Oak Guitars, Any Good, Any Info?

[!!METAL MATT!!]

Ok I was just Out working In The new shop When I came Across This 12 foot long 9 1/2 wide 2-inch thick board Of realy nice oak, Now Im thinking well What can I do with this----------Guitar!! Of coarse

But something new For me, maybe A neckthru

What do You guys Think?? Good idea go for it (OR) Get real and stop wasting time

!!METAL MATT!!

[GuitarGuy]

Ok I was just Out working In The new shop When I came Across This 12 foot long 9 1/2 wide 2-inch thick board Of realy nice oak, Now Im thinking well What can I do with this----------Guitar!!  Of coarse  

But something new For me, maybe A neckthru

What do You guys Think?? Good idea go for it (OR) Get real and stop wasting time

!!METAL MATT!!

←

I got more of that junk than you can shake a stick at. Id say roughly 100 board foot give or take.

Pros- its pretty

Cons

- Heavy as crap (depends on what crap you're thinkin about but lead comes to mind)

- very open grain you will need mucho grain filler.

Other than that a very sturdy wood. Altho I would not use it for a neck. I've seen it split or delaminate along the grain.

[Daniel Sorbera]

I was about too say that you should just search because there has been alot of threds but I tried it and you can't search for it because it has too be 4 letters or more.

Mods what is up with this?

I remember one thred where they discussed it and the conculsion was it would be really heavy and not sound good.

I'd keep looking...

Edited May 16, 2005 by Godin SD

[!!METAL MATT!!]

Well I did do A search And all I came Up with was This

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...&hl=oak+guitars

and Well as far as It being heavy and open grained---HA Well Im a purple heart man my self so Im use to all that

But If It sucks for Necks Than A neck thru Is out-------that's ok I have A new Idea

I have Some Real wild Lace wood I could have That down the center with the Oak wings and A maple neck That May Look DEADLY

Now Sound wize Does The stuff realy suck??

EDIT: I think the Damien 7-string death cross uses oak for the body?

!!METAL MATT!!

[GuitarGuy]

Well I did do A search And all I came Up with was This

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...&hl=oak+guitars

and Well as far as It being heavy and open grained---HA Well Im a purple heart man my self so Im use to all that

But If It sucks for Necks Than A neck thru Is out-------that's ok I have A new Idea

I have Some Real wild Lace wood I could have That down the center with the Oak wings and A maple neck That May Look DEADLY

Now Sound wize Does The stuff realy suck??

EDIT: I think the Damien 7-string death cross uses oak for the body?

!!METAL MATT!!

←

Well its dense , so im thinking sustain and trebles by standard school of thought. But I'm in the pure voodoo group when it comes to tonewoods and their sonic capabilites.

[javacody]

Put chambers in it to lighten up the tone and the weight.

GuitarGuy, your opinion is probably correct if you play high gain music with a Floyd Rose equipped guitar and EMG pickups.

However, when I play two vintage type strats and all their parts are the same except for the wood types, how do you explain the tonal differences?

[GuitarGuy]

Put chambers in it to lighten up the tone and the weight.

GuitarGuy, your opinion is probably correct if you play high gain music with a Floyd Rose equipped guitar and EMG pickups.

However, when I play two vintage type strats and all their parts are the same except for the wood types, how do you explain the tonal differences?

←

Placebo effect... and the fact that its really hard to build two guitars exactly the same. Also the Pickups probably are not wound exactly the same either. Im not saying that there isn't a difference I'm just saying that the difference is marginal.

edit: If im not mistaken vintage strat coils are scatterwound so no two are exactly the same.

Edited May 17, 2005 by GuitarGuy

[Mickguard]

However, when I play two vintage type strats and all their parts are the same except for the wood types, how do you explain the tonal differences?

←

I don't consider it voodoo that two guitars built of two different pieces of wood can sound much differently. That makes perfect sense. And by two different pieces, I mean, the wood might have come from the same tree, but they're still different.

And that's why I consider the talk of 'tonewood' as voodoo --to a certain extent. I mean, sure, you can talk in terms of general qualities. But in the end, there's no way to know until the guitar is strung up and you're actually strumming it.

To Matt, I say, hey, go for it....you might end up with something great. Or you might end up with a 'prototype' for something else....

