill, but its availability in home improvement stores makes it widely available. Quartered oak is common at lumberyards and Alan Carruth says you should only use quarter-sawn oak for builds.,. The only thing wrong with oak instruments is that they look so much like furniture. White is often less interesting than red oak.
Oak has proven to be a top of the line wood when it comes to concert instrument construction. It is not always available.
("Tasmanian Oak" is a member of the Eucalyptus family. It produces a full sound full of harmonics, a punchy bass and clear penetrating trebles. It has been described as higher damping, very clear but with less overtones. And it ranks with the best tonewoods woods on the planet. It looks gorgeous and works perfectly with Spruce, Cedar or redwood.)
The sapwood of oak is white to very light brown, while the heartwood is light to dark brown in the white oak group and reddish brown in the red oak group. Oak wood has a course texture; it is heavy, straight-grained, hard, tough, very stiff, and strong. Fast-grown oak, with wide rings, is stronger and heavier than slow-grown oak. Oak wood has good working properties. It machines and glues well and holds fasteners extremely well. It tends to split when nailed, unless predrilled. Oak finishes well, but shrinks considerably. May cause allergic bronchial asthma, rhinitis, and dermatitis.
COLOR: Heartwood and sapwood are similar, with sapwood lighter in color; Red Oak is slightly redder than white oak.
GRAIN: Open, red is slightly coarser (more porous) than white oak. Plainsawn boards have a plumed or flared grain appearance; riftsawn has a tighter grain pattern, low figuring; quartersawn has a flake pattern, some- times called tiger rays or butterflies. Occasionally can be found with some fiddleback figure.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: More than 200 subspecies in North America; great variation in color and grain, depending on the origin of the wood and corresponding differences in growing seasons. Northern, Southern and Appalachian red oak can all be divided into upland and lowland species. Because they grow more slowly, upland species generally have a more uniform grain pattern than lowland species, with more growth rings per inch.
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: Average (change coefficient .00369 - red, .00365 - white).
DURABILITY: Stiff and dense; resists wear, with high shock resistance, though red is less durable than white.
SAWING/MACHINING: Above average in all machining operations except shaping.
SANDING: Red sands satisfactorily, better than white oak. Good resistance to splitting.
FINISHING: Strong stain contrast because of large pores.
Janka: 1290(red), 1360 (white) Specific gravity is 0.77, 43-48lb/ft3
Ohia - ohia lehua
Color/Appearance: Heartwood is a light to medium reddish brown. Grayish sapwood is not well defined.
Grain/Texture: Grain is interlocked, with a medium uniform texture and moderate natural luster.
Rot Resistance: Rated as non-durable to perishable; good insect resistance.
Workability: Generally difficult to work on account of its high density and interlocked grain. Ohia also has a rather large movement in service, as evidenced by its high shrinkage values.
Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with Ohia.
After wondering about it for decades, I am actively looking for information of its properties as a tone wood.
Ohia is a very common species in Hawaii and across the Pacific islands. 1,000,000 acres of it are in Hawaii. It has loads of red (and sometimes yelow) flowers, making it easily identified in season. Abundant but seriously threatened by a fungus. A pioneer species after volcanic eruptions, Ohia is among the first to survve, due to usualy deep roots. But it is also found in the rich soils of the Islands’ oldest regions. It is an extremely diverse species, appearing 60 feet tall in tropical forest climates, yet as a diminutive shrub in the dry, high-elevation regions.
**Okoume (Aucoumea Klaineana) Akoume
Fast growing and used in marine plywood, you'd think it odd to be found here. Worse, it does not resist impact well. Yet, it sounds much like maple, light and bright, and can be used for backs and sides or tops. Lustrous pinkish brown to light red with a tight grain, straight or slightly wavy in grain with sapwood that is grayish. Its colors darken with age. Given its unusually light weight (25 lb/ft3), it is harder to work than might be expected and it does not like steam bending. Only 380 on the Janka scale.
Olivewood Olea europenea, Mediterranean Olive
Gold to black in color, can be highly figured, dense, oily, beautiful golden brown lumber with brown and black streaks running through it. These trees are usually only harvested when they are too old to produce olives or are damaged by disease or nature. Olives are usually pruned to keep the olives close to the ground so long lengths in olive are uncommon. Olive can also come with tiger striping and burl.
Wild Olive Wood - (Olea capensis macrocarpus) A rare hardwood/tonewood from Zambia. Beautiful colors, contrast and light figuring combine to yield exquisite beauty. The extreme density, (approx. 1.05, very similar to Ebony), yields bright tonal qualities, making Wild Olive a desirable tonewood.
Specific gravity 0.89, 4.6 wt/board foot
Osage Orange Maclura pomifera, Bois d' Arc H=4, M=3.5, B=3.7, S=3.6, O=3.3, T=3.5
From a bright yellow-orange, this beautiful hardwood ages to a golden tan or Russet brown. Several luthiers have stated that Osage Orange was a "drop-in replacement of Brazilian Rosewood or even Superior to it." Tim McKnight has said its tap tone is similar to the rosewoods but it has less bass response. On the other hand it is less muddy and has the clarity you wish you could get, even sharp, along with overtone complexity. Very hard and dense. Figure is very rare. Though working the wood is difficult due to its hardness, its exceptional dimensional stability makes the extra work well worth the effort. Most trees never reach sufficient size to be used for bodies of guitars.
The sapwood of Osage Orange is narrow and light yellow, while the heartwood is golden to bright orange, which darkens upon exposure. The heartwood can also contain red streaks. It has no characteristic odor or taste. The wood is very hard, heavy, tough, resilient and takes a high luster. It is ring porous and commonly confused with black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). Osage Orange is difficult to work due to its hardness. It holds glue and screws well.
Alan Carruth:"In terms of mechanical and acoustic properties, it's about as close to Brazilian as any wood you'll find. It does tend to be chippy, so pre-scoring the binding routs is a good idea, for example. Other than that it's fairly straightforward to work with. " (Acoustic Guitar Forum)
Tim McKnight: "The wood is an outstanding tone wood if quartered and seasoned properly. Its not common to find it used by factories because its just not plentiful enough to support huge manufacturing demands. However, there are a handful of individual builders who have an appreciation for its outstanding tonal qualities.... It remains one of my favorite tone woods to build with. Its extremely balanced and predictable, bass to treble, with a healthy dose of sustain thrown into the mix. " (Acoustic Guitar Forum)
54lb/ft3
Ovangkol Tropical West Africa Guibortia ehie , Shedua H=3.7, M=2.9, B=4, S= 3.8, O=2.7, T=2.9
Over a decade ago, Taylor introduced the world to a pair of new tonewoods, the first being Ovangkol. An African relative of rosewood, it’s a great sounding wood that shares many of rosewood’s tonal properties, with a slightly fuller midrange and a top end that’s not quite as bright as maple. A well-rounded kind of sound. Being lesser known than rosewood, Ovangkol has been a sleeper hit over the years, asserting itself as an instant contender among unsuspecting players who test-drive a variety of Taylor models. Ovangkol (also called Shedua and Amazaqoue) has been in use by several of the larger high-end factories for several years now, most notably Taylor, Lowden and Avalon, but its combination of affordability, beauty and tonality has made it a favorite with a growing number of hand makers as well.
Goes well with most applications: players who perhaps don’t have predefined tonal preferences, who may be generalists in their style of play, and who are looking for a well-rounded, all-purpose solid wood guitar. It works well with different body shapes.
From West Africa, the figure is similar to Indian Rosewood, with dark gray straight lines over a golden-brown or olive-brown background with darker stripes. It comes from the same family as Bubinga, sharing many tonal qualities, and has a similar interlocking grain pattern. It is reasonably easy to bend and plane and it finishes well. Ovangkol is a wood of medium density. It has a light-brown color with dark stripes. Remarkable are also frequent shades to to green and red, which leads to a quite attractive lively appearance.
Montreal luthier Michael Greenfield says: “Ovangkol...who knew?! What a great alternative tonewood. As there is a lot of it around, the logs are large and the sets are very on quarter and STRAIGHT. What a pleasure to build with. Bends and glues well... .not too hard on edge tools. It is not quite as dense as most Rosewoods, which can be a good thing, especially on larger bodied guitars as you don’t have to combat the problem of clashing overtones -there is better separation between notes.” He went on to say that his latest Ovangkol guitar is a ”monster” and mentioned that tonally it falls nicely ”between Koa and Rosewood”.
Ovangkol or shedua is from Western Africa near the Ivory Coast. It has the depth of Rosewood but has the much better snap associated with medium density woods such as Koa and Walnut. The grain is interlocked and the texture is moderately coarse. Works fairly easily with hand or machine tools but saws slowly. Ovangkol is a very attractive wood and is highly sought for musical instruments.
CHARACTER: Ovangkol timber grain is interlocked and the texture is moderately coarse
TONE: Ovangkol back and sides sits between the warmth and depth of strong Rosewood and the sparking trebles and highs of Maple
It is characterized by golden-brown to dark brown heartwood with dark gray to black streaks. It is a straight-grained wood that occasionally exhibits a beautiful wavy figure.
One luthier said, “The writer only made one guitar from this wood, and I only include it because it was such an ordeal that he thought you should be warned. The board was too pretty to resist, a cinnamon-brown with modest flame figure and darker streaks of color.”
51lb/ft3
Padauk Pterocarpus soyauxii/dalbergioides H=3.7, M=3.1, B=4.3, S-3.8, O 3, T=4
Padauk is a bright orange, Vermillion, or almost crimson wood with a vanilla-like scent when freshly cut, but oxidizes to a darker, rich purple-brown over time - although it stays redder than Indian Rosewood. Padauk, a legume, is a dense and unique hardwood from Africa. Over time, it slowly ages to a purple Rosewood color (maybe to brown). Exposure to a UV light will hasten this process. Slightly harder and heavier than Indian Rosewood it is a good back and side wood in all respects - stable, easy to work, with a strong tone. Noted luthier Dana Bourgeois has said that, “Padauk is the most promising replacement for generic Rosewood”. It is one of a number of woods that various folks claim as a good substitute for Brazilian rosewood. The lumber is readily available in larger planks, so the sets are moderately priced and exhibit good, straight grain throughout most pieces. Huge logs are available, producing well quartered, straight grain sets. Larger sizes are sometimes available (for basses and baritones). It grows fast and supply is not limited by environmental constraints.
Slightly harder and heavier than Indian Rosewood, it is stable, easy to work, with a strong punchy tone. Some have found it prone to splitting, expanding and contracting above normal with humidity, and difficult to bend. Not every luthier experiences these things. Several luthiers laminate sides to avoid splitting when bending. It may be a little difficult to bend compared to the ease of bending of some of the more pliable woods. Sides in this species are slightly harder to bend and may crack in the process. Others say it is stable and bends fairly well - use of a heat blanket will aid the process. Get it too hot and it may darken. This is a very suitable Rosewood substitute tonally and visually (I personally take some exception to the visual comparison). BIG pores and lots of dust (which, because of its bright red color, tends to stand out, you'll have what looks like Hungarian Paprika everywhere), silica and minerals. Beware - if it gets wet, the color will bleed.
John Kinnaird calls it a "musical wood" and likes to use it beneath the bridges. It is rich in overtones and is not that expensive, often commercially grown. Stable, easy to work (except to bend), it produces a robust and deeper sound, a strong bass, rich with overtones. He says it emits a cotton candy-like odor when worked.
African Padauk is almost redundant since the other Padauk from the Andaman Islands, off the coast of Indian, hasn't been exported for a number of years. The African version while initially bright orange when freshly cut, oxidizes to a more subtle orange brown in time. Some say its sound falls somewhere between Maple and Mahogany. Yet more builders say it is definitely on the rosewood side of things, nice overtones without being overbearing, a little heavier on the mids and bass, like Rosewood is. Short to medium sustain. Punchy with even balance from bass to treble. Some claim that it makes "killer" sounding guitars when paired with a cedar top. Often reasonably priced.
COLOR: Heartwood is vivid reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening to reddish- or purple-brown or black over time. Sapwood is cream-colored. Very uniform in color.
GRAIN: Straight to interlocked; coarse texture.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Slight variation in color.
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: Excellent (change coefficient .00180).
DURABILITY: Average to high durability.
SAWING/MACHINING: Saws well, but requires a slow feed rate; carbide tooling recommended. Machines easily, with some tearing of the interlocked grain.
SANDING: Sands satisfactorily.
FINISHING: Takes finishes well; some have found that water-based finishes hold color better. Has a tendency to bleed.
COMMENTS: Dermatological and respiratory allergic potential.
Janka: 1725
iim7V7IM7 says the following: There are three Padauk species: African (Pterocarpus soyauxii), Andaman (Pterocarpus dalbergioides) and Burma (Pterocarpus macrocarpus). We don't speak about rosewoods as a single species I am not sure why we do with Padauk other than wood sellers don't always provide good identification on wood they do not have good chain of custody on.
