Zebrawood for "whole" body

[kench]

Hello. I visited a lumber store yesterday and found a zebrawood timber (180x20x5 cm for $50) suitable for a solidbody guitar. At first I thought of using it as a LP or PRS style cap, instead of maple. But then I realized that it would look much better if I use it for the whole body. It has a beatiful grain both on the surface and the sides. I haven't bought it yet. But I am thinking. I've heard that its tone is similar to hard maple so it must be bright. That is not what I really like. I like warm sounding guitars with a good mid-range. Any of you guys worked with Zebrawood? and can you compare its tone to the most used woods like mahogany, maple, alder, ash?

And if I use pickups with alnico magnets, do you think I can warm up its tone? I already have two SD Alnico II Pro humbuckers for both neck and bridge pos.

Another problem about zebrawood is that it has a very open grain. Any finishing experiences??

[frank falbo]

I think you'll like it with the Alnicos. One thing I like about using maple or any other lively, bright body wood is that you can go for a really thick humbucker sound without having it get muddy. You can warm up that guitar with a mahogany or rosewood neck, and a rosewood board. A rosewood neck will dampen some of those highs down. Usually if I spot a piece of wood that really catches my eye I try to build with it. Often times there's a reason your eye was attracted to it. I'd use it as an opportunity to design around it. You can even add a low mid boost from someone like Bartolini, and the guitar still will not get muddy.