As for oak...I have TONS of it here, I'm talking about 100 or more tree-length planks that have been drying in the barn next to the house for about 50 years or so...they stuff was laid up properly too...hmm...hey, Matt, you've given me an idea....

[!!METAL MATT!!]

Ok Now What Im thinking Is This

3 1/2 wide 3 inch's thick WILD Quilted purpleheart center

Two 1 inch wide 3 inch's thick lace wood strips on earther side of the purpleheart

and than Oak wings on the back and maple wings On to of that

And The design Im going with Will be A KK flying-V style 7-string

Im realy likeing The Idea of useing the Oak Since It's Unknow to me What It will sound Like So when It all Done It's A real surprize

!!METAL MATT!!

[Digideus]

I think it was Tokai who started using Figured oak for les paul tops a few years ago. As I remember, they looked awesome!

Most of the comments about oak on here are that it makes good firewood. I think its a good iead to try one tho. Perhaps an Oak Impaler body but thinner than the others youve made? you could always use Oak wings on a mahogany thru neck and use some Maple or Swamp Ash to offset the woods. I think it would be an awesome look.

Either way matt, whatever you do will be awesome. Pics please mate!

[unclej]

i've never made a complete guitar from oak but have used it as the center filling with a mesquite front and back..made a great guitar..mucho sustain and quite bright but i couldn't tell you whether it was the oak, the mesquite or the combination that made it so.

it is a pretty open grained wood so if you use a lot of it in the body you might want to consider an oil finish so you don't have to fill so much.

that was about two cents worth wasn't it?

[MzI]

gibson used oak tops on korina i believe in the custom shop last year or the year before , if you dont make a guitar outta it make some crazy furniture to fund other guitar projects

MzI

[Maiden69]

Oak, to my opinion is not much different than regular Ash, not the light one. When I was making this guitar, a guy was working with a nice piece of 8/4 oak. My guitar is not Swamp ash, or atleast not the light one, so Itook a look at both pieces and they were about the same weight and almost the same amount of grain. If I were making the same guitar now, I would probably make it chambered. Other than that, the sound is heavy in the bottom and high end, I do think that lacks mids. I already tried with an EMG 60, 85, and 81 on the neck, and the 81 is the best sounding on it so far.

[!!METAL MATT!!]

Ok Ya I realy Like this idea It should be A fun project to do And the best thing it I have all the wood hear at home and all the parts execpt the neck so almost no Cash spent!! YA HOO

Ok now new plan 3 1/2 wide 3 inch's thick WILD Quilted purpleheart center

Two 1 inch wide 3 inch's thick lace wood strips on earther side of the purpleheart

and than Oak wings-----------no maple I want the oak!

And The design Im going with Will be A KK flying-V style 6-string not a 7-string

ive done nothing but 7-strings for a while now Plus I already have the IMPALER

Part's will be as follows

B.C Rich one pice hardtail bridge

B.C Rich Pickup's-------for now If the guitar work's out EMG's!!

every thing else is comeing off that dead warlock Of mine, I just need A neck with a widow headstock!

I'll be starting work on the body this weakend, But you know what If some one else has another idea for what type of guitar design I should build that would be cool, the kk-V thing Was just the first thing that poped in to my head

!!METAL MATT!!

[Drak]

If I were you, I would use all of it, and use it for experience' sake.

Free wood when one is still practicing and bettering themselves at their craft is a good thing, don't worry about the sound of it, just use it, then YOU will be the source when someone has a question about how Oak sounds!

I think people, -especially- first timers (not saying you), get ~WAAAY~ too caught up in tonewood myths and tonewood money when they can barely build themselves out of a paper bag yet.

PS, I can't believe no one has mentioned yet that Brian May's famous Red Special that he built with his dad is Oak, and is still 'in business' after 30 odd years.

[!!METAL MATT!!]

You Have A point Drak man and Im realy more Looking for the look's and sound on this one and I have had this Quilted purpleheart for Like 4 years now And it's wild stuff So I have to use it, BUT I may have enough to do two guitar bodies

Dam Drak must you make Me think so hard

On A side note I had no Clue that Brian May's guitar was OAK

That's realy cool!!

!!METAL MATT!!

[Drak]

I always try to work 'with' the wood, like the Indians say a prayer over the tree before they fell it. I will stare at a piece of wood longer than I like to openly admit sometimes, trying to unravel the mysteries that THAT singular piece of wood has to offer.