Wood--------------------Density (lb/ft^3)-----Hardness (lbf)-----Stiffness (lb/in^2)-----
African Padauk-----------------47---------------1,970--------------1,700,000---------
Andaman Padauk---------------48---------------1,630--------------1,754,000---------
Burma Padauk------------------54---------------2,150--------------2,050,000--------
Brazilian Rosewood-------------52----------------2,790------------2,020,000--------
East Indian Rosewood----------52----------------2,440-------------1,668,000--------
Madagascar Rosewood---------58----------------2,550-------------1,742,000--------
Keep in mind, Padauk's color tends to be fugitive and darken over time with exposure to UV. Padauks are similar in weight to rosewoods, but no where near as hard. African and Andaman being more akin to EIR in stiffness and Burma being more stiff like BRW. This doesn't speak directly to the Q of the wood tat some builders have spoken highly of as a very acoustically lively wood.
African: Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale pinkish orange to a deep brownish red. Most pieces tend to start reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening substantially over time to a reddish/purplish brown (some lighter pieces age to a grayish brown).
Andaman: Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale golden yellow to a deeper reddish brown. Color tends to darken to a golden brown over time. Yellow sapwood is well demarcated from heartwood. Overall, Burma Padauk’s color tends to be less red and more subdued than African Padauk.
Burma: Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale pinkish orange to a deep brownish red. Most pieces tend to start reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening substantially over time to a reddish/purplish brown.
45lb/ft3
Paela - see Chatke Viga
Paldoa (also spelled Paldao) Dracontomelum dao
An attractive wood from SE Asia with heartwood that is grey-brown in color with a faint greenish tinge and irregular dark brown to black streaks. Paldao works easily with hand tools or machinery, but when the wood has interlocked grain, expect a slight blunting effect on cutting surfaces. As is typical with interlocking grain, you get a shimmering or a slight figure. The wood is very attractive with a clear finish. The grain is straight to interlocked with a moderate to fine texture. The heartwood varies from light brown, grayish, greenish yellow to reddish brown often with irregular dark brown to nearly black banding. Paldao is tonally similar to mahogany and produces a warm, lively tone.
Martz911: Paldao is a tonewood from Southeast Asia. Online, I've found some opinions that this wood is similar to Mahogany back and sides in its effect on a guitar's tone, but my ears are hearing deep warmth and overtones - - a little darker than Koa, closer to the Rosewoods."
Typical Uses: Exterior construction, veneer, musical instruments, decorative woodwork, inlay, furniture
Source Region: Philippines, Malaysia, Indochina
Palisander Dalbergia baronii
One of several rosewood species from Madagascar. It has beautiful color and grain, a sweet smell, and is very easy to work and stable in use. It is a very close match to true Rio or Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) and as such is much in demand for musical instruments, especially guitars." (Gilmer Hardwood) Note that it is on the CITES list. It is also available from Honduras (and elsewhere?), but it is not clear to me if this is the same species.
Palo Escrito Dalbergia paloescrito, Mexican rosewood H=3.7, M=3.5, B=4.2, S=3.7, O=3, T=4
It is a tan wood with reddish-brown lines that create unusual patterns in some sets, much like cocobolo. This is a lighter-weight type of rosewood. Guitars with back and sides made of palo escrito are known for a sweet high end and good punch. Palo Escrito is a relatively light rosewood with the tone and easy workability comparable to Indian Rosewood. It shows attractive shades of red and golden brown, and is often figured. Palo Escrito is considered a premier tonewood in Mexico due to its even yet lively tone, with good bass and treble separation. It has a wider grain and more figure than Indian Rosewood and is lighter in color and on the red side, lighter weight.
Palo Escrito is the premiere native back and side wood used by the luthiers in Paracho, Mexico. It is a true Rosewood, but differs from Indian Rosewood visually with slightly wider grain, more figure, and lighter color. It is also lighter in weight. Although Palo Escrito is a natural for flamenco guitars and classical, builders like Kenny Hill and Dake Traphagen have enjoyed using it, and steel string builder James Goodall has been very enthusiastic about the tone of the guitars he’s used it on. Top notch bass, singing mids, with sustain and projection.
CHARACTER: Palo Escrito Rosewood guitar timber has wider grain, more figure than East Indian Rosewood
TONE: Palo Escrito Rosewood back and sides tonewood is compared to East Indian Rosewood, used by Classical luthiers
Panama Rosewood Dalbergia tucerencis.
This rosewood from Panama is not listed by the U.S. Forest Products Lab. Bark, leaves, and seeds were sent to the Madison lab, and all they could ascertain was that it was indeed a Dalbergia. It is in appearance very similar to Honduran rosewood, straight and fine grained, but it is lighter in weight, and tends toward brown in color. Most luthiers who have tested this wood say it compares well to Brazilian rosewood, and we believe that it's an excellent replacement wood for the vintage Brazilian look. It's one of the few true rosewoods apart from Indian Rosewood that can still be had at a reasonable price. In some of the more recent shipments, the sets display a great variation in appearance, with most having what appear to be drying checks in the panels. (It is only appearance, not splits, checks, voids.)
Panguana (Brosimun utile)
Panguana is a light-weight tonewood with a modest spalted figure whose color ranges from light tan through the grayish tans. Panguana shows a rich coloration of stripes and grain lines that becomes especially beautiful when the wood is finished. At 37 pounds per cubic foot, Panguana is among the lighter-weight instrument woods, with a weight and stiffness similar to our Copaiba, and like Copaiba its density and moderate flexibility lend to enhancing the instrument’s tone in the mid and bass ranges. (from Forgotten Woods")
37lb/ft3
Pashaco Amarillo (Schizalobium sp.)
Pashaco Amarillo is an attractive wood with dark gray flecks and spalt-like lines. As its Spanish name implies, its color ranges from a light yellow-ish field to the dark grey (and sometimes black) flecks. Pashaco weights 36 pounds per cubic foot and is a moderately flexible wood that imparts good mid- to low-range tonal response when used for backboards and rims. (from "Forgotten Woods")
37lb/ft3
Pashaco Negro (Schizolobium parahybum)
Pashaco Negro is one of the lightest hardwoods weighing in at 27 pounds per cubic foot. It is a mildy-streaked wood that is populated with an abundance of small dark lines (open pores). A very light and flexible wood, Pashaco has potential as an optional soundboard material, but would provide great bass and mid range response when used for rims and backboards. This is an excellent material for the backboards and rims of classical guitars. The open pores of Pashaco Negro need to be filled prior to finishing. (Also see Catahua and Achihua for soundboard wood options.) (from "Forgotten Woods")
27lb/ft3
Pau Ferro Machaerium scleroxylum, Morado or Bolivian Rosewood, Leopard-tree, Morado
H=3.8, =3.3, B=4.1, S= 3.8, O=3.2, T=4
1) Pau Ferro is not technically a rosewood and is less dense and less glassy-sounding. The sound more closely resembles Walnut. However, this wood is among the favorites for building an exceptional quality guitar. It is beautiful, has no pores to fill (so it finishes superbly), and is tonally similar to rosewood, with fast, clean response that represents the entire spectrum of the tonal register well. Cosmetically, Pau Ferro can range from chocolate brown with intense figure to perfectly straight-grained quartersawn stock that tends to lean more toward tan and gold hues (vs. EIR’s browns, reds and purples). Shimmering highs contrast with deep lows. "Balanced" is another terms I have heard used. Flatsawn, it can be unstable. It is perhaps best used if one wants a Rosewood-like appearance (though lighter in color) but a sound that tends more toward mahogany.
It does not require the pampering for humidity control that most other woods should have.
(Suhr) Normally found in Brazil and Bolivia, Pau Ferro is a tight grained hardwood that has a similar feel and sound to rosewood, but is harder and slightly lighter in color. Warmer sounding than ebony, brighter than Rosewood, Pau Ferro has a percussive attack, excellent clarity, a fat low-end and a pronounced high-end sparkle. These characteristics make Pau Ferro particularly well suited to high gain styles such as rock and metal.
Michael Bashkin says: “Pau Ferro. I think is a visually appealing wood with carmel colors and can have ink dark ink growth lines. It is easy to obtain in well quartered sets, which is a good thing because flatsawn areas can be unstable. It is a closed pore wood so it is nice to finish and machines well. For tone although is is heavy and looks like a “rosewood” is has a dryer tap tone, and does not have the glassy brilliance of woods like Honduran, Brazilian rosewood or Cocobolo. It would work well for a someone seeking a tone between Rosewood and Mahogany. ”
Collings compares it to East Indian RW: "Pau Ferro is more dense and stiff than East Indian Rosewood, and it therefore offers a very clear, detailed and percussive bass response. The guitars entire frequency range will be a bit brighter than EIR."
Pau Ferro's contrasting bands of brown, gold, yellow and black give the wood a beautiful and warm appearance. Pale yellow sapwood. Normally a straight grained wood, Pau Ferro does occasionally exhibit interesting figure. It is a nonporous wood which results in a very nice finish. Heavier than Indian Rosewood, Pau Ferro has a nice tap tone and is tonally similar to Indian Rosewood. It bends well and takes a finish easily. A good choice for fretboards and bridges as it wears well, tends to be uniform, is fast, dense and smooth, and needs no finish.
2) Jacaranda Pardo is a South American wood sometimes called Bolivian Rosewood or Pau Ferro. The Northern variety exhibits dark stripes through a dark tan that resembles striped Ebony versus the Southern variety that visually resembles Brazilian Rosewood. Jacaranda Pardo is a great tonewood that is dense (heavier than Brazilian & East Indian Rosewood), closed grain and nonporous. It is beautiful to finish. Note that a small percentage of the population is allergic to this wood.
From David Berkowitz: Pau ferro...has a high compliment of dalbergiones, a chemical common to many tropical hardwoods, including true rosewoods, and the principle irritant to all of them. Treatment usually requires a strong topical steroid like desonide which requires a prescription. Try sealing a (Pau Ferro) fingerboard with several coats of teak oil, available through marine supply. It may or may not work.
Caldwell Guitars: "It's underutilized IMO. The best sets can be visually spectacular, often exhibiting the landscaping figure seen on the best Madagascar and Brazilian. It's not a true rosewood and lacks the tonal complexities of most rosewoods, but that doesn't disqualify it from making great guitars. To my ear it tends toward a more neutral sound - think maple - and lets the tonal properties of the top dominate. It's close pored and easily finished. " Arnold Guitar:" Pau ferro (ironwood) is also known as Santos rosewood or morado. IMHO, it's better-sounding than bocote, and probably more stable. "
When finishing, avoid an oxidizing finish. They may not cure and could leave a sitcky mess. Shellac and Nitro will cure.
Janka is 3000 and the specific gravity is .82.
*Paulownia (Paulownia Tomentosa)
A light golden to blonde wood used for top woods and center woods in solid-bodies, it has one of the best strength to weight ratios. It exhibits lots of character, and works well, plus is very stable though it dings easily, comes with the light weight I suppose. 1160 on the Janka scale and 17 lb/ft3 (range is 14-21). Similar to Catalpa, it may have faint grayish to purplish hues. Attractive and one of the world's fastest growing trees, it is used in Chinese ceremonial furniture. Tony Yamamoto uses it frequently.
Pau Rosa (Swartzia fistulo des)
A very hard wood with a specific gravity of .85 Beautiful salmon color with cream sapwood. Tap tone is very similar to Honduran Rosewood. A real sleeper that can make for a wonderful guitar.
Also known as African Tulip, this beautiful African hardwood contains beautiful orange, red, pink & golden colors. It is dense and has bright tap tone which is similar to Rosewoods, glues well, and takes a high natural polish.
Pau Santo (Zollernia Paraensis) Brazilian Blackheart
This is a very dark, heavy and hard wood, may have grays or greens in it, and has been used in some applications to replace Ebony or Lignum Vitae. The sapwood is distinctly yellowish. It exhibits a natural luster but interlocking grain may make it difficult to work with. An abundance of natural oils increased difficulty with glueing and finishing. Sound-wise, expect it to fall between rosewood and ebony.
Trees rarely grow large enough to use for backs, so for this reason if no other it is very uncommonly used as tonewood. It is one of the woods used for violin bows, however. It's incense is also used in certain religious and medicinal (cancer fighting) ceremonies (this last may be Palo Santos instead - my ability to read Portuguese is about as minimal as it can be). Confusing the issue, I found this in Webster's: "a Brazilian tree (Kielmeyera coriacea) of the family Guttiferae having bark that is similar to cork and used for insulation".
69lb/ft3
Pear Pirus communis
Stained black, pear was often used for fingerboards on vintage banjos. Orange or Reddish colored wood of a medium density, almost without any visible structure. Flamed pieces can appear rather attractive. I had the opportunity to play two nearly identical-looking pear guitars within minutes of each other. The first was one of the finest I have ever played, regardless of woods - just exceptionally clear and well-balanced, loud but not booming, with adequate but not over whelming bass. The other, still a fine instrument, was by another maker and priced at a fraction of the first, and was nice enough but definitely unexceptional, a bit quieter, far less bass and less overall balance and clarity. How often will you find 2 pear guitars in the same room? The lesson to take away has been made before: it's the builder first.
Bruce Sexauer: "I have found it works a bit like a higher quality American Cherry. It has a finer texture and far less flaw, at least on the high end pieces I use. Virtually poreless from a finishing POV, it bends relatively easily with minimal scorching, and sands easily as well. It is a bit brittle and care must be taken lest it break cross grain."
Hard Pear Olinia ventosa
Distribution: Hard Pear occurs in the Eastern, Southern and Western Cape of South Africa.
