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Purpleheart Top?


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I love the look of Purpleheart (haven't heard it though) and am interested in putting a 1/4" thick bookmatched set of it on two chambered mahagany wings on a maple/ebony neck-thru guitar.

Would the Purpleheart be too bright/brittle sounding on this guitar (already with the maple neck and ebony fretboard), or would the 1/4" thick top make little to no difference?

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I love the look of Purpleheart (haven't heard it though) and am interested in putting a 1/4" thick bookmatched set of it on two chambered mahagany wings on a maple/ebony neck-thru guitar.

Would the Purpleheart be too bright/brittle sounding on this guitar (already with the maple neck and ebony fretboard), or would the 1/4" thick top make little to no difference?

I don't think it would. In a neck-thru the sound comes predominantly from the neck woods, so as the purpleheart is only a small portion of the less-determinant tone wood (the body wings), I don't think it'll have too great an effect. There are people on here who've built almost completely purpleheart guitars, with maple necks, and they've not complained (Drak's iceman-ish guitar iirc).

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Lets put it this way, my other guitar which is maple neck rosewood board with mahogany back and maple top sounds thin compared to this guitar

Purpleheart soloist

Link to progress pictures

I have this guitar tuned to double drop D and it sounds beyond amazing, the lows and highs are strong with good chunk but not overly bright and not muddy in anyway, the only thing is I will not do another carved purple heart guitar way too much work

MzI

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Lets put it this way,  my other guitar which is maple neck rosewood board with mahogany back and maple top sounds thin compared to this guitar

Purpleheart soloist

Link to progress pictures

I have this guitar tuned to double drop D and it sounds beyond amazing, the lows and highs are strong with good chunk but not overly bright and not muddy in anyway, the only thing is I will not do another carved purple heart guitar way too much work

MzI

That's AWESOME! That's one of the most beautiful guitars I've seen on this site, very tasteful.

One question, how is the purpleheart in the weight department?

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHA :D

Its 10 or 11 pounds, that is because the piece I used is exceptionally heavy, this is not the case for all purple heart. While I was searching for the board I wanted I picked the heaviest piece I could find with good straight grain. The piece is also beyond hard. Other pieces I have used which are normal weight are similar to that of maple. I personally like heavy guitars so it does not bother me, I also have a solid purpleheart Flying V in progress and it weighs about the same as this soloist maybe a lil less. Generally if your only gonna put on a 1/4" or even 1/2" top I would not worry about the weight because it will not make that much of a difference. One thing I will say about the guitar is that it balances perfectly so the weight isnt really noticed, only when you actually pick the guitar up.

MzI

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