I only bring out what it had all along and was waiting for someone to see it, ...and I'm looking.

Other people take a piece of wood and say, 'I will do THIS with you, and you will do what I want you to.

No no no no no. That's not what I do at ALL. Quite the opposite. It's like I am the guest in the wood's house, being polite to it and working in HARMONY with it. As a TEAM sort of.

Ohmmmmmmm.

So instead of looking at the huge pores of Oak as a drawback, make them WORK for you man, use them to PUSH you to learn to master them and your talents in the process.

Start buying 2-part epoxy and different colored pigments (art supply stores) and experiment like CRAZY with filling Oak pores with say, WHITE tinted pore filler, or add some PEARL WHITE to it, or pearl white with a touch of red, or tint one part one way and another part of the body another way....whatever you want. This is the time and the place to really start digging in and pushing yourself and being ARTISTIC with wood.

You have been offered a great opportunity from the Great Wood God, are you up to the challenge offered to you and you alone?

Great guitars are not borne from people with no imagination or dull thinkers or copyers.

Hell, that's why I build guitars man, I'm always looking for the next challenge, the next problem to not only conquer, but MASTER, like a 10th Dan weilds a pair of numchukkies!

HYA!

Wood is an organic thing, even when it's dead it still breathes and moves about. Think organically and you'll be on the same wavelength as the wood, and avenues of creativity will start to open up for you.

[orgmorg]

Drak, have you read " Soul of a tree ", by George Nakashima? If not, do so, you would enjoy it a lot!

Personally, I can't stand oak. If I never had to run another stick of it thru my saw, I would be content. Just seen too much of it, I guess.

But, now that you mention it, I think it would look real nice with the lacewood.

[!!METAL MATT!!]

I will stare at a piece of wood longer than I like to openly admit sometimes

That's nothing I slept with the first Piece of wood I bought HAHAHA

But realy I did I had It under my arm all knight long, It was rough Purpleheart

And yes There where slivers

Im the same way man!! We should start a support group

!!METAL MATT!!

[orgmorg]

Xylophiles Anonymous

[q83]

I too have access to an enormous supply of oak (enough to build a house out of if I really wanted to), and contemplating building a guitar out of it (although I've never heard of oak being used for the body of a guitar, I did some searching, and I found this page.

Here's the quote:

Off the top of my head, I can tell you why certain types of wood work well in stringed instruments. Aside from possessing the strength necessary to support the tension of four to 12 strings, "tonewoods" have a tendency to resonate at frequencies sympathetic to the pitch of the note or chords played. Oak, for example, is very strong, but does not have this resonant quality. Therefore, you wouldn't want to make a guitar out of oak... you'd save it for your dresser.

I agree with him, I'm sure it would make a bad sounding guitar, but one hell of a nice table.

Edited May 18, 2005 by q83

[!!METAL MATT!!]

Well Im trying it all the same Just to see for my self and Have a bit of fun at the same time!

And now I have A new design change It's still a Flying-V but with A METAL MATT touch I will post some Pic's once I got it all on paper

Im still not sure what design to do for the all Oak guitar, Any ideas?

!!METAL MATT!!

[backwoodsguitars]

Rampart guitars used to have a page dedicated to tonewoods. Two species of oak were listed. I believe they compared the tonal qualities of red oak to that of ash and white oak compared to maple, or reverse. I made my first guitar out of oak. It is a neck thru with the neck made out of oak, rosewood fretboard and wings made out of laminated mahogany. I gave it a oil finish, the oak has remained stable and it still sounds like a dream. I too heard that oak would delaminate, this is why I used boiled linseed oil on it. I believe the oil finish protects the wood better since the wood is saturated in it and is not merely on the surface. I did not have to fill the grain because in between coats of oil "I wet sanded" using oil. This filled every nook and cranny and it is smooth as silk. I purchased my "neck blank" a perfectly strait 1"x3" from Home Depot in thr trim lumber bin. I have yet to move the truss rod on her. I like to set up a guitar at "0" and not need the D/A truss rod. Then you have that much more room to move either direction if the need arises. This guitar really sounds great and I have used oak several times since. I will however always use a humbucker when oak is in the neck because I think a humbucker fattens out the tone. Oak sustains forever also. PLease give oak a try!!!

Backwoods