Properties: Has a yellowish-brown to reddish-brown color, a fine, wavy, close grain and is hard, compact and strong. (Weight 1201kg/m3 green and 849kg/m3 air-dry). Average linear shrinkage from green to air-dry is 4,5% across the grain. It must be seasoned with care to avoid splitting and warping.
Working Qualities: Not the easiest timber to work because of its uneven, wavy grain, and sharp, high speed tools are required. It has a very fine finish due to the wavy appearance of the grain, which gives it a characteristic rippled effect.
Uses: Hard Pear is durable and is used for furniture and musical instruments, and to a limited extent for boat building and carpentry.
(above from "Forgotten Woods")
Pernambuco Caesalpinia echinata, Brazilwood
Botanically, several tree species are involved, all in the family Fabaceae (the pulse family). The term "Brazilwood" is most often used to refer to the species Caesalpinia echinata, but it is also applied to other species. The tree is also known by other names, as iIirapitanga, Tupi for "red wood"; or pau de pernambuco, named after the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.
Excessive exploitation led to a steep decrease in the number of Brazilwood trees in the 18th century, causing the collapse of this economic activity. Presently, the species is nearly extirpated in most of its original range. Brazilwood is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN, and it is cited in the official list of endangered flora of Brazil - restoration of the species in the wild being hampered by the fact that it is a climax community species, which will only develop well when planted amongst secondary forest vegetation. Although lots of saplings have been distributed and/or sold during recent decades, that has led to the tree being planted in places outside its natural range, with somewhat poor results, such as happens with Brazilwood trees used for urban landscaping in the city of São Paulo, whose development and flowering is usually hampered by the colder environment.
The trade of Brazilwood is likely to be banned in the immediate future, creating a major problem in the bow-making industry which highly values this wood (see Smithsonian, April 2004, cover story). Due to lobbying from the musical instruments trade (probably largely violin bow makers), an exception has been made allowing Pernambuco slated to be used in instruments to be exported.
Pernambuco is the equal of BRW tonally, although it is different. It tends to be more balanced: less "glassy" in the trebles, and has a little less tendency to boom in the bass. Overall just a beautiful, balanced, articulate tone, vibrant in all registers. And it is visually very beautiful. It only grows in what remains of the Brazilian Atlantic forest. It's rarely available in guitar sets, and not at all from the usual commercial guitar wood suppliers. Factories have none of it, and only a few hand builders do, so most people may not get to hear a guitar made from it. It's now on the CITES Appendix II, but an exception to CITES has been made for its import and export for use in musical instruments. This came about because of lobbying by classical music organizations, since pernambuco has been the wood of choice for over two centuries for violin (etc.) bows. But the exception fortunately applies to all musical instrument use.
Pernamabuco neck in electric guitar vs. mahogany:
a) The pernambuco neck guitar was by at least 30% louder than the mahogany neck guitar.
b) The definition of the Pernambuco was unreal. Every note came up like a bell. Perhaps, this justifies up to a certain extend, the louder sound. The chords had a rich and tight sound. The mahogany neck guitar could not separate the notes that well and the chords sounded a bit muddy.
c) Pernambuco produced a lot more overtones and harmonics. With the Mahogany neck, either a person must try harder to get them and in most cases they are kept in a low level
d) The sustain also was at least 20% longer.
e) The tone is fantastic. The sound is very open. It has thick midrange with a lot of nice sweet presence. The bass notes are extremely defined and clear. The highs are also very thick and musical.
f) Also, when the gain of the amplifier was increased to the maximum, the pernambuco reacted extremely well and the sound was very dynamic and still clear. The faster you play, the more notes you could hear. The mahogany instead produced a muddy sound. The notes were all mixed up.
g) The pernambuco had by far the superior attack. For the clean sounds the attack was reminiscent of the old Fenders, but with more clarity. When distortion was applied, they produced very tight and rich sound, perhaps better than a humbucker. They had a kind of natural compression with more dynamics.
Obviously, clarity, definition, sustain and dynamics are associated with the velocity of sound. Pernambuco has the highest velocity of sound among the tonewoods. The tone though has to do with the pernambuco's characteristics, which are superb. In the mahogany neck a lot of information is blocked and when the gain is increased and the signal becomes more complicated the results are even worse. Even the mahogany with the Brazilian rosewood fretboard cannot rival the pernambuco. Its sound is really good, but compared to pernambuco is like comparing a good road sport car with a Formula 1 prototype.
Another important point is that due to the very close pores, the pernambuco finishes extremely well with oil, which is the best finish for this type of wood. Additionally, pernambuco is very stable. The guitar (we are talking acoustic now) arrived a month ago. It came from Georgia in the US where the temperature was -5 C with humidity 80% to Greece where the temperature was + 12 and the humidity 55%. The neck needed no further adjustments. The writer expounded on the wonderful tonal and working qualities of the wood (that you can thin it right down and it's still stiff and resonant), and then proved it by playing the guitar. It sounded fantastic, with great volume and projection, a nice even tone, and great overall frequency response. Part of that is to do with the way Bruce Sexauer builds guitars, of course, but a lot of it is due to the wood choice. He told us that specimens of the tree that produced tonewood wide enough for guitars were very rare.
It is a VERY rare tone-wood, especially in sizes large enough for 100% quarter sawn 2 piece backs. The trees are very small in diameter, similar in size to Madagascar RW trees. You must be extremely fortunate to be able to purchase some sets that are both quarter sawn and very figured. It is a strange looking shade of burnt orange, almost pumpkin in color but the tone and sustain more than makes up for the odd appearance.
Pernambuco is a very low dampening wood but it’s much denser than BRW. It has low frequency response that is stronger than BRW and more similar to African Black Wood, but it still has excellent mids and high frequencies. It should be closely compared to ABW rather than to BRW.
Persimmon Disopyros virginiana H=4, M=3.8, B=3.5, S=3.7, O=2.8, T=3
The only native American ebony and, as such, it polishes well. Has been used on fretboards and bridges but only rarely on back sand sides. Joe Mendel has used it on B&S. It is unusually subject to seasonal changes. Bob Gramann, who has used it several times, provides a summer and a winter saddle to deal with it. The common persimmon tree yields hard, creamy or yellow sap wood that occasionally has black streaks near the heart. It darkens with age. The heartwood is very dark brown to black. Texas persimmon has more dark heartwood. The wood is not all that common commercially. It would probably have to be dyed to assume the traditional role of ebony as a fingerboard and as peghead veneer, although the heartwood is nearly black. Persimmon is a gorgeous yellow wood with a striking grain and it is extremely hard which gives it a characteristically clear ringing tone. with good balance. It will take hard strumming.
Joe Mendel has used it and reports it less dense than other ebonies. It is best when well sanded and makes a striking looking guitar - blonde with darker parts, not dark like other ebonies. Because it is usually not a large tree, to use it often would require 4 piece backs.
Al Carruth said this: It "works very much like Macassar ebony in my experience. It's one of the toughest woods you'll run into. I made one persimmon guitar, and if I was playing in one of those places where they put chicken wire up between you and the audience, that's the guitar I'd want. It sounded good, too! I use it for fingerboards on 'domestic wood' guitars, and usually just stain it with walnut hull tea to darken it, since it's generally light brown or gray-brown. It's a great wood for bridge plates: it's diffuse porous, so that, unlike Osage you're never going to have a ball end up on a soft piece of grain. In some testing I did it took twice as much force to split a quartered piece of persimmon as it do to split anything else I treid, and skew cut is even more split resistant. It takes a little grunt to bend it, but it's no worse than most other hard and dense woods."
Peruvian Rosewood (or "Sacha") micandra spruceana
Not a Rosewood at all despite that fact that some folks use that word for it. It's properties have more in common with koa, palo escrito, or mahogany. It's stiffness compares with koa, it's density with mahogany, and it's tone with Palo Escrito. Peruvians call it higuerilla negra. It is visually striking. Bruce Sexauer: "I have seen many sets, and they are pastel colors compared to most RW's, though there is a quality almost like landscaping which can be intriguing."
37lb/ft3
See "Higuerilla" for more details and pictures.
Peruvian Walnut (Juglans Neotropica) Nogal H=3.6, M=3.4, B=4.2, S=2.6, O=1, T=1.2
Peruvian Walnut is a true walnut. It can be a rich dark chocolate brown color, sometimes broad, dark lines. May have awesome figure. Peruvian walnut is slightly more dense than North American Walnuts, which may increase volume and/or projection. Peruvian walnut features a rather plain and straight grain and figure (compared to the more pronounced and varied grain and figure of American black walnut). As with Americian walnut, the wood weighs 32 pounds per cubic foot and its acoustical properties are similar- it provides a good mid to bass response when used for backboards and rims. The color ranges from rich brown to mid tan-brown, sometimes pinkish. It has more projection and volume than other walnuts, yet is clear and open sounding, yet deep.
Ave. Dry Weight: 32-50 lbs/ft3
Specific Gravity.50-.60
Janka Scale: 960-1080 lbf
Color/Appearance: Heartwood tends to be darker than temperate walnut species, with a deep chocolate brown color, sometimes with a purplish hue with blackish streaks. May also contain streaks of lighter-colored wood mixed throughout the heartwood, which can sometimes be extensive and result in a high degree of waste. Grain figuring such as curl seems to be much less common than in other walnut species.
Grain/Texture: Grain is usually straight, but can be irregular. Has a medium to coarse texture and good natural luster. Endgrain is diffuse-porous; large to very large pores, growth rings distinct. Straight to wavy grain, not interlocking.
Workability: Dry slowly to avoid twists. Typically easy to work provided the grain is straight and regular. Planer tearout can sometimes be a problem when surfacing pieces with irregular or figured grain. Glues, stains, and finishes well. Bends well w/steam, medium w/out. High crush strength. Joints hold well. Polishes to a fine luster.
Allergies/Toxicity: Other species in the Juglens genus (such as Butternut, Black, and English Walnut) have been reported as sensitizers, and Peruvian Walnut may generate similar allergic reactions. Most common reactions simply include eye and skin irritation.
Sustainability: Peruvian Walnut is not listed in the CITES Appendices, but a number of tropical species in the Juglans genus are on the IUCN Red List. The most notable species, Juglans neotropica, is listed as endangered due to a population reduction of over 50% in the past three generations.
CHARACTER: Peruvian Walnut acoustic guitar tonewood is more dense than other Walnuts
TONAL: Peruvian Walnut acoustic guitar back and sides may have more volume and projection than walnuts
Pink Gum (Eucalyptus wandoo)
Used by my Australian friend Scott Wise, who reports it yields a pale yellow or pinkish wood that browns up considerably under finish. It is dense, heavy, and highly resonant. It will produce a very loud guitar, very loud, with good projection.
Pink Ivory. Berchemia zeyheri. Red Ivory, Ungoloti
Trees can range from 100-130 feet high with a diameter fo 3-5', but most never come close to this. 35' tall and 1' diameter is more common. It is more cioommonly used in smasll objectd, turning, boxes, marwuetry and so forth. Though not CITES listed, the southern African wood is managed closely and is diffcult to find, so expect it to be priced accordoingly. Pink Ivory is resistant to rot, insect and yields a delicious fruit. Color of the sapwood is yellow-brown with a gradual demarcation. Fiddleback or a frizzy appearance are not uncommon. Uusually light pink to a reddish brown, it may change color as it matures - this is not well understood yet. It is quite subject to sunlight and humidity changes.
Pink Ivory is extraordinarily slow to dry. And you want it dry before cutting, unless you like courting disaster. It has a high oil content and polishes well. Grain may be straighut or interlocked. The interlocked stuff is difficult to work, but mainly it is even textured and OK to work. You will get practice shuarpenoing tools when you work with it. Watch for tearout in the more figured pieces. You may not enjoy the odor while working it. It has low internal damping and a sweet sound with a bright and snappy tap tone.
3230 Janka rating. 65lb/ft3
Pistachio Pistacia vera H=4, M=3.8, B=3.2, S=4, O=3.5, T=4
This is the variety of Pistachio grown commercially for nut production and is normally too small to make a guitar back. Whew found, the graft line iis often evident, which can add interest, or be objectionable, depending upon your view.. Fingerboards can be found. The wood is very dense and hard, similar to Ebony and is definitely unique in appearance, stunning. The colors include green, red, white, and tan to dark brown, in stunning patterns of contrasting bands. Pistachio has excellent tonal qualities, bright and crisp, with a focused upper range.
Plum Prunus domestica, oemleria cerasiformis
A Cherry relative, it does not grow nearly so large and is consequently rarely found in sizes that we can use for tonewood. It is heavier and harder and has more of a pinkish hue.
JC Tonewoods: The heart wood is an orange/brown color very much like mahogany with the sapwood being light cream in color. Instruments crafted from plumwood show a sound pattern that is both subtle and warm as well as clear and strong.
Niklas Saers: "The wood is quite uniform in texture. The grain of the tree was twisted (typical for purple leaf plum - it grows in a "corkscrew" fashion) and there's some runout one way on one edge and the other way on the other."
