imikeyi Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 Hi guys I live in Australia and I'm finding it really hard to get some Alder wood. In fact I'm having difficulty finding any of the recommended guitar woods. Also, I don't want to import wood from overseas because I don't want customs taking it off me :-/ The types of wood I can get my hands on have weird names: blackbutt, victorian ash, karri, jarrah, meranti etc. (I have heard meranti is used in acoustic guitars). Is there any way I can tell whether these woods have good tone, apart from actually building a guitar with them and seeing? Does tone have to do with weight, colour, density or anything like that? Or maybe someone has had first hand experience with these woods and can tell me? Many thanks Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 i think the main thing is stability.look up the properties of your wood types on the net and see if they glue well,are stable,non oily,and are non corrosive to metals.(camphor is corrosive).all woods will have a unique tone but most will be listenable.some guitars are made out of plywood after allby the way ash is used in guitars all the time.great tone.i don't know what victorian ash is but it is probably similar and useable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the third eye Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 Hi Michael whereabouts in Aus are you? i'm in Tassie can't really help you in finding wood have you asked any luthiers? there are a lot of people overseas that could make a body for you though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 also keep in mind that alder,mahogany,basswood,and all those are not necessarily the best woods,but they are plentiful,cheap,and work well which is why they are so commonly used.many guitar makers use other woods such as sycamore,korina,purpleheart,bocote,zirocote,cherry,lacewood,etc..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 here's a tip for you.go here and look at bodies and necks.they will tell you what they are made of and they use all kinds of exotic woods.if you see anything familiar then that's a start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 i found this about jarrah : http://www.rampartguitars.com/w_E-Ki_3.htm#Jarrah should sound the same as hard rosewood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 check this out at the bottom of the page(very last picture).just shows what you can do with uncommon woods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vh-guitarstore.com Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 i looked up those woods for you and most do not seem to be recomended for guitars.....getting alder is tough for americans to get right now, so i wouldnt bother with thinking about that....but you are forgetting one of the best tonewoods that is local to you; lacewood......youll also be able to get some woods that are tough for us to get like limba......try locating a hard wood specialist in your town.....and get some ideas from them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imikeyi Posted June 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 Wow thanks for all the advice!! It's a lot to take in all at once westheman, Good point about the big companies using plentiful woods... it's kinda made me WANT to stay away from alder now thethirdeye, I'm in Sydney... would you believe I can't find any luthiers that do more than standard guitar repairs? There is seriously a market for custom electrics in Australia.. if I had a workshop (and skill) I'd quit work and uni and do this full time john, thanks for the info on Jarrah, that seems to be the wood I can most easily get my hands on so I'll probably give it a shot vh-guitarstore.com Ah yes i've heard about Lacewood; good idea maybe I'll make 2 bodies (1 jarrah and 1 lacewood) and let you know which tone i prefer One things for sure though, I'm steering clear from the mainstream woods now. I've actually read that some of these woods (particularly mahogany) aren't even going to be around for much longer.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azycoona Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 hi ther check out wren timbers they usally have some nice tonewood depends what tone ya after but queensland maple is a popular choice for aussies and it has a real low end tone like mahogony and fairly cheap,i got a belman,it is all q maple and i couldnt be more happy with the tone cheers azy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blink 182 Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Hey I have some information about Australian timbers: First of all you said you had access to victorian ash (tasmanian oak), this is one of the best Australian tonewoods there are. If you have read the current issue of Australian guitar (with John butler on the front) You will notice in the review ,section there is a guitar made by jim dyson called the jim dyson pro and standard, it is made completly out of victorian ash except (and this surprised me) the fretboard which is made out of perspex. This guitar costs $950 so i doubt they would go to the trouble of building such an expensive guitar out of a so-so tonewood. Also if you read the feed back some one else had the exact same problem and they replied with a detailed response. I suggest you buy this magazine, it sugests you try Gilet guitars of sydney. Also there are a few other known Australian tonewoods such as: Bunya Tasmanian blackwood Queensland maple mulga cooktown ironwood And i would have to recommend Jarrah for fretboards it is one of the best woods for it. Also you research Maton guitars in Australia they make there guitars from "alternate" Australian timbers. Anyway good luck and i hope that long post was at least a little bit helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 (edited) Hey, I think I might have a score on my hands. I'm always on the lookout for freebies. I am just finishing up a painting job at a house that will be going up for sale. The owner is refurbishing interior and exterior as well as doing some yardwork. I spotted a very straight log laying on the ground amongst some cut branches. The wood was extremely dense, the log weighed a ton (4'X10" dia)! The owner said it was from a [url="http://www.westwindhardwood.com/hard_h.html#holly"]holly[/url] tree they cut down a while back. I have some friends who can cut it into sections (quartersaw) for neckwood, then I'll lay it somewhere and forget about it for a few years. Edited July 25, 2005 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exoticwood Posted July 26, 2005 Report Share Posted July 26, 2005 Southpa, make sure you get the scoop on preventing blue stain(fungus) on freshly sliced holly. Best time to cut it is in the dead of winter when it's too cold to grow. There is something you can put on the sliced wood to prevent it but I don't remember what it was. someting like baking soda. Check out th lumber milling sites for info. By theway it blue stains very easily, I know cause I have some! :o( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 (edited) I got the log home, problem is my friend's bandsaw is too small to "render" this chunk of wood down. After a few phone calls I find this might be a little bit of trouble to get done. First off, because the log came from a residential area, a lot of the "sawers" I talked to don't want to ruin their blades on potential nails. So I'll have to get it scanned with a metal detector first and then get some form of written affirmation that it does not contain any foreign objects. I still want to get this log quartersawn tho. I calculated the density of the wood (105 lbs, 10" dia. and 33" long), it works out to 1030 kg/cubic metre. Eastern hardrock maple (A. saccharum) is around 750. This could make some awesome neck wood. I figure I might get 4 good quartersawn 2X4's. Edited July 28, 2005 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 [quote]I calculated the density of the wood (105 lbs, 10" dia. and 33" long), it works out to 1030 kg/cubic metre. Eastern hardrock maple (A. saccharum) is around 750.[/quote] Southpa, the 750kg/cuM for maple is based on dry wood. Holly, when completely dry is around the same weight as hard maple. Still pretty good, though. You are right about having it quartersawn. You will have a much better chance of getting it to dry straight that way. And for the blue stain mentioned earlier, constant airflow is the key. Keep all sides exposed to air, except the ends, seal them with wax or latex paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.