MP63 Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 I have a nice big chunck of Zebrawood. It's been in the garage for nearly three years, sealed and ready for a project. I thought of making a small one-piece guitar. The whole thing from one-piece One pickup, with minimal features. I want the wood be the main focus. Any experiences with this wood? Not just what others have said, but real uses and lessons from it. So far there are no cracks in this piece. Thank you, Mike http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/MP63/IMG_1749.jpg http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/MP63/IMG_1748.jpg http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/MP63/IMG_1747.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postal Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 NICE!!! Perfectly quartered. I've played with it a little and didnt have much issues. It can burn a little on a saw or router, but again, not too bad. It certainly takes more effort to work being a dense wood, and be a bit carefull with cross grain cuts as they tend to splinter just a little.... on the bottom side using a miter saw would splinter about 1/32"-1/16" deep about 1/8" long. My builds with zebra were multi wood laminated necks, and the other wood was VERY rigid... And my thick fretboard added even more strength. I did this primarily for looks, but I had *heard* that zebra alone just may flex a bit much for a solid zebra neck. With that I mind, I wouldnt hesitate to try a full zebra neck, just dont take it super thin, and use a very rigid fretboard preferably a tad on the thick side of at LEAST 1/4" thick *after* radiusing. I tend to lean toward thick fretboards anyway because they add a great deal of stiffness to the neck, and people say they help in the all elusive "tone" department. Hope that helps bro. Postal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 Zebrawood is always quartered, that's what makes it 'zebra' wood. It is heavy as HELL, I would consider a 1-piece body of Zebrawood to be a (maybe) less-than-spectacular instrument, as it would be very heavy, and possibly lacking in resonance and tonality compared to most typical tonewoods. I could be wrong here, and tonality differs from person to person... It's nice to build a guitar around a piece of wood, I've done it lots of times, but you really have to keep certain factors in mind to make a really quality, playable, 'players' guitar. A 1-piece Zebrawood guitar would not fit into this catagory simply because of the weight involved and inherant tonality issues, unless you made a Dinky out of it or something along those lines. It's heavy as hell, dense as dense can be, very hard on tools, ...and quite attractive. But attractiveness alone does not make a real quality guitar. Bottom line? Sure you can do it, and if you like it, that's all that really matters, but expect it to be very heavy, and possibly not very resonant. But what the hell, go for it and let us know how it turns out, and post pics of the build by all means! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postal Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 Most zebra I find is actually rift sawn, not perfect on the quarter like that. I made 2 guitars with it that were wenge/zebra..... I have zero weight issues because I made the bodies quite thin- even though wenge weighs a ton. About 1.35 or so at the thickest, and they were carved tops to.. Mine sound find, but people like different things...... Seeing as how technically it is a "rosewood" and many brands and individuals make solid rosewood guitars, even fender custom shop..... although they do chamber the body for weight... and people pay a hella lotta money for a CS guitar, they cant be all bad... just my opinion- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 perfect candidate for a steinberger,a mini vee,or a super thin if you ask me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdw3332 Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 (edited) Here is one of my very first builds. I didn't know any better and liked the Zebrawood. It wasn't that difficult to work although I did rout through the rear control cavity . With a lot of advice from Drak, I cut a plug for the back and plowed on. It is heavy. Edited December 3, 2006 by mdw3332 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP63 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 My plan is to make something simple...really simple. No planing of the face. First route the truss rod slot and attach the fingerboard. Then, cut the shape. It'll be small as it will be heavy if it is regular size. For some reason, I like small guitars even though I am 6'3" I like the necks wide, but the body small. I like sitting on the sofa as I play. I am a lounger and not a stander with guitars. Comfort is the key. As the headstock will be flat and no angle, I will build classical style on the tuner setup. That should be enough to be string-tree free. A Schaller all-in-one bridge with a top mounted pickup. Maybe the controls on the top edge of the body. I already have an old ebony 24-3/4" fingerboard ready to go. My purchase of this wood was to glue it up for a solid body that I would route out, but that became too much of a project for me. I already made a couple like that, so I changed my plans. I think this will be made rather fast, but as the weather gets colder, my garage gets cooler and wetter, as rain leaks like crazy in my old garage, I may have delays. I'll do what I can. I have never used zebrawood before, so i hope my skin doesn't get all funky with any allergies. That'll be the only real problem I foresee. I will definitely keep you posted on the build of this one. Thanks again, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 i just figured out why i don't really like the look of zebrawood so much...it reminds me of those peanut butter/root beer hard candies they used to sell at the general store when i was a kid...maybe they still sell them. looks just like that..i always thought those candies were ugly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prs man Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 I like the looks [ nice grain ] I have a zebra wood tele in the works. the top is done my guitar will have a mohagony back with zebra wood top 1/2 thick. George Harrison had a zebra wood tele if that means anything. I have a fender book that has a zeebra wood tele made in there custom shop with 2 humbuckers in it and it looks cool. I say go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 Zebrawood is always quartered, that's what makes it 'zebra' wood. It is heavy as HELL, I would consider a 1-piece body of Zebrawood to be a (maybe) less-than-spectacular instrument, as it would be very heavy, and possibly lacking in resonance and tonality compared to most typical tonewoods. I could be wrong here, and tonality differs from person to person... It's nice to build a guitar around a piece of wood, I've done it lots of times, but you really have to keep certain factors in mind to make a really quality, playable, 'players' guitar. A 1-piece Zebrawood guitar would not fit into this catagory simply because of the weight involved and inherant tonality issues, unless you made a Dinky out of it or something along those lines. It's heavy as hell, dense as dense can be, very hard on tools, ...and quite attractive. But attractiveness alone does not make a real quality guitar. Bottom line? Sure you can do it, and if you like it, that's all that really matters, but expect it to be very heavy, and possibly not very resonant. But what the hell, go for it and let us know how it turns out, and post pics of the build by all means! The more I read of your post, the more I got to wondering. The Zebrawood I worked with was not very dense (less dense than hard maple), cut very nicely (Like Alder or Basswood), and sanded great. I did not feel the wood weighed a great deal, perhaps the density varies a great deal? One thing I didn't like about it is that it splintered a fair amount, almost as much as Wenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 The more I read of your post, the more I got to wondering. The Zebrawood I worked with was not very dense (less dense than hard maple), cut very nicely (Like Alder or Basswood), and sanded great. I did not feel the wood weighed a great deal, perhaps the density varies a great deal? One thing I didn't like about it is that it splintered a fair amount, almost as much as Wenge. All the Zebra I worked with was all the same weight and density, etc., harder than hard maple, very heavy but I imagine anything's possible out there. Here's one I found at the TDPRI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 I cut an 11-12 foot board into 6 different pieces, 4 for guitar fingerboards, 1 for bass, 1 for headstock veneers. I'm definitely purchasing more soon for myself, I'd love to make some fingerboards out of it for the PG community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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