Poplar Tulipwood
A fast-growing and comparatively soft hardwood, poplar is easily identified by its featureless but distinct greenish cast. It is difficult to get this to work well visually with other woods. Big box lumber stores are now carrying it s a loser cost alternative to oak. Iif you see "hardwood" with a greenish cast, it is most likely poplar. You get what you pay for. Stiff, sometimes resonant, it is used for painted body blanks for electrics, having (some say) a better upper and mid range than alder. Do not expect much sustain. Lightweight and easy to work, it does take finishes well. But stability is not an attribute. I imagine changing humidity will cause more problems with it than other traditional tonewoods. As might be expected, it is used most often in cheaper instruments. Once is a while you will find a piece that defies the norm; those would have the most merit as tonewood.
Check out the photos for burled and spalted poplar - I don't know how it compares as a tone wood, but it definitely has a striking and attractive appearance. Suippliers more often suggest it as a wood for solid-bodied guitars. That says something.
31lb/ft3
**Port Orford Cedar Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Actually a rare variety of Cypress (Lawson Cypress) which grows along the S. Oregon Coast where it's endured for over 50 million years. This is an incredibly light weight, yet tough wood possessing phenomenal tonal qualities. Acoustic and electric guitars made of POC are light weight and sound magnificent. The tone of Port Orford Cedar could be described as bold and direct throughout the fundamentals with little overtone content. It has slightly better headroom to Sitka spruce and but responds to the touch in the same way.
Port Orford Cedar –– also known as Port Orford White Cedar, Oregon Cedar, Ginger Pine or Lawson Cypress, is a rare variety of Cypress that grows in a very limited range along the Pacific Coast, from far northern California into southern Oregon. Despite harsh conditions, these trees have existed in the Pacific NW for over 50 million years and can grow to 180 feet and live to be over 500 years old.
Port Orford Cedar is one of the more unique woods growing in North America. It is a creamy, off-white color with straight, somewhat uneven medium grain and often completely free of knots. It has an almost ginger like aroma. Ring counts can exceed 40/inch. It is very light, yet very strong, (an unusual combination), and highly workable for carving, turning & machining. It’s highly prized for boat building, cabinetry, furniture, doors, built-ins, etc. Port Orford Cedar is also one of the most acid, pest and rot resistant woods known and highly sought in China and Japan to make coffins. In addition to its exceptional beauty, strength, and durability, it has also been used for back and sides as well as necks, though mostly we see it in tops. Much of the US production is exported to Japan for furniture.
The lumber has a faint yellowish white hue with very fine grain and an even texture. It is stiffer and lighter than Alaskan Yellow Cedar. The aroma is peppery which is typical of the cypress family. In use, it is durable and easy to work. It was once used as arrow shafts due it’s split resistance. Luthiers find it is more resistant to splitting than any other top wood. It has a Janka rating of 720 and a specific gravity of 0.44.
Port Orford Cedar is both beautiful and distinctive when finished. Because of the nearly white color, it has often been stained to mimic other woods. It takes a high polish and has a lovely satiny look to it. It forms good strength glue bonds and takes a finish very well without need of fill. It’s great stiffness and lightness has appealed to flattop makers Greg Byers, James Goodall and Les Stansell.
Les Standsell says: “Oregon Cypress (Port Orford “White” Cedar) displays all the most desirable structural and resonance qualities sought after by instrument makers…….it has the highest stiffness/weight ratio of “all” wood species. In addition, when compared to all other North American softwoods, POC ranks highest in elasticity and resistance to crushing, shearing, denting and splitting. POC is ideal for Flamenco guitars as a substitute for: other Spruces and Cedars (tops and bracing)... Spanish Cypress (backs and sides)…and Spanish Cedar (necks).”
Jayhawk:" It would be my 1st choice if I was having a guitar built specifically for fingerstyle. I'd probably choose it for a combination of picking/fingerstyle." CharlieD:" Its tone to me was less like cedar and more like spruce but warmer. It had great volume and presence, and did well with both flatpicks and fingers. It's a bit surprising that more builders don't use it because it adds a lot of character to the sound."
Primavera Tabebuia donnell-simthii, Spring or Paradise Wood
It has been called similar in appearance to Mahogany, but I don't see this at all. Primavera has creamy golden white colors with darker variegated lines randomly running through the wood. A light tan timber with darker, reddish brown streaks. The iridescence in this species is strong and beautiful, combining with interlocked grain. Sometimes you'll also find ribboned figure. Primavera has excellent finishing properties with a fairly high luster. It works easily and well by hand or with power tools. The tone and volume of Primavera is excellent, with a perfect balance of bass and treble. The density is almost the same as Hawaiian Koa. Often substituted for superior hardwoods due to its easy workability. Grain is wavy and interlocked, resembling mahogany in luster and texture. Medium to coarse texture. Good for steam bending. Medium blunting effect on tools. Glues, nails and screws well. An excellent finish usually can be acquired. Note: the sap rises and falls with the moon's phases versus the seasons.
This gorgeous wood is found in most of Latin America. Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, North and central Honduras. It is amazingly beautiful, perhaps ideal for light guitar construction. It is far better than Cypress when it comes to the Flamenco sound but the great side to this wood is that it performs fantastically well in Classical music as well making it a top choice for Flamenco/Classical Construction. Deep bass, lively mids and exceptionally clear trebles. In Paraguay the wood is commonly known as Paraiso (Paradise) because the Jesuits would use it to make sacred objects in the early 1600’s.
Specific gravity is 0.45, 28-30 lb/ft3
Pumaquiro (Aspidosperma macrocarpon)
Pumaquiro is a stately wood with long soft stripes. It is a light tannish color, and the grain is somewhat similar in appearance to Honduras mahogany. Pumaquiro is one of the heavier hardwoods weighing in at 58 pounds per cubic foot. It is a dense, rigid wood and delivers a powerful tone similar to, but not as bright as rosewood. Ideal for backboards and rims. (from "Forgotten Woods")
58lb/ft3
Purple Gidgee Acacia crombiei Pink Gidgee H=4.3, M=3.1, B=3.9, S=4.1, O= 3, T=4
This is cool: the greenish brown wood turns pink to purple upon exposure to light. It has yellow sapwood, a fine grain and is very hard. Sounds are clear and crisp with outstanding sustain.
Purpleheart Peltogyne H=4.5, ML=2.9,=4.5, S=2.5, O=3.3, T=2.4
Purple Heart is a fabulous tonewood with some of the best characteristics for a world class tonewood. It is very dense and projects marvelously. Perfect basses and lively trebles. High sustain and projection. It is in the same league as African Blackwood, Lapacho and Brazilian rosewood without the drawbacks of Brazilian rosewood that is a high maintenance wood. Hard to come by. The curly variety is very scarce. Purpleheart is brown when freshly cut but oxidizes to a bright violet purple and eventually to a dark purplish brown. Hard, dense, heavy and finely textured, purpleheart's grain is usually straight, often with a fine, curly figure. There is considerable variation in color, texture and density among the several species that account for commercial supplies of purpleheart. One of the hardest and stiffest woods, it is moderately hard to work but takes a glossy, lustrous finish.
Purpleheart has a creamy white/gray sapwood but like its name suggests, the heartwood is a bright, striking purple when freshly cut, darkening into a deeper purple with age. It has a medium to fine texture with a luster that ranges from medium to high; its grain is usually straight but can be wavy or irregular. Purpleheart has high bending and crushing strength and stiffness with medium resistance to shock loads.
"As a tonewood, Purpleheart provides a warm bass, bright midrange and clear trebles." (Lone Wolf)
Machining: Purpleheart has a moderate to severe blunting effect on tools; sharp, high speed steel knives therefore are recommended as are 15 degree cutting angles. It can be somewhat difficult to work with using either hand or machine tools. Some wood seems to be relatively soft textured and easy to cut and other wood has been so hard it burns all your tools, so there is a high degree of variability in cutting characteristics, depending on the piece of wood or possibly the exact species of Peltogyne that you received. Watch particularly carefully the grain direction on planing any wood that shows an interlocking grain. It has a nasty habit of tearing out when you least expect it. Purpleheart is rated moderate for steam bending if you read the text books. Pre-drilling purple heart wood is always recommended. The wood is quite brittle especially if drilling close to the end of a board. It is likely to split so tighten screws with caution. It does rate highly for turnery though and with sharp chisels can come to a beautiful sheen. Watch for burning while routing as it is pretty easy to burn if your cutter is dull or you're going too slow. Burn marks are very difficult to remove from purpleheart.
COLOR: Heartwood is brown when freshly cut, turning deep purple to purplish brown over time. Sapwood is a lighter cream color.
GRAIN: Usually straight; medium to fine texture.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Moderate to high color variation.
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: Excellent (change coefficient .00212).
DURABILITY: Very strong and dense.
SAWING/MACHINING: Moderately difficult due to hardness; frequent sharpening of tools required; slow feed rate and carbide tooling recommended.
SANDING: Sands satisfactorily.
FINISHING: Takes finishes well; some have found that water-based finishes hold color better. Tendency to bleed with some finishes.
COMMENTS: Heartwood is very resistant to dry-wood termites. Presence of minerals in some boards may cause uneven coloration.
Janka: 1860 Specific gravity is 0.86, 54-58 lb/ft3 Weight: 50-70 lbs/cu.ft..: a very broad range of weight depending on origin of lumber.
Pyinma Lagerstroemia spp. "Asian Satinwood", "Crepe Myrtle"
Heartwood typically golden to reddish brown, with paler yellow/gray sapwood. Colors tend to darken with age upon exposure to light. The bark is so slippery that monkeys won't climb it. Curly grain figure very common in this species, with some pieces exhibiting outstanding curl. Nearly every piece shows some measure of curly grain, with some pieces having an almost three dimensional look on account of the heavy curl. The curliness can mean tear-out while planing. Be careful. Grain is usually straight, though some pieces have wavy or interlocked grain; texture is moderately coarse and uneven; good natural luster.
Tends to be less expensive than its properties justify.
Generally easy to work, producing good results, though pieces with curly grain (as with any species of figured wood) will be inevitably more difficult to plane and machine without tearout. Sands easily. Doesn’t have the blunting effect on cutters that true satinwoods exhibit. Turns, glues, and finishes well—polishes to a high luster.
40-70' tall, 2-3' diameter, 43-44lb/ft3, 1090 Janka rating. Not CITES listed.
Queensland Maple Flinersia sp Silkwood H=3.5, M=3.4, B=3.3, S=3.5, O=3, T=4
A fast-growing evergreen with pink-hued lumber. the heartwood ia golden with bands of light brown and interlocked and sometimes wavy grain. Medium to coarse texture and a good luster. Usually bright, loud, with strong mids and a good balance on the bass. Highs may be subdued, but is snappy allowing for a quick attack.
Quillabordon (Aspidosperma subincamum)
Quillabordon is a very simple wood of a light yellow-tan color and very modest grain and figure that finishes to a rich golden hue. At 45 pounds per cubic foot, Quillabordon is considered to be a medium-weight tonewood. It’s bright coloration overpowers its simplicity and lends itself to providing a regal appearance, especially when bordered with dark wood bindings. From and acoustical standpoint, Quillabordon’s lighter weight supports an instruments bass- to mid-range without overpowering the trebles. (from "Forgotten Woods")
45lb/ft3
H=4, M=3.5, B=3.8, S=3/.6, O=3.5, T=2.2
If you are interested in purchasing narra, proceed with caution. Yellow narra (Pterocarpus indicus) is also known as narra, New Guinea rosewood, Burma rosewood, sena and angsana. Sometimes other species are mixed with it. Listed as "vulnerable".
Narra is a wood that comes from the Solomon Islands and elsewhere. It is the national tree of the Philippines, planted for shade and beauty and prized for furniture. Fungal susceptibility has cut the supply. Its color is similar to Koa -golden tan to cinnamon or reddish brown. Sets may have a dazzling bees-wing figure and interlocking grain. It seems to be a little harder than most Koa and should be a good choice for fingerstyle steel string guitars. Beautiful shades of gold to golden brown with a gorgeous curly figure. Heartwood consists of light yellow, golden brown, reddish brown to red, but darkens with age. The redder it is, the denser it is. Sapwood is a defined pale yellow or slightly white color. Grain is interlocked, sometimes wavy, with dark growth bands. Moderately fine to moderately coarse texture. Slight luster, with a fragrant rose-like scent. Easy to work using both hand and machine tools, but bends less well.
Narra is in the same family as Padauk and is sometimes marketed as Golden Padauk or Golden Rosewood. Narra is also called New Guinea Rosewood, but it is not a rosewood. It is easy to work and has a really nice tap tone and is an underused wood. If you have ever worked with Padauk, it is the same in terms of stiffness and it bends on a Fox style bender with no problem. It has an open pore similar to Walnut and not as big a pore as Koa. One thing that will knock you out is that when you sand or cut it, it is as sweet a smell as most rosewoods. No matter how nice pictures may look, it is much nicer in person. The overall color of the wood is gold tones but there can be streaks of pinks and reds in it as well. It catches the light as well as Koa, so no matter what, it will make a striking guitar. Narra is not imported as much as Padauk. In most of its habitat, it is not at risk. It is usually separated by distance from the Padauk as being in the same family, they will cross pollinate and Paduak is desirable as solid and dark as possible. Hybridized Pterocarpus (the family they are in) will range in color between very light looking more golden and less red to all Padauk which can be very deep red with some subspecies looking more golden brown in between. More builders are looking at alternative woods that are sustainably harvested such as Padauk and Narra. Some sets exhibit a burl figure creating a unique bookmatched pattern. The luxurious Amboyna burl grows on the Narra tree.
