Alembic Guitars Club

Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: funkyjazzjunky on January 03, 2011, 01:21:03 PM

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: funkyjazzjunky on January 03, 2011, 01:21:03 PM

It seems some tone woods are getting harder to secure.  I notices that Bocate no longer shows as a standard wood on the new 'Woods' web page.  I miss Goncola Alves, Tulipwood, Koa, Wenge and other great looking woods

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: mica on January 03, 2011, 02:54:12 PM

Goncola Alves isn't a wood used here that I know of. Weng? doesn't work well with our finish (that mineral deposit can look like a crystal or a piece of dirt). Tulipwood has always been difficult to procure in wide widths (if we only made 3 wide guitars!), and of course Koa by definition is scarce, but we still can source excellent material, and have a nice collection here.
 
Bocate is funny - the price has escalated to the point that it can't be offered as a standard  wood any longer. It is harder to source nice looking material in wide widths. Of course I can get wide veneer all day long!
 
There are many new woods we're offering. I'm loving the Flame Redwood and Burl Redwood additions. Jarrah Burl has only been offered for a few years now. True, there are very limited quantities available of Chocolate Quilted Maple and Pale Moon Ebony.  
 
We keep trying different things, there's more than 100,000 species of wood to explore and enjoy.

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: bigredbass on January 04, 2011, 08:01:11 AM

Wenge doesn't work well with a lot of other builders:  I can't tell you how many Ibanez and Warwick axes I've seen where the wood finish looks cloudy;  I remember one Ibanez Japanese-built SoundGear (their top of the line, not from production elsewhere in the Far East) that actually looked as if it had soap flakes suspended in a few out of the way spots.
 
J o e y

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: terryc on January 04, 2011, 08:11:29 AM

Once played a Warwick..felt like a rough plank.

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: tubeperson on January 04, 2011, 08:39:50 AM

Mica, Mike Tobias used Goncalo Alves when he owned Tobias in California.  I have a 6 string bass made with that wood.  I find this topic quite fascinating, and continue to learn about the instruments and their components. They really can make a difference in sound and feel (and weight).  Each manufacturer has to make design decisions regarding the components of their products.  Still, I love that Coco Bolo!!! And quilted sends me to a new place!!!

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: jacko on January 05, 2011, 04:36:45 AM

Terry... SNAP!!!

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: mario_farufyno on January 06, 2011, 03:29:31 AM

This is a south american tree also known in Brazil as Aroeira Preta (Black or Dark Aroeira). Sometimes they sell their cousins Astronium graveolens and Astronium lecointei as Gon?alo Alves (that special C sounds as an S, not as a K), but the real thing would be the Astronium fraxinifolium.
 
(Message edited by mario farufyno on January 06, 2011)

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: gleech on January 12, 2011, 01:26:45 PM

Where has Osage orange gone? I've seen old references to using it. An extremely hard wood sometimes used for fence posts. Grows like weeds in the Midwest US fence rows so not particularly rare. Hedge apples, anyone?

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: funkyjazzjunky on January 13, 2011, 05:35:24 AM

Osage Orange has an oil that causes de-lamination over time

Title: Scarce Woods
Post by: hydrargyrum on January 13, 2011, 08:13:32 AM

I was under the impression that Coco Bolo was pretty darn oily too. An internet search shows that it is still being used by some builders.