COLOR: heartwood ranges from a yellow-golden brown, to a blood-red and sometimes with reddish streaks. The more red there is in the wood, the heavier it is. The heartwood of Andaman padauk is similar to narra, ranging from a yellow-brown to a dark red. The sapwood is whitish or pale straw, clearly defined.
GRAIN: open, interlocked and sometimes wavy, which together with dark growth bands produce an attractive figure. Select logs have a "bee's-wing mottle" figure that is spectacular.
TEXTURE: moderately fine to moderately coarse and uneven due to the ring-porous structure. Somewhat lustrous.
PROPERTIES / WORKABILITY: Easy to work with both hand and machine tools; turns well, and takes a good finish. Can be glued without problems. Reportedly, it can be difficult to plane when it has interlocked grain.
STABILITY: Movement in service is rated as small.
BENDING: classified as a moderate steam-bending wood
ODOR: fragrant, spicy, odor which persists even when dry
SOURCES: The tree is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, New Guinea and Indonesia, and has spread throughout much of Southeast Asia including Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
Specific gravity is 0.52, 40-41lb/ft3
Nato (Nyatoh) (Palaquim spp.)
Often used for necks in the past and considered a good substitute for mahogany in this application, Nato has a less desirable reputation for backs and sides. It is stable, a bit hard to bend, and is rarely found quarter sawn. It can be highly figured.
Northern Silky Oak (Cardwellia sublimis) Lacewood H=3.6, M=3.5, B=4, S=3.8, O3, T=3
Light to medium brown with gray and light brown medullary rays throughout. There may be a snakeskin-like pattern. Straight grain and coarse texture, only moderately heavy, a bit bright, a bit warm, decent balance throughout.
Nikko Namili Cedar
I have almost no info on this cedar. It is a sacred wood to theJapanese and must not be cut - but may be salvaged from a fallen tree. I do not think they get very big. But they look neat. If you can tell me more, please do.
Norway Spruce Picea abies
Usually used for general construction or paper production, it is flexible, straight and lightweight, pale yellow in color. The heartwood will have tinges of brown and reddish-brown. Knots tend to be small and come in clusters. Other than that, it is easily worked & glues well. It is resinous and does not take stain well. It's sawdust can create respiratory problems and skin irritation.
Oak Quercus sp.
Oak is coarse and its large pores are hard to fill, but its availability in home improvement stores makes it widely available. Quartered oak is common at lumberyards and Alan Carruth says you should only use quarter-sawn oak for builds.,. The only thing wrong with oak instruments is that they look so much like furniture. White is often less interesting than red oak.
Oak has proven to be a top of the line wood when it comes to concert instrument construction. It is not always available.
("Tasmanian Oak" is a member of the Eucalyptus family. It produces a full sound full of harmonics, a punchy bass and clear penetrating trebles. It has been described as higher damping, very clear but with less overtones. And it ranks with the best tonewoods woods on the planet. It looks gorgeous and works perfectly with Spruce, Cedar or redwood.)
The sapwood of oak is white to very light brown, while the heartwood is light to dark brown in the white oak group and reddish brown in the red oak group. Oak wood has a course texture; it is heavy, straight-grained, hard, tough, very stiff, and strong. Fast-grown oak, with wide rings, is stronger and heavier than slow-grown oak. Oak wood has good working properties. It machines and glues well and holds fasteners extremely well. It tends to split when nailed, unless predrilled. Oak finishes well, but shrinks considerably. May cause allergic bronchial asthma, rhinitis, and dermatitis.
COLOR: Heartwood and sapwood are similar, with sapwood lighter in color; Red Oak is slightly redder than white oak.
GRAIN: Open, red is slightly coarser (more porous) than white oak. Plainsawn boards have a plumed or flared grain appearance; riftsawn has a tighter grain pattern, low figuring; quartersawn has a flake pattern, some- times called tiger rays or butterflies. Occasionally can be found with some fiddleback figure.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: More than 200 subspecies in North America; great variation in color and grain, depending on the origin of the wood and corresponding differences in growing seasons. Northern, Southern and Appalachian red oak can all be divided into upland and lowland species. Because they grow more slowly, upland species generally have a more uniform grain pattern than lowland species, with more growth rings per inch.
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: Average (change coefficient .00369 - red, .00365 - white).
DURABILITY: Stiff and dense; resists wear, with high shock resistance, though red is less durable than white.
SAWING/MACHINING: Above average in all machining operations except shaping.
SANDING: Red sands satisfactorily, better than white oak. Good resistance to splitting.
FINISHING: Strong stain contrast because of large pores.
Janka: 1290(red), 1360 (white) Specific gravity is 0.77, 43-48lb/ft3
Ohia - ohia lehua
Color/Appearance: Heartwood is a light to medium reddish brown. Grayish sapwood is not well defined.
Grain/Texture: Grain is interlocked, with a medium uniform texture and moderate natural luster.
Rot Resistance: Rated as non-durable to perishable; good insect resistance.
Workability: Generally difficult to work on account of its high density and interlocked grain. Ohia also has a rather large movement in service, as evidenced by its high shrinkage values.
Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with Ohia.
After wondering about it for decades, I am actively looking for information of its properties as a tone wood.
Ohia is a very common species in Hawaii and across the Pacific islands. 1,000,000 acres of it are in Hawaii. It has loads of red (and sometimes yelow) flowers, making it easily identified in season. Abundant but seriously threatened by a fungus. A pioneer species after volcanic eruptions, Ohia is among the first to survve, due to usualy deep roots. But it is also found in the rich soils of the Islands’ oldest regions. It is an extremely diverse species, appearing 60 feet tall in tropical forest climates, yet as a diminutive shrub in the dry, high-elevation regions.
**Okoume (Aucoumea Klaineana) Akoume
Fast growing and used in marine plywood, you'd think it odd to be found here. Worse, it does not resist impact well. Yet, it sounds much like maple, light and bright, and can be used for backs and sides or tops. Lustrous pinkish brown to light red with a tight grain, straight or slightly wavy in grain with sapwood that is grayish. Its colors darken with age. Given its unusually light weight (25 lb/ft3), it is harder to work than might be expected and it does not like steam bending. Only 380 on the Janka scale.
Olivewood Olea europenea, Mediterranean Olive
Gold to black in color, can be highly figured, dense, oily, beautiful golden brown lumber with brown and black streaks running through it. These trees are usually only harvested when they are too old to produce olives or are damaged by disease or nature. Olives are usually pruned to keep the olives close to the ground so long lengths in olive are uncommon. Olive can also come with tiger striping and burl.
Wild Olive Wood - (Olea capensis macrocarpus) A rare hardwood/tonewood from Zambia. Beautiful colors, contrast and light figuring combine to yield exquisite beauty. The extreme density, (approx. 1.05, very similar to Ebony), yields bright tonal qualities, making Wild Olive a desirable tonewood.
Specific gravity 0.89, 4.6 wt/board foot
Osage Orange Maclura pomifera, Bois d' Arc H=4, M=3.5, B=3.7, S=3.6, O=3.3, T=3.5
From a bright yellow-orange, this beautiful hardwood ages to a golden tan or Russet brown. Several luthiers have stated that Osage Orange was a "drop-in replacement of Brazilian Rosewood or even Superior to it." Tim McKnight has said its tap tone is similar to the rosewoods but it has less bass response. On the other hand it is less muddy and has the clarity you wish you could get, even sharp, along with overtone complexity. Very hard and dense. Figure is very rare. Though working the wood is difficult due to its hardness, its exceptional dimensional stability makes the extra work well worth the effort. Most trees never reach sufficient size to be used for bodies of guitars.
The sapwood of Osage Orange is narrow and light yellow, while the heartwood is golden to bright orange, which darkens upon exposure. The heartwood can also contain red streaks. It has no characteristic odor or taste. The wood is very hard, heavy, tough, resilient and takes a high luster. It is ring porous and commonly confused with black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). Osage Orange is difficult to work due to its hardness. It holds glue and screws well.
Alan Carruth:"In terms of mechanical and acoustic properties, it's about as close to Brazilian as any wood you'll find. It does tend to be chippy, so pre-scoring the binding routs is a good idea, for example. Other than that it's fairly straightforward to work with. " (Acoustic Guitar Forum)
Tim McKnight: "The wood is an outstanding tone wood if quartered and seasoned properly. Its not common to find it used by factories because its just not plentiful enough to support huge manufacturing demands. However, there are a handful of individual builders who have an appreciation for its outstanding tonal qualities.... It remains one of my favorite tone woods to build with. Its extremely balanced and predictable, bass to treble, with a healthy dose of sustain thrown into the mix. " (Acoustic Guitar Forum)
54lb/ft3
Ovangkol Tropical West Africa Guibortia ehie , Shedua H=3.7, M=2.9, B=4, S= 3.8, O=2.7, T=2.9
Over a decade ago, Taylor introduced the world to a pair of new tonewoods, the first being Ovangkol. An African relative of rosewood, it’s a great sounding wood that shares many of rosewood’s tonal properties, with a slightly fuller midrange and a top end that’s not quite as bright as maple. A well-rounded kind of sound. Being lesser known than rosewood, Ovangkol has been a sleeper hit over the years, asserting itself as an instant contender among unsuspecting players who test-drive a variety of Taylor models. Ovangkol (also called Shedua and Amazaqoue) has been in use by several of the larger high-end factories for several years now, most notably Taylor, Lowden and Avalon, but its combination of affordability, beauty and tonality has made it a favorite with a growing number of hand makers as well.
Goes well with most applications: players who perhaps don’t have predefined tonal preferences, who may be generalists in their style of play, and who are looking for a well-rounded, all-purpose solid wood guitar. It works well with different body shapes.
From West Africa, the figure is similar to Indian Rosewood, with dark gray straight lines over a golden-brown or olive-brown background with darker stripes. It comes from the same family as Bubinga, sharing many tonal qualities, and has a similar interlocking grain pattern. It is reasonably easy to bend and plane and it finishes well. Ovangkol is a wood of medium density. It has a light-brown color with dark stripes. Remarkable are also frequent shades to to green and red, which leads to a quite attractive lively appearance.
Montreal luthier Michael Greenfield says: “Ovangkol...who knew?! What a great alternative tonewood. As there is a lot of it around, the logs are large and the sets are very on quarter and STRAIGHT. What a pleasure to build with. Bends and glues well... .not too hard on edge tools. It is not quite as dense as most Rosewoods, which can be a good thing, especially on larger bodied guitars as you don’t have to combat the problem of clashing overtones -there is better separation between notes.” He went on to say that his latest Ovangkol guitar is a ”monster” and mentioned that tonally it falls nicely ”between Koa and Rosewood”.
Ovangkol or shedua is from Western Africa near the Ivory Coast. It has the depth of Rosewood but has the much better snap associated with medium density woods such as Koa and Walnut. The grain is interlocked and the texture is moderately coarse. Works fairly easily with hand or machine tools but saws slowly. Ovangkol is a very attractive wood and is highly sought for musical instruments.
CHARACTER: Ovangkol timber grain is interlocked and the texture is moderately coarse
TONE: Ovangkol back and sides sits between the warmth and depth of strong Rosewood and the sparking trebles and highs of Maple
It is characterized by golden-brown to dark brown heartwood with dark gray to black streaks. It is a straight-grained wood that occasionally exhibits a beautiful wavy figure.
One luthier said, “The writer only made one guitar from this wood, and I only include it because it was such an ordeal that he thought you should be warned. The board was too pretty to resist, a cinnamon-brown with modest flame figure and darker streaks of color.”
51lb/ft3
Padauk Pterocarpus soyauxii/dalbergioides H=3.7, M=3.1, B=4.3, S-3.8, O 3, T=4
Padauk is a bright orange, Vermillion, or almost crimson wood with a vanilla-like scent when freshly cut, but oxidizes to a darker, rich purple-brown over time - although it stays redder than Indian Rosewood. Padauk, a legume, is a dense and unique hardwood from Africa. Over time, it slowly ages to a purple Rosewood color (maybe to brown). Exposure to a UV light will hasten this process. Slightly harder and heavier than Indian Rosewood it is a good back and side wood in all respects - stable, easy to work, with a strong tone. Noted luthier Dana Bourgeois has said that, “Padauk is the most promising replacement for generic Rosewood”. It is one of a number of woods that various folks claim as a good substitute for Brazilian rosewood. The lumber is readily available in larger planks, so the sets are moderately priced and exhibit good, straight grain throughout most pieces. Huge logs are available, producing well quartered, straight grain sets. Larger sizes are sometimes available (for basses and baritones). It grows fast and supply is not limited by environmental constraints.
Slightly harder and heavier than Indian Rosewood, it is stable, easy to work, with a strong punchy tone. Some have found it prone to splitting, expanding and contracting above normal with humidity, and difficult to bend. Not every luthier experiences these things. Several luthiers laminate sides to avoid splitting when bending. It may be a little difficult to bend compared to the ease of bending of some of the more pliable woods. Sides in this species are slightly harder to bend and may crack in the process. Others say it is stable and bends fairly well - use of a heat blanket will aid the process. Get it too hot and it may darken. This is a very suitable Rosewood substitute tonally and visually (I personally take some exception to the visual comparison). BIG pores and lots of dust (which, because of its bright red color, tends to stand out, you'll have what looks like Hungarian Paprika everywhere), silica and minerals. Beware - if it gets wet, the color will bleed.
John Kinnaird calls it a "musical wood" and likes to use it beneath the bridges. It is rich in overtones and is not that expensive, often commercially grown. Stable, easy to work (except to bend), it produces a robust and deeper sound, a strong bass, rich with overtones. He says it emits a cotton candy-like odor when worked.
African Padauk is almost redundant since the other Padauk from the Andaman Islands, off the coast of Indian, hasn't been exported for a number of years. The African version while initially bright orange when freshly cut, oxidizes to a more subtle orange brown in time. Some say its sound falls somewhere between Maple and Mahogany. Yet more builders say it is definitely on the rosewood side of things, nice overtones without being overbearing, a little heavier on the mids and bass, like Rosewood is. Short to medium sustain. Punchy with even balance from bass to treble. Some claim that it makes "killer" sounding guitars when paired with a cedar top. Often reasonably priced.
COLOR: Heartwood is vivid reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening to reddish- or purple-brown or black over time. Sapwood is cream-colored. Very uniform in color.
GRAIN: Straight to interlocked; coarse texture.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Slight variation in color.
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: Excellent (change coefficient .00180).
DURABILITY: Average to high durability.
SAWING/MACHINING: Saws well, but requires a slow feed rate; carbide tooling recommended. Machines easily, with some tearing of the interlocked grain.
SANDING: Sands satisfactorily.
FINISHING: Takes finishes well; some have found that water-based finishes hold color better. Has a tendency to bleed.
COMMENTS: Dermatological and respiratory allergic potential.
Janka: 1725
iim7V7IM7 says the following: There are three Padauk species: African (Pterocarpus soyauxii), Andaman (Pterocarpus dalbergioides) and Burma (Pterocarpus macrocarpus). We don't speak about rosewoods as a single species I am not sure why we do with Padauk other than wood sellers don't always provide good identification on wood they do not have good chain of custody on.
Wood--------------------Density (lb/ft^3)-----Hardness (lbf)-----Stiffness (lb/in^2)-----
African Padauk-----------------47---------------1,970--------------1,700,000---------
Andaman Padauk---------------48---------------1,630--------------1,754,000---------
Burma Padauk------------------54---------------2,150--------------2,050,000--------
Brazilian Rosewood-------------52----------------2,790------------2,020,000--------
East Indian Rosewood----------52----------------2,440-------------1,668,000--------
Madagascar Rosewood---------58----------------2,550-------------1,742,000--------
Keep in mind, Padauk's color tends to be fugitive and darken over time with exposure to UV. Padauks are similar in weight to rosewoods, but no where near as hard. African and Andaman being more akin to EIR in stiffness and Burma being more stiff like BRW. This doesn't speak directly to the Q of the wood tat some builders have spoken highly of as a very acoustically lively wood.
African: Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale pinkish orange to a deep brownish red. Most pieces tend to start reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening substantially over time to a reddish/purplish brown (some lighter pieces age to a grayish brown).
Andaman: Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale golden yellow to a deeper reddish brown. Color tends to darken to a golden brown over time. Yellow sapwood is well demarcated from heartwood. Overall, Burma Padauk’s color tends to be less red and more subdued than African Padauk.
Burma: Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale pinkish orange to a deep brownish red. Most pieces tend to start reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening substantially over time to a reddish/purplish brown.
45lb/ft3
Paela - see Chatke Viga
Paldoa (also spelled Paldao) Dracontomelum dao
An attractive wood from SE Asia with heartwood that is grey-brown in color with a faint greenish tinge and irregular dark brown to black streaks. Paldao works easily with hand tools or machinery, but when the wood has interlocked grain, expect a slight blunting effect on cutting surfaces. As is typical with interlocking grain, you get a shimmering or a slight figure. The wood is very attractive with a clear finish. The grain is straight to interlocked with a moderate to fine texture. The heartwood varies from light brown, grayish, greenish yellow to reddish brown often with irregular dark brown to nearly black banding. Paldao is tonally similar to mahogany and produces a warm, lively tone.
Martz911: Paldao is a tonewood from Southeast Asia. Online, I've found some opinions that this wood is similar to Mahogany back and sides in its effect on a guitar's tone, but my ears are hearing deep warmth and overtones - - a little darker than Koa, closer to the Rosewoods."
Typical Uses: Exterior construction, veneer, musical instruments, decorative woodwork, inlay, furniture
Source Region: Philippines, Malaysia, Indochina
Palisander Dalbergia baronii
One of several rosewood species from Madagascar. It has beautiful color and grain, a sweet smell, and is very easy to work and stable in use. It is a very close match to true Rio or Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) and as such is much in demand for musical instruments, especially guitars." (Gilmer Hardwood) Note that it is on the CITES list. It is also available from Honduras (and elsewhere?), but it is not clear to me if this is the same species.
Palo Escrito Dalbergia paloescrito, Mexican rosewood H=3.7, M=3.5, B=4.2, S=3.7, O=3, T=4
It is a tan wood with reddish-brown lines that create unusual patterns in some sets, much like cocobolo. This is a lighter-weight type of rosewood. Guitars with back and sides made of palo escrito are known for a sweet high end and good punch. Palo Escrito is a relatively light rosewood with the tone and easy workability comparable to Indian Rosewood. It shows attractive shades of red and golden brown, and is often figured. Palo Escrito is considered a premier tonewood in Mexico due to its even yet lively tone, with good bass and treble separation. It has a wider grain and more figure than Indian Rosewood and is lighter in color and on the red side, lighter weight.
Palo Escrito is the premiere native back and side wood used by the luthiers in Paracho, Mexico. It is a true Rosewood, but differs from Indian Rosewood visually with slightly wider grain, more figure, and lighter color. It is also lighter in weight. Although Palo Escrito is a natural for flamenco guitars and classical, builders like Kenny Hill and Dake Traphagen have enjoyed using it, and steel string builder James Goodall has been very enthusiastic about the tone of the guitars he’s used it on. Top notch bass, singing mids, with sustain and projection.
CHARACTER: Palo Escrito Rosewood guitar timber has wider grain, more figure than East Indian Rosewood
TONE: Palo Escrito Rosewood back and sides tonewood is compared to East Indian Rosewood, used by Classical luthiers
Panama Rosewood Dalbergia tucerencis.
This rosewood from Panama is not listed by the U.S. Forest Products Lab. Bark, leaves, and seeds were sent to the Madison lab, and all they could ascertain was that it was indeed a Dalbergia. It is in appearance very similar to Honduran rosewood, straight and fine grained, but it is lighter in weight, and tends toward brown in color. Most luthiers who have tested this wood say it compares well to Brazilian rosewood, and we believe that it's an excellent replacement wood for the vintage Brazilian look. It's one of the few true rosewoods apart from Indian Rosewood that can still be had at a reasonable price. In some of the more recent shipments, the sets display a great variation in appearance, with most having what appear to be drying checks in the panels. (It is only appearance, not splits, checks, voids.)
Panguana (Brosimun utile)
Panguana is a light-weight tonewood with a modest spalted figure whose color ranges from light tan through the grayish tans. Panguana shows a rich coloration of stripes and grain lines that becomes especially beautiful when the wood is finished. At 37 pounds per cubic foot, Panguana is among the lighter-weight instrument woods, with a weight and stiffness similar to our Copaiba, and like Copaiba its density and moderate flexibility lend to enhancing the instrument’s tone in the mid and bass ranges. (from Forgotten Woods")
37lb/ft3
Pashaco Amarillo (Schizalobium sp.)
Pashaco Amarillo is an attractive wood with dark gray flecks and spalt-like lines. As its Spanish name implies, its color ranges from a light yellow-ish field to the dark grey (and sometimes black) flecks. Pashaco weights 36 pounds per cubic foot and is a moderately flexible wood that imparts good mid- to low-range tonal response when used for backboards and rims. (from "Forgotten Woods")
37lb/ft3
Pashaco Negro (Schizolobium parahybum)
Pashaco Negro is one of the lightest hardwoods weighing in at 27 pounds per cubic foot. It is a mildy-streaked wood that is populated with an abundance of small dark lines (open pores). A very light and flexible wood, Pashaco has potential as an optional soundboard material, but would provide great bass and mid range response when used for rims and backboards. This is an excellent material for the backboards and rims of classical guitars. The open pores of Pashaco Negro need to be filled prior to finishing. (Also see Catahua and Achihua for soundboard wood options.) (from "Forgotten Woods")
27lb/ft3
Pau Ferro Machaerium scleroxylum, Morado or Bolivian Rosewood, Leopard-tree, Morado
H=3.8, =3.3, B=4.1, S= 3.8, O=3.2, T=4
1) Pau Ferro is not technically a rosewood and is less dense and less glassy-sounding. The sound more closely resembles Walnut. However, this wood is among the favorites for building an exceptional quality guitar. It is beautiful, has no pores to fill (so it finishes superbly), and is tonally similar to rosewood, with fast, clean response that represents the entire spectrum of the tonal register well. Cosmetically, Pau Ferro can range from chocolate brown with intense figure to perfectly straight-grained quartersawn stock that tends to lean more toward tan and gold hues (vs. EIR’s browns, reds and purples). Shimmering highs contrast with deep lows. "Balanced" is another terms I have heard used. Flatsawn, it can be unstable. It is perhaps best used if one wants a Rosewood-like appearance (though lighter in color) but a sound that tends more toward mahogany.
It does not require the pampering for humidity control that most other woods should have.
(Suhr) Normally found in Brazil and Bolivia, Pau Ferro is a tight grained hardwood that has a similar feel and sound to rosewood, but is harder and slightly lighter in color. Warmer sounding than ebony, brighter than Rosewood, Pau Ferro has a percussive attack, excellent clarity, a fat low-end and a pronounced high-end sparkle. These characteristics make Pau Ferro particularly well suited to high gain styles such as rock and metal.
Michael Bashkin says: “Pau Ferro. I think is a visually appealing wood with carmel colors and can have ink dark ink growth lines. It is easy to obtain in well quartered sets, which is a good thing because flatsawn areas can be unstable. It is a closed pore wood so it is nice to finish and machines well. For tone although is is heavy and looks like a “rosewood” is has a dryer tap tone, and does not have the glassy brilliance of woods like Honduran, Brazilian rosewood or Cocobolo. It would work well for a someone seeking a tone between Rosewood and Mahogany. ”
Collings compares it to East Indian RW: "Pau Ferro is more dense and stiff than East Indian Rosewood, and it therefore offers a very clear, detailed and percussive bass response. The guitars entire frequency range will be a bit brighter than EIR."
Pau Ferro's contrasting bands of brown, gold, yellow and black give the wood a beautiful and warm appearance. Pale yellow sapwood. Normally a straight grained wood, Pau Ferro does occasionally exhibit interesting figure. It is a nonporous wood which results in a very nice finish. Heavier than Indian Rosewood, Pau Ferro has a nice tap tone and is tonally similar to Indian Rosewood. It bends well and takes a finish easily. A good choice for fretboards and bridges as it wears well, tends to be uniform, is fast, dense and smooth, and needs no finish.
2) Jacaranda Pardo is a South American wood sometimes called Bolivian Rosewood or Pau Ferro. The Northern variety exhibits dark stripes through a dark tan that resembles striped Ebony versus the Southern variety that visually resembles Brazilian Rosewood. Jacaranda Pardo is a great tonewood that is dense (heavier than Brazilian & East Indian Rosewood), closed grain and nonporous. It is beautiful to finish. Note that a small percentage of the population is allergic to this wood.
From David Berkowitz: Pau ferro...has a high compliment of dalbergiones, a chemical common to many tropical hardwoods, including true rosewoods, and the principle irritant to all of them. Treatment usually requires a strong topical steroid like desonide which requires a prescription. Try sealing a (Pau Ferro) fingerboard with several coats of teak oil, available through marine supply. It may or may not work.
Caldwell Guitars: "It's underutilized IMO. The best sets can be visually spectacular, often exhibiting the landscaping figure seen on the best Madagascar and Brazilian. It's not a true rosewood and lacks the tonal complexities of most rosewoods, but that doesn't disqualify it from making great guitars. To my ear it tends toward a more neutral sound - think maple - and lets the tonal properties of the top dominate. It's close pored and easily finished. " Arnold Guitar:" Pau ferro (ironwood) is also known as Santos rosewood or morado. IMHO, it's better-sounding than bocote, and probably more stable. "
When finishing, avoid an oxidizing finish. They may not cure and could leave a sitcky mess. Shellac and Nitro will cure.
Janka is 3000 and the specific gravity is .82.
*Paulownia (Paulownia Tomentosa)
A light golden to blonde wood used for top woods and center woods in solid-bodies, it has one of the best strength to weight ratios. It exhibits lots of character, and works well, plus is very stable though it dings easily, comes with the light weight I suppose. 1160 on the Janka scale and 17 lb/ft3 (range is 14-21). Similar to Catalpa, it may have faint grayish to purplish hues. Attractive and one of the world's fastest growing trees, it is used in Chinese ceremonial furniture. Tony Yamamoto uses it frequently.
Pau Rosa (Swartzia fistulo des)
A very hard wood with a specific gravity of .85 Beautiful salmon color with cream sapwood. Tap tone is very similar to Honduran Rosewood. A real sleeper that can make for a wonderful guitar.
Also known as African Tulip, this beautiful African hardwood contains beautiful orange, red, pink & golden colors. It is dense and has bright tap tone which is similar to Rosewoods, glues well, and takes a high natural polish.
Pau Santo (Zollernia Paraensis) Brazilian Blackheart
This is a very dark, heavy and hard wood, may have grays or greens in it, and has been used in some applications to replace Ebony or Lignum Vitae. The sapwood is distinctly yellowish. It exhibits a natural luster but interlocking grain may make it difficult to work with. An abundance of natural oils increased difficulty with glueing and finishing. Sound-wise, expect it to fall between rosewood and ebony.
Trees rarely grow large enough to use for backs, so for this reason if no other it is very uncommonly used as tonewood. It is one of the woods used for violin bows, however. It's incense is also used in certain religious and medicinal (cancer fighting) ceremonies (this last may be Palo Santos instead - my ability to read Portuguese is about as minimal as it can be). Confusing the issue, I found this in Webster's: "a Brazilian tree (Kielmeyera coriacea) of the family Guttiferae having bark that is similar to cork and used for insulation".
69lb/ft3
Pear Pirus communis
Stained black, pear was often used for fingerboards on vintage banjos. Orange or Reddish colored wood of a medium density, almost without any visible structure. Flamed pieces can appear rather attractive. I had the opportunity to play two nearly identical-looking pear guitars within minutes of each other. The first was one of the finest I have ever played, regardless of woods - just exceptionally clear and well-balanced, loud but not booming, with adequate but not over whelming bass. The other, still a fine instrument, was by another maker and priced at a fraction of the first, and was nice enough but definitely unexceptional, a bit quieter, far less bass and less overall balance and clarity. How often will you find 2 pear guitars in the same room? The lesson to take away has been made before: it's the builder first.
Bruce Sexauer: "I have found it works a bit like a higher quality American Cherry. It has a finer texture and far less flaw, at least on the high end pieces I use. Virtually poreless from a finishing POV, it bends relatively easily with minimal scorching, and sands easily as well. It is a bit brittle and care must be taken lest it break cross grain."
Hard Pear Olinia ventosa
Distribution: Hard Pear occurs in the Eastern, Southern and Western Cape of South Africa.
Properties: Has a yellowish-brown to reddish-brown color, a fine, wavy, close grain and is hard, compact and strong. (Weight 1201kg/m3 green and 849kg/m3 air-dry). Average linear shrinkage from green to air-dry is 4,5% across the grain. It must be seasoned with care to avoid splitting and warping.
Working Qualities: Not the easiest timber to work because of its uneven, wavy grain, and sharp, high speed tools are required. It has a very fine finish due to the wavy appearance of the grain, which gives it a characteristic rippled effect.
Uses: Hard Pear is durable and is used for furniture and musical instruments, and to a limited extent for boat building and carpentry.
(above from "Forgotten Woods")
Pernambuco Caesalpinia echinata, Brazilwood
Botanically, several tree species are involved, all in the family Fabaceae (the pulse family). The term "Brazilwood" is most often used to refer to the species Caesalpinia echinata, but it is also applied to other species. The tree is also known by other names, as iIirapitanga, Tupi for "red wood"; or pau de pernambuco, named after the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.
Excessive exploitation led to a steep decrease in the number of Brazilwood trees in the 18th century, causing the collapse of this economic activity. Presently, the species is nearly extirpated in most of its original range. Brazilwood is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN, and it is cited in the official list of endangered flora of Brazil - restoration of the species in the wild being hampered by the fact that it is a climax community species, which will only develop well when planted amongst secondary forest vegetation. Although lots of saplings have been distributed and/or sold during recent decades, that has led to the tree being planted in places outside its natural range, with somewhat poor results, such as happens with Brazilwood trees used for urban landscaping in the city of São Paulo, whose development and flowering is usually hampered by the colder environment.
The trade of Brazilwood is likely to be banned in the immediate future, creating a major problem in the bow-making industry which highly values this wood (see Smithsonian, April 2004, cover story). Due to lobbying from the musical instruments trade (probably largely violin bow makers), an exception has been made allowing Pernambuco slated to be used in instruments to be exported.
Pernambuco is the equal of BRW tonally, although it is different. It tends to be more balanced: less "glassy" in the trebles, and has a little less tendency to boom in the bass. Overall just a beautiful, balanced, articulate tone, vibrant in all registers. And it is visually very beautiful. It only grows in what remains of the Brazilian Atlantic forest. It's rarely available in guitar sets, and not at all from the usual commercial guitar wood suppliers. Factories have none of it, and only a few hand builders do, so most people may not get to hear a guitar made from it. It's now on the CITES Appendix II, but an exception to CITES has been made for its import and export for use in musical instruments. This came about because of lobbying by classical music organizations, since pernambuco has been the wood of choice for over two centuries for violin (etc.) bows. But the exception fortunately applies to all musical instrument use.
Pernamabuco neck in electric guitar vs. mahogany:
a) The pernambuco neck guitar was by at least 30% louder than the mahogany neck guitar.
b) The definition of the Pernambuco was unreal. Every note came up like a bell. Perhaps, this justifies up to a certain extend, the louder sound. The chords had a rich and tight sound. The mahogany neck guitar could not separate the notes that well and the chords sounded a bit muddy.
c) Pernambuco produced a lot more overtones and harmonics. With the Mahogany neck, either a person must try harder to get them and in most cases they are kept in a low level
d) The sustain also was at least 20% longer.
e) The tone is fantastic. The sound is very open. It has thick midrange with a lot of nice sweet presence. The bass notes are extremely defined and clear. The highs are also very thick and musical.
f) Also, when the gain of the amplifier was increased to the maximum, the pernambuco reacted extremely well and the sound was very dynamic and still clear. The faster you play, the more notes you could hear. The mahogany instead produced a muddy sound. The notes were all mixed up.
g) The pernambuco had by far the superior attack. For the clean sounds the attack was reminiscent of the old Fenders, but with more clarity. When distortion was applied, they produced very tight and rich sound, perhaps better than a humbucker. They had a kind of natural compression with more dynamics.
Obviously, clarity, definition, sustain and dynamics are associated with the velocity of sound. Pernambuco has the highest velocity of sound among the tonewoods. The tone though has to do with the pernambuco's characteristics, which are superb. In the mahogany neck a lot of information is blocked and when the gain is increased and the signal becomes more complicated the results are even worse. Even the mahogany with the Brazilian rosewood fretboard cannot rival the pernambuco. Its sound is really good, but compared to pernambuco is like comparing a good road sport car with a Formula 1 prototype.
Another important point is that due to the very close pores, the pernambuco finishes extremely well with oil, which is the best finish for this type of wood. Additionally, pernambuco is very stable. The guitar (we are talking acoustic now) arrived a month ago. It came from Georgia in the US where the temperature was -5 C with humidity 80% to Greece where the temperature was + 12 and the humidity 55%. The neck needed no further adjustments. The writer expounded on the wonderful tonal and working qualities of the wood (that you can thin it right down and it's still stiff and resonant), and then proved it by playing the guitar. It sounded fantastic, with great volume and projection, a nice even tone, and great overall frequency response. Part of that is to do with the way Bruce Sexauer builds guitars, of course, but a lot of it is due to the wood choice. He told us that specimens of the tree that produced tonewood wide enough for guitars were very rare.
It is a VERY rare tone-wood, especially in sizes large enough for 100% quarter sawn 2 piece backs. The trees are very small in diameter, similar in size to Madagascar RW trees. You must be extremely fortunate to be able to purchase some sets that are both quarter sawn and very figured. It is a strange looking shade of burnt orange, almost pumpkin in color but the tone and sustain more than makes up for the odd appearance.
Pernambuco is a very low dampening wood but it’s much denser than BRW. It has low frequency response that is stronger than BRW and more similar to African Black Wood, but it still has excellent mids and high frequencies. It should be closely compared to ABW rather than to BRW.
Persimmon Disopyros virginiana H=4, M=3.8, B=3.5, S=3.7, O=2.8, T=3
The only native American ebony and, as such, it polishes well. Has been used on fretboards and bridges but only rarely on back sand sides. Joe Mendel has used it on B&S. It is unusually subject to seasonal changes. Bob Gramann, who has used it several times, provides a summer and a winter saddle to deal with it. The common persimmon tree yields hard, creamy or yellow sap wood that occasionally has black streaks near the heart. It darkens with age. The heartwood is very dark brown to black. Texas persimmon has more dark heartwood. The wood is not all that common commercially. It would probably have to be dyed to assume the traditional role of ebony as a fingerboard and as peghead veneer, although the heartwood is nearly black. Persimmon is a gorgeous yellow wood with a striking grain and it is extremely hard which gives it a characteristically clear ringing tone. with good balance. It will take hard strumming.
Joe Mendel has used it and reports it less dense than other ebonies. It is best when well sanded and makes a striking looking guitar - blonde with darker parts, not dark like other ebonies. Because it is usually not a large tree, to use it often would require 4 piece backs.
Al Carruth said this: It "works very much like Macassar ebony in my experience. It's one of the toughest woods you'll run into. I made one persimmon guitar, and if I was playing in one of those places where they put chicken wire up between you and the audience, that's the guitar I'd want. It sounded good, too! I use it for fingerboards on 'domestic wood' guitars, and usually just stain it with walnut hull tea to darken it, since it's generally light brown or gray-brown. It's a great wood for bridge plates: it's diffuse porous, so that, unlike Osage you're never going to have a ball end up on a soft piece of grain. In some testing I did it took twice as much force to split a quartered piece of persimmon as it do to split anything else I treid, and skew cut is even more split resistant. It takes a little grunt to bend it, but it's no worse than most other hard and dense woods."
Peruvian Rosewood (or "Sacha") micandra spruceana
Not a Rosewood at all despite that fact that some folks use that word for it. It's properties have more in common with koa, palo escrito, or mahogany. It's stiffness compares with koa, it's density with mahogany, and it's tone with Palo Escrito. Peruvians call it higuerilla negra. It is visually striking. Bruce Sexauer: "I have seen many sets, and they are pastel colors compared to most RW's, though there is a quality almost like landscaping which can be intriguing."
37lb/ft3
See "Higuerilla" for more details and pictures.
Peruvian Walnut (Juglans Neotropica) Nogal H=3.6, M=3.4, B=4.2, S=2.6, O=1, T=1.2
Peruvian Walnut is a true walnut. It can be a rich dark chocolate brown color, sometimes broad, dark lines. May have awesome figure. Peruvian walnut is slightly more dense than North American Walnuts, which may increase volume and/or projection. Peruvian walnut features a rather plain and straight grain and figure (compared to the more pronounced and varied grain and figure of American black walnut). As with Americian walnut, the wood weighs 32 pounds per cubic foot and its acoustical properties are similar- it provides a good mid to bass response when used for backboards and rims. The color ranges from rich brown to mid tan-brown, sometimes pinkish. It has more projection and volume than other walnuts, yet is clear and open sounding, yet deep.
Ave. Dry Weight: 32-50 lbs/ft3
Specific Gravity.50-.60
Janka Scale: 960-1080 lbf
Color/Appearance: Heartwood tends to be darker than temperate walnut species, with a deep chocolate brown color, sometimes with a purplish hue with blackish streaks. May also contain streaks of lighter-colored wood mixed throughout the heartwood, which can sometimes be extensive and result in a high degree of waste. Grain figuring such as curl seems to be much less common than in other walnut species.
Grain/Texture: Grain is usually straight, but can be irregular. Has a medium to coarse texture and good natural luster. Endgrain is diffuse-porous; large to very large pores, growth rings distinct. Straight to wavy grain, not interlocking.
Workability: Dry slowly to avoid twists. Typically easy to work provided the grain is straight and regular. Planer tearout can sometimes be a problem when surfacing pieces with irregular or figured grain. Glues, stains, and finishes well. Bends well w/steam, medium w/out. High crush strength. Joints hold well. Polishes to a fine luster.
Allergies/Toxicity: Other species in the Juglens genus (such as Butternut, Black, and English Walnut) have been reported as sensitizers, and Peruvian Walnut may generate similar allergic reactions. Most common reactions simply include eye and skin irritation.
Sustainability: Peruvian Walnut is not listed in the CITES Appendices, but a number of tropical species in the Juglans genus are on the IUCN Red List. The most notable species, Juglans neotropica, is listed as endangered due to a population reduction of over 50% in the past three generations.
CHARACTER: Peruvian Walnut acoustic guitar tonewood is more dense than other Walnuts
TONAL: Peruvian Walnut acoustic guitar back and sides may have more volume and projection than walnuts
Pink Gum (Eucalyptus wandoo)
Used by my Australian friend Scott Wise, who reports it yields a pale yellow or pinkish wood that browns up considerably under finish. It is dense, heavy, and highly resonant. It will produce a very loud guitar, very loud, with good projection.
Pink Ivory. Berchemia zeyheri. Red Ivory, Ungoloti
Trees can range from 100-130 feet high with a diameter fo 3-5', but most never come close to this. 35' tall and 1' diameter is more common. It is more cioommonly used in smasll objectd, turning, boxes, marwuetry and so forth. Though not CITES listed, the southern African wood is managed closely and is diffcult to find, so expect it to be priced accordoingly. Pink Ivory is resistant to rot, insect and yields a delicious fruit. Color of the sapwood is yellow-brown with a gradual demarcation. Fiddleback or a frizzy appearance are not uncommon. Uusually light pink to a reddish brown, it may change color as it matures - this is not well understood yet. It is quite subject to sunlight and humidity changes.
Pink Ivory is extraordinarily slow to dry. And you want it dry before cutting, unless you like courting disaster. It has a high oil content and polishes well. Grain may be straighut or interlocked. The interlocked stuff is difficult to work, but mainly it is even textured and OK to work. You will get practice shuarpenoing tools when you work with it. Watch for tearout in the more figured pieces. You may not enjoy the odor while working it. It has low internal damping and a sweet sound with a bright and snappy tap tone.
3230 Janka rating. 65lb/ft3
Pistachio Pistacia vera H=4, M=3.8, B=3.2, S=4, O=3.5, T=4
This is the variety of Pistachio grown commercially for nut production and is normally too small to make a guitar back. Whew found, the graft line iis often evident, which can add interest, or be objectionable, depending upon your view.. Fingerboards can be found. The wood is very dense and hard, similar to Ebony and is definitely unique in appearance, stunning. The colors include green, red, white, and tan to dark brown, in stunning patterns of contrasting bands. Pistachio has excellent tonal qualities, bright and crisp, with a focused upper range.
Plum Prunus domestica, oemleria cerasiformis
A Cherry relative, it does not grow nearly so large and is consequently rarely found in sizes that we can use for tonewood. It is heavier and harder and has more of a pinkish hue.
JC Tonewoods: The heart wood is an orange/brown color very much like mahogany with the sapwood being light cream in color. Instruments crafted from plumwood show a sound pattern that is both subtle and warm as well as clear and strong.
Niklas Saers: "The wood is quite uniform in texture. The grain of the tree was twisted (typical for purple leaf plum - it grows in a "corkscrew" fashion) and there's some runout one way on one edge and the other way on the other."
Poplar Tulipwood
A fast-growing and comparatively soft hardwood, poplar is easily identified by its featureless but distinct greenish cast. It is difficult to get this to work well visually with other woods. Big box lumber stores are now carrying it s a loser cost alternative to oak. Iif you see "hardwood" with a greenish cast, it is most likely poplar. You get what you pay for. Stiff, sometimes resonant, it is used for painted body blanks for electrics, having (some say) a better upper and mid range than alder. Do not expect much sustain. Lightweight and easy to work, it does take finishes well. But stability is not an attribute. I imagine changing humidity will cause more problems with it than other traditional tonewoods. As might be expected, it is used most often in cheaper instruments. Once is a while you will find a piece that defies the norm; those would have the most merit as tonewood.
Check out the photos for burled and spalted poplar - I don't know how it compares as a tone wood, but it definitely has a striking and attractive appearance. Suippliers more often suggest it as a wood for solid-bodied guitars. That says something.
31lb/ft3
**Port Orford Cedar Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Actually a rare variety of Cypress (Lawson Cypress) which grows along the S. Oregon Coast where it's endured for over 50 million years. This is an incredibly light weight, yet tough wood possessing phenomenal tonal qualities. Acoustic and electric guitars made of POC are light weight and sound magnificent. The tone of Port Orford Cedar could be described as bold and direct throughout the fundamentals with little overtone content. It has slightly better headroom to Sitka spruce and but responds to the touch in the same way.
Port Orford Cedar –– also known as Port Orford White Cedar, Oregon Cedar, Ginger Pine or Lawson Cypress, is a rare variety of Cypress that grows in a very limited range along the Pacific Coast, from far northern California into southern Oregon. Despite harsh conditions, these trees have existed in the Pacific NW for over 50 million years and can grow to 180 feet and live to be over 500 years old.
Port Orford Cedar is one of the more unique woods growing in North America. It is a creamy, off-white color with straight, somewhat uneven medium grain and often completely free of knots. It has an almost ginger like aroma. Ring counts can exceed 40/inch. It is very light, yet very strong, (an unusual combination), and highly workable for carving, turning & machining. It’s highly prized for boat building, cabinetry, furniture, doors, built-ins, etc. Port Orford Cedar is also one of the most acid, pest and rot resistant woods known and highly sought in China and Japan to make coffins. In addition to its exceptional beauty, strength, and durability, it has also been used for back and sides as well as necks, though mostly we see it in tops. Much of the US production is exported to Japan for furniture.
The lumber has a faint yellowish white hue with very fine grain and an even texture. It is stiffer and lighter than Alaskan Yellow Cedar. The aroma is peppery which is typical of the cypress family. In use, it is durable and easy to work. It was once used as arrow shafts due it’s split resistance. Luthiers find it is more resistant to splitting than any other top wood. It has a Janka rating of 720 and a specific gravity of 0.44.
Port Orford Cedar is both beautiful and distinctive when finished. Because of the nearly white color, it has often been stained to mimic other woods. It takes a high polish and has a lovely satiny look to it. It forms good strength glue bonds and takes a finish very well without need of fill. It’s great stiffness and lightness has appealed to flattop makers Greg Byers, James Goodall and Les Stansell.
Les Standsell says: “Oregon Cypress (Port Orford “White” Cedar) displays all the most desirable structural and resonance qualities sought after by instrument makers…….it has the highest stiffness/weight ratio of “all” wood species. In addition, when compared to all other North American softwoods, POC ranks highest in elasticity and resistance to crushing, shearing, denting and splitting. POC is ideal for Flamenco guitars as a substitute for: other Spruces and Cedars (tops and bracing)... Spanish Cypress (backs and sides)…and Spanish Cedar (necks).”
Jayhawk:" It would be my 1st choice if I was having a guitar built specifically for fingerstyle. I'd probably choose it for a combination of picking/fingerstyle." CharlieD:" Its tone to me was less like cedar and more like spruce but warmer. It had great volume and presence, and did well with both flatpicks and fingers. It's a bit surprising that more builders don't use it because it adds a lot of character to the sound."
Primavera Tabebuia donnell-simthii, Spring or Paradise Wood
It has been called similar in appearance to Mahogany, but I don't see this at all. Primavera has creamy golden white colors with darker variegated lines randomly running through the wood. A light tan timber with darker, reddish brown streaks. The iridescence in this species is strong and beautiful, combining with interlocked grain. Sometimes you'll also find ribboned figure. Primavera has excellent finishing properties with a fairly high luster. It works easily and well by hand or with power tools. The tone and volume of Primavera is excellent, with a perfect balance of bass and treble. The density is almost the same as Hawaiian Koa. Often substituted for superior hardwoods due to its easy workability. Grain is wavy and interlocked, resembling mahogany in luster and texture. Medium to coarse texture. Good for steam bending. Medium blunting effect on tools. Glues, nails and screws well. An excellent finish usually can be acquired. Note: the sap rises and falls with the moon's phases versus the seasons.
This gorgeous wood is found in most of Latin America. Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, North and central Honduras. It is amazingly beautiful, perhaps ideal for light guitar construction. It is far better than Cypress when it comes to the Flamenco sound but the great side to this wood is that it performs fantastically well in Classical music as well making it a top choice for Flamenco/Classical Construction. Deep bass, lively mids and exceptionally clear trebles. In Paraguay the wood is commonly known as Paraiso (Paradise) because the Jesuits would use it to make sacred objects in the early 1600’s.
Specific gravity is 0.45, 28-30 lb/ft3
Pumaquiro (Aspidosperma macrocarpon)
Pumaquiro is a stately wood with long soft stripes. It is a light tannish color, and the grain is somewhat similar in appearance to Honduras mahogany. Pumaquiro is one of the heavier hardwoods weighing in at 58 pounds per cubic foot. It is a dense, rigid wood and delivers a powerful tone similar to, but not as bright as rosewood. Ideal for backboards and rims. (from "Forgotten Woods")
58lb/ft3
Purple Gidgee Acacia crombiei Pink Gidgee H=4.3, M=3.1, B=3.9, S=4.1, O= 3, T=4
This is cool: the greenish brown wood turns pink to purple upon exposure to light. It has yellow sapwood, a fine grain and is very hard. Sounds are clear and crisp with outstanding sustain.
Purpleheart Peltogyne H=4.5, ML=2.9,=4.5, S=2.5, O=3.3, T=2.4
Purple Heart is a fabulous tonewood with some of the best characteristics for a world class tonewood. It is very dense and projects marvelously. Perfect basses and lively trebles. High sustain and projection. It is in the same league as African Blackwood, Lapacho and Brazilian rosewood without the drawbacks of Brazilian rosewood that is a high maintenance wood. Hard to come by. The curly variety is very scarce. Purpleheart is brown when freshly cut but oxidizes to a bright violet purple and eventually to a dark purplish brown. Hard, dense, heavy and finely textured, purpleheart's grain is usually straight, often with a fine, curly figure. There is considerable variation in color, texture and density among the several species that account for commercial supplies of purpleheart. One of the hardest and stiffest woods, it is moderately hard to work but takes a glossy, lustrous finish.
Purpleheart has a creamy white/gray sapwood but like its name suggests, the heartwood is a bright, striking purple when freshly cut, darkening into a deeper purple with age. It has a medium to fine texture with a luster that ranges from medium to high; its grain is usually straight but can be wavy or irregular. Purpleheart has high bending and crushing strength and stiffness with medium resistance to shock loads.
"As a tonewood, Purpleheart provides a warm bass, bright midrange and clear trebles." (Lone Wolf)
Machining: Purpleheart has a moderate to severe blunting effect on tools; sharp, high speed steel knives therefore are recommended as are 15 degree cutting angles. It can be somewhat difficult to work with using either hand or machine tools. Some wood seems to be relatively soft textured and easy to cut and other wood has been so hard it burns all your tools, so there is a high degree of variability in cutting characteristics, depending on the piece of wood or possibly the exact species of Peltogyne that you received. Watch particularly carefully the grain direction on planing any wood that shows an interlocking grain. It has a nasty habit of tearing out when you least expect it. Purpleheart is rated moderate for steam bending if you read the text books. Pre-drilling purple heart wood is always recommended. The wood is quite brittle especially if drilling close to the end of a board. It is likely to split so tighten screws with caution. It does rate highly for turnery though and with sharp chisels can come to a beautiful sheen. Watch for burning while routing as it is pretty easy to burn if your cutter is dull or you're going too slow. Burn marks are very difficult to remove from purpleheart.
COLOR: Heartwood is brown when freshly cut, turning deep purple to purplish brown over time. Sapwood is a lighter cream color.
GRAIN: Usually straight; medium to fine texture.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Moderate to high color variation.
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: Excellent (change coefficient .00212).
DURABILITY: Very strong and dense.
SAWING/MACHINING: Moderately difficult due to hardness; frequent sharpening of tools required; slow feed rate and carbide tooling recommended.
SANDING: Sands satisfactorily.
FINISHING: Takes finishes well; some have found that water-based finishes hold color better. Tendency to bleed with some finishes.
COMMENTS: Heartwood is very resistant to dry-wood termites. Presence of minerals in some boards may cause uneven coloration.
Janka: 1860 Specific gravity is 0.86, 54-58 lb/ft3 Weight: 50-70 lbs/cu.ft..: a very broad range of weight depending on origin of lumber.
Pyinma Lagerstroemia spp. "Asian Satinwood", "Crepe Myrtle"
Heartwood typically golden to reddish brown, with paler yellow/gray sapwood. Colors tend to darken with age upon exposure to light. The bark is so slippery that monkeys won't climb it. Curly grain figure very common in this species, with some pieces exhibiting outstanding curl. Nearly every piece shows some measure of curly grain, with some pieces having an almost three dimensional look on account of the heavy curl. The curliness can mean tear-out while planing. Be careful. Grain is usually straight, though some pieces have wavy or interlocked grain; texture is moderately coarse and uneven; good natural luster.
Tends to be less expensive than its properties justify.
Generally easy to work, producing good results, though pieces with curly grain (as with any species of figured wood) will be inevitably more difficult to plane and machine without tearout. Sands easily. Doesn’t have the blunting effect on cutters that true satinwoods exhibit. Turns, glues, and finishes well—polishes to a high luster.
40-70' tall, 2-3' diameter, 43-44lb/ft3, 1090 Janka rating. Not CITES listed.
Queensland Maple Flinersia sp Silkwood H=3.5, M=3.4, B=3.3, S=3.5, O=3, T=4
A fast-growing evergreen with pink-hued lumber. the heartwood ia golden with bands of light brown and interlocked and sometimes wavy grain. Medium to coarse texture and a good luster. Usually bright, loud, with strong mids and a good balance on the bass. Highs may be subdued, but is snappy allowing for a quick attack.
Quillabordon (Aspidosperma subincamum)
Quillabordon is a very simple wood of a light yellow-tan color and very modest grain and figure that finishes to a rich golden hue. At 45 pounds per cubic foot, Quillabordon is considered to be a medium-weight tonewood. It’s bright coloration overpowers its simplicity and lends itself to providing a regal appearance, especially when bordered with dark wood bindings. From and acoustical standpoint, Quillabordon’s lighter weight supports an instruments bass- to mid-range without overpowering the trebles. (from "Forgotten Woods")
45lb/ft3
Go to Woods